How Hulk Hogan transformed himself from WWE wrestler to Hollywood star

From the mat to the big screen. 

Hulk Hogan died at 71 Thursday, July 24, following a “serious” medical issue in which paramedics were dispatched to his Florida home for an alleged “cardiac arrest.”

Although Hogan was famous as a wrestler, the mustachioed blond behemoth also had a colorful movie and TV career. 

Hogan’s path from the ring to Hollywood began in 1982’s “Rocky III.” 

In Sylvester Stallone’s iconic sports movie franchise, Hogan — real name Terry Bollea — played the wrestling champ Thunderlips, who faced off against Stallone’s Rocky. Rocky won, naturally. 

In his 2005 speech to induct Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame, Stallone, 79, said about Hogan, “I knew he was a star the minute I laid eyes on him.”