Field to films: Bollywood actors who were national-level athletes; number 3 will colour you impressed

Bollywood, the cine-verse where people from different backgrounds join together to celebrate cinema, has some prolific contributors who thrived with impeccable skills on the national level. While people are encouraged to become at least the jack of one, the actors became the masters of all trades. From theatres to stadiums, the audiences have seen these three in all spectacular fields. Let’s take a look at the actors who played national-level sports!Deepika Padukone, one of the highest-paid actresses and the daughter of former badminton champion Prakash Padukone, followed in the footsteps of her father to become one of the skillful players. She represented Karnataka as the state and played Badminton in national-level championships and tournaments. The sports prodigy shifted her aim and goals to an acting career and received a break in Bollywood with Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om,’ sharing Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Shreyas Talpade, and Kirron Kher.As for her life today, Padukone recently celebrated her daughter Dua’s first birthday. For her career, the actress is slated to have multiple releases in the upcoming years, including a reunion with Khan for ‘King,’ SS Rajamouli's directorial film, and many more. Randeep Hooda, the prominent actor, has been a national-level player in horseriding, with evening winning multiple medals and valour. The equestrian said, “I think I'm the only professional horse rider from the movie industry. Strangely, I've seen no men from the industry at equestrian events, though I've seen some ladies like Diya Mirza and Lara Dutta at the race course. Women, by the way, make superior horse riders,” the actor said in a 2009 interview with IANS. He has won a silver medal at the National Equestrian Championship (NEC). As for the acting career, Hooda is set to star in ‘Operation Khurki,’ based on real-life events of 2000, when 233 Indian force members were taken hostage in West Africa by rebel forces. Rahul Bose, the celebrated actor, has been passionate about Rugby. After being part of India’s national former team, the actor now heads Rugby India and even launched a premier league, in the hope of getting more eyes towards the stunning sport. “The trophies were nice, but it was the life lessons that mattered more,” he said in the podcast, according to Economic Times, before adding, “I say this without hesitation—rugby has taught me more than my parents. It gave me values and perspectives I could never have learnt at home.”As for his acting career, Rahul Bose recently starred in ‘Madam Sengupta,’ which was released in July 2025.