For many years, they have not only won well-deserved accolades and awards for their stellar performances in Hollywood, but these leading stars have also brought a wide range of mixed emotions to bear on billions of fans all over the world.
But, do you know that many of these famous stars were first discovered, cast, and then brought to limelight in the most bizarre ways imaginable—albeit in a fortuitous manner?
Whether it is having a tiff with a bank teller or picking a skilled carpenter for a movie role, the true-life experiences of your favorite heroes and heroines would leave you enthralled as you read through this list.
Mel Gibson
Before hitting it big in Hollywood, Australian celebrity, Mel Gibson, barely had any experience in the entertainment industry, with the closest thing to it coming from his slight theater experience in Sydney.
But things would take a dramatic turn for him when he accompanied his friend to an audition for Mad Max.
Learn more about how your favorite stars were discovered:
Mad Max, Not "Bad" Max.
Having been involved in a brawl at a bar the previous night, Mel got to the audition not looking too good, and Director, George Miller, felt the role of a villain would suit him for the movie.
However, Miller would change his mind some weeks later and decided the male lead role would be fine for him. From there on, his career has been on a steady rise as Mel is now known all over the world.
Click 'next' to learn the crazy ways these actors got famous:
Sarah Michelle Gellar
This native of New York City was a four-year-old kid when an eagle-eyed talent agent spotted her dining at a restaurant just by chance.
It is hard to believe that the encounter would remarkably change the life of this youngster for the big time in Hollywood.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
What followed this chanced meeting would result in the young, Sarah Michelle Gellar, landing her first acting gig, while other minor television roles later followed suit.
She is well-known for her role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for starring in several movies and series all through the 1990s.
Johnny Depp
While growing up as a kid, the last thing Johnny Depp never thought he’d be was an actor. But he’d have to change his opinion about that when, out of boredom, he followed his friend, Jackie Haley, to the auditioning for Nightmare on Elm Street.
Although his friend failed to get the role, while loitering around the set, the director, Wes Craven, asked him to audition.
From Nightmare To Hollywood Dream Boat
Depp was selected and played the role of Glen in the horror movie which was characterized by many violent scenes, of which he played a part in a number of them.
From there on, Depp’s iconic role in the movie the Pirates of the Caribbean would have an enduring impact on the minds of fans all over the world as he continues to bolster his reputation as one the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Charlize Theron
Finding the allure of Hollywood too much to resist, Ambitious South African model, Charlize Theron, left New York City for Hollywood Boulevard to land a role.
While living off her fast dwindling cash savings and money from her mother, she found life to be really hard as several meetings with agents proved unsuccessful.
A Fortunate Argument
While attempting to cash a check of $500 from her mother, Theron got into a squabble with a teller who refused to pay her until a gentleman intervened to help.
The knight in shining armor to the blond-haired beauty happened to be a talent agent, Bill Cosby! He’d become her agent and then sent her to get some education on acting before she got her first role within one year.
Matthew McConaughey
Handsome Matthew McConaughey wanted to take up acting as a career and was willing to do anything to achieve that—even turning down a chance to become an oil man just like his father and many Texans.
The Academy Award winner started small by featuring in some student films and commercials prior to making it big as one of Hollywood’s superstar.
(Almost) Too Handsome
However, the opportunity to limelight came through a meeting he had with a producer in a bar that would, in turn, lead him to meet with Director Richard Linklater. The latter was casting for his famous high school comedy, Dazed and Confused, and on sighting McConaughey, he felt the determined upstart was too good-looking for a role he had in mind—an old creep.
But Linklater would later change his mind when McConaughey put on a mustache and a surfer hairdo!
Jennifer Lawrence
It’s hard to believe Jennifer Lawrence is only 25 considering she’s won an Oscar for her role as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook.
However, her most celebrated role must be as Katniss Everdeen in one of the biggest movie franchises in Hollywood history: The Hunger Games. Top that with being the world’s highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016. But when did it all start?
A Vacation Which Led To A Career
It would be apt to say that Lawrence got her big break to fame by coincidence while she was on vacation in New York City when a talent agent saw her.
