Before They Were Famous
Before they became television legends, some of Hollywood's biggest stars had jobs that sound almost too bizarre to be true. From lion tamers and living mannequins to funeral-home cosmetologists and giant chicken mascots, their early careers were full of surprises. Some of these jobs were downright ridiculous, while others were surprisingly dangerous.
So which beloved TV star had the strangest job before finding fame?
Whoopi Goldberg
Long before becoming a household name on The View, Whoopi Goldberg had a job that most people wouldn't dream of doing. While pursuing acting, she worked as a funeral-home cosmetologist, preparing deceased people for their final appearance in front of grieving families. Goldberg later explained that the work could provide comfort to loved ones, making it a surprisingly meaningful job despite its unsettling nature.
Library of Congress Life, Wikimedia Commons
Christopher Walken
Before becoming a movie star and appearing on TV shows like Guiding Light and Severance, Christopher Walken had a summer job taming lions. As a teenager, he worked with a traveling circus, and helped perform a lion-taming act alongside a professional trainer. His act involved entering a cage with a lioness named Sheba, who Walken later described as remarkably gentle.
By Tabercil, Wikimedia Commons
Geena Davis
Before starring in Commander In Chief, Geena Davis had an unusual job at an Ann Taylor clothing store. One day, she climbed into a window display and sat perfectly still beside the mannequins, attracting a crowd of fascinated shoppers. Her managers were so impressed that they began paying her to pose as a living mannequin every Saturday, turning an impulsive experiment into actual employment.
DFID - UK Department for International Development, Wikimedia Commons
Danny DeVito
It's difficult to picture Louie De Palma from Taxi styling women's hair, but Danny DeVito actually worked as a hairdresser before becoming famous. After training in cosmetology, he began working at his sister's beauty salon in New Jersey, where he developed a loyal clientele. When one of his customers passed away, her family asked him to style her hair for the funeral, leading to several more appointments with clients who were no longer alive.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Megan Fox
Before appearing on Hope & Faith and becoming a movie star, Megan Fox had a job that required an especially ridiculous uniform. She worked at a smoothie shop in Florida, where employees sometimes had to dress as giant pieces of fruit to attract passing customers. Fox recalled having to stand beside the highway wearing an enormous banana costume, an experience she later discussed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Spc. Ethan Ford U.S. ARMY GARRISON YONGSAN, Wikimedia Commons
Jon Hamm
Long before playing the impeccably dressed Don Draper on Mad Men, Jon Hamm was struggling to make ends meet in Los Angeles. One of his strangest jobs involved dressing sets for adult-oriented movies, arranging props and scenery behind the scenes. Hamm later admitted that the experience was thoroughly depressing, but the work provided much-needed income while he searched for acting opportunities.
Screenshot from Mad Men, AMC (2007–2015)
Bryan Cranston
Before playing Walter White on Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston had a collection of early jobs that were almost as strange as his television characters. As a child, he helped slaughter chickens while staying with his grandparents, who lived beside a chicken farm. Later, a house painter he worked for instructed him to put dead fish into a customer's air-conditioning duct because the customer hadn't paid his bill.
Martin Kraft, Wikimedia Commons
Betty White
Long before becoming Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, Betty White spent part of World War II driving trucks around Southern California. She volunteered with the American Women's Voluntary Services, delivering supplies to military installations near Hollywood. At night, she attended dances for servicemen, decades before television audiences fell in love with her warm personality.
Screenshot from The Golden Girls, NBC (1985–1992)
Bill Hader
Before becoming a star on Saturday Night Live and Barry, Bill Hader worked at a movie theater in Arizona. When a group of sorority members began mocking him while waiting to see Titanic, he decided to get revenge by revealing the movie's ending as he tore their tickets. His boss promptly fired him, although Hader later admitted that the manager had trouble keeping a straight face while delivering the news.
Patrick Dempsey
Before becoming Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey dreamed of joining the circus. As a teenager, he performed juggling, magic, and unicycling routines, even finishing second in the junior division of an international juggling competition in 1983. Dempsey also tried to attend Ringling Bros.' Clown College, but his application was unsuccessful, sending him toward an entirely different entertainment career.
Jennifer Aniston
Before starring on Friends, Jennifer Aniston spent a short time working as a bicycle messenger in New York City. The job turned out to be a terrible fit, as she struggled with the demands of cycling through Manhattan traffic. She also worked as a telemarketer selling vacation timeshares and later admitted that she never made a single sale because she hated disturbing people during dinner.
Mr. T
Long before audiences knew him as B.A. Baracus on The A-Team, Mr. T earned a living protecting other famous people. After serving in the Army, he worked as a nightclub bouncer in Chicago before becoming a personal bodyguard. His clients eventually included Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Muhammad Ali, and Steve McQueen, giving him an extraordinary celebrity circle before he became one himself.
Screenshot from The A-Team, 20th Century Fox (1983 - 1987)
Hugh Jackman
Before becoming Wolverine and appearing on Australian TV shows like Correlli, Hugh Jackman earned money entertaining children as Coco the Clown. He performed at birthday parties, although his act was mostly limited to juggling and making a fool of himself. At one disastrous party, the children were so unimpressed that he resorted to cracking eggs on his head, earning just $50 for the experience.
Screenshot from The Wolverine, Twentieth Century (2013)
Justin Theroux
Before starring in The Leftovers, Justin Theroux spent a summer working for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Japan. Despite being surrounded by acrobats and other remarkable performers, his own responsibility was much less glamorous: selling snow cones. Theroux later recalled getting the job while traveling with a Japanese friend, making his brief circus career one of the more unexpected entries on his résumé.
