Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney is taking a break from vaulting to head to Bluebell, Alabama, or at least the set of Hart of Dixie, where the 16-year-old has earned a guest starring role. Maroney will guest star in Season 2 of the show, which follows Rachel Bilson as a doctor who inherits her father’s practice a long way from her New York City lifestyle and home. If you were hoping the gymnast would pop in to teach Bilson’s character some gymnastic feats, you would, unfortunately, be very wrong.
Maroney is set to play a regular teenager named Tonya on the CW show. According to TV Line, Maroney will appear on the show as Rose’s friend. After the nerdy Rose gets picked on a bit, Tonya will come to her defense. I’m assuming that somehow Lemon’s queen bee sister, Magnolia, will be involved in these shenanigans, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
Maroney isn’t the only Olympic athlete who has landed acting gigs after being on TV over the summer. The CW, in particular, seems keen on hiring Olympic athletes. Recently, fellow gymnast Gabby Douglas landed a gig on the CW’s Vampire Diaries, and before that swimmer Ryan Lochte nabbed his very first acting role on 90210. I’m sure each of their athletic bodies will look great on the TV screen, but we’ll have to wait and see about their acting skills. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say Douglas is going to blow the other two out of the water, but that’s simply based on candid interviews I’ve seen.
