Channing Tatum

We’ve touched on the jobs that some celebrities had before making it big in Hollywood. Channing Tatum has a similar story, with one unique detail. After he graduated from high school, he opted out of a football scholarship and became part of an all-male revue in Tampa.
It was during one of their club performances that a scout saw him and thought there was potential in the young dancer. The result? Channing received acting credit for a Pepsi ad. His luck was just getting started, however, because this would lead to him landing the starring role in 2006’s Step Up.

Mandy Moore

Connections do play a big part when it comes to opening doors in the entertainment industry. However, they don’t always come in the “package” most people expect. For Mandy Moore, her ticket to becoming a star came in the form of a FedEx delivery man who overheard the singer while she was practicing at a studio. Mandy paid for the studio time through the money she earned performing the national anthem for local sporting teams.
That small investment led to her discovery. The delivery man, through his many connections, managed to land the young singer a meeting with an exec at Epic Records.

Haley Joel Osment

When people say that Ikea has just about anything, they probably don’t mean that this is where you’ll find your future career. Unless you’re Haley Joel Osment, of course. The actor went into the Burbank store where a casting table was organized and talent scouts were taking photos of the kids coming in with their families. He got his polaroid taken and that helped him land a Pizza Hut commercial.
He also caught the attention of Forrest Gump’s casting director. From there, he consistently won over people’s hearts, and landed major movie credit. Including his breakthrough role in M. Night Shymalan’s The Sixth Sense.

Vin Diesel

Mark Sinclair, or also known as Vin Diesel, got his start through the New York City theater. That said, the actor didn’t exactly audition for a part in one of their productions. Instead, he and some friends were caught messing around, and would have ended up in handcuffs had it not been for the kind artistic director who helped them out. Thanks to this chance encounter, he went on to appear in Off-Off-Broadway productions before moving to Los Angeles.
Vin gives credit to his film Multi-Facial for helping him get the attention of director Steven Spielberg. The filmmaker was impressed and cast the actor in Saving Private Ryan.

Shannyn Sossamon

Before she became an indie darling Shannyn was performing as a dancer and was attending Dance Unlimited. Sure, she did modeling work and filmed for commercials to keep out of bankruptcy, but the actress wasn’t one to really go after bigger TV and film roles. To help finance her lifestyle, she also worked nights as a DJ for local clubs. It was because of this side-gig that she was at Gwyneth Paltrow’s birthday party. There, Shannyn was discovered by Francine Maisler, a casting director.
She eventually landed a role in A Knight’s Tale alongside Heath Ledger and even won an MTV Award to her credit.

Angie Harmon

Angie Harmon was actively pursuing an acting career for a period of time. She found initial success as a model for many high profile publications. To her credit, Angie managed to beat out 63,000 other contestants to land a Seventeen Magazine cover.
Her breakthrough didn’t happen at a casting call, however. The actress simply had the good fortune of sitting next to David Hasselhoff on a flight. Aside from her beauty, Angie really won David over with her charm and personality. So much so that he offered her a co-star role in Baywatch Nights, a Baywatch spin-off, right then and there!

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh is one of the original scream queens, with credit to her appearance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. She has starred in over 50 films during her career and you might be surprised at how Janet got her start in the business. Spoiler: it wasn’t at an audition.
It was actress Norma Shearer who took notice of her. She was so enamored by a picture of Janet that she asked to keep it—in order to show it to MGM execs. Soon after, Janet was asked to do a screen test and eventually given a starring role in The Romance of Rosy Ridge!

Sofia Vergara

With her gorgeous looks and charming personality, people are bound to notice actress Sofia Vergara—even if it’s at a crowded beach. She was 17 years old when Sofia was scouted. The actress was out with her family, spending time at the beach when the scout asked to take a polaroid of her.
That exchange helped Sofia get one foot through the door when it comes to the entertainment industry. Just a year later, she was able to snag a part in a Pepsi commercial. From there, she continued to receive acting credit for various TV roles. Her big break? Modern Family.

Kate Upton

Kate had a steady career as a model, but the work she was getting had always rested on a plateau. While she got a fair bit of magazine jobs, her agency was starting to believe that the model simply didn’t meet the “fashion standard”. After all, while she is gorgeous, the current trend in the modeling world was something entirely different.
Fortunately, Kate’s luck was about to change. During a Clippers game, a friend of hers took a video of the model dancing “The Dougie”. This video quickly went viral, to such a degree that it actually saved her career.

Marilyn Monroe

Before she became the beloved Hollywood icon, Norma Jeane Mortenson or Marilyn Monroe worked at a munitions factory in California. In 1942, she dropped out of school and married Jimmiewho was a marine. It was while she was at work that a photographer from Yank magazine, an army publication, visited and snapped a photo of the gorgeous brunette.
Thanks to that encounter, she got her start in modeling. When Jimmie came home in 1946, Norma Jeane had become Marilyn Monroe and had her hair dyed blonde. A year later, they would call on divorce lawyers—leaving her free to pursue an acting career.