Former San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis has gone from NFL tight end to Hollywood movie star.

The 39-year-old retired from professional football after the 2019 season, and begun taking acting classes; he's already appeared in six movies and four TV series since, according to ESPN's John Keim.

For his next film, Davis is playing a serial killer in “The Ritual Killer,” which opens on Friday and stars Morgan Freeman in a supporting role, as a professor of African studies who pairs with a detective (Cole Hauser) to stop Davis, per Keim.

“It's a huge role,” Davis told ESPN. “It's one of those roles you dream of having; the amount of work I've been able to put in after I retired is starting to pay off.

It was definitely a little intimidating working with Morgan. When you hear Morgan's voice, you know who that is. He's iconic and legendary. To be able to stand up and be in scenes with this guy and go head-to-head with him is crazy.”

Davis has multiple movies and shows under his belt, with four other films in post-production and two more more in pre-production.

He's acted alongside heavyweights including Bruce Willis, Luke Wilson and John Malkovich, but Freeman is arguably the biggest star he's ever worked with.

“He's a coach on the set,” Davis said. “I knew I had to bring my ‘A' game. I didn't want to be in a situation where Morgan says, ‘No, this isn't right we've got to stop this.'”

Vernon Davis spent 14 seasons in the NFL, catching 583 passes, with 441 of them coming in his 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Now that that chapter is finished, his acting career is taking off.

“I didn't envision anything like this,” Davis told ESPN. “The only thing I envisioned was doing something I love to do. I never envisioned working with legends like Morgan. It just sort of happened.”