Stuart Scott dies: A look at the ESPN anchor’s movie cameos

Stuart Scott, the irrepressible ESPN sportscaster who died of cancer Sunday at age 49, was best known for his work on the small screen, belting out “boo-yahs!” and punctuating highlights with catchphrases such as his trademark “cooler than the other side of the pillow.”

On his way to earning a reputation as the hip-hop Howard Cosell and becoming an inspirational example of a public figure staring down a deadly disease, Scott also racked up his share of big-screen cameos. He lent his outsize personality and a dose of sports-world authenticity to movies ranging from feel-good Disney flicks to romantic comedies to dark-hearted dramas. While Scott was far from the only cable anchor to pop up regularly as himself in studio features, his colorful reputation and penchant for quips were tailor-made for the big screen.

Among his notable appearances, Scott played a TV announcer in “He Got Game,” Spike Lee’s father-son basketball drama starring Denzel Washington and real-life NBA player Ray Allen, and portrayed a sports commentator in the marching-band comedy “Drumline,” with Nick Cannon.

Scott generally portrayed himself or analogues of himself, in the above movies as well as the Bernie Mac baseball comedy “Mr. 3000,” the Lindsay Lohan racing reboot “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” the Dwayne Johnson daddy-daughter football movie “The Game Plan,” and the basketball romance “Just Wright” with Common and Queen Latifah.

Scott and his frequent “SportsCenter” partner Rich Eisen also cameoed in Disney’s 2000 movie “The Kid” and playfully swapped credits.

In a promotional video for “Just Wright,” which hit theaters in 2010, Scott reflected on his occasional acting gigs. (Watch the video above).

“I think a lot of people might say, ‘Well, you do this every day, so this is nothing,’” Scott said. “I do this every day, but acting in a scene is a lot different than what I do. To have a chance to act, to actually act with Common … I was honored to be able to do it over and over again.”

He added, “The two scenes took all day and people were like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry it’s taking so long.’ I loved it.”

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