With the guidance of the agent, the native of Kentucky would first become a teen model before going on to take roles on TV (her first appearance was featuring in the 2006 TV series, Monk). Subsequently, Lawrence would later play top roles in several popular movies among which includes The Hunger Games and X-Me.
Eva Mendes
Although Eva Mendes did not begin as a model, she would definitely have made an excellent career out of it, had she considered it in the first instance.
In fact, she had always wanted to be marketer until a talent agent saw her photograph by accident.
2 Fast 2 Furious
While going through another prospect’s portfolio, the agent saw the photo of Mendez, who happens to be a friend to her. Instantly, the agent became captivated and requested a meeting.
The outcome of this chanced meeting was a series of minor film roles (examples are Ghost Rider and 2 Fast 2 Furious) that would result in other bigger projects.
Meryl Streep
A lot of people don’t seem to enjoy doing those things they are gifted at doing, and that seems to apply to Streep who had a stint in several high schools plays during her chewing gum days and never really appear to want to follow it as a career choice.
"She Really Taught Herself"
But everything changed in 1969 when her part in the play Miss Julie got her high reviews and attention on campus, and from there on, she had a steady rise to fame.
“I don’t think anyone ever taught Meryl acting,” a Vassar drama professor said. “She really taught herself.”
Ashton Kutcher
While in college, Ashton Kutcher received unusual attention from a talent scout, and what makes it even weirder was the fact that he was just an ordinary college student and an engineering student for that matter.
He encouraged Kutcher to take part in a modeling contest, in which the University of Iowa student managed to win.
That '70s Show
After beating other modeling contestants, then Kutcher began to get commercial gigs for high profile companies like Calvin Klein and Versace, but it was his outstanding role in That ’70s Show that threw him into the limelight, and he now ranks highly among actors in Hollywood.
Rosario Dawson
Of all the stars mentioned above, Dawson is arguably the luckiest because she got an offer for her role without having to leave the comfort of her home.
A screenwriter saw Dawson hanging out on her porch and became enamored by her presence.
She's Got Game
This event would be the break that she needed as the agent asked her to audition for the movie, Kids, which Dawson did, and got the role of Ruby.
Some years afterward, Dawson would get a role in Spike Lee’s He Got Game and has gone ahead to feature in some high profile movies.
Jason Statham
Statham represented Britain in the 1990 Commonwealth Games as a diver (the guys who jump from above), competing in the one-meter, three-meter, and ten-meter events. He finished in eighth, 11th and 10th places. For income, he was a street hustler who made living selling jewelry on the streets in London.
In fact, a role in a movie was the last thing that crossed his mind until a talent agent spotted a brusque Statham while he was out working, and this chance encounter would lead him to audition for Guy Ritchie.
Lock, Stock, And Barrel.
By then, the movie Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was still in the works and Statham exactly fitted the role Ritchie needed to finish his film.
Coincidentally, he asked Statham to pose as a purveyor of fake jewelry — an industry that Statham is familiar with. He landed the role and would later go on to be one of the most prominent action actors in Hollywood.
Harrison Ford
If it is possible for a fairy tale to play out in real life, then Harrison Ford’s story is a gripping one that is reminiscent of one, and would astound you because the Star Wars icon was a carpenter that was hired by the film’s director, George Lucas, to build cabinets in his home!
Gleaming Without Varnish
Not only did Lucas like his handiwork but he also proposed he play a part in his movie the American Graffiti.
Ford’s career has been on a meteoric rise since then, and his good fortune has turned him into one of Hollywood’s iconic stars of all time.
Estella Warren
Estella Warren was passionate about swimming as a child and even participated for her country, Canada, but fate had other things in store for her.
Fast forward some years later; Warren had starred in popular films like Planet of the Apes and Kangaroo Jack.
High School To Hollywood
The dramatic turnaround happened by chance when a talent agent took notice of her at a high school fashion show and gave her a modeling gig that brought about roles in commercials and which would land her acting gigs on both television and film in due course.
