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| Careers
before they were famous |
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There’s no business like show business, but it is
certainly the most difficult to succeed in. Just ask any
number of ex-soap stars or out-of-favour pop stars.
Becoming famous and staying in the public eye is a full-time
career, but only the children of the already rich and
famous are born with a degree in stardom. The rest of
them have to work at it, like anyone. Before they hit
the big time, all celebrities need to make a living. Brad
Pitt, for example, worked as a fully-clothed chauffeur
for a strip-a-gram business.
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| More
than just a pretty face and a talented actress,
Natalie Portman also has a degree in psychology. |
Sensible celebrities in the modern world are fully aware
that very few make it in the world of fame. They take
the advice given by their parents and teachers of having
some alternative career opportunities under their belt,
just in case.
Here are some of the former career plans of some of Hollywood’s
biggest stars.
Matthew McConaughey as a lawyer: Instead of joining his
father’s lucrative oil business, McConaughey attended
the University of Texas with the intention of becoming
a lawyer. He reportedly changed his course to acting after
being inspired by an Og Mandino book, The Greatest Salesman
in the World.
Benicio del Toro as a lawyer: Before starring in Traffic
and Sin City, del Toro sensibly studied business at the
University of California. Although his father wanted him
to become a lawyer, he secretly changed his course to
acting and later dropped out to study what he now does
best in New York.
 Denzel
Washington as a journalist: Washington attended Fordham
University to pursue a career in journalism before getting
involved in student drama productions and being drawn
into acting. He finished his degree and moved to San Francisco
attending the American Conservatory Theater for one year
before pursuing acting work and later earning multiple
awards.
Will Ferrell as a sportscaster: After comedian Will Ferrell
graduated from the University of Southern California with
a degree in sports information, he took a job as a sportscaster
on a weekly cable show. When his stand-up shows and acting
career took off, he coincidentally revisited his former
career playing a newscaster for a cable network in Anchorman:
The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Queen Latifah as newscaster or lawyer: Before becoming
an Academy Award-nominated actress and hip hop artist,
Queen Latifah (previously Dana Owens) studied broadcast
journalism in Manhattan. She considered pursuing a career
either as a newscaster or a lawyer before hitting the
big time, becoming Queen of the hip hop scene.
Natalie Portman as psychologist: Portman is one of the
few celebrities to keep the fires stoked on her previous
career aspirations. At just 11 years old, she was discovered
by a modelling scout at a pizza parlour. Portman then
went into acting and bagged the role of Queen Amidala
in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and
her Oscar-nominated role in Closer. After a few years
of Hollywood success, Portman unusually took a career
break to study at Harvard University, majoring in psychology.
Although she intends to continue acting, she also plans
to practice psychology.
Lucy Liu as linguist: Before finding fame and admiration
in Charlie’s Angels, Liu attended New York University
before transferring to the University of Michigan where
she graduated in Asian languages. During her last year
of college, she took the lead role in her college’s
production of Alice in Wonderland and becoming a linguist
was history. |
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