10 American Celebrities That Dominate The Road In Pickup Trucks

For a red carpet event, A-list celebrities’ ride of choice is a limo, and all other times they are usually tooling around in European exotics or high-end luxury sedans. There are, however, some big-time stars who enjoy the humble honesty of a good old American pick-up truck. Granted, multi-millionaires don’t generally drive a beat-up 2001 Dodge Dakota, and some of these celeb pickups are as expensive and flashy as a Lambo.

It would be easy to compile a list of Country singers who drive pickups because they all do, but a bit more challenging to find truck owners from the Pop Diva and Oscar Winners crowd. Having said that, there are quite a few famous truck-driving celebrities out there and some of them seem surprisingly out of character. Ford is the truck of choice for the rich and famous, with a few Chevys, but hardly any Mopar. If they only knew the awesomeness of the Dodge Power Wagon, things would be different.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including MotorTrend, Entertainment Weekly, and Top Gear.

10 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Ford F-150 Raptor

While it is not surprising that someone like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would own a truck, he makes the list for a couple of reasons: First, this is one hell of a truck and second, he did the absolute best thing anyone could with it. There were erroneous reports that Johnson picked up a Ford F-150 from Hennessey Performance Engineering, dubbed the VelociRator V8 in 2019, but that was just for promotion.

Dwayne Johnson’s Highest Grossing Films

• Furious 7 – $1.516 billion
• The Fate of the Furious – $1.238 billion
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $995.3 million
• Jumanji: The Next Level – $801.7 million
• Fast & Furious 6 – $788.7 million

Johnson did, however, have a Ford F-150 Raptor in his garage, and as much as Johnson loved that truck, which he referred to as his “baby,” he gave it away to U.S. Military veteran. At a special screening of Red Notice, Johnson wanted to give one lucky fan the Porsche Taycan from the movie, but the company nixed that. Instead, he gifted his personal ride to a Navy veteran as a thanks for his service to this country.

9 Lady Gaga

1993 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning

Pop singer, Lady Gaga once wore a dress made out of raw meat and calls herself “Lady Gaga”, which is to say she’s pretty out there. Her taste in wheels, on the other hand, is quite grounded. Our sister-site Hot Cars cataloged the Pop Diva’s collection, and while she definitely has some pricey exotics, she also enjoys cruising around in a 1967 Ford Bronco.

Lady GaGa’s #1 Hits

• “Just Dance” (featuring Colby O’Donis)
• “Poker Face”
• “Born This Way”
• “Shallow” (with Bradley Cooper)
• “Rain on Me” (with Ariana Grande)

The big star of the garage is another Ford, more specifically her 1993 F-150 SVT Lightning. The Blue Oval muscle truck featured a souped-up version of 351ci V-8 and was built to dominate the Chevy 454SS. Rounding out the rides with beds in Lady Gaga’s collection is a sweet custom 1970 Chevrolet El Camino

8 Shaquille O’Neal

Super Truck F-650 Extreme

Former NBA great, Shauille O’Neal is not an ordinary sized man and as such, needs some super-sized rides. While he does have a few vehicles that seem far too small for the big man, like a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Dodge Challenger, there are plenty of massive Cadillac Escalade-sized things in his garage. He also has a custom Polaris Slingshot that is about as long as a stretch limo.

Shaquille O’Neal’s Career Highlights

• Rookie of the Year 1992-1993
• League MVP 1999-2000
• 15-time All-Star
• 14 All-NBA Team selections
• 4-time NBA Champion

When it comes to monster rides, nothing beats Shaq’s massive Ford F-650. Customized by the good folks at SuperTruck, this is truly the appropriate set of wheels for the 7-foot-1-inch, 325-pound (playing weight) basketball center. Even the sheer enormity of this vehicle, looks normal-sized with Shaq behind the wheel. He may have to see if someone can convert a Peterbilt semi into a sick off-road pickup for him.

7 Sean Penn

Nissan Titan Pro4x King Cab

Despite his massive fame, actor/director Sean Penn is a modest guy, who does a lot of charity work. Unlike his Hollywood contemporaries who think getting a hahstag trending or attending a lavish gala is charity, he shows up in Haiti after an earthquake and puts some elbow grease into actually helping people. Penn is rarely seen driving anything flashy, though he does have an impressive muscle car collection that includes high-powered Mustangs and Chargers.

Sean Penn’s Greatest Roles

• Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer in Taps
• Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemnot High
• Mick O’Brien in Bad Boys
• Andrew Daulton Lee in The Falcon and the Snowman
• Officer Danny “Pac-Man” McGavin in Colors

Penn’s daily driver is a Nissan Titan Pro4x King Cab, which is a fine truck, but not anything that would wow anyone. He makes this list for the simple fact that he has a net worth of over $70 million and still drives an attainable ride any of us could afford. Mr. Penn also gets the nod as the only celebrity on this list to drive a Japanese pickup. Because of all this, we can overlook the fact that he’s smoking while filling up the truck.

6 Darryl McDaniels

Ford F-150 Platinum

Darryl McDaniels is the “DMC: in Run-DMC and one of the pioneers of the rap genre. The first set of wheels he bought after he hit the big time was a ’86 Cadillac to fulfill the prophecy of his group’s song “Rock Box” in which he rapped, “I’m driving a Caddy; you fixin’ a Ford.” It turns out, Ford ain’t so bad as McDaniels bought a Ford F-150 Platinum and considers it the best vehicle he’s ever owned.

