Actors who surprised you by becoming big stars

Keanu Reeves has had a MUCH longer career than I ever would have imagined. Pretty only gets you so far. I always just assumed that once he hit 30, it'd be over. I was wrong.

Ben Affleck. How???

Emily Blunt

Chris Pratt. Michelle Williams.

Renee Zelwegger.

First appeared in Dazed and Confused in a small role, and was playing bimbo roles for a bit. Then she had one hit after another, a fall from grace, and a comeback with Judy.

Julianne Moore.

Seriously.

Timoteeeeeee.

Nicholas Cage

That APE from GIRLS

^^ Lens or Adam? ^^

R10- LOL

Adam

[quote]For me, it's Bradley Cooper. He's moderately talented but not a genius. Attractive, but not drop dead gorgeous. Never thought he'd be the biggest star out of everyone who was on Alias

Bradley Cooper is one of many good looking guys who gets cast as the sexless best friend of the lead actress, but who are actually better looking than the main guy.

I admit that when I saw Alias I thought he was very handsome and was disappointed he had such a small role.

James fucking Corden. Even if it’s not really acting he tends to do now.

I didn't think Mark Paul Goselaar and Jennifer Love Hewitt would still be around

Bradley Copper is NOT good looking.

Bradley Cooper is drop dead gorgeous.

Eddie Redmayne

Jeremy Renner

[quote] That APE from GIRLS

[quote] ^^ Lens or Adam? ^^

My immediate guess was Zosia Mamet.

Meryl

Miles Teller. That guy made "Resting Douche Face" a thing.

Shemar Moore.

Julia Roberts

Britney Spears. I remember seeing her poster for the CA Midstate Fair in the late 90s. She was playing Paso Robles. I thought, "Who is this hick girl with the braids and the already tired school girl outfit?"

I think it's sad what happened to her as far as the fame machine chewing her up, but I don't think she is super talented in any way.

Tom Hanks

Amy Adams owns this thread.

R25 Agree. I mean he’s perfectly pleasant and all but… Most beloved actor of our time? Really?

Regina King. She played a very prim and proper teenager on the TV show 227. So when she played a tough and sassy urban girl in the movie Boyz N The Hood, I was totally shocked, and thought she had ruined her chances for any other decent work in Hollywood.

Well, as we all now know, I was completely wrong. She is now both an Emmy and Oscar winning actress. Jackée Harry, her talented 227 co-star, never achieved that same level of stardom.

Emma Stone

Jonah Hill.

He was really great in Superbad, but I thought that no way is this chubby young actor going anywhere.

[quote]Amy Adams owns this thread.

Yes, R26! I remember her from a Shannen Doherty-era episide of [italic]Charmed.[/italic] As my childhood best friend would say, she was total woodwork material.

R27- I said this on another thread-

Tom Hanks is humble about the talent he doesn't even have.

Amy Adams was great in Psycho Beach Party.

Aside from "Big", Tom made some really huge flops in the 80s. He was a bit of a joke for quite a while - which wasn't helped by starting his career on TV in "Bosom Buddies".

I remember seeing Rihanna in the Pon de Replay video, thinking she had dead eyes and no charisma

Let me guess OP is a failed actor.

Demi Moore. After seeing her on General Hospital and her horrible acting and awful voice, I was shocked she became a star of any caliber.

R36 is a failed human being

R38: Are you talking about me or OP?

The vast majority of people who go into acting don't become big stars but nevertheless they get consistent work. So it's not like they're a failure at it.

According to 2 casting directors I knw in Hollyweird(both Bay). Miss Cooper is the "male Jen Lawrence". There was NOTHING Bradley would not do to" get a part" Their are photos like JLAW-HO. I have seen them but do not have copies yet!!

I was an avid watcher of The Young and the Restless from the early 90s (when I was a kid) to the late 2000s. I never would’ve guessed Eva Longoria would be about the only one to find a significant level of mainstream fame.

R41 is a Republican housewife. The "hollyweird" gives it away

R40, the vast majority of folks going into acting get little work. They suffer for years on the fumes of that one play or commercial they did a few years ago...hoping that the next audition will get them a big break, or at least pay some bills. It's rare that these folks get consistent work. It's a very rough life.

