As 'American Crime Story' Debuts, a Brief Look at O.J. Simpson's Movie Career

O.J. Simpson, Leslie Nielsen, and George Kennedy in ‘The Naked Gun 2 1/2′ (Everett)

Tuesday’s debut of FX’s compelling series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson suggests that a new national conversation about O.J. Simpson is about to begin. The drama recreates the NFL star’s sensational trial for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. (He was acquitted in 1995.)

Related: ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ Recap: Most Pulp

As you plan to settle in for the 10-part drama — which will be followed later this year by another Simpson examination, the ESPN documentary O.J.: Made in America — it’s important to remember what a popular figure Simpson was before his defense attorney Johnnie Cochran famously said, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Those who aren’t as well-versed on Simpson’s bio may recall that he was a football hero and spokesman for Hertz rental cars. But Simpson also parlayed his college and NFL running-back fame into acting, appearing in numerous TV movies and specials (most notably, the miniseries Roots), forming his own production company, and co-starring in a number of theatrical features.

Simpson’s acting career was never as strong as his athleticism. But some of his credits are notable, either for their strangeness, the impressiveness of their casts, or their genuine entertainment value. Looking back at Simpson’s filmography is a reminder that one of the reasons the trial was so shocking is because the accused man was someone the American public felt like they knew — his face had been on screens, both small and large, for more than two decades.

Here’s a look at some of Simpson’s key film credits:

The Dream of Hamish Mose (1969)

Simpson’s first movie credit is a bizarre one because, according to this segment from a ’90s episode of the tabloid investigative show Hard Copy, it was never widely released. A jumbled Western that tackled race and the Civil War, it features Simpson in a wordless performance that, as the Hard Copy reporter puts it, is mostly spent “staring moodily at a space just a few inches from his nose.”

O.J. Simpson and Richard Burton in ‘The Klansman’ (Everett)

The Klansman (1974)

Simpson co-starred alongside Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, Cameron Mitchell (the same actor who directed Hamish Mose), and Lola Falana in this Ku Klux Klan drama about racial tensions in ‘60s-era Alabama. In it, he plays a bellbottomed, guns-blazing man who seeks vengeance against the KKK for killing a friend, and who at one point shoots at a white man who’s about to disrupt a civil-rights rally. He then escapes via the backseat of a truck while pointing a gun at the head of the driver. That imagery, coupled with the racial implications the movie attempts to raise, play like eerie foreshadowing in light of the charges Simpson would face 20 years later. You can watch the movie in its entirety for free, either here or via Amazon Prime.

The Towering Inferno (1974)

A month after The Klansman opened, this disaster picture arrived in theaters, casting Simpson as the head of security at a San Francisco skyscraper that, as the title implies, is not long for this world. The ensemble was impressive: Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, and even Fred Astaire all co-star. Despite Pauline Kael’s assertion that the film had arrived “just in time to capture the Dumb Whore Award of 1974,” it was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture. (It lost, understandably, to The Godfather Part II.) The Towering Inferno also made more than $100 million at the box office.

Watch a scene with Simpson in ‘The Towering Inferno:’

The Cassandra Crossing (1977)

Simpson wasn’t as lucky with this thriller about a terrorist plot to spread a deadly virus. Once again, he was surrounded by high-wattage Hollywood talent — Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Martin Sheen — but this time there were no Oscar nominations. “Stupidity can be kinkier than propaganda, and this movie is profoundly, offensively stupid,” said the New York Times review.

Capricorn One (1978)

Another thriller with a paranoid streak, this one features Simpson as an astronaut, who, along with James Brolin and Sam Waterston, are forced to stage a landing on Mars. The elaborate NASA scheme seems to be working until — da-da-daaaa — Elliot Gould catches on! The concept is stronger than the execution, but this is still an interesting film to revisit, even if Simpson doesn’t add much heft to the proceedings.

Watch a ‘Capricorn One’ trailer:

The Naked Gun trilogy (1988-94)

Who would have thought that Simpson’s most memorable movie work would come in a series of patently absurd Leslie Nielsen comedies? Well, pretty much no one, especially since Simpson had largely withdrawn from the film acting by the late 1980s. But that’s what happened when Simpson took on the role of perpetually prat-falling Officer Nordberg, a cop who improbably survives a never-ending series of accidents in The Naked Gun. He pops up again in the two sequels, but the third movie, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, would mark his last big-screen performance. Three months after its release, he was arrested for the murders.

Watch a clip of Simpson in ‘The Naked Gun:’