Danny Trejo
Not knowing what his goals were in life, Trejo was a misguided youth that often found himself at the wrong side of the law which would land him in prison a few times.
However, he was determined to reform and reinvent himself and would be able to achieve that with the help of an organized program while becoming a boxing champion at the same time.
From Inmate To Action Star
His big break would come when someone approached him during a program to help play an extra in a movie. Fortuitously, a screenwriter who was in prison with him and knew about his boxing prowess was also there.
He paid Trejo to train some people on set while the director decided to give him a role in the movie itself. His career had been on a steady rise since then.
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz had a career that revolved around behind-the-scenes stage work and taking up minor TV roles to help provide for his family.
But everything changed in 2007 when the renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino approached him.
Tarantino The Kingmaker
Their partnership would see Watz take lead roles in Tarantino’s 2009 Inglourious Basterds as SS officer Hans Landa which sets his Hollywood career in motion.
He’d also play a crucial part in the movie Django Unchained and has two Oscars to his credit while taking his place as one of the most famous actors in Hollywood.
Alexis Bledel
Kimberly Alexis Bledel’s real interest was to become a model before starring in Gilmore Girls, and her dream came true after being scouted at a mall.
Modeling, though, wasn’t earning her the money she needed to pay her tuition at NYU.
Lucky She Didn't Call In Sick
Knowing that there weren’t many prospects in modeling for her to make cash, Bledel began to apply for other jobs and would end up landing a gig in Gilmore Girls.
Although she caught flu during auditioning, she didn’t call in to say that she was sick and the director still gave her the role.
Alden Ehrenreich
Ehrenreich’s father was working for the famous movie director, Steven Spielberg, and the link would work in her favor as it helped her get a part as Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
A Bat Mitzvah Home Video
Spielberg was impressed with Ehrenreich when he saw her talent first-hand in a comedy video at a Bat Mitzvah and then got her an agent. “That’s how it all began,” Spielberg later said.
Chris Pratt
The case of Pratt was quite different from others because neither was a model nor did a talent agent tap him up on the street.
Again, he had nothing to do with big American Cities like New York but was just a waiter working for a company in Maui.
Worth The "Wait"
Pratt had a chanced meeting with a director, Rae Dawn Chong, in Maui and she gave him a role in a horror movie, and he decided to stay back in the United United State, thus kick-starting his career in Hollywood and he is now a megastar in the industry.
Evangeline Lilly
Although it is not an unusual move by an agent, and when one from Ford Modeling stops the beautiful Canadian who was having a walk around British Columbia and offered to represent her, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse because she needed to pay her college tuition, even though she’d never given modeling a serious thought.
Commercials To Lost
Soon, Lilly began to make an appearance in commercials from where she got minor roles in TV series and eventually got a break in 2004 when she landed an acting role as Kate on Lost.
Kristen Wiig
Wiig’s teacher had a profound influence that inspired her to stardom, and it was her teacher’s nudging that got the gifted, beautiful lady to take up acting after college.
Saturday Night Live
Following her move to Los Angeles, she’d become a cast member of The Groundlings, and then survived several attempts to scam her while trying to land a role as an actress, until she got a break with Saturday Night Live at last.
Sharlto Copley
Cope had a passion for acting and tried all means possible to achieve his dreams, and with prior experience in school plays and having studied drama in college, he would later quit acting for business finally.
Paying It Forward
Copely had a successful business career in South Africa and had helped co-found many companies.
But a young friend, Neill Blomkamp, returned a favor Copley had done him earlier on by giving him a lead role in District 9.
Sylvester Stallone
If ever there was an inspiring true “rags to riches” story, then Stallone’s would really stand out because he struggled as an actor and screenwriter, and things became really bad at a stage that he had to forage for where to lay his head as he couldn’t afford rent.
His One Condition Was His Best Move
Although his experience wasn’t uncommon in Hollywood, Stallone began to put his worst days behind when his script for Rocky was picked up on the condition that he’d only sell if he’s allowed to take the lead role!
