There are many different paths to fame, and in our current age of streaming, it’s not uncommon to see A-listers jump between big-budget films, stage productions, and binge-worthy TV series.
That said, it’s still quite a feat to see an aspiring actor make the leap from a sitcom or dramatic series to the big screen. For a blast from the past, check out which of today’s biggest Hollywood stars got their start on television shows.
Will Smith
Before Will Smith became one of the highest paid actors in history, he was serving laughs as a rapper and the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Smith’s first forays into film were in Six Degrees of Separation, Bad Boys, and Independence Day, but he made the official leap to leading man status when he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black.
By 2001, he earned accolades for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic Ali. Smith’s acting skills have earned him nominations for five Golden Globes and two Academy Awards–not bad for a guy who started on an NBC sitcom.Â
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston’s earliest acting days were on the short-lived sitcoms Molloy and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Despite the rough start, she finally struck gold playing Rachel Green on Friends.
However, it would be a disservice to overlook her film achievements. From her role in the cult classic Office Space to being a box office draw in Bruce Almighty, she has proven that she can hold our attention for much longer than a half-hour format.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Gen Xers remember the days when Leonardo DiCaprio was a teenybopper heartthrob who starred in the ABC family-friendly sitcom Growing Pains. But few could predict that the fresh-faced kid would end up a living Hollywood legend.
DiCaprio has earned seven Academy Award nominations since 1994, including one Best Actor win for his starring role in The Revenant. He also has three Golden Globes for The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Revenant. According to IMDb, his films have grossed well over $5 billion worldwide.Â
George Clooney
Before George Clooney became the dashing star of Ocean’s Eleven, he was known to women everywhere as the dreamy Dr. Doug Ross on ER. But even before that, Clooney played a mullet-sporting handyman named George on the Facts of Life and a plastics factory foreman named Booker on ABC’s Roseanne.
Ditching his bad haircut apparently did wonders for his career–by the 2000s, his sitcom days were long behind him and he was a major box office draw. In 2005, Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the geopolitical thriller Syriana. Along with Brad Pitt, he is one of only two actors to have won both the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture (the latter for producing 2012’s Argo).
Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley blew up in 2014 when she made her debut in the Divergent film series and starred in the coming-of-age romance The Fault in Our Stars. Yet prior to her film career, she spent five seasons as the star of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Woodley returned to TV in 2017 with a critically acclaimed performance in HBO’s Big Little Lies, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the role. However, she hasn’t given up on her movie career, as the actress continues to major land roles in large productions.
Chris Pratt
Who wasn’t charmed by Chris Pratt as the pudgy, lovable slacker Andy Dwyer on NBC’s Parks & Recreation? Hardcore fans even remember his days as Bright Abbott on the WB’s Everwood.
By 2014, Pratt stunned the public when he re-emerged as a ripped leading man in Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s been on a hot streak ever since, starring in the Jurassic World film series, multiple Marvel films (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame), and The Tomorrow War.Â
Jared Leto
Before Jared Leto was a multi-hyphenate superstar, he was an aspiring actor who got his big break on the short-lived 1994 ABC teen drama My So-Called Life. Leto played Jordan Catalano, a high school student who masked his learning disability with a bad boy persona.
Leto made his film debut in How to Make an American Quilt the following year, and his star never stopped rising. He won the 2013 Golden Globe and Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, and in 2016 he debuted as the Joker in the DC Extended Universe.
Melissa McCarthy
In terms of the small screen, Melissa McCarthy is best known for playing Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) and Molly Flynn on Mike & Molly (2010-2016). Her transition to film was a no-brainer: McCarthy shined as a comedic actress in films like Bridesmaids–for which she received an Academy Award nomination–and The Heat.
She surprised critics with an impressive performance as Lee Israel in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The part earned her a second Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress.
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis will forever be known for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard film series, but do you remember his days on the ABC’s Moonlighting? For five seasons in the 1980s, he co-starred with Cybill Shepherd on the beloved series about two unlikely private detectives in Los Angeles. The show launched Willis’ career and earned 40 Emmy nominations during its run.
Willis had no problem keeping his career going after the show’s cancellation; in addition to Die Hard, he’s starred in hits like Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, and The Expendables.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba is commonly recognized as Heimdall in countless Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Thor, its sequels (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok), Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Avengers: Infinity War.
Before his superhero film days, Elba was known for playing Stringer Bell in The Wire. But even before he rose to fame on HBO, the English actor got his start in a number of British TV series (Dangerfield, Family Affairs). In the States, he had one-time appearances on shows like Law & Order and CSI: Miami before he was finally cast as a leading man.
Halle Berry
For her performance in 2001’s Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry made history as the first woman of color to win an Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since been a certified A-lister, starring as Storm in the X-Men film series and the Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day.
Long before she was cast in big budget blockbusters, she was an aspiring actress living out of a homeless shelter to make ends meet. Her very first role was in the Who’s the Boss? spin-off Living Dolls, a short-lived ABC sitcom starring Leah Remini. Shortly after its cancellation, she won a recurring part in the prime-time soap opera Knots Landing. However, she had her sights set on bigger projects, and after she was cast in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, a film career was born.
Amanda Seyfried
When you think of Amanda Seyfried’s TV career, you may recall her roles on HBO’s Big Love or UPN’s Veronica Mars. But in fact, she got her start in acting a few years earlier on two different soap operas: As the World Turns and All My Children.
Following her role as a ditzy high schooler in the 2004 comedy Mean Girls, Seyfried has evolved into a respected performer. Her biggest hits include the film adaptations of Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables. Plus, her role in David Fincher’s Mank earned her nominations for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Tom Hanks
Before he was America’s Dad, Tom Hanks was a young man masquerading as a woman in the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies. His two seasons on the buddy comedy, paired with an appearance on Happy Days, led Ron Howard to tap Hanks for the lead in his 1984 film Splash. From there, the actor’s career took off.
Hanks’ filmography is endless, but early highlights include Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, which earned him consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor in 1993 and 1994. Other hits include Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood–all of which were also nominated for Academy Awards.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is synonymous with Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, but her TV days started well over a decade earlier when she played Patty Greene on the 1982 CBS sitcom Square Pegs.
Even though the series only survived one season, Parker had roles in notable films throughout the 1980s and 19980s (Footloose, Hocus Pocus, Ed Wood).
She continued starring in movies throughout the 2000s (Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Failure to Launch), but there’s no doubt that her biggest success has come from adapting Sex and the City into two feature films.
Jennifer Lawrence
From playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series to her Academy Award-winning performance in Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence has proven her range as an actress. What few fans forget is that she got her start on television.
Following guest roles on Monk and Medium, she earned her first TV role in 2007 on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show. Even then, at age 17, she was described by the Washington Post critic Tom Shales as “a scene-stealer.” It seems she was destined for the big screen.