Contrary to popular belief, very few Hollywood stars have taken the plunge into acting as a first choice for their careers and succeeded. Certainly, there are some well-known actors whose talent allowed them to become actors from a very early age, such as Dakota Fanning, the child prodigy who rose to fame for her role in I Am Sam, and whose career is still on the rise to this day. Some other actors, on the other hand, got an initial boost because they were relatives of others already established stars, like Angelina Jolie, who is Jon Voight’s daughter, or Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and granddaughter of Tippi Hedren. Even though these actors’ rise to fame was a little less difficult due to their famous relatives, it did require a great amount of talent for them to stay at the top of their game.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of today’s biggest screen stars come from jobs, and even careers, that were not related to acting at all. Who would have guessed that Pierce Brosnan, prior to becoming an actor, was a fire-eater? And that Ashton Kutcher once studied biomedical engineering? A lot of actors were on very different paths when their passion for acting captured them and made them into the people we know today. Here’s a look at eight movie stars who had very different jobs before they started acting.
8 Hugh Jackman
20th Century Fox
After graduating from High School, the actor who plays Wolverine took a year off in order to travel and work. That is how he ended up in England and got a job at a renowned school as an assistant to the headmaster. Most of his work involved teaching gym classes and coaching sports teams, although sometimes he also taught English to students just a few years younger than him, who was just 18 years old. Once the year was over, Hugh Jackman went back to Australia and enrolled at the University of Technology in Sydney as a journalism student. He spent his course years with no setbacks and, during his final year and because he needed some extra credits to graduate, he enrolled in Drama, as rumor had it that it was an easy subject to pass. Little did he know that this subject would lead him towards his real passion.
7 Steve Buscemi
The beginnings of this New York actor, who lent his voice to Randall Boggs in Monsters, Inc. and took part in hits such as Reservoir Dogs and The Death of Stalin, were quite far from the big screen. Once Steve Buscemi came of age, he began working as a firefighter for the Fire Department in Manhattan, New York. He left the firehouse four years later in order to pursue a career in acting, yet he remained in touch with them and got involved in many of their campaigns. As a matter of fact, 20 years after working as a firefighter and facing the 9/11 attacks, Buscemi returned to the fire department to help search for survivors. For five days, he worked 12-hour shifts, helping out as much as he could, something he described as a turning point in his life.
6 Whoopi Goldberg
Warner Bros.
Before breaking through as Oda Mae, the medium in Ghost who helped Sam communicate with Molly, Whoopi Goldberg had already had plenty of experience dealing with the deceased, having worked at a funeral home as a morgue beautician. Goldberg spotted an ad in the newspaper and, since she was a registered esthetician and had attended beauty school, decided to apply for the job. Her day-to-day duties consisted of doing hair and makeup for the deceased in preparation for their funeral, a job she said was pretty tough and not for everyone. Although she had more than a few odd jobs to pay the bills before she made it big in Hollywood, this one is definitely worthy of including her on this list.
5 Christopher Walken
A long list of hits has established Christopher Walken as a world-renowned actor. The Academy Award winner for The Deer Hunter has starred in hits such as Catch Me If You Can, Sleepy Hollow, and Annie Hall, and even performed in a few music videos for Madonna, Skid Row and Fatboy Slim. However, this prestigious actor was not always connected to acting. As a teenager, Walken worked in a traveling circus…as a lion tamer! The circus belonged to a man named Terrell Jacobs, and at shows, the two of them would dress in joint costumes and Jacobs would do a performance with the lions for the audience. After the show was over, Christopher used to come in and do some tricks with a lioness named Sheba. Fortunately, his job in the circus also consisted of singing and dancing, and that brought him closer to acting. Soon after that, he got his first real acting job.
4 Danny DeVito
Actor, director, producer and hairdresser. That’s right: before his acting debut in Dreams of Glass, Danny DeVito worked as a hairdresser at his sister’s salon. At the age of 19, this famous actor wasn’t sure if he wanted to attend college, so he accepted an offer from his sister to work for her. During his time as a hairdresser, DeVito had to refine his skills as a professional to offer the best services, as his sister was extremely exigent. The actor stated in some interviews that he enjoyed the attention of women clients and trainees in the salon. Moreover, besides offering his usual services, many times, when a client passed away, DeVito was also hired to do her hair for the funeral. Soon after, Devito developed an interest in acting, started taking lessons, and the rest is history.
3 Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman worked as a massage therapist, which was closely linked to a family situation. When Kidman was young, her mother suffered from breast cancer and had to undergo radiation treatment, causing her incredible muscle pain. This is how Kidman, in order to help her mother get rid of the pain, took a massage course and started giving massage sessions to her mother. However, she enjoyed doing it so much that she began taking on more clients, whom she treated at their homes. While she still enjoys giving massages to family and friends to this day, Kidman eventually began to pursue her true passion, and in 1989 she rose to fame starring in Dead Calm alongside Sam Neill. Later, she would go on to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of Virginia Wolf in The Hours.
2 Harrison Ford
When young Harrison Ford first moved to Los Angeles with his wife, he quickly landed a contract to work as an extra in movies. The pay was poor, and he usually had no dialogue and was not listed in the credits. Eventually, the young actor tried to move into television, but no matter how hard he tried, his career was not taking off. That’s why he had to look for a second job and decided to become a carpenter. He started doing small jobs at home and, since he was good at it, he started taking jobs from people he knew, among them, casting director Fred Roos. Some time later, Roos recommended him to fix a door in Francis Ford Coppola’s office and, by chance, when Harrison finished the job he ran into George Lucas, who was using the offices for Star Wars auditions. Lucas asked the actor and carpenter to assist him with auditions and, once they were over, suggested Harrison to audition. The rest is history: Star Wars’ premiere launched one of the most famous and profitable film franchises of all time.
1 Charlize Theron
Warner Bros. Pictures
Charlize Theron’s career would have been very different if an injury hadn’t led her to change her path. The actress we know today for starring in hits like Mad Max and Monster worked hard to become a ballet dancer. She started her lessons at the age of four, and by 16 she moved on to study in different countries while supporting herself with modeling jobs. Unfortunately, an injured knee brought her career to an early end, leaving Theron with an uncertain future, since ballet was her lifelong passion. Her mother suggested that she try her luck in the acting world, as she had seen her gifts when she performed parts in ballet shows. This was how, helped by her mother, Theron moved to Los Angeles and, after a few months in which things did not go well, she met talent agent John Crosby. From there, Theron began her journey into acting to become the renowned actress she is today.
