Conor McGregor claims to have made a small slice of Hollywood history with his acting debut.
The former dual-weight UFC champion has earned rave reviews from critics for his performance as hired mercenary Knox in a remake of the 1980s classic Road House.
McGregor plays the bad guy in his film debutCredit: X- @TheNotoriousMMA
McGregor stars opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the film that has been available to stream on Prime Video since March 21 after years of eager anticipation from fans.
‘Notorious’ documented his time on the Road House set in 2022 and during that period he made a bold claim about how much he is getting paid for the movie.
In a since-deleted tweet, McGregor wrote: “I’m the highest-paid first-time actor of all time. Add that to the rest of my accolades.”
The 35-year-old repeated the claim throughout the build-up to the film’s release, including during a recent interview with Richard Arnold for Good Morning Britain.
“That’s the fact, the highest-paid first-time actor of all time so it’s a nice feather in the cap,” McGregor said.
“There’s not an action star in Hollywood that could take me on and that’s a fact, so let’s see how it goes.”
The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson as the highest-paid debuting acting ever when he earned $5.5million (£4.36m) to appear in 2001’s The Mummy Returns.
The Hollywood megastar has held the record ever since, but McGregor appears to have broken it by earning more for his role in Road House.
‘Notorious’ loves setting recordsCredit: Getty
WWE legend has held the highest-paid first-time actor record for more than two decadesCredit: Alamay Live News
‘Mystic Mac’ hasn’t revealed exactly how much he made, but it wasn’t enough to convince him to become a full-time actor.
McGregor isn’t planning to star in any more movies as he is focused on returning to the UFC Octagon for the first time since breaking his leg during a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
“I have had no conversations with no one,” McGregor told talkSPORT when asked if he plans to do more acting. “I know there’s probably talks going on but I’m not privy to it and I don’t want to hear it.
“For me, it’s no, there’s no more movies from me.”
Since then, McGregor and his comeback opponent, Michael Chandler, have publicly claimed that their fight will take place at some point this summer.
All that is needed now is for UFC CEO Dana White to officially announce the bout and confirm the return of MMA’s biggest star after his brief fling with acting.