Fish Out of Water

People.com

Eight time gold medalist, Michael Phelps, did not throw in his towel after collecting his winnings at the Beijing Olympics. The champion has not only impressed America with his athletic ability, but now, he is adding acting and television to his career. “OMG!” gossip blog reveals that Michael Phelps is filming with HBO’s “Entourage.”

He was asked to guest star on the show, and luckily, it happened to be one of his favorites. He has a very small part and plays himself. In the gossip blog article, it describes another cast member calling him “golden in front of the camera” and emphasizes his acting positively. This feedback from the actors gives us another wonderful reason to love the Olympian.

This is a reoccurring trend as Olympian gymnast, Nastia Liukin, will be on the show “Gossip Girl” according to Access Hollywood. Too bad actors cannot switch over to performing athletics and winning gold medals any time they want.

As if press could not get any better for Phelps, Castina, author of popcrunch.com, tells how Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher “want to produce a reality show staring the champion swimmer. The proposed unscripted program will feature the 23-year-old Baltimore native as he goes about his daily life as a freshly-minted sports icon.”

From a publicist’s viewpoint, this new path is a great strategy for Phelps. He was everyone’s favorite athlete to watch during the 2008 Olympics, so why not pursue his television career in another way? Plus, now fans will not have to wait four more years to enjoy watching him. This is a positive public relations move by broadening his talent. Ratings of the already popular “Entourage” will definitely increase because of the swimmer’s presence which will benefit them mutually.