They say everyone has to start somewhere — even those at the top. Tinseltown’s finest are, of course, no exception. Today’s A-listers were once climbing the ladder with appearances in sitcoms, horror films and kids’ shows.
Take Rami Malek, for instance. Long before the Mr. Robot star was taking home an Oscar for his performance in Bohemian Rhapsody, he was piping up as a member of Lane Kim’s Bible study group on Gilmore Girls.
He’s not the only megastar to get his start in TV: Ryan Gosling, who famously began his acting debut as a mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club, went on to take several lesser-known roles on the small screen, including stints on Goosebumps, Young Hercules and Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Grammy nominee Demi Lovato and her pal Selena Gomez once sang together as pint-sized pals on Barney and Friends, while “7 Rings” crooner Ariana Grande was a regular on the Nickelodeon circuit: The pop star played Cat Valentine on Victorious from 2010 to 2013, before heading up her own series on the network, Sam & Cat.
Others headed straight to the silver screen with roles that now make our jaws drop: Jennifer Aniston and Johnny Depp began their careers in horror films, with the Friends alum, 50, starring in the cult classic Leprechaun, and Depp, 55, meeting a bloody end as Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
And as for Aniston’s pal, Courteney Cox? She became part of the He-Man universe as heroine Julie Winston in the 1987 flick, Masters of the Universe.
Watch the video above to find out who else had surprising early roles and to catch a glimpse of their fledgling beginnings!