Many of us have often imagined what it would be like to be a famous singer or actor and many of us still think that somewhere, there might still be a slim chance that it could happen, never mind what the pessimists might say. That you would leave your regular 9-5 job in the office and become a global (or at the very least national) superstar. Well, good news. There is every possibility that you might…
Here we take a look at some of the everyday jobs that celebrities had before they climbed the greasy pole of fame…
Despite the common misconception that he might in fact be a sailor, Rod Stewart’s previous work was almost as terrifying as his haircut. Before being famous Rod was in fact a grave digger in Highgate Cemetery. Truth be told, nowadays I don’t think he wants to talk about it…
In a similarly morbid vein, Whoopi Goldberg, prior to becoming a melodious nun was a mortuary beautician. Imagine Rod Stewart leading a hearse dressed as a nun and you are some way to imagining what the Stewart & Goldberg Funeral Parlour might resemble.
Prior to failing to jump to light speed and/or dodging boulders, Harrison Ford worked as a self-taught carpenter. He hung doors, laid a bit of tongue and groove and made cabinets for George Lucas, which led to his acting debut in his film “American Graffiti”.
Amongst our celebrities there are of course a couple who entered the entertainment profession at entry level – as a mascot of some variety. Brad Pitt began his film career not in cinema per se, but prancing around in a chicken costume outside a restaurant in LA. Not the most auspicious of beginnings, but then Megan Fox, voted the World’s Sexiest Woman, began her journey towards the bedroom walls of several hundred thousand teenage boys dressed as a banana as a mascot for a smoothie shop. As it turned out, peeling off the banana skin was the key to her getting noticed.
Jon Bon Jovi was a cleaner in his cousin’s recording studio, Tom Cruise worked as a hotel concierge and Gene Simmons did a paper round, presumably scaring several OAPs to death as he peered in through the letterbox.
By far however, the title of the holder of the most varied jobs goes to Sean Connery who after three years in the Royal Navy, worked as a bricklayer, a milkman, a lifeguard and, returning to the funeral theme, as a coffin-polisher. None of these having particularly enticing prospects for promotion, he entered Mr. Universe in 1950 placing third and the rest is history.
But whilst these are all everyday jobs, there is one Hollywood A-lister whose previous career was a little more wild – that of Christopher Walken. Whether you’ve seen him in “King of New York”, “Blast from the Past” or “7 Psychopaths”, one thing’s for sure – he is quite odd. It will therefore be of little or no surprise to you that at the age of 15, Walken joined a travelling circus as a lion tamer. I don’t feel that this requires further explanation.
So the moral of the story is, don’t give up hope; you may be booking meeting rooms, doing Powerpoint presentations or dealing with irate customers now, but who knows in a few years you might be playing Wembley, taking the majority of your clothes off on camera or kissing Carrie Fisher.
