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43 Actors That Became Famous Later in Their Lives. 1. Christoph Waltz. It should be appropriate to start the list with Christoph Waltz. Until 2007, Christoph was lucky to be able to support his family doing stage work and playing roles in small TV productions in Europe.
- Dedication to Success
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- Paul Jennings
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- Dedication to Success
- Jane Lynch
- Danny Burstei
- Margo Martindale
- Jon Hamm
- Linda Gray
- Norm Lewis
- Connie Britton
- Kathryn Joosten
- Harrison Ford
- F. Murray Abraham
It wasn’t until Jane Lynch was 43 that she got her big break in the mockumentary “Best in Show,” where she played a butch lesbian personal dog handler opposite trophy wife Jennifer Coolidge. Lynch was cast in “Best in Show” because director Christopher Guest remembered her from a “Frosted Flakes” commercial she did in the early 90s. Since then, Lyn...
Danny Burstein has been performing on and Off-Broadway since the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2006, when he was in his early forties, that Burstein rose to acclaim in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” playing the famed Latin love Aldolpho. He earned his first Tony Award nomination, and became one of Broadways leading character actors, taking on Luther Bi...
Margo Martindale has taken on small roles in films since the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2004 that she was put on the map with her Broadway debut as Big Mama in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award, and went on to take on juicier guest starring roles on television, such as Nina Burns in “The Riches...
Jon Hamm spent most of his twenties and thirties in Los Angeles as a struggling actor. He waited tables until he was cast in NBC’s drama “Providence," but it wasn’t until 2007 when “Mad Men” premiered that Jon Hamm gained critical recognition and fame as the suave advertising executive Don Draper. Chosen from a pool of more than 80 actors for the r...
Before Linda Gray was receiving Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for her work as Sue Ellen Ewing on “Dallas,” Gray was working as a model and doing commercials (more than 400 of them). She was 38 when she was cast in “Dallas,” which launched her acting career. Since then, Gray has continued working steadily, taking on cameos in various telev...
With his dulcet-tones and strong acting chops, you would think Norm Lewis would have been a star years ago. It wasn’t until 2011 that he finally took on a leading role in a Broadway musical—Porgy in the Diane Paulus-helmed revival of “The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess”—and was nominated for his first Tony Award. Lewis gained theater prominence working ...
Though Connie Britton had secured minor roles on television series like “Spin City” and the political thriller “24,” she didn’t gain fame, critical recognition, and widespread adoration until she was cast in the critically acclaimed “Friday Night Lights.” She gained two Emmy nominations for her work on the show, and cultivated a large following of ...
Kathryn Joosten spent most of her life working as a psychiatric nurse in Chicago. In 1982, at the age of 42, she began acting in her community theater. Only seventeen years later did she land the role that propelled her to fame: Mrs. Landingham on “The West Wing.” Her performance on the show led to more television roles, including Karen McClucskey ...
Harrison Ford was hired to build cabinets for director George Lucas, which led to his subsequent casting as the lead in “Star Wars” at the age of 33. Lucas asked Ford to read lines for Han Solo, and was so won over by his portrayal that he offered the role to Ford. Since then, Ford was cast as the lead in the “Indiana Jones” franchise, solidifying ...
Before F. Murray Abraham took on the formidable role of Antonio Salieri in “Amadeus” and took home the Academy Award for Best Actor at the age of 45, the general public was most familiar with Abraham for his work as a talking grape in a series of “Fruit of the Looms” commercial.
- Samuel L Jackson. Samuel L Jackson is one of the most recognisable stars in Hollywood, but it wasn't until he was mid-forties that he hit the big time. After a series of smaller roles in films like Coming To America and Do The Right Thing, he got his breakthrough in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991) at the age of 42.
- Alan Rickman. The late, great Alan Rickman, a trained stage actor and a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, landed his first cinema role in one of the greatest action films ever made, Die Hard, as the villainous Hans Gruber.
- Betty White. Betty White's career has spanned eight decades, and while she found success in her 30s in the sitcom Life With Elizabeth, her most famous roles came much later.
- Christoph Waltz. Waltz was a jobbing actor in Europe since his mid-20s, but it wasn't until Quentin Tarantino cast him as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds that he hit the big time.
Apr 15, 2024 · These actors who started acting later in life all had legitimate careers, but gave them up to the bright lights of Hollywood. The reasons why they needed to change career directions around mid-life are all different.
- Alan Rickman. Who could have forgotten the deep and distinct voice of the late, great Alan Rickman? He didn’t start out immediately as an actor. In fact, he used to run a graphic design studio with his friends.
- Brendan Gleeson. The legendary Irish actor Brendan Gleeson needs no introduction. Today’s generation would recognize him the most in the role of Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in the three Harry Potter films.
- Dennis Farina. The late Dennis Farina, who died in 2013, is no stranger to playing gangsters and police officers. The Chicago-born actor actually had real-life experience with the latter.
- Ken Jeong. The fact that comedian Ken Jeong used to be a doctor was quite a surprise at first. But even though he was working as a licensed physician at the time, he already had the desire to do comedies by performing stand-ups as a part-time job.
Mar 17, 2023 · Actors like Steve Carell, Viola Davis, and Samuel L. Jackson —all ubiquitous in Hollywood today—pounded away at their craft for what probably felt like a lifetime before striking it big. Even major TV hosts like Martha Stewart lived in relative anonymity until well into middle age.
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Jul 11, 2024 · Though you may have to squint to actually see some of them, they're there! They're much younger, but they're there. Which is the most recognizable? Which famous actor's early bit part is the most jaw dropping? And which Hollywood celebs got their start in terrible horror movies? Read on to find out!
