Burt Reynolds his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. These injuries hampered his abilities on the field, and after being beaten in coverage for the game-winning touchdown in a 7-0 loss to North Carolina State on October 12, 1957, he decided to give up football. Ending his college football career, Reynolds thought of becoming a police officer; however, his father suggested he finish college and become a parole officer. To keep up with his studies, he began taking classes at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park. In his first term at PBJC, he was
Burt Reynolds audition for the latter. The film's producer later said, "To be honest, we were not enthusiastic at first. There was the hair and his reputation, but we were curious." Reynolds got the role and earned some strong reviews. Reynolds was a supporting actor in "Frankenstein and Me" (1996), "Mad Dog Time" (1996), "The Cherokee Kid" (1996), "Meet Wally Sparks" (1997) with Rodney Dangerfield, and "Bean" (1997) with Rowan Atkinson. He had the lead in "Raven" (1996), a straight-to-DVD action film. Around this time he claimed he was broke, having gone through $13 million. In 1996, Reynolds' agent said "Regarding Burt,