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Bad Guy Rodman On TV

He's tops in rebounds, and playing that tough defense on the court. Now, NBA superstar Dennis Rodman turns from athlete to actor in a new syndicated TV action series called S.O.F: Special Ops Force.

Rodman says his focus has changed. "I'm concentrating on trying to be an actor," Rodman says. "If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I'm moving on."

In an interview last week with CBS SportsLine, Rodman said that he is thinking about retiring after this basketball season to devote his time to acting. "This isn't an option, this is a career now," Rodman told CBS SportsLine on the set of S.O.F. "At 37, it's time for me to move on and get something else. I can't play basketball forever so maybe after this year, I'm done with basketball. This will be my next career."

Rodman told Sportsline he didn't think becoming a movie action hero was a big stretch. "I've been an action hero for 12 years," he said, referring to his dozen years in the NBA.

They included some infamous fights on the basketball court with friend Karl Malone. In his interview on CBS This Morning, Rodman said, "I've been friends with Karl Malone for 15 years. He and my sister went to school together. I've known him for a long time. On the basketball floor, that goes right out the window. If it was my brother, I'd do the same thing. It's competitive. You're in the combat zone, you have to put everything on the line."

Rodman says he's glad to have the opportunity to act, and knows his on-court celebrity helped get him the chance. "I think I'm fortunate to be in a situation, basketball," he says. "I had a lot of winning championships; having people behind you helped a lot. It's an opportunity for me to be on TV, you know, start my acting career, and SOF helped me do that."

In the TV series, Rodman plays a member of the Special Ops Force, a highly trained team of covert military operatives which the government calls upon when the job is too dangerous or riskly for anyone lese. His character provides the military equipment needed.

In Rodman's next role, on film, he will again play none other than a mercenary and arms dealer.

Rodman made his feature film debut in Eddie, which starred Whoopi Goldberg. His first starring role was opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in the action movie Double Team.

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