Following news of O.J. Simpson’s passing, many are learning about his career in football and entertainment.
He was a Heisman Trophy winner in college and an NFL star throughout the 1980s. Like other athletes, he ventured into roles in movies and television.
Some of Simpson’s television roles came the year of his Heisman Trophy win, including single-episode appearances in popular shows Dragnet, Ironside, and It Takes a Thief.
In the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, he was a recurring character in the popular Naked Gun series.
The detective spoof films starred the late Leslie Nielson as Detective Frank Drebin and Simpson as Detective Fred Nordberg.
Based on scarce details, Simpson’s last movie may have been from the Naked Gun series. However, others might see him listed for the upcoming film Mayday Z.
Eric Roberts and Tara Reid to star in Mayday Z
Based on the cast and synopsis, viewers may be in for a wild ride with Mayday Z.
Mayday Z is the story of a billionaire, his wife, and his daughter as they fight for their lives on a plane taken over by zombies.
Eric Roberts, who has appeared in hit films like The Dark Knight and The Expendables, leads the cast as billionaire Richard Carrington.
Tara Reid plays Federal Air Marshal Paige Atkins. Reid appeared in American Pie as Vicky and April in several Sharknado films. In 2023, she was part of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a reality competition show.
Michael Pare portrays Stan Stone. Pare has appeared in numerous films – extending back to the early 1980s, including Eddie and the Cruisers, The Philadelphia Experiment, and Streets of Fire.
In addition to Pare appearing in the Mayday Z cast, he’s credited as the film’s director.
Sholom Gelt wrote the film and is its executive producer. Jeremy Sackett is its associate producer, and Anthony Tarantola is credited as co-executive producer.
Does the Mayday Z cast include OJ Simpson?
IMDb lists several celebrities who passed away in the last few years in the Mayay Z cast, including O.J. Simpson. Additional celebs listed in the Mayday Z cast include former WWF star The Iron Sheik and Artis Leon Ivey Jr., best known as rapper Coolio, who passed away in 2022.
Interestingly, IMDb lists Simpson as playing a character named Nordberg, which may be inaccurate as it is the same name as his character from three Naked Gun movies.
Simpson last appeared in 1994’s Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult – the trilogy’s final part.
Following that role, he became a significant news story due to being accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her boyfriend, Ron Goldman.
While acquitted of the criminal charges in 1995, several years later, he lost a wrongful death civil suit filed by the Brown and Goldman families.
In 2008, Simpson was convicted of an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, Nevada, and received a 33-year prison sentence. He was granted parole and released in 2017. Simpson received early release from parole in December 2021.
As of this report, there has yet to be any official confirmation that Simpson appears in the film Mayday Z beyond IMDb’s cast listing and several other websites’ cast lists.
Mayday Z is in post-production, with its release coming in 2025.