The actual non-famous working actors out there are not the majority among those who attempt to be.

Both castings directors are GAY(my contacts dried out). It's always been Hollyweird to me-Phillywhore, moderate to Liberal Democrat. Thank You DL

R41: They’re both Weinstein discoveries. We’ve had a million threads like this before.

Phylicia Radhad When she left One Life To Live, she was still Phylicia Ayers Allen then, I thought BIG mistake. Like there is just so much work for actresses much less a black actress. I figured she’d never be heard from again. Was I wrong. Hater her all you want, but she’s had a helluva fine career. Even without Cosby, she’s had a great career - stage and so forth.

I never thought Jennifer Lopez would become a big star. I figured that, at best, she'd star in a few TV shows and television movies. At worst, another WHET, like Irene Cara.

The talentless and unfunny Ryan Reynolds. His stupid trolling on social media is ridiculous.

Throw in his equally talentless wife, Blake Lively.

John Krasinski going from Jim in The Office to starring in a series of Action Movies has never made sense.

Sandra Bullock

Amanda seyfried, Blake lively, Scarlett johansson - she’s done well considering how one note she is most of the time.

G. Oh wait, not really. You mean big star.

All the Chrises except Pratt who seems to have some charisma. I’m not a fan of Pratt’s but I can see some star quality there. The other chrises, evans, hemsworth and pine are fine eye candy but nothing more.

Robert Pattinson, I’m surprised he’s working with some interesting filmmakers after twilight.

Kim Richards.

Chris Pratt always sounds like a former casting cough hoe, similar to Ton Cruise. His story about getting headshots from a gay photographer that he didn’t know was gay until he arrived at the guys house for free shots. As if he people just offer free shots in their makeshift home studio to actors walking down the street.

Him being super conservative and shit person makes me think he really was willing to go G4P until he caught his big break on Everland.

R55: He's actually been really smart with his career. He didn't do blockbuster after blockbuster after Twlight. Instead he focused on arthouse, independent films. Now he's returning to the popcorn fare with Tenet and Batman. I agree though he's not that talented or attractive.

Adam Sandler. It's a mystery to me.

Another Adam. Adam Driver. How does he keep getting the big roles and the best movies? He’s butt ugly and he’s just OK talent wise.

Supposedly Bradley Cooper blew everyone from here to Timbuktu to get where he is today.

I second Regina King. When I was a kid, I thought she was the wooooorst actress ever on 227. Seeing it again as an adult, I realized everyone around her was a ham and she’s so utterly natural she’s sublime.

I nominate Melissa McCarthy. Who would’ve thought that she would be one of the few actresses to open a movie.

J'adore Melissa McCarthy, and was so thrilled when she got starring role in that film about the plagiarist.

Rob Lowe. Not that talented and has worked constantly since the 80s.

Emma Watson is the luckiest girl on the planet. She has no talent at all. Not to mention she’s an insufferable woke feminist who goes on about how bad men are but can’t be without one for more than five minutes.

Norma Shearer

Maybe not a “big” star but I was shocked when Melissa Benoist got the lead in Supergirl after only knowing her as milquetoast Marley on Glee. That character was so dull and Benoist didn’t bring any spark to make me think she’d ever be seen again. If she doesn’t do anything else now that Supergirl is over I’ll know it was those fappening pics that got her parts

Honestly, to become a big star requires more luck than anything else. Even a talentless ho with famous parents isn't guaranteed success. I'm always surprised when I see someone rise through the shite of Tinseltown at all. Some hard work, some good agents, but 75% total luck.

When I was young, my favorite movie was Ghost World. I had absolutely zero idea Scarlett Johansson would be the one to catapult to fame, while Thora Birch faded into obscurity.

R65 sounds like a Republican who's lashing out at someone for being "woke"

Guess you'd prefer a Trumpster who hates gays. And she never said all men were bad, you made that up to justify disliking her

Kristen Stewart - I thought the backlash after the Twilight trilogy would kill her career.

Will Smith - his bitchiness during “6 degrees of whatever” convinced me he’d never make it long term.

Bruce Willis - after “Hudson Hawk” and “Last Boyscout” in 1991, I thought we’d be rid of him. At that point, he had only one character he could play and it was tiresome.

