Before They Became Famous
Daytime soap operas have launched far more major careers than many viewers realize. Long before blockbuster movies, superhero franchises, and hit prime-time shows, these future stars were memorizing mountains of dialogue and navigating fictional affairs, betrayals, secret children, and suspicious deaths five days a week.
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Demi Moore
Before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, Demi Moore played investigative reporter Jackie Templeton on General Hospital from 1982 to 1983. The soap gave Moore an early showcase years before Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and her other major film successes.
David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt’s first television speaking role came on Another World in 1987. The future Oscar winner played Chris, a young basketball player, in two episodes of the NBC soap. Later that year, he began adding sitcom and prime-time appearances to a résumé that was rapidly growing.
Harald Krichel, Wikimedia Commons
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore joined As the World Turns in 1985 and eventually played both Frannie Hughes and her relative Sabrina. The demanding dual role became an important training ground, and Moore won a Daytime Emmy before leaving the soap in 1988 and gradually building her celebrated film career.
Jennifer 8. Lee, Wikimedia Commons
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon had already appeared in National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) before joining Guiding Light, but movie stardom remained elusive. From 1980 to 1981, he played troubled teenager Tim Werner. Just a few years later, Footloose (1984) made Bacon a major star.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Before she began fighting vampires, Sarah Michelle Gellar caused trouble in Pine Valley. She played Erica Kane’s long-lost daughter Kendall Hart on All My Children from 1993 to 1995. Gellar’s performance earned her a Daytime Emmy before she left the soap and headed west.
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne was still a child when he joined One Life to Live. Credited during his early career as Larry Fishburne, he played Joshua Hall on the ABC soap during the 1970s. His career soon expanded into movies, eventually leading to decades of major film and television roles.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States, Wikimedia Commons
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei’s first television series role was Marcy Thompson on As the World Turns, appearing in 18 episodes during the mid-1980s. She moved from Oakdale to the sitcom A Different World, then to movies, ultimately winning an Academy Award for My Cousin Vinny (1992).
Alec Baldwin
Long before 30 Rock and his many movie roles, Alec Baldwin landed his first television job on The Doctors. From 1980 until 1982, he played Billy Aldrich, whose unusual storyline involved a dangerous serum being used by another character in an attempt to maintain her youth.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Leonardo DiCaprio
Before Growing Pains helped introduce him to a wider audience, Leonardo DiCaprio made five appearances on Santa Barbara. The young actor played a childhood version of Mason Capwell. It was one of several early television jobs on the road to an extraordinary movie career.
U.S. Department of State, Wikimedia Commons
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan joined All My Children in 2003 as troubled teenager Reggie Montgomery and remained until 2006. Jordan has credited the soap’s demanding production schedule with teaching him discipline and acting fundamentals, calling the experience an education that helped open doors throughout his later career.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Shemar Moore
Shemar Moore’s television career took off when he became Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless in 1994. His long run earned three Daytime Emmy nominations and one victory. Moore later became a prime-time fixture through starring roles on Criminal Minds and S.W.A.T.
Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria appeared briefly on General Hospital in 2000 before landing a much larger daytime role. From 2001 to 2003, she played Isabella Braña on The Young and the Restless. Soon afterward, Desperate Housewives transformed her from a soap regular into a prime-time star.
Christopher Reeve
Before audiences believed he could fly, Christopher Reeve spent a short stretch in daytime television. At 23, the future Superman (1978) star appeared in a three-episode arc on the CBS soap Love of Life, becoming one of several performers to portray the character Ben Harper.
Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe made his television debut playing Billy Douglas on One Life to Live. The role was groundbreaking, as Billy was daytime television’s first openly gay teenage character. Phillippe was 18 during the storyline, years before films including Cruel Intentions (1999) made him widely recognizable.
Josh Jensen, Wikimedia Commons
Amber Tamblyn
Amber Tamblyn spent years growing up on daytime television. She originated the role of Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital in 1995 and remained until 2001. Tamblyn later moved into prime time with Joan of Arcadia and onto the big screen with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005).
Mingle MediaTV, Wikimedia Commons
Ted Danson
Ted Danson built his early television résumé with not one but two daytime soaps. He briefly played Tom Conway on Somerset from 1975 to 1976, while The Doctors cast him in two different roles. Years later, Cheers made Danson one of television’s most familiar leading men.
Rob Dicaterino, Wikimedia Commons
Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel became a daytime heartthrob as Leo du Pres on All My Children, where his romance with Greenlee Smythe became a major storyline. Duhamel won a Daytime Emmy for the role before leaving the soap and moving into prime-time television and the Transformers film franchise.
Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, Wikimedia Commons
Mark Hamill
Years before traveling to a galaxy far, far away, Mark Hamill held his first regular television role on General Hospital. He played Kent Murray from 1972 to 1973. Hamill later remembered his time on the soap warmly, describing those months as among the happiest of his career.
Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere was a soap veteran before she was even a teenager. She played Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997, then moved directly to Guiding Light, where she portrayed Lizzie Spaulding until 2000. Bigger film and prime-time roles soon followed.
Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs had already demonstrated his talents onstage in productions including Carousel and Rent when he made his television debut on Guiding Light in 1997. He played Adrian “Sugar” Hill, one of Dahlia Crede’s romantic interests, before building a busy film and television career.
Rhododendrites, Wikimedia Commons
Daytime’s Remarkable Alumni
Soap operas demand speed, discipline, enormous amounts of dialogue, and the ability to make wild storylines feel emotionally real. It is little wonder that so many performers carried those skills into major careers. For these actors, daytime television was not a dead end. It was one formidable training ground.
Rob Bogaerts / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons
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