25 Celebrities Who Had Strange Jobs Before Becoming Famous

Posted by , Updated on March 24, 2024

While we might think of movies stars, musicians, and other celebrities as having always been members of the elite upper class, the truth is, at one point, many of them also held normal, boring, underpaid positions at the local fast food restaurant. With everything from roadside dancers dressed up as chickens to creepy gravediggers, these are 25 Celebrities Who Had Strange Jobs Before Becoming Famous.
25

Eva Mendez

eva mendes

Before hitting the big screen, Eva sold hotdogs at a stand in the mall.

24

Patrick Dempsey

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Known for his role in Grey’s Anatomy, Patrick used to be a juggler and even placed in national competitions.

23

Ozzy Osbourne

ozzy

You shouldn’t be too surprised to hear that before achieving rock star fame, the Prince of Darkness worked in a slaughterhouse.

22

Hugh Jackman

hugh jackman

Famous for playing Wolverine in the X-Men movies, Hugh really came a long way from wearing a clown suit at birthday parties.

21

Tim Allen

tim allen

Before starring in Home Improvement or Last Man Standing, Tim was a notorious coke dealer…and we’re not talking about Coca-Cola.

20

Whoopi Goldberg

whoopi goldberg

She used to put makeup on dead people in the morgue.

19

Sean Connery

sean connery
It may be difficult to imagine (considering the profession doesn’t really exist anymore), but in his earlier days, Sean worked hard as a milkman.
18

Christopher Walken

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As usual, it’s nearly impossible to be cooler than Chris. Back in the day, he was a lion tamer at a circus.

17

Rod Stewart

rod stewart

Like Whoopi, Rod used to spend more time in the presence of the dead than the living. He worked as a gravedigger at a local cemetery.

16

Harrison Ford

harrison ford

Every Star Wars fan knows the story of how George Lucas needed someone to read Han Solo’s lines during the auditions. Harrison Ford, a carpenter on the set, was chosen and the rest is history.

15

Orlando Bloom

orlando bloom

In his earlier days, this former elf of Middle Earth worked as a trapper on a clay pigeon shooting range.

14

Danny Devito

danny devito

This famous, bald funnyman used to cut hair to make ends meet.

13

Madonna

madonna

Before selling more records than any other female in history, Madonna worked at Dunkin’ Donuts.

12

Robin Williams

robin williams
It shouldn’t be hard to believe that the late great Williams used to work as a street mime.
11

Johnny Depp

johnny depp

A strange job for a strange man, before fame and superstardom, Johnny sold pens for a living.

10

Jim Carrey

jim carrey

Jim used to practice his jokes on fellow janitors when he was employed at a local steel mill.

9

Clint Eastwood

clint eastwood

Before landing his first feature film, Clint was busy installing swimming pools for a living.

8

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas_Cage

This eccentric and award-winning actor used to sell popcorn at Fairfax Theatre.

7

Tom Cruise

tom cruise

At one point, this action star that loves running worked as a paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

6

Jennifer Hudson

jennifer hudson

After mentioning she used to work at Burger King during her Oscar win in 1997, they awarded her with free burgers for life.

5

Dustin Hoffman

hoffman

At one point, Dustin was a typist for the Yellowpages.

4

Mick Jagger

jagger

In his early life, Mick Jagger was a porter at a mental hospital.

3

Demi Moore

demi moore

Before being loved by the masses, Demi was ruthlessly hated when she worked at a collection agency.

2

Matthew McConaughey

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Life literally stunk for Matthew at one point as he would spend his days cleaning out chicken coops. It was not alright, alright, alright. 

1

Brad Pitt

brad pitt

Not to be outdone by Matthew, Brad actually dressed up as a chicken and danced on the side of the road for a local restaurant.

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Photo: 1. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Brad Pitt June 2014 (cropped), CC BY 2.0 , 2. David Torcivia, Matthew McConaughey 2011 AA, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 3. David Shankbone, Demi Moore by David Shankbone, CC BY 2.0 , 4. Georges Biard, Mick Jagger Deauville 2014, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 5. garryknight, Dustin Hoffmann 2009 2, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 6. David Torcivia, Jennifer Hudson 2011 AA, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 7. Georges Biard, Tom Cruise avp 2014 3, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 8. Gerald Geronimo, Nicolas Cage 2011 CC, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 9. Raffi Asdourian, Clint Eastwood at 2010 New York Film Festival, CC BY 2.0 , 10. Ian Smith from London, England, Jim Carrey 2008, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 11. nicogenin, Johnny Depp (July 2009) 2 cropped, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 12. Eva Rinaldi, Robin Williams (6451536411) (cropped), CC BY-SA 2.0 , 13. David Shankbone, Madonna at the premiere of I Am Because We Are, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 14. Gage Skidmore, Danny DeVito by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 15. Georges Biard, Orlando Bloom Cannes 2013, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 16. Gage Skidmore, Harrison Ford by Gage Skidmore 2, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 17. WikipediaCommons.com (Public Domain), 18. Tabercil, Christopher Walken TIFF 2012, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 19. Alan Light., Sean Connery 1980 Crop, CC BY 2.5 , 20. Photographer is Daniel Langer, dlanger on flickr.com. Copyright is held by Daniel Langer and Comic Relief, Inc., Whoopi Goldberg - Comic Relief 2006 - Daniel Langer, CC BY-SA 2.0 , 21. Mark Ridley, Comedy Castle Tim Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , 22. Maximilian Bühn, CC-BY-SA 4.0, Hugh Jackman Berlin 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 , 23. Jennifer, Ozzy on tour in Japan, CC BY 2.0 , 24. Georges Biard, Patrick Dempsey 2016 avp BJ, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 25. Nicolas Genin, EvaMendescropped, CC BY-SA 2.0