Marky Mark. Thought he'd fade away, like most one hit wonders

R28 I too was surprised by Regina King's post-"227" success, but thrilled just the same.

Ben Affleck

[quote]Big actors who surprised you by becoming stars

Ms. Metz.

Tom Hanks became a big star because he knew how to play the game. Also he was the go-to guy for roles that Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, and Robert De Niro aged out of, was too short, or too Italian/ Jewish to play. Hanks was there at the right time and place. He’s 13 years younger than the youngest (De Niro) of the group that I’d just mentioned. His prime years also coincided with the period before Marvel and action movie franchise being star makers. Hollywood still chased after the Oscar-worthy films with everyman stories and characters. Hanks was good at playing those types but IMO there’s nothing charismatic about him.

R66 = This old bat.

Coon Ramos

During Married with Children I would have never guessed Christina Applegate would have gone on to have a good, solid career for 2-3 decades now.

I never would have guessed Demi Moore and Rob Lowe would have been the most successful (and rich) to come out of the Brat Pack.

R69 I just watched Ghost World for the first time in about 18 years today. I forgot what an interesting little movie it was. Steve Buscemi was actually kind of... cute in it. The art teacher was a trip. Rip Brad Renfro. :(

Was it Lost in Translation that kind of made Scarlett Johansson a star a few years after GW?

R59 Adam Sandler is not as surprising as some of these others (R Patz) because Sandler writes his own material and that is key. Same thing with Jason Segel. He wrote a lot of movies so he was able to cast himself. Otherwise, I don't think he would have had much of a film career.

R23 really.? She was absolutely luminous at her best. The great Katherine Hepburn famously said "That girl she has it. She's gonna be a star". But you were surprised? Ok.

R80: Yes, Lost in Translation took ScarJo's career to another level, and then she, ugh, became Woody Allen's muse for a bit. Of course it was the MCU films that really catapulted her career.

If you want to stop a star from becoming bigger, avoid their films. Just ask Jennifer Lawrence. Hollywood is all about money in the end. So avoid their films like the plague and in no time they’ll do being limited series if their lucky.

I’d love to know whose cock is Mouseboy sucking? I think people are getting sick of the mediocrity and overexposure a la Jennifer Lawrence. Also, his start seems a little suspicious to me. An elite agency like UTA signs a kid with no resume and on talent alone. There must’ve been some external factor: nepotism, sexual, favors of some kind, etc.

Wow, Jennifer Lawrence truly is a success story for those sickened by unwarrented hype. Sure, Winter's Bone showed she had potential and could easily become a 2010s version of Jodie Foster. However, when she inexplicably won an Oscar over Emmanuelle Riva, and then garnered 2 more undeserved nominations shortly thereafter, the burden was on her to prove she was worthy of the hype. Fortunately, her non-Hunger Games lead roles have proven she's box office poison and we haven't heard from her in a while.

Yeah it's strange that she hasn't been working ever since Harvey Weinstein's cock went to jail.

I like Lawrence and don't get all the hate. She's pretty to me and gives good performances. The hate for her seemed really odd. But then again, I love Reece Witherspoon and Julia Roberts so I don't mind the pretty above average actresses that make it big. Sure she sucked dick for parts, but that's a Hollywood tradition.

Anyway, Cooper putting out for work sounds hot. He was so sexy in Wedding Crashers era.

If all it took to be A-list was blowing Harvey then Gretchen Mol would have been a major star.

Fucking producers or big shots doesn't magically make you famous. Ask Charlotte Kirk

I hated her until I heard her on an episode of "WTF with Marc Maron." She came off as smart with a biting sense of humor. I was most surprised at how aware she was about the status of her career, she knew if the movie she was promoting flopped that was going to be a problem for her. She spoke about it openly. I got the sense that her guard was not as up during that interview as most people. I guess I liked her honestly.

Tom Cruise

Demi Moore.

Jessica Chastain. Why are they still trying to make this broad a big star? She's marginally talented and an insufferable woke bitch.

J-Ho

Tim Allen. Not an actor, not a comedian, but probably a very good cocksucker

So many people who I saw on TV first that became big movie stars surprised the hell out of me. I apparently can't spot the it factor to save my life.

