#17: Race Car Enthusiast

Most actors stick to pretend danger on-screen, but Newman lived for speed. He discovered his love of race car driving while preparing for Winning (1969) and quickly became obsessed. Unlike other celebrity racers, he didn’t treat it as a hobby—he was dead serious.

At 54, he shocked the racing world by finishing 2nd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the most grueling endurance races on the planet. He later admitted that the racetrack, not Hollywood, was where he felt most alive, racing well into his 70s.