If you saw photos of famous celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, or Angelina Jolie, you’d probably go… “Oh, right! There’s where I’ve seen them!” But the actors on this list are a rare exception. You see, when they first started out, they were virtually unknown in Hollywood. Then again, everyone has to start out somewhere. You can’t just expect to become an A-List celebrity overnight. It’s a steep and treacherous climb towards Hollywood fame. So, in honor of all that hard work, we’re going to start with one of the hottest celebrities of all time.
Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show and become fixated on a particular actor? But it’s not just their looks that’s got you enthralled. Your brains cells are all fired up and they’re telling you that you’ve seen that actor before. But where? Take this celeb for example. He’s one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, who made us believe that our hearts will go on in “Titanic.” You guessed it! It’s Leonardo DiCaprio himself. But before he starred alongside Kate Winslet, he had a rather cheesy beginning by appearing in Kraft commercials in the 80s.
If Milana Vayntrub seems familiar to you, it’s because she’s been all over the place recently. Sure, she started out playing Lily from those AT&T commercials, but it wasn’t long before she made her way into more interesting roles like the writer who slept with Kevin (Justin Hartley) on the first season of “This Is Us.” She also played a subway rat woman in the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters,” and starred in the comedy thriller series “Threads.” And now, she’s also set to play Squirrel Girl in 2018 when the film “Marvel’s New Warriors” hits the big screen.
For the past two seasons, Morgan Smith Goodwin has starred in the hilarious award-winning series, “Veep” as Candi Caruso. But long before she got back to her natural blonde roots, she dyed her hair red to appear as the red headed girl Wendy for the totally popular fast food joint, Wendy’s. But when she first appeared, the internet nearly broke because not only had we never seen a real-life version of Wendy, but Goodwin was simply gorgeous!
Think back to 2007 when Freecreditreport.com aired all those musical commercials. Now, do you remember the guy doing the singing? His name is Eric Violette, and we laughed our heads off when he sang “Well I Married My Dream Girl.” But it turns out that Violette is also a lead singer for the band “God Against God.” He’s also appeared in a foreign documentary called “Un tueur si proche.” But as far as television and film, Violette didn’t really get into that because music was more of his passion.
Jan may have just been the perkiest little receptionist at a Toyota Dealership, but the actress that played her was so much more than that. Jan was played by Laurel Coppock, and she no longer makes Toyota commercials. In fact, she’s been too busy appearing “Hot in Cleveland” and “Two Broke Girls.” She also appeared alongside Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Steve Carrell as Sophia in “Crazy, Stupid Love.” Now that’s quite an upgrade from her humble beginnings, don’t you think?
When Meg Ryan first appeared in a Burger King commercial, it was one of the first things she ever did in front of a camera, and she didn’t even eat a lot of whoppers either. But we’re guessing her famous scene in “A Fish Called Wanda” brought back memories of her restaurant experience. Eventually, she moved on to bewitch us with in films like “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle”.
Vanessa Branch showed off her pearly whites back in 1995 when she appeared in the Miss America pagent. Then she shared her secret to keeping her breath nice and fresh in several Orbit gum commercials. But by 2010, she and Orbit split. Then she started appearing in various TV and movie roles before making a recurring appearance on “Days of our Lives” in 2014 as Giselle Van Hopper. She’s also starred in “American Satan” as Leo’s mom.
Long before he was “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” Steve Carell did Brown’s Chicken Commercials, where he played the role of a rather entertaining clerk. Since then, Carell has become the voice of Gru in “Despicable Me,” has appeared in “The Office” as Michael Scott,” and has also made a huge career in the film industry. His comedy films like “Evan Almighty,” and “Date Night” are beyond hilarious. He always manages to put a smile on our faces.
Remember the Verizon Guy who was slightly annoying the heck out of us with those “can you hear me now” commercials? Well, Paul Marcarelli, aka the Verizon Guy, tried working on films for a few years. Then he decided to go back to his cell phone roots, but not Verizon. Now, you might have spotted him doing Sprint commercials. But while he can’t use the tagline that made him famous at his new gig, he’s still making lots of money from the popularity.
It’s impossible to forget about Carly Foulkes, who appeared as the beautiful T-Mobile Girl all in pink to help sell mobile phone service to anyone in need. But those days are long gone, and now, she’s trying to break into film making by appearing in short films like “Running On Empty” and “Halfway Somewhere Else,” both of which came out in 2013. She’s also said goodbye to those pink dresses and embraced black leather while riding in motorcycle or choppers.
The ShamWow! Guy was an infomercial pitchman who was easy on the eyes too. But aside from getting us to buy some weird stuff like the “Slap Chop” and “The InVinceable Cleaning Tablet,” Vince Offer moved on to make cameo appearances, and has even taken part in celebrity roasts like “Roasting Legends Presents Roasting Ron Jeremy.” He’s also a director, writer, and stand-up comedian who pulled out all the stops in movies like “Inappropriate Comedy,” and “The Underground Comedy Movie.”
Diane Amos started out as a spokesperson for the company that provides us with pine-scented floor cleaner. But oddly enough, not much has changed. She’s still the spokesperson for Pine Sol, but she has dabbled in a few films here and there. You might have even seen her in “Patch Adams,” or in “Angels in the Outfield” as a spectator in the ball park, who’s sitting during the game next to the characters JP and Roger.
Remember Flo from Progressive? Of course, you do. She managed to get everyone in America to buy car insurance. She also had a talent for making things appear out of thin air during those commercial. But Flo is actually an actress named Stephanie Courtney, and she’s been busy. She’s appeared in a bunch of movies like “The Heartbreak Kid,” “And Blades of Glory”. She’s also made quite a few appearances on TV shows like “Nobodies,” “Mad Men,” and “Two Broke Girls.”
Dean Winters started out as Mr. Mayhem in a bunch of Allstate Commercials, but eventually, that face earned him roles in shows like “30 Rock” where he played Tina Fey’s boyfriend, “Rescue Me,” “Oz,” where he played Ryan O’Reily, and “Law and Order: SVU.” Of course, Dean had a lot more hair back in his commercial days, but he’s still looking pretty awesome and you can see his mug in 2018 when the film “Shotgun” comes out in theaters.
Pitt is known all over the world. It’s hard to find someone who’s never heard of him. Aside from being Angelina Jolie’s estranged husband, he’s appeared in several films, including “Interview With The Vampire.” But his very first film was in 1991 when he dazzled us in “Thelma & Louise.” But he probably wouldn’t mind that you’d forgotten that in the 1980s he appeared in a series of Pringles commercials. Now he can afford to stock his pantry with as many Pringles cans as he wants.