Samuel L. Jackson
Jackson is one of the most successful movie megastars around and has taken lead roles in popular movies like Unchained and Pulp Fiction, both of which were directed by Quentin Tarantino.
A Royale Without The Cheese
Jackson got his big break by starring in the movie, Pulp Fiction, where he acted as Jules along with some famous casts like John Travolta.
Tarantino believes Jackson’s (when he was 45 years old) talent would be wasted if he didn’t propel him to fame.
Morgan Freeman
As a kid, Freeman loved acting and movies, and would do anything to watch films; however, he’d jettison a part scholarship to get an education in drama for a career in the military.
Driving Miss Daisy
At last, it dawned on him that he had zeal acting for acting, and then moved to Hollywood.
Although his TV series Another World got recognition what shot him to prominence was his dazzling performance in Driving Miss Daisy at the age of 52. Freeman belongs to an elite group of superstars in Hollywood.
Hulk Hogan
You won’t believe it that Hogan loved Baseball so much that he many scouts wanted his signature while playing as a pitcher in the lower league.
However, an injury put paid to his baseball career, and something else even distracted him for some time before he became famous in the world of wrestling.
Hollywood Hogan
As his career in baseball ended abruptly, Hogan delved into his real passion—the world of music—playing for a band in Florida. But one of his fans suggested he’d make a good wrestler, and advice that he took—and had an excellent in wrestling.
Hogan would later go on to feature in some movies starting with Rocky III in 1983 and has proved himself to be a Hollywood legend amongst his fans.
Pamela Anderson
Blond-haired Anderson was a fitness instructor before she became famous in the 1980s.
It was a picture of her wearing a Labatt’s t-shirt at a Canadian football game that sprung her to prominence as fans began to clamor for her to hit the big screen.
Home Improvement & Baywatch
First, it was a contract with a brewer, afterward a Playboy gig, and then Hollywood.
But she is well-known for some roles she played on TV prior to landing acting gigs on Hollywood to play on Home Improvement and C.J. Parker on Baywatch.
Peter Dinklage
The life of Peter Dinklage revolved around a white collar job and a role in a punk-funk-rap band known as Whizzy.
But all that would change when he got the iconic role of Tyrion Lannister in the Game of Thrones when he delivered a stunning performance that got everyone talking.
Not A 9 To 5 Person
The native of New Jersey worked at a place known as Professional Examination Services and would decide that he wasn’t cut out for a 9-5 job.
“I still don’t know what the company did,” Dinklage said. “I just like, plugged information into a computer… I called in sick every Friday because I would go out Thursday night with my friends.”
Marilyn Monroe
Born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe had an unstable upbringing because she was frequently moved from one foster home to another.
Also, you’d be astonished to know that the famous Hollywood star and sex symbol was naturally a brunette and not a blonde!
Blondes Do Have More Fun
Monroe’s big break to fame came by accident when a photographer took and published a photo of her working in a United State’s military factory.
Monroe would create the emblematic blonde hairstyle by dyeing her natural hair, and with it, became a successful model while featuring in many Hollywood classics.
Wilford Brimley
As a blacksmith that doubled as a cowboy working on a ranch, what made Brimley appealing for movie roles was not only due to the fact that he could ride a steed, but that he actually has the look of a cowboy, even though he’d never anticipated getting an acting gig!
A-List Advice
He would heed the advice of his friend, Robert Duvall, to take acting more seriously. Some notable performances include 1969’s True Grit, playing Horace on The Waltons and as serving spokesman for The Oatmeal.
Thought these actor’s big breaks were interesting, then you’ll definitely like the next one!
John Wayne
After he sustained an injury, and the subsequent disqualification from his college football scholarship left him in dire straits, and with no money to continue his education, Wayne decided to get a job to pay his bills and sustain himself.
But his fortunes took a dramatic turn as he would become a leading Hollywood star in the next few decades.
Friends With Benefits
By sheer luck, he’d land a job at the prop department of Fox Studios after several companies turned him down.
Wayne tried to make the most of his new job and made friends with director John Ford who assisted him in landing his first acting gig in the film, Stagecoach.