Before they were famous

Before they were famous

Most people's first jobs are anything but glamorous and these A-listers are no exception to that rule.


We've scoured the web looking for the weirdest stints out there, and these celebrities have certainly paid their dues. Jon Stewart was a puppeteer, Hugh Jackman was a party clown, and Brad Pitt a limo driver for strippers.

The good news is, we know they all made it to stardom. So, no need to feel too sorry for them.

Rod Stewart: gravedigger

Before Stewart charmed audiences with his British accent, he worked as a gravedigger at Highgate Cemetery in London during his teens.


According to Rod Stewart: The New Biography, he hoped working at the cemetery would rationalise his fear of dying: "He had suffered from nightmares about death from a very early age and so thought, as an impressionable teenager, that perhaps getting as close as he could to death, actually digging out holes to be filled by real bodies, he could rid himself of that fear."

Jon Hamm: set dresser for porn films

Hamm's early off-screen job wasn't as glamorous as the 1960s Mad Men days. Hamm, who stresses that the porn he designed sets for was strictly soft-core, said it was an easy way to earn a few hundred a day.

"Essentially, I had to move furniture around sweaty, naked people. It wasn't a great job but the money was useful," he said. "I had to get by—I wanted to be an actor."

Whoopie Goldberg: mortuary beautician and phone sex operator

The 56-year old comedian and actress took a job as a mortuary beautician after she became a licensed beautician. Her boss played a welcoming prank on her by pretending to be dead and sitting upright to wave at her. “That's the worst thing that could ever happen to you here, and it won't," he told her. "So there's nothing to be scared of."

During a segment of The View she also mentioned briefly working as a phone sex operator. "When I was younger, the