Tom Hanks - on Bosom Buddies, I much preferred Peter Scolari.

Bruce Willis - Never liked him or his smug mug.

Will Smith - Liked his "Parents Just Don't Understand" video, thought he was fine on Fresh Prince, then was absolutely astounded when he became one of the top stars of the '90s.

Chris Pratt - Pudgy goof on Parks & Rec becomes chiseled action star and heartthrob? Um, okay.

Matthew Broderick's beard. In any other era she would have played the best friend who shows up for a couple of scenes before getting knocked up. She is so ugly. Why won't Matthew leave this hag? Why?

The first time I saw Sandra Bullock was in "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" where she played a new Bionic Woman. Then I saw her in "Love Potion #9" and thought, good for her still acting. When she ended up in "Speed" I figured I was one of the few people that remembered she was ever in that TV movie.

I knew Johansson from that film The Island, with McGregor. Loved that film as a kid.

Idk how Adam Driver is a star but I love him. Talented, BDE all over the place. And he picks good projects. He is the only good thing about those SW movies.

Its not surprising Jlaw was just a Harvey girl. Without him and Hunter Games, the hype dissolver and people saw How boring of an actress she is.

I have to say the sheer enormity of George Clooney's success has surprised me because I remember watching him from The Facts of Life, Roseanne days and for years people were exactly lining up to lust after him.

Even after he left ER I thought he would have a moderate level of fame, but not permanent A list status.

weren't exactly

When I first saw Tom Hanks on "Bosom Buddies," I certainly never thought he would become a two-time Oscar winner as best actor.

[quote] I remember seeing Rihanna in the Pon de Replay video, thinking she had dead eyes and no charisma

Funny, I actually thought the exact opposite! I thought "now there's a girl who has IT". And she did....and still does. Her sexiness is off the charts and much warmer and free than, say, the Beyonce variety.

[quote] Amanda seyfried,

I think she's actually underrated. She was very good in Twin Peaks: The Return.

Michelle WIlliams

Benedict Crumpledick. He looks like an alien and his acting skills are just meh.

Anthony Ramos. Oh my god this guy is in all the high profile movies.

Shia LaBeouf

R41, My lips are sealed.

Mark Harmon

Michelle Williams white widowed her way to the top. Good for her, I guess! #RestinHeath

R98 Why did Sandra Bullock look so much like Michael Jackson? LMFAO

R111: She got help from Weinstein.

R113 Do you have insider info? Just curious. But yes, I would imagine she did. I bet she actually liked Weinstein too... she likes kind of fat, domineering guys that remind her of her estranged father

Who do I have to suck off in Hollywood to get a career these days? I'm willing to do anything/anyone?

R115: Is that you Jennifer Lawrence?

[quote] Supposedly Bradley Cooper blew everyone from here to Timbuktu to get where he is today.

Would YOU object to getting head from Bradley Cooper?

John Boyega. The ugly is ugly as shit and can’t act.

So many come to mind, but one who's always boggled me is Jon Bon Jovi. "Singer" of a terrible band with the most ignorant songs. As paper thin & nasal as his vocal is record it's even worse live, if that's even imaginable. I cannot figure out how he & Bon Jovi became rock legends.

R118: Guy is ugly as shit. Sorry.

And yes, he's even attempted an acting career.

He isn't really an actor but a couple others have named singers instead. I will say Justin Bieber. I remember the first time I saw him on TV and I thought "Why are they showing a little kid singing? This isn't the Disney Channel." I felt sorry for him because I imagined he thought he was famous now that he was on television and I never expected to see him again after that.

All these years later and he is still here.

Whoopi Goldberg

Rami Malek

Rami's career was odd. I remember him playing a gay teen named Kenny on the short-lived Fox show "The War at Home". He was probably the most memorable part of that show. He also popped up playing King Tut in those "Night at the Museum" movies. He seemed to disappear for a decade. Then came "Mr. Robot" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" and now he's an A-lister.

Ariana Grande

Who knew that the red-headed girl from Sam & Cat would become this mega songstress?

Also Anthony Anderson and Jerry O'Connell.

Kangaroo Jack was my favorite movie when I was younger, but even as a kid I knew their acting was subpar. But then again next to Estella Warren's acting....

