Muhammad Ali
Acting
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X. Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
TV Shows(27)
David Frost Vs
self (archive footage)
2025
Bill Russell: Legend
Self (archive footage)
2023
The Century of Icons
Self (archive footage)
2022
Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
2021
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
Self (archive footage)
2021
A Life in Ten Pictures
Self (archive footage)
2021
70 Years of Youth Revolt
Self (archive footage)
2020
What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
2019
Shut Up and Dribble
Self (archive footage)
2018
Explained
Self (archive footage)
2018
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
2016
The Seventies
Self (archive footage)
2015
Ali's 65
2007
Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story
Self
1996
Die Muhammad Ali Story
Muhammad Ali
1996
Touched by an Angel
Self
1994
Wogan
Self
1982
Mid-South Wrestling
Muhammad Ali (Fan - Archive Footage)
1981
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest
1976
Apostrophes
Self
1975
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Der Sport-Spiegel
Self
1963
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
1950
Bambi
Self (archive footage)
1948
Movies(142)
Beatles '64
Self (archive footage)
2024
WWE Hall of Fame 2024
Muhammad Ali
2024
Franz Klammer - The Ski "Kaiser" Will Be 70
Self (archive footage)
2023
70 Jahre Annemarie Moser-Pröll – Ein Leben als Wintermärchen
Self (archive footage)
2023
Cassius X: Becoming Ali
Self (archive footage)
2023
Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
Self (archive footage)
2023
Tribute to Chuck Wepner: The Legacy and Retirement of the Real Rocky Balboa
Self (archive footage)
2023
Stand
Self (archive footage)
2023
My Father Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
2023
Say Hey, Willie Mays!
Self (archive footage)
2022
Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
Self (archive footage)
2022
McEnroe
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2022
The King of Miami Beach
2022
Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
2021
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
2021
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Self - Professional Boxer (archive footage)
2021
City of Ali
2021
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage)
2021
Mister Candid Camera
Self (archive footage)
2021
Pelé
Self (archive Footage)
2021
Ron Lyle
Self (archive footage)
2021
Earnie Shavers
2021
Da 5 Bloods
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2020
Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
2020
Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
Self (archive footage)
2019
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Self (archive footage)
2019
Africa Rising
Self - Boxer (archive footage)
2019
Thrilla in Manila
Self
2019
In Search of Greatness
Self (archive footage)
2018
The Champ and the King
Self (archive footage)
2018
Black Is Beltza
Self (voice) (archive footage)
2018
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Self (archive footage)
2018
United We Stand: The Ali Summit
archival footage
2018
Andre the Giant
Self (archive footage)
2018
American Made
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2017
The Summer of Love
2017
Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle
Self (archive footage)
2016
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
2016
Sticky: A (Self) Love Story
Self
2016
Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
Self (archive footage)
2015
Best of Enemies
Self (archival)
2015
Robbed
Self
2014
I Am Ali
Self (archive footage)
2014
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
Self (Archival Footage)
2014
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Himself (archive footage)
2013
Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
Himself
2013
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
2013
Ali: The Mission
Self (archive footage)
2013
WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak
Self (archive footage)
2012
Norman Mailer: The American
Self
2012
The Real Rocky
Self (archive footage)
2011
Muhammad and Larry
Himself
2009
Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit
himself
2009
Rumble in the Jungle
Self
2009
Soul Power
Self (archive footage)
2009
Facing Ali
Self
2009
When Ali Met Cathal
Muhammad Ali
2009
Thrilla in Manila
Himself (archive footage)
2008
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Self (archive footage)
2008
Black Power Salute
Self (archive footage)
2008
Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
Himself
2008
Tyson
Self (archive footage)
2008
James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
Self (archive footage)
2008
Ali's Dozen
Self
2006
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
Muhammad Ali
2006
Darts Tarts – Welcome to my World
Self (archive footage)
2006
Ali Rap
Himself
2006
Legends Never Die
Self (archive footage)
2006
Out From Ali's Shadow: The Larry Holmes Story
Self (Archival Footage)
2006
Pelé Forever
Self (archive footage)
2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
2004
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Self
2003
The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali
Himself
2003
The Documented Life and Times of Muhammad Ali - The Greatest
2002
Monday Night Mayhem
Self (archive footage)
2002
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
Himself
2001
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
Self
2001
When Boxing Ruled The World
Self
2001
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
Self (archive footage)
2001
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
Self
2000
Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!
Himself
2000
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
Himself
2000
Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection
1999
Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion
Himself
1998
B.B. King: Live In Africa '74
Self
1998
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self - Roastee (archive footage)
1998
Boxing Crazy
1997
When We Were Kings
Self
1996
Boxing Barmy
1996
Muhammad Ali The Whole Story
Self
1996
Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Opening Ceremony
Self
1996
The Journey of the African-American Athlete
Self (archive footage)
1996
Boxing's Greatest Champions
Self
1995
Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990
Himself (Archival Footage)
1995
Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing
Himself
1995
WCW Halloween Havoc 1994
Himself (Ringside)
1994
Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer
Self
1993
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
1991
Night of 100 Stars III
Self
1990
The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's
Self
1990
Champions Forever
Self
1989
Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
Self
1988
Mike Tyson Presents: The Heavyweights
1988
Boxing's Greatest Knockouts
1987
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Self
1986
Doin' Time
Himself
1985
WrestleMania
Muhammad Ali (Enforcer)
1985
James Bond: The First 21 Years
Self
1983
Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick
Self
1981
Body and Soul
Himself
1981
Diana
Self
1981
Muhammad and Larry
1980
Freedom Road
Gideon Jackson
1979
Kings of the Square Ring
1978
Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II
1978
The Greatest
Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali
1977
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III
Self
1975
Funny Girl to Funny Lady
Self
1975
The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
Self
1974
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
Self
1974
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
Self
1974
The Fighters
Self
1974
Black Soul
Self
1974
The Fight
Himself
1974
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II
Self
1972
Money Talks
Self
1972
Wake Up and Apologise
Self
1972
Malcolm X
Self (archive footage)
1972
Black Rodeo
Self
1972
Fight of the Century
Self
1971
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
Self
1971
a.k.a. Cassius Clay
Self
1970
The Super Fight
Himself
1970
Something's Happening
1967
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I
Self
1965
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II
Self
1965
Cassius le grand
1964
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I
Self
1964
Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones
Self
1963
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Himself (as Cassius Clay)
1962
Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson
Self
1961
When Ali Came to Britain