Josh Holloway: 'I've always wanted to be an NBA star'

Josh Holloway has revealed that he's always wanted to play professional basketball in the NBA.

The Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol star told Men's Fitness that he spent most of his youth training to become a basketball star.

"I have always had a passion for basketball. I was determined to become an NBA baller. It was at a time when Magic Johnson, Dr J [Julius Irving] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] in the '70s shorts were everywhere," Holloway said. "Coaches were like, 'You can be anything you want', and I believed them. I trained hard and I was good. I could play."

He added: "I got so abused in high school. Being on the varsity team but never playing, scrimmaging and getting beat up by all the big players.

"I was worn out and not having any fun, and my grades suffered because all I did was try to be a baller."

Asked why he eventually gave up his NBA dreams, Holloway joked: "I finally discovered p***y."

Holloway has since taken up recreational snowboarding, motocross and fly fishing.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, co-starring Tom Cruise, opens on December 21 in US cinemas and on December 26 in the UK.

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Watch a trailer for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol below: