10 movie stars who started out in TV shows
Everyone has to start somewhere, and for these actors it was in some of our all-time favourite television shows. From Johnny Depp to Leonardo DiCaprio find out what roles they played in what tv shows.
Johnny Depp
Who can blame FOX bosses for taking one look at Johnny Depp and casting him as the lead in police drama 21 Jump Street? But it wasn’t all happy sailing for the star. He later said that he was "forced into the role of product", and changed the way he approached his career.
WennAshton Kutcher
Way back before Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher was already in a relationship with Mila Kunis, at least on the screen. The pair’s characters in That 70s Show dated in the first series, which was aired in 1998 when Ashton was a whippersnapper at 20 years old. However here, he's with another familiar face - Jessica Simpson.
Rex FeaturesCalista Flockhart
Who would have guessed that dancing babies and unisex bathrooms would have played such an important part in Calista Flockhart's career? The actress was a relative unknown until she was cast as hopelessly romantic, but lethal lawyer, Ally.
Rex FeaturesPierce Brosnan
007 star Pierce Brosnan didn’t start off as a spy, but he did start off as a detective. The Irish actor cut his teeth in 80s thriller Remington Steele, leading The Washington Post to comment that he "could make it as a young James Bond." How right they were!
WennBradley Cooper
Did you know that Bradley Cooper had a bit part in Sex And The City? The star appeared in the show, way back in 1999, as one of Carrie’s hunky dates. Speaking about the cameo, the actor said, “Right before we shot the scene, this guy came up and I think he said, 'SJP does no tongue. No tongue, man'. And I was like, 'Who's SJP?' So she kisses me, then straddles me in the front of the car and all I kept thinking about was keeping my tongue as far back in my mouth as possible. It was nightmare. But she wasn't - she was great."
Rex FeaturesCatherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones’ road to Hollywood started among the lanes of Kent, when the Welsh actress was cast as horse-loving Mariette in The Darling Buds Of May. “It all happened after one hour of The Darling Buds Of May. It was literally one hour of television and my life changed completely,” the star said recently.
Rex FeaturesClaire Danes
For some unexplained reason (and despite being named as one of TIME Magazine’s Best TV Shows Of All-Time), My So-Called Life was cancelled after just one season (#travesty). At least it gave us Claire Danes and Jared Leto.
Rex FeaturesNeil Patrick Harris
How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick was as much of a whizz kid as Doogie Howser, M.D. Neil bagged the role about a genius teenager doctor when he was 16, the year after he’d been nominated for a Golden Globe.
WennJustin Theroux
Another alum of Sex And The City is Jennifer Aniston’s beau Justin Theroux. The actor starred in the show as two different characters: first, as a bad boy who Carrie flirts with, then as an author named Vaughn, who suffers from premature ejaculation.
Rex FeaturesLeonardo DiCaprio
We got our first glimpse of that cheeky smile and blonde mop when a teenage Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role of homeless boy Luke Brower, who is taken in by the Seaver family in sitcom Growing Pains. Would you have guessed the boy under that plaid shirt would become Romeo, Gatsby, and the star of the biggest movie ever made? No, us either.
Rex FeaturesMichelle Trachtenberg
Her character stirred up plenty of trouble on Gossip Girl but Michelle Tratchenberg first learnt to kick ass as Buffy’s little sister, Dawn Summers, circa 2000.
Rex FeaturesHugh Lawrie
Yes, he’s all hot ‘n’ stuff in House now, but Hugh Lawrie wasn’t always such a sex symbol. Way back when he was getting into all kinds of strife playing Bertie Wooster, with Stephen Fry as his ever-sensible butler, Jeeves.
Rex FeaturesGeorge Clooney
Success came to George Clooney relatively late in his career. He famously got his big break from playing philandering physician Dr Ross in ER, at the age of 33. Being a late developer hasn’t held George back however; he’s gone on to win three Golden Globes and an Oscar.
Getty ImagesMichael J Fox
We first met Back to the Future star Michael J Fox in the American show Family Ties, but things could easily have turned out so differently. Matthew Broderick was originally offered the role of “Young Republican” Alex P. Keaton but was unavailable.
Rex FeaturesRussell Crowe
Like every Antipodean actor worth his salt, Russell Crowe started out in Neighbours. The Hollywood mega-star-to-be graced The Waterhole as Kenny Larkin, a petty criminal who only lasted a few episodes after getting into fisticuffs with Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan).
Rex FeaturesRobert Pattinson
Did you know Robert Pattinson and Catherine Tate starred in a TV movie? Back before R-Patz could fill a cinema by simply taking his shirt off, he appeared as a soppy teen in The Bad Mother’s Handbook.
Rex FeaturesWoody Harrelson
When Woody Harrelson starred in Cheers, everyone really did know his name. His run as naive bartender Woody Boyd led to bona fide film stardom, with roles in No Country For Old Men, L.A. Story and, most recently, The Hunger Games.
Rex FeaturesBritney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera & Justin Timberlake
We don’t know who the casting agent was for The Mickey Mouse Club circa 1994, but they certainly knew what to look for. The show kick-started the careers of Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, and for that, we are thankful.
Rex FeaturesGuy Pearce
Guy Pearce is another star who got his acting grounding on good old Ramsay Street. The actor appeared as motorcycle enthusiast Mike Young for several years before crossing over to 'The Other Side and taking a bit part in Home & Away.
Getty ImagesJuliette Lewis
The Wonder Years doesn’t seem like the natural habitat of rock chick Juliette Lewis, but the star launched her career with the show, playing Wayne's girlfriend Delores for three episodes.
Rex FeaturesMark Wahlberg
When we first knew Mark Wahlberg, he was “Marky Mark”, platinum-selling rapper and general jeans-dropper, thanks to his famous Calvin Klein campaign. Despite his success, Mark wanted to get into films, so he dropped the “Marky” and never looked back.
Rex FeaturesTeri Hatcher
Admit it, we all wanted to be Teri Hatcher in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. And not just because she got to have Dean Cain’s muscular arms wrapped around her... That hair – so shiny and sleek!
Rex FeaturesMichael Douglas
Even the mighty Michael Douglas had to get his start somewhere and that somewhere was in 70s TV detective series The Streets of San Francisco. Don’t think Michael Douglas was the only alum of the show: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry Hagman and Tom Selleck all made cameos.
Rex FeaturesRob James-Collier
As Downton Abbey’s Thomas, Rob James-Collier is never far from a scheme or three, and the same could be said about the character he played in Coronation Street. Liam Connor joined the soap trying to buy a share in the local underwear factory before he was brutally killed off in 2008, winning the British Soap Award for Best Exit in the process.
Rex FeaturesJared Leto
Our crush on Jared Leto is definitely an historical one. We were pretty much smitten (along with Claire Danes’ Angela) the first time we saw him as Jordan Catalano in 1994’s My So-Called Life. He’s another reason this show SHOULDN’T have been cancelled!
Rex FeaturesTom Hanks
Tom Hanks got his first lead role in 1980’s Bosom Buddies, about two advertising executives forced to dress as women so they can live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. The show’s co-producer spotted his talent immediately. "The first day I saw him on the set I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long'," Ian Praiser said, "I knew he'd be a movie star in two years."
Rex FeaturesKatie Holmes
Katie Holmes famously auditioned for her breakout role as Dawson’s Creek’s Joey Potter via videotape… because she was the lead in a school play. "I was doing my school play, Damn Yankees and I was playing Lola. I even got to wear the feather boa. I thought, 'There is no way I'm not playing Lola to go audition for some network.’ I couldn't let my school down.” Apparently the fact that Katie’s audition came by FedEx didn’t deter producers. "That's Joey Potter!", executive producer Paul Stupin apparently exclaimed.
Getty ImagesRobin Williams
It’s a little-known fact that Robin Williams got his big break in Happy Days. He impressed TV producers so much as comedy alien Mork, that they gave him his own show. Spin-off Mork & Mindy ran for four years and gave Robin scope for his improvisations.
Rex FeaturesMila Kunis
Mila Kunis lied about her age when she auditioned for the role of Jackie Burkhart in That 70s Show. The then-14-year-old actress told bosses that she would be 18, but didn’t say when. Luckily, by the time they figured out what she had done, they liked her too much to care.
Rex FeaturesLucy Liu
The then-unknown Lucy Liu originally auditioned for the role of Ally McBeal’s Nelle Porter. Portia De Rossi beat her to it but producers liked her so much that they created the character of Ling Woo, a cold and ferocious lawyer with an “exotic sexuality”.
Rex FeaturesKylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue has been through numerous image transformations throughout her career but she started as car mechanic Charlene Ramsay (dungarees and all) in the bastion of talent that is Neighbours.
Rex FeaturesMichelle Williams
Michelle Williams guest-starred in Home Improvement and Lassie before landing the role of Jen Lindley in Dawson’s Creek. The actress revealed that she related to the character because they both “grew up too fast”.
Rex FeaturesBruce Willis
What is it about detective shows producing Hollywood stars? Bruce Willis beat 3,000 actors to bag the part of David Addison Jr. in 80s TV series Moonlighting.
Rex FeaturesJohn Corbett
Long before there was any Sex And The City, John Corbett (aka Aiden) was strutting his hot stuff in 90s show Northern Exposure, set in a remote Alaskan town.
Rex FeaturesChristina Applegate
Christina Applegate made her screen debut at three and a half months when she starred in a baby bottle commercial, but her role as Kelly Bundy in Married… with Children was what really started things off for her.
Rex FeaturesMario Lopez
Current teens know Mario Lopez as American X Factor’s resident presenter but ask anyone older than 25 and they’ll know him as popular jock A.C. Slater from Saved By The Bell.
