What did Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and George Clooney do before becoming famous?

There's no more summery job than the one Julia Roberts had before becoming one of Hollywood's most charismatic actresses. The star of Pretty Woman He worked in an ice cream parlor in Georgia, where his parents ran an acting school. He also sold ice cream for Tom Cruise, who combined this with jobs as a street sweeper and gardener. Shortly after finishing his studies, he left his hometown in upstate New York to try his luck as an actor in Los Angeles.

Sean Connery delivered milk instead of ice cream, but he also had a seasonal job in the 1950s when he worked as a pool lifeguard and combined that with modeling for bodybuilding magazines. In fact, in 1953 he competed for the title of Mr. Universe, and the legendary Scottish actor came in third. Shortly after, he would land a job as a chorus girl in the musical South Pacific.

Clowns and lion tamers

There are many actors who, before walking the glamorous red carpets, took their first steps in circus tents or as clowns at children's parties. This is the case of Hugh Jackman, who on the American talk show Hot waves He explained that before becoming one of Hollywood's most popular faces, he was known as Coco the Clown. "I rented a costume and my friend Stan and I would go to birthday parties without any skills," he confessed.

Christopher Walken worked as a lion tamer in a circus, taking care of a lioness named Sheba. "She would come up and latch onto your leg, like a domestic kitten," he told IndieWire the actor, who did that job when he was sixteen. He could have met Sylvester Stallone, who for a time worked as a lion cage cleaner at a zoo in the Bronx, New York.

Ushers and customer service

Before becoming one of the most iconic directors, Quentin Tarantino had an unconventional start in the film industry. During his youth, he worked as an usher at an adult movie theater in California called the Pussycat Theatre. A job that, combined with his time at a video store, he says gave him a unique perspective on storytelling and filmmaking and influenced his distinctive style.

Nicole Kidman also acted as an usherette, but in a very different environment from the American director's. After leaving high school, she worked at Sydney's Capitol Theatre, a period she says allowed her to experience the day-to-day life of the performers and everything that went on behind the scenes.

Another actor who earned his first salary in the public eye is Bradley Cooper, who played the doorman at the Morgan Hotel while studying drama in New York. His job was to open the door to guests and keep the candles in the lobby lit.

Jobs of all kinds

"You never stop doing things, because each one will lead you to something better and more exciting," said Margot Robbie in an interview with Vanity FairThe protagonist of Barbie, is one of the well-known faces who has had all kinds of jobs. From cleaning houses to preparing sandwiches at a fast-food chain or in a surfboard warehouse. And she's not the only one. Brad Pitt said in an interview in The Ellen DeGeneres Show that one of his first jobs was becoming a restaurant mascot. "I dressed up as a chicken so I could eat and I'm not ashamed of it," he said. "I played a chauffeur, stripper"I gave out coolers to university students…" the actor explained in an interview on The Country.

Before achieving fame, George Clooney also held several jobs. He sold insurance, worked as a tobacco farmer, and worked as a construction worker. When he arrived in Hollywood, he chauffeured his actress and singer aunt Rosemary Clooney and her gang. "They called themselves the mean girls"They drank huge glasses of vodka. They were very tough, mean, and obscene. And when they started singing, they had incredible talent," she explained in a recent interview with The New York TimesClooney also worked in a shoe store. "Women would lie to me about my shoe size… it was a terrible job," he told Newsweek.

Opportunities in hairdressing

Last year, Beyoncé launched her hair product brand, a career path not far removed from her first job: sweeping floors in her mother's salon. In fact, her first band, Destiny's Child, began performing for clients. "I was exposed to so many different types of entrepreneurial women in hairdressing," the singer wrote on her Instagram wall. "I always dreamed of continuing their legacy."

Another star forged among scissors and hair lotions was actor Danny DeVito, who worked for a time in his sister's hair salon. "Thanks to that job, I was able to support my new life, begin a new life in New York, and enter the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Everything happened in such a way that it makes you think about the effects of things, how one event leads to another," DeVito said during an interview in 1920.

Erotic and funeral lines

Among the most unusual jobs is that of musician Rod Stewart, who worked at Highgate Cemetery in London, measuring and marking plots with rope. A job that could rival actress Whoopi Goldberg, who, after working at a funeral home reception, went on to work in an erotic line. "When I was young, the money was fantastic," he said on the show. The View joking about his past, a task he claimed he couldn't do now because his voice would be recognized.

Another Hollywood actor with an unconventional youth job is Channing Tatum, who worked as stripper in Florida for eight months when he was eighteen. He brought his experience to the big screen with the film Magic Mike, which the performer said "captured that feeling of being at a point in your life where you're trying things out."