Essential Run-DMC Tracks

• “Rock Box”
• “King of Rock”
• “It’s Tricky”
• “My Adidas”
• “Walk This Way” (with Aerosmith)

In a MotorTrend profile, McDaniels explained that since he was a little kid he has always wanted a pickup. He had a Chevy Silverado, which he said was okay, and loves the styling of the Ram trucks, but thinks Fords are the best. He’s also deadset on keeping his rides American-made, commenting, “I don’t live in Germany. Why would I want a German car?” True dat.

5 Channing Tatum

1957 Chevrolet 3100

When mega-star Channing Tatum was 16 years old, his first set of wheels was a 1994 Chevy S-10 pickup, given to him by his mom who bought a new Toyota Camry. They say there’s nothing like the first, and the Magic Mike actor developed a taste for Bowtie trucks. After gaining wealth and fame, Tatum got himself a killer 1957 Chevrolet 3100 Task Force Series pickup, that rides the line between custom and original.

Top-Grossing Channing Tatum Films

• Kingsman: The Golden Circle – $410 million
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation – $375 million
• 22 Jump Street – $331 million
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – $302 million
• Smallfoot – $214 million

Unfortunately, Tatum’s prized Chevy didn’t end up being the daily driver he hoped it would be. In a Top Gear interview, the actor explained that just after he fixed the truck up, he and his wife had a child, which limited how much he could drive the 3100. “That thing, you can’t put a baby seat in it,” he declared before saying he ended up giving it to his father, bringing the truck-gifting full circle in the Tatum family.

4 Tim Allen

1956 Ford F100

Tim Allen’s character, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor on the long-running television show, Home Improvement, was a car guy who lived in Michigan. In real life, Allen is a car guy from Michigan, but he’s also a truck guy as proven by his 1956 Ford F100. His character on the show always overdid things, which mirrors him in the real world, because this custom pickup has a 490ci Hemi engine under the hood.

Tim Allen’s Greatest Roles

• Tim Taylor in Home Improvement
• Santa Claus in The Santa Clause movies
• Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story Movies
• Jason Nesmith in Galaxy Quest
• Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing

Allen never intended to own a hot rod truck, but he happened to be at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona when this baby, dubbed “Full Noise” came across the block. Allen was shocked at how low the bidding was, given the supreme craftsmanship of the custom job, and ended up buying it for just $78,300. Allen has a rule that if he can’t drive, he doesn’t buy it, so this one is the world’s fastest grocery-getter.

3 Kid Rock

2017 GMC Sierra

Rapper Kid Rock is another Michigan guy, having grown up on the mean streets of Detroit from the age of 15. It turns out the streets weren’t of much interest to the “Bawitdaba” rapper, who describes himself as a “redneck pimp” and he got himself a fitting off-road monster in a white custom GMC Sierra 1500. The 4×4 beast was built specifically for Kid Rock by Rocky Ridge Trucks out of Georgia.

Kid Rock’s Top-Selling Albums

• Devil Without a Cause – 11x platinum
• Cocky – 5x platinum
• Rock n Roll Jesus – 3x platinum
• The History of Rock 2x platinum
• Kid Rock – platinum

The custom ride includes a 577 horsepower supercharged V-8, a 6-inch lift, 20-inch Black Havok Off-Road Wheels, and 35-inch Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ Tires. If this sounds like the “American Badass” from his 2000 compilation album, The History of Rock, that’s because it literally is. American Badass and “Cowboy”, a song from his Devil Without a Cause album are embroidered all over the interior of this amazing ride.

2 Ben Affleck

Dodge Ram 2500

Actor/director Ben Affleck ranks high on this list for two reasons: 1) he’s a two-time Academy Award winner who drives a truck and 2) he’s a rare A-list celeb who drives a Ram. The story goes, according to Entertainment Weekly that in 2003 Jennifer Lopez randomly showed up at the Liberty Chrysler Dodge dealership in Hinesville, Georgia, inquiring about a 4×4 Ram pickup. After a brief drive through the Paparazzi, the couple purchased a Ram 2500.

Ben Affleck’s Most Acclaimed Films

• Goodwill Hunting – Oscar Best Original Screenplay
• Goodwill Hunting – Golden Globe Awards Best Picture
• Shakespeare in Love – SAG Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
• Argo – Oscar Best Picture
• Argo – DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures

That was over 20 years ago and there’s an almost zero percent chance that he still has that truck, but he still gets credit for bucking the Hollywood trend by getting behind the wheel of a kick-ass Mopar pickup. In that time, Affleck and Lopez broke up, then got back together, and rumor has it they are scooting around town in a resto-mod classic Ford Bronco that has been converted to an EV.

1 James Hetfield

1956 Ford F100

Metallica frontman James Hetfield tops the list because he is the most successful celebrity with an estimated net worth of over a billion dollars, his band kicks more ass than should be humanly possible, and his truck is too freaking cool for words. Hetfield is way into custom classics and spends a lot of his time between tours building awesome rides. Unlike most celebrities who customize a car with their checkbook, Hetfield rolls up his sleeves and does a lot of the work himself.

All Metallica Studio Albums Ranked First to Worst

1. Master of Puppets
2. Ride the Lightning
3. Kill ‘Em All
4. …And Justice for All
5. Metallica (The Black Album)
6. Death Magnetic
7. Load
8. Reload
9. Hardwired…To Self Destruct
10. 72 Seasons
11. St. Anger

One of his many killer rides is a purple 1956 Ford F100, that is dropped to the ground and tricked out in more ways than can be counted. Known as the Str8 Edge, the truck gets its name from hardcore punk pioneers, Minor Threat, who started the “straight edge” movement. This truck, like most of Hetfield’s collection, was donated to the Peterson Automotive Museum, but he is still a truck-driving man. One astute Reddit user recently caught Hetfield pulling into Metallica HQ in a red Ram 2500.