Screenshot from The Leftovers, HBO (2014–2017)
Ashton Kutcher
Before becoming Michael Kelso on That '70s Show, Ashton Kutcher had a factory job that sounds almost completely made up. While growing up in Iowa, he worked at a General Mills facility sweeping up Cheerios dust from the production process. He earned $12 an hour and later joked that he returned home looking like a sprinkled doughnut, a far cry from his future life as a television heartthrob.
Screenshot from That '70s Show, Twentieth Century (1998–2006)
Terry Crews
Before becoming the lovable Sergeant Terry Jeffords on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Terry Crews earned money drawing people in courtrooms. While working at a television station in Michigan, he was asked to fill in for a courtroom sketch artist during a major criminal trial. Crews later played professional football and continued using his artistic abilities to earn extra money, sometimes receiving thousands of dollars for portraits of fellow players.
Screenshot from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, NBCUniversal Television Distribution (2013-2021)
Nicole Kidman
Before starring in Big Little Lies, Nicole Kidman worked as a massage therapist, but her reasons were deeply personal. When her mother developed breast cancer, the future actress took a massage course to help relieve the muscle problems associated with her treatment. Kidman discovered that she enjoyed the work and began visiting other people's homes to provide massages, earning money while developing a skill she continued to appreciate.
Screenshot from Big Little Lies, HBO (2017-)
Johnny Depp
Before becoming a television heartthrob on 21 Jump Street, Johnny Depp worked as a telemarketer selling pens over the telephone. The job involved inventing names and promising extravagant gifts, including vacations, to persuade customers to buy large quantities of pens. Depp later recalled feeling so guilty about the misleading sales pitch that he once talked a customer out of a purchase he'd already secured.
Screenshot from 21 Jump Street, Fox (1987–1991)
Amy Poehler
Before becoming Leslie Knope on Parks And Recreation, Amy Poehler spent a summer working at an ice cream parlor called Chadwick's in Massachusetts. Along with scooping ice cream, employees had to dress in old-fashioned outfits, bang a drum, play a kazoo, and lead birthday celebrations for customers. Poehler later wrote about the exhausting experience in The New Yorker, proving that even a future comedy star could find forced workplace cheerfulness rather demanding.
Screenshot from Parks and Recreation, NBC (2009-2015)
David Boreanaz
Before becoming Angel on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and later starring in Bones, David Boreanaz tried his hand at selling gourmet food door to door. Unfortunately, his career as a traveling salesman got off to a disastrous start when he locked the keys inside his truck shortly after making his first sale. The future television star later recalled that the entire job lasted just one week, although he didn't reveal whether the incident was responsible for his departure.
Ellen DeGeneres
Before starring in her own sitcom and becoming a famous talk-show host, Ellen DeGeneres worked several jobs that were about as far from Hollywood glamour as possible. Her employment history included painting houses, selling vacuum cleaners, waiting tables, and shucking oysters. She later told Larry King that she disliked much of the work, which made the opportunity to earn a living through comedy especially appealing.
Steve Buscemi
Before playing dangerous criminals on shows like The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, Steve Buscemi worked in a profession that required genuine bravery. He joined the New York City Fire Department in 1980 and spent four years serving with Engine Company 55 in Manhattan. Decades later, following the September 11 attacks, Buscemi returned to assist his former colleagues at Ground Zero, proving his connection to the fire service never really disappeared.
Screenshot from Boardwalk Empire, HBO (2010–2014)
Bob Ross
Few television personalities were more soothing than Bob Ross, the soft-spoken host of The Joy Of Painting. But before creating peaceful landscapes on PBS, Ross spent two decades in the United States Air Force, eventually becoming a first sergeant who enforced rules and reprimanded personnel. He reportedly earned the nickname "Bust 'Em Up Bobby" and disliked having to be so stern, later embracing the gentle personality his viewers adored.
Screenshot from The Joy of Painting, PBS (1983)
Robin Williams
Before making audiences laugh as the lovable alien on Mork & Mindy, Robin Williams performed as a street mime in New York City. In 1974, a photographer captured Williams and fellow performer Todd Oppenheimer entertaining passersby in Central Park, completely unaware that one of the young performers would eventually become a superstar. The photographs resurfaced decades later, revealing an extraordinary glimpse of Williams before the world knew his name.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
George Clooney
Before ER transformed him into one of television's biggest heartthrobs, George Clooney worked several jobs that were considerably less glamorous. His employment history included cutting tobacco, selling women's shoes, and working as a nightclub DJ. When he moved to Los Angeles, his famous aunt Rosemary Clooney also put him to work as her chauffeur and assistant rather than handing him an easy entry into Hollywood.
Ken Jeong
Long before making audiences laugh on Community and The Masked Singer, Ken Jeong had a career where mistakes carried serious consequences. He was a licensed physician specializing in internal medicine, treating patients during the day while performing stand-up comedy at night. Jeong maintained a serious professional demeanor around patients, eventually leaving medicine after his comedy career began taking off.
Eric Stonestreet
Long before playing Cameron Tucker on Modern Family, Eric Stonestreet was already making people laugh while wearing a red nose and oversized shoes. As a child, he worked as a clown performing at birthday parties. He even applied to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College but was rejected, years before his sitcom character became famous for his own clown alter ego, Fizbo.
Screenshot from Modern Family, 20th Century Fox Television (2009–2020)
Everyone Has To Start Somewhere
Long before the fame, fortune, and familiar faces on our television screens, these stars were simply trying to make a living. Some stumbled into unusual jobs by accident, while others took whatever work they could find to pay the bills. Few could have imagined where they'd eventually end up, proving that even Hollywood's biggest success stories can have some pretty strange beginnings.
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