Entertainment

28 Celebrities' Careers Before They Were Actors

by Megan Walsh

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There are plenty of actors who got into the game as kids and continued to cultivate successful careers for decades, but not everyone was a child star. Most actors came to it as adults, which meant they were doing something else to earn their paychecks before the movie business shot them into a different stratosphere of fame. And these 28 celebrities' careers before they were actors prove that there were all kinds of jobs in the mix for most of these people, from the strange to the surprisingly mundane.

Whenever I read about the career a celebrity tried before they became famous, I immediately try to slot them into my normal life: like, what would you do if you had a teacher who looked like John Cho? (Besides paint 'Love You' on your eyelids like a scene out of Indiana Jones, of course.) It always seems a little bit odd to remember that celebrities have just as many everyday concerns as the rest of us; no matter how glamorous their lives might be now, there was a point where they were working just as hard to reach their goals.

There's something very inspiring about it. You could be slogging away at a job you don't love right now, but that dream career could still be just around the corner. So without further adieu, here's where some of your favorite celebrities started out in their careers.

John Cho — Teacher

I spilled the beans about this in the intro, but it's true: John Cho used to be a teacher. He also used to work at a Korean youth center.

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Madonna — Dunkin Donuts Worker

It's hard to remember a time when Madonna wasn't a major pop star, but it existed. According to Us Weekly, she worked at a Dunkin Donuts in Times Square — and was promptly fired for squirting jelly at a customer.

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Paul Newman — Salesman

Before becoming one of the biggest stars of classic Hollywood, Paul Newman was a door-to-door salesman, peddling encyclopedias and Fuller brushes.

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Jennifer Hudson — Burger King Employee

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson used to sling fast food at Burger King, and it ended up being a pretty beneficial opportunity since the company granted her free burgers for life.

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Kanye — Sales Associate At The Gap

"Kanye works at the Gap" sounds like an SNL sketch, but it's actually a reality: he was a sales associate there.

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Jennifer Aniston — Cleaner/Waitress/Sales

Jennifer Aniston had a host of odd jobs before landing her iconic role on Friends. She cleaned toilets, worked as a waitress, and sold time-shares. But it wasn't all bad; in an interview with Us Weekly, she said she's always enjoyed her jobs, whatever they were.

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Jon Hamm — Drama Teacher

Jon Hamm honed his acting skills as a drama teacher before making it big, and he even taught another future star: Ellie Kemper was among his students (and has said he was a wonderful teacher). But Hamm's pre-acting jobs don't end there. He was also a set-dresser for soft core porn, something he found "soul-crushing."

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Amy Adams — Hostess/Waitress At Hooters

To earn money for college, Amy Adams worked as a hostess and then a waitress at Hooters.

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Gerard Butler — Lawyer (Well, Almost)

Gerard Butler never planned on being an actor, telling Esquire, "I was going to be a lawyer." He graduated with honors and became the president of the Law Society, but gave it all up when he got fired.

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Whoopi Goldberg — Beautician

Before turning to acting, Whoopi Goldberg was a licensed beautician and it led her to one very weird gig: doing hair and makeup for the recently deceased at a funeral home.

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Harrison Ford — Carpenter

Harrison Ford's past as a carpenter is probably one of the most well-known Before They Were Famous jobs. He even renovated Joan Didion's house!

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Rachel McAdams — McDonald's Employee

Back when she was still a teenager with acting aspirations, Rachel McAdams spent three years at McDonald's. She claimed she wasn't a great employee in an interview with Glamour, but still enjoyed the job.

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Tom Cruise — Hotel Bellhop

Tom Cruise had two interesting jobs before becoming a massive star. He worked as a hotel bellhop and also studied to be a Catholic priest.

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Lucy Liu — Secretary/Hostess/Aerobics Instructor

Lucy Liu knew how to hustle before becoming an actress, telling The Seattle Times in 2008, "I worked seven days a week. I knew I needed money if I was going into acting because I was probably not going to be making a lot of money off the bat. So I worked five days a week as a secretary and on weekends, during the day, worked as an aerobic instructor and in the evening worked as a hostess in a place called Tennessee Mountain in SoHo."

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John Krasinski — Teacher

You might be sensing a theme here: John Krasinski was also a teacher. Is this something all men named John have to do at some point in their lives? He planned on becoming an English teacher and even briefly taught English in Costa Rica, but acting won out in the end.

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Demi Moore — Debt Collector

Before making it big, Demi Moore worked as a debt collector, of all things.

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Brad Pitt — Restaurant Promoter

Brad Pitt also nabbed numerous odd jobs before his acting career took off, including dressing up as a chicken for the chain restaurant El Pollo Loco.

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Nicole Kidman — Massage Therapy

When she was a teenager, Nicole Kidman took a massage therapy course to help with the muscle seizures her mother suffered as a result of the radiation treatment she received for breast cancer. Kidman told The Daily Beast that she enjoyed massage therapy so much that she turned it into a regular job for a short time.

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George Clooney — Salesman/Construction Worker/Tobacco Farmer

George Clooney reportedly worked in quite a few sales jobs: selling shoes, selling things door-to-door, and working at a grocery store. He was also a construction worker and tobacco farmer, as well as an aspiring baseball player.

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Eva Mendes — Hot Dog On A Stick Employee

Eva Mendes used to work at Hot Dog on a Stick at the Glendale Galleria, saying in a Wall Street Journal blog, "They are very strict about that; you have to rotate and dip the dog and do the lemonade and do the cash register — it's a whole thing. They run that operation with an iron fist."

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Patrick Dempsey — Professional Juggler

Former McDreamy Patrick Dempsey used to be a professional juggler. He worked at birthday parties on weekends, took on the vaudeville circuit, and even tried to join the circus.

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Evangeline Lilly — Flight Attendant

Evangeline Lilly was previously a flight attendant, though she had a little trouble dealing with unruly passengers. Considering she once purposefully farted on an irritating passenger, as she explained on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, it's for the best that she switched careers.

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Hugh Jackman — Physical Education Teacher

Hugh Jackman used to be a PE teacher at the Uppingham School, proving once and for all that teaching is the thing to do before one launches their acting career.

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Connie Britton — Salesperson/Aerobics Instructor

Connie Britton spilled about her past careers to E! on the Emmy red carpet back in 2013, explaining that she used to work at the Gap and the Limited but she was also an aerobics instructor. Her outfits during that time sound pretty amazing: "I wore leg warmers, I wore a bandana — without question had to soak up the sweat with a bandana. I wore very high-legged leotards, maybe a nice pink leotard with a purple bike short and very thick socks. I was hot." Agreed, Connie.

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Vince Vaughn — Lifeguard

Vince Vaughn used to be a lifeguard at the YMCA, but being late one too many times got him fired. Punctuality is probably pretty important if your job involves saving people.

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Megan Fox — Smoothie Promoter

Megan Fox only had one job before becoming an actress, but it was definitely an interesting one: she was a banana at a smoothie shop. Yes, you read that right. She used to dress up as a banana to promote smoothies.

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Danny DeVito — Hairdresser

Danny DeVito used to be a hairdresser in the days before his career exploded, something he got involved with because his sister was already working in the field.

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Julia Roberts — Baskin Robbins Worker

Julia Roberts was yet another mega star who once worked in the service industry. In this case, she was an ice cream scooper at Baskin Robbins.

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