Have you ever wondered what your favorite A-list celebrities were doing before they graced the silver screen or belted out chart-topping hits? It’s easy to imagine them born into the spotlight, effortlessly gliding into glamorous careers. But let’s be real, that’s rarely the full picture. The journey to fame is a winding road, often paved with unexpected detours and a whole lot of gritty determination. These stars, before they became household names, were just like us – working ordinary jobs, paying their bills, and dreaming big.
Indeed, many of today’s biggest celebrities didn’t start out in glamorous careers. They worked regular jobs, just like everyone else, some waiting tables, others working in construction, and many more taking on roles that now seem worlds apart from their current fame. These early jobs weren’t just about paying the bills; they were invaluable training grounds, teaching them patience, communication, resilience, and a relentless work ethic that would later fuel their astronomical success. They learned interpersonal skills, how to handle difficult situations, and the sheer perseverance required to chase a dream against all odds.
So, prepare to be absolutely floored, because we’re about to take a super fun deep dive into the surprising side hustles of some well-known stars before they made it big. From donning quirky costumes to literally taming lions, these tales are proof that every journey to stardom is unique, filled with humbling beginnings and hilarious anecdotes. Get ready to see your favorite actors in a whole new light, and maybe, just maybe, feel a little more connected to their incredible, sometimes absurd, paths to Hollywood domination.
1. **Brad Pitt: The Fast Food Chicken Mascot**Before he was a global heartthrob, a two-time Oscar winner, and one of Hollywood’s most iconic figures, Brad Pitt found himself in a rather… feathered situation. Imagine this: the man who would later captivate audiences in “Fight Club” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” spent his early days fighting for attention in a giant chicken suit. Yes, you read that right. Brad Pitt, before his big break in “Thelma & Louise,” was a chicken restaurant mascot.
While struggling through the maze of Hollywood’s audition process, Pitt, like any aspiring artist, needed to pay the bills and keep food in his tummy. He turned to a fast-food joint, El Pollo Loco franchises in the Los Angeles area, to make some consistent cash. His job description? Dressing up as a chicken to get people excited about eating their food. It sounds like something straight out of a quirky indie film, and honestly, it’s just as memorable.
This gig, while perhaps a bit embarrassing at the time, was a crucial part of his journey. The context notes that for Pitt, the job was “as stupid as being a mascot truly sounds,” yet it “gave him what he needed: a wage and time to practice his lines on the side.” More profoundly, it actually taught him a little bit about performing. It instilled in him the fundamental “need to fully commit to a role and sell yourself to your audience, whether it’s a serious gig on the big screen or a dumb side job as a chicken mascot.” Talk about a commitment to character, right? It just goes to show that every experience, no matter how humble or hilarious, can offer valuable lessons for the future.
2. **Johnny Depp: The Reluctant Telemarketer**Before he became a swashbuckling pirate, an eccentric chocolatier, or a hauntingly beautiful outcast with scissors for hands, Johnny Depp was trying to sell pens over the phone. Yes, the enigmatic actor known for his deep, immersive character portrayals had a stint as a telemarketer, and it sounds like it was quite the experience. He had many weird and forgettable gigs growing up in Kentucky before moving to Hollywood with big dreams.
Among these early jobs, the strangest was arguably his role as a telemarketing representative for a pen company. His mission? To convince strangers to buy special pens over the phone. It sounds like a tough sell, and for Johnny, it came with two major problems: he was “absolutely awful at it,” and he felt deeply guilty, believing he was “forcing people into what he thought was a scam.” Not exactly the foundation for a glowing sales career!
Depp himself recalled this pre-fame job, sharing, “I marketed pens on the phone. But the beauty of the gig was that you had to call these strangers and say, ‘Hi, how ya doing?’ You made up a name, like, ‘Hey, it’s Edward Quartermaine from California. You’re eligible to receive this grandfather clock or a trip to Tahiti.’ You promise them all these things if they buy a gross of pens. It was just awful.” This bizarre training ground, however, proved incredibly useful. By having to conjure up false names and elaborate backstories on the fly, he inadvertently honed his improvisational skills and creative thinking, preparing him for a career where he would literally inhabit countless different identities.
Perhaps the most charming detail from this episode of his past is the fact that Depp only ever made one sale. And in a true display of his budding artistic integrity and perhaps overwhelming guilt, he “immediately begged the customer to back out of the deal and pull out of the pen purchase.” It just goes to show that even when you’re struggling to make ends meet, your core values can shine through, and sometimes, the most unexpected detours can lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.
3. **Christopher Walken: The Teenage Lion Tamer**If there’s one actor in Hollywood known for his distinctive delivery and captivatingly strange roles, it’s Christopher Walken. His unique presence and ability to make even the most mundane lines utterly mesmerizing are legendary. So, it should come as no surprise that his path to fame included one of the most unexpected and thrilling side hustles on this list: lion taming!
When he was just 16 years old, back in approximately 1959, the New York City-born Walken took a dramatic turn, leaving home and school to join a traveling circus. His mission? To become a trainee lion tamer. Imagine the sheer audacity and bravery required for a teenager to walk into a cage with some of the most powerful felines on the planet! He was assigned a lioness named Sheba and, with surprising ease, “quickly got the hang of working with her while the circus traveled around to various cities.”
Walken recalled his unlikely gig years later, saying, “I didn’t run away; I just got a job as a trainee lion tamer. Who’s going to turn that down? I would come into the cage and wave my whip, and she’d lazily get up and sit like a dog and maybe give a little roar. I like cats a lot. I’ve always liked cats. They’re great company.” This experience undoubtedly taught him discipline, focus, and an incredible sense of composure under pressure – skills that are certainly transferable to a demanding acting career. His connection with animals, as he stated, clearly left an impression.
Though he remembers his time with Sheba fondly, Walken didn’t stick with the circus life indefinitely. After months on the road, he eventually returned home, briefly attending Hofstra University before dropping out to pursue his true passions: dance and acting. His time taming lions, however, feels like a perfect precursor to the compelling, often unpredictable characters he would later bring to life on screen. It’s a testament to his innate ability to embrace the extraordinary and find comfort in the unconventional, traits that have made him an enduring Hollywood icon.
4. **Hugh Jackman: The Underwhelming Birthday Party Clown**Before he became the iconic Wolverine, a Tony Award-winning stage sensation, and one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men, Hugh Jackman had a gig that was, let’s just say, a little less glamorous than battling bad guys or serenading Broadway audiences. For a significant part of his younger years, Jackman honed his performing chops as a birthday party clown. Yes, the man who exudes charisma and power once juggled for toddlers, and apparently, it didn’t always go according to plan.
Initially, this quirky and memorable job wasn’t so bad. It was honest work, and it provided a decent income. More importantly, it gave Jackman a chance to practice entertaining an audience, even if that audience was a room full of sugar-fueled preschoolers. He learned how to sell himself, captivate attention, and yes, even juggle. He fondly remembered his early talents, stating, “At a three-year-old’s party, I was the best. I could juggle three things. I could juggle kind of anything, like swords, anything for three, but nothing more.” For the youngest crowd, his act was a hit, and he felt like a superstar.
However, the world of children’s entertainment is a fickle one, and Jackman’s clowning career hit a snag when he started booking gigs for older kids. The difference in audience expectation proved to be a hilarious, if slightly painful, learning experience. At an eight-year-old’s party, his infant-focused routine, particularly his juggling act, “fell flat on its face. Like, literally. Eggs fell to the ground, splattered, and left a pissed-off parent who had to clean up the mess and a very unimpressed older kid who wasn’t wowed by Hugh’s infant-focused routine.” It’s hard to imagine the formidable Wolverine dealing with a mess of broken eggs and a disappointed child, but it happened!
This incident, while undoubtedly humiliating at the time, taught Jackman invaluable lessons about adapting his performance to his audience and the delicate art of live entertainment. It underscores the resilience and humility required to succeed in any performance-based career. Thankfully, he discovered that he had a “second (and far more lucrative) career waiting in the wings,” allowing him to trade clown shoes for adamantium claws, but his early days as a clown are a charming reminder that even the biggest stars start somewhere, sometimes covered in egg yolk.
5. **Matthew McConaughey: The Armadillo Hunter and Chicken Coop Cleaner**Alright, alright, alright, let’s talk about Matthew McConaughey’s pre-fame adventures, because they were nothing short of wild and wonderfully eccentric. Before he became an Academy Award-winning actor, known for his laid-back charm and philosophical musings, McConaughey embarked on a formative journey to Australia. This wasn’t a luxury vacation; it was a year of self-discovery funded by a Rotary scholarship, leading him to a tiny rural town called Warnerville, nestled in the middle of nowhere in New South Wales.
To support himself during this transformative year, McConaughey took on some incredibly humble, hands-on jobs. One of his duties included cleaning chicken coops – a far cry from the glamorous sets of Hollywood. In this rural environment, where nearly everyone had a farm or worked on one, he literally got his hands dirty, fitting right in with the local way of life. This physically demanding work taught him a deep appreciation for hard labor and the simple necessities of life, which he balanced with surfing on peaceful local beaches during his free time.
But that’s not all! Earlier in his life, McConaughey also worked as an armadillo hunter on a golf course. His mission was to keep the greens pristine by ridding them of these burrowing animals. This unusual job, as the context mentions, helped him “develop patience and problem-solving skills.” Combined with his later experience in the Australian outback, these roles cultivated a unique blend of practicality, perseverance, and a deep connection to nature that arguably informs his authentic, grounded persona today.
Years later, McConaughey remembered his time in Warnerville with immense fondness, recalling, “Population 395. In the sticks, man. But I was cool with that. It was a very life-changing year because I was removed from all the crutches that I had in my life. I depended on myself—stumbled, fell, and survived. It was a great year getting to know myself. … I’m an extrovert, and it was a very introverted year, and it has a lot to do with what I am right now—one of the best things I’ve ever done.” This powerful reflection highlights how those seemingly menial jobs offered profound self-discovery, shaping the very essence of the man who would become a beloved movie star. It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes, getting a little dirty and stepping out of your comfort zone can be the best career move you ever make.
The journey to stardom is often portrayed as a seamless ascent, but as we’ve already seen, many of our beloved A-listers had incredibly humble, and sometimes downright bizarre, beginnings. If you thought the chicken mascot and the lion tamer were wild, buckle up, because we’re diving even deeper into the unexpected side hustles that shaped some of Hollywood’s most iconic faces. These are the stories that prove that before the red carpets and the golden statues, these stars were just trying to make ends meet, learning invaluable lessons in the most unconventional of workplaces.
From dealing with the dearly departed to scrubbing factory floors, these next five tales reveal the grit, resilience, and sheer adaptability required to navigate the road to fame. Get ready for more mind-blowing revelations that will make you look at these superstars in a whole new, wonderfully relatable light.
6. **Whoopi Goldberg: The Mortuary Makeup Artist**Before she became a household name with Oscar-winning performances in “Ghost” and “Sister Act,” and long before she became a celebrated voice on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg had an early job that truly defies expectation. She was a mortuary cosmetologist, an occupation that, let’s be honest, few would predict for a future comedic and dramatic powerhouse. This wasn’t just a casual gig; Whoopi was a licensed beautician, having diligently attended beauty school and passed her exams, making her genuinely skilled in the craft of hair and makeup.
The story of how she landed in a funeral home is as practical as it is unusual. When she needed a job, and no beauty salons in her area were hiring, a local funeral home had an opening. They needed someone to apply makeup to deceased individuals, preparing them for heartfelt family funerals. Whoopi, needing to pay the bills, didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity, demonstrating an immediate resourcefulness that would serve her well in her later career.
It takes a truly special kind of person to thrive in such an environment. As Whoopi herself once casually explained in a 2015 video about her early life, “I did hair and makeup on dead people.” She recalled seeing an ad in the paper and, being a licensed beautician, she was qualified. This unique position required a steady hand, meticulous attention to detail, and, perhaps most profoundly, a deep respect for the deceased and their grieving families.
The experience undoubtedly gave her a unique perspective on life and death, shaping her empathy and understanding of the human condition. While it might sound like a challenging role to many, Whoopi remembered it with a profound insight, saying, “It’s a rough gig. You have to be a certain kind of person. And you have to love people in order to make them worthy of a great send-off.” These insights into human emotion and presentation would later undoubtedly contribute to the depth she brought to her diverse acting roles.
7. **Angelina Jolie: The Aspiring Funeral Director**When you think of Angelina Jolie, you likely picture an Academy Award-winning actress, a humanitarian, and a global icon. What probably doesn’t spring to mind is a funeral director, yet this was a very serious career aspiration for a young Angelina before her acting career took off. It’s a revelation that adds another fascinating layer to her already complex and intriguing persona, highlighting a deep, inherent empathy that has always driven her.
Her journey towards this unusual ambition began with a deeply personal experience: the unfulfilling funeral of her beloved grandfather. Both Angelina and her family were profoundly upset with how the service was conducted, feeling that his memory wasn’t honored in the way they had hoped. This disappointing encounter left them with a strong sense of dissatisfaction with the funeral industry as a whole, sparking a desire in young Angelina to make things different.
In a 2011 interview with Bob Simon for “60 Minutes,” the A-list actress reflected on how strange this dream might seem to others. “It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do,” she admitted, acknowledging the unconventional nature of her ambition. Yet, the memory of her grandfather’s funeral lingered, fueling her conviction that there was a better, more respectful way to approach such solemn occasions.
She even went so far as to ask family members for funds to start her own funeral business, with a vision to completely transform how death is addressed in the modern age. For Jolie, this wasn’t just a fleeting thought; it was a genuine backup plan. As she concluded to Simon, “If this acting thing didn’t work out, that was going to be my backup.” It just goes to show that even those destined for the brightest spotlights can be drawn to the most profound and humbling corners of life.
Read more about: Angelina Jolie: A Journey of Art, Advocacy, and Evolution in the Public Eye
8. **Sean Connery: The Coffin Polisher and Bleacher**Keeping with our surprisingly morbid, yet utterly fascinating, theme of celebrity pre-fame jobs, let’s talk about one of the most iconic James Bonds of all time: Sean Connery. Long before he was charming international spies and captivating audiences, Connery had a very hands-on, and somewhat eerie, job working at a funeral service establishment in Haddington, Scotland. It turns out, the man who would define suave was busy with coffins.
This particular establishment was run by a man named Ronald Stark and his uncle, who operated several businesses from the same location. These included a woodworking shop, a wagon manufacturing plant, and, most relevant to young Sean, a coffin and mortuary service. It was within this unique setting that Connery found a job, making a living by polishing, cleaning, and, yes, even bleaching coffins. Talk about a job description that immediately grabs your attention!
Connery himself, years later, vividly recalled aspects of this unusual employment in a newspaper interview. He spoke of his boss, Mr. Stark, who possessed an “uncanny ability to visually size-up clients for their coffins” – a detail that adds a rather chilling layer to the whole affair. But perhaps even more startling was another revelation from the article, detailing a practice that might raise a few eyebrows.
The newspaper reported that “Mr. Connery also revealed that during his time as a coffin polisher, he had regularly bleached mahogany coffins to make them look like oak.” It’s a testament to the resourcefulness, or perhaps the cunning, required to make a living in those times. It makes you wonder, in a slightly morbid but ultimately lighthearted way, if the legendary actor, who passed away in late 2020, ever pondered whether he too, might have ended up in a ‘bleached mahogany’ coffin himself!
9. **Danny DeVito: The Morgue Hairdresser**Our deep dive into death-adjacent pre-fame gigs continues with none other than the beloved and endlessly versatile actor, Danny DeVito. With a career spanning countless iconic roles in films and television shows, it’s hard to imagine DeVito doing anything other than entertaining us. Yet, one of his earliest, most surprising jobs was as a hairdresser, not in a bustling salon, but at a morgue! It’s another example that proves Hollywood’s biggest stars often come from the most unexpected backgrounds.
DeVito revealed this wonderfully quirky tidbit during an appearance on the “Always Sunny” podcast in December 2022, chatting with his “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” castmates. He casually recounted how he used to style the hair of deceased women, preparing them for their final farewells, long before he stepped into the glitzy world of fame and fortune. It’s a revelation that makes you appreciate his commitment to his craft even more, even if that craft was initially styling hair for the afterlife.
The story of how this unusual gig came about is rather touching. DeVito, possessing a natural knack for beauty and having received some formal training in hairstyling, had a regular client whose hair he loved to cut. When she sadly passed away one day, her family, familiar with DeVito’s talent and the affection he had for her, asked if he would consider styling her hair one last time for her funeral. Out of love and respect for his late client, he agreed.
This act of kindness and skill proved to be quite a hit. Word spread through the grapevine, and other hair clients heard about his unique service. “Consequently,” DeVito explained matter-of-factly on the podcast, “I did several.” It’s a truly bizarre yet charming story that highlights DeVito’s compassion and willingness to take on any job to make ends meet, while also showing his inherent talent for making people (even departed ones) look their best.
10. **Jim Carrey: The Factory Janitor**It’s almost impossible to picture Jim Carrey in any role other than that of a comedian and film star, making the world laugh with his unparalleled energy and transformative performances. From “The Mask” to “Ace Ventura,” his commitment to character, knack for voices, and impeccable comedic timing are legendary. Yet, before he became the global phenomenon we know today, Carrey endured years of struggle, including a grueling job as a factory janitor.
Growing up in and around Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s, Carrey’s family faced severe poverty. This meant that in 1978, at the tender age of 16, he was forced to drop out of school to help support his family. Striking out on his own to find work, the future “Liar, Liar” actor even lived in a tent at one point, facing hardships that are a stark contrast to his current A-list status. For more than two challenging years, he made his living by cleaning a factory.
Imagine the man who would later create such vivid, unforgettable characters spending his days cleaning toilets, sinks, and urinals. This physically demanding and often unpleasant work was his reality for a significant period. However, even amidst this tough labor, Carrey’s creative spirit couldn’t be contained. Concurrently with his janitorial duties, he was relentlessly honing his stand-up act, channeling his innate comedic talent into performances at Toronto-area clubs.
By 1979, he began performing regularly, and his dedication started to pay off. By the end of 1980, his stand-up career had gained enough momentum that he was finally able to make a good enough living to quit his janitorial job. It was a moment of liberation, allowing him to fully commit to his true calling. Carrey’s story is a powerful testament to perseverance, reminding us that even the most naturally gifted talents often endure the grittiest beginnings before their star truly rises.
**The Unsung Chapters of Stardom**
And there you have it – ten incredible, sometimes jaw-dropping, tales of A-list actors who started out far from the Hollywood spotlight. From fast-food mascots to mortuary makeup artists, these stories aren’t just quirky anecdotes; they’re powerful reminders of the dedication, resilience, and sheer grit required to make it in the cutthroat world of entertainment. Each seemingly mundane or bizarre job was a chapter in their personal story, teaching them invaluable lessons in patience, humility, and the art of performance itself.
Read more about: From VW Vans to Hollywood Hills: 7 A-Listers Who Conquered Poverty to Rule Hollywood
These experiences forged their character, instilled a relentless work ethic, and often, provided the raw material for the characters they would later bring to life on screen. So, the next time you see these stars gracing the silver screen, remember their humble beginnings. It’s a powerful reminder that every dream, no matter how grand, often starts with a single, unexpected side hustle, paving a unique and unforgettable path to fame.