Though I did love her in that SVU episode where her mother played by Linda Carter were drifters stealing Rich men's sperm

Mary Pickford

Jon Cryer was kicking around for so long as a B/C lister in failed projects I would have never guessed in his 40s he would hit pay dirt on a sitcom and win two Emmys.

Jim Parsons. When I saw the first “Big Bang Theory, “ I thought they hired that guy from those creepy Quiznos commercials? I though the show would be cancelled in six weeks and thought j. Galecki must have been desperate for work.

Ashton Kutcher's rise to stardom in the 2000s. He only worked well in sitcoms and on Punk'd. His film career should have ended with [italic]Dude, Where's My Car?[/italic] But he ended up getting big some roles even after [italic]The Butterfly Effect[/italic] flopped

Phylicia Rashad can appear grand and a bit goofy, but she's actually extremely talented.

I've seen her onstage and thought she was great.

Lisa Bonet was one of the breakthrough actresses on The Cosby Show and got cast in a spin-off A Different World and a big Hollywood movie Angel Heart. She could not act and was only popular for being pretty and having a cool and trendy character like Denise. That's why she was written out of ADW after the first season and Angel Heart was a flop.

I don’t recall Lisa being attractive?

[quote]I like Lawrence and don't get all the hate.

Me too! I think she's very talented and her scenes in American Hustle were the best in an already solid movie.

Ryan Gosling

For little indie pictures, sure he's great, but that's about it.

R135 He is bland and below average-looking. But I figure his big career was due to his Disney connections from being a Mouseketeer and plus he's Canadian, so he's probably easier to work with.

R96 can we talk about Pratt? He’s now a religious fundi but I realize during his Parks and Rec days that so many of his blooper jokes were about sex or penises. Like he was a Demented child. Something just isn’t right about Pratt, beyond his ego. His becoming such a huge star makes my skin crawl.

I begrudgingly have to admit that he does a good job as his Marcel Character but I was sick of him when they put him in a whole bunch of other shit.

Justin Hartley

I am never surprised by anyone's success, simply based on the fickle nature of the entertainment business. You just never know when someone is going to click or when. Hollywood success is all luck and timing.

Since a couple of people mentioned Regina King, I will say that there is no actor's success that makes me more happy than Regina King's success. When she popped up on Southland, I thought 'hey that's Brenda from 227 and she can act" Then she just blew me away in American Crime.

Do I really need to say it?

R140, I'm still awaiting word from the Criterion Collection on when they plan to release "Still of the Night".

If you get a breakout role then you have a chance at a career. Rege Jean Pierre landed Bridgerton and is now hosting SNL and being rumoured as the next James Bond. But getting Bridgerton was a combination of luck and skill, not to mention that the public took to it. If it had bombed at Netflix he still be B/C list. As mentioned in previous post it is a fickle business as is life in general.

R142: Still his acting isn’t that impressive and I don’t think he’s that great looking as the media makes him out to be.

"If you get a breakout role then you have a chance at a career."

Yep.

R144 was “Boat Trip” really such a springboard? He played second fiddle to Horatio Sanz, no?

Jean Smart is getting there. Still not quite a household name, but she's almost there.

When she left "Designing Women" before it ended, I thought, "there's another Shelly Long, thinking she's too big for this." I never would have guessed Jean would go on to win Emmys and do comedy and drama.

Her bit part in "The Brady Bunch Movie" was incredible.

Jared Leto

R142 it's Rege Jean Page, he is British.

R145, Think "Jerry Maguire".

[quote] During Married with Children I would have never guessed Christina Applegate would have gone on to have a good, solid career for 2-3 decades now.

I would say the same about Katey Sagal. And Ed O’Neill was remarkably lucky to get onto another hit sitcom that lasted over a decade.

Luck ran out for me, r150.

All of the Friends, except Lisa Kudrow.

Jennifer Aniston's permanent A-list status baffles me. If it weren't for having the door opened through nepotism, a shit tonne of surgery and landing the role of Rachel, she'd be selling homes in Reseda and shuffling her kids to soccer practice.

R152, Dating, marrying and divorcing a movie star didn't hurt.

Harry Styles - feo and talentless.