From Ordinary To Famous: 40 Celebrities And Their Pre-Fame Lives

When he was just 18 years old, Steve Buscemi took the New York City Firefighters’ exam and worked as a firefighter for four years. When the 9/11 attacks happened, he temporarily rejoined Engine Company 55 to serve at the World Trade Center. Now he is renowned for his work as a character actor.

In addition to being a courtroom sketch artist, Terry Crews played for the NFL from 1991 to 1997 before pursuing an acting career. Despite not taking any acting classes prior, Crews managed to land a breakout role in the 2002 comedy film Friday After Next.

Before earning her breakout role in The Wolf of Wall Street, Margot Robbie was making sandwiches at Subway. When asked about it on Hot Ones, she said, “I think I was really good at it though, because I, you know, would really spread everything out to the edges evenly — the right amount of everything," Robbie also starred in a few commercials, independent thriller films, and TV shows while auditioning for roles in Hollywood.

Becoming a Hollywood heartthrob wasn’t an easy road for Pedro Pascal, best known for his role in the hit series The Last of Us. He started out as a struggling theater actor in New York City. While working on stage, Pascal also worked regular day jobs such as waiting tables to support himself in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Before his big break on the award-winning series Girls, Adam Driver was in the Marine Corps. Driver had hoped to join Juilliard but didn’t make it in. So he worked odd jobs and eventually enlisted in the Marines. However, the actor’s time there ended after two years due to a sternum injury.

Best known for his role as Thor, Chris Hemsworth had quite a few odd jobs before becoming famous. His most notable one, however, was cleaning breast milk pumps at a pharmacy. Hemsworth also appeared in an Australian soap opera and was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Before becoming a chart-topping pop star, Taylor Swift worked at her family’s Christmas tree farm picking praying-mantis pods off trees. While doing this, she also sang at local events and fairs in Pennsylvania. Swift eventually moved to Nashville, where she caught her big break in the music industry.

Eva Longoria is a beauty queen turned actress who rose to fame after her appearance in the comedy drama Desperate Housewives. She worked at Wendy's for three years before becoming Miss Corpus Christi USA. After college, Longoria was signed by a theatrical agent and worked as a headhunter while auditioning for roles.

Rachel McAdams, best known for her iconic roles in Mean Girls and The Notebook, was an accomplished figure skater early on in life. The actress also had a part-time job at McDonald’s for three years while studying. Her former drama teacher convinced her to take up acting instead of pursuing a career in political science.

After high school, Matthew McConaughey spent a year in Australia, where he worked menial jobs such as washing dishes and shoveling chicken manure. When McConaughey finally got into college, he signed up to study law but eventually switched to film.

Before Gwen Stefani became a member of the band No Doubt, she worked a couple of odd jobs, with her first being a swim instructor and lifeguard at a pool. After that, Stefani landed a job at a local Dairy Queen. She eventually left it behind to work as a department store makeup artist.

Whoopi Goldberg found success after the release of The Color Purple in 1985. But before that, the actress had stints as a bank teller, a bricklayer, and even a mortuary cosmetologist. At one point, Goldberg also did some waitressing and gave acting classes at a theater troupe.

Before her hit role in Friends, Jennifer Aniston kicked off her career in theater. She worked in off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker’s Grave. Off the stage, Aniston held several part-time jobs such as being a telemarketer, waitress, and even a bike messenger to support herself.

After dropping out of college (two credits shy of graduating) to pursue an acting career, Brad Pitt supported himself by working a variety of odd jobs. He drove strippers around in limousines, moved refrigerators, and even dressed in a chicken costume to promote an El Pollo Loco restaurant.

Now one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses, Jennifer Lawrence, acted in various church plays and musicals before becoming famous. When the actress was 14, her mother encouraged her to pursue a career in modeling. But Lawrence picked acting instead and dropped out of school to audition for roles in the city.

One can’t hear Ryan Gosling’s name and not think of his role in The Notebook. However, what most people don’t know is that Gosling started off as a child actor, appearing on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when he was just 12 years old. From there, he starred in various TV series till his breakout role in The Notebook.

Academy Award-winning Whale actor Brendan Fraser borrowed his mother's car and drove from Seattle to Hollywood. His goal? To make it big as an actor. Fraser quickly landed a minor role and a year later, a breakout role in the comedy film Encino Man.

Sydney Sweeney rose to fame after her role in the HBO hit series Euphoria. While she was still pursuing acting, her family moved to LA, but had a difficult time making ends meet in the expensive city. So Sweeney worked as a tour guide for Universal Studios to support herself and her family.

The Academy Award-winning actress dropped out of high school as a freshman to pursue acting. Stone moved to LA with her mom to audition for roles, and while there, took online high school classes and worked at a dog-treat bakery.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rose to fame as a wrestling personality on WWE, and is now one of Hollywood’s most successful actors. In a tweet from 2015, he let fans in on the fact that at 13, he worked as a dishwasher. Years later, he had hopes of playing in the NFL, but injuries held him back from that, leading him to pursue a career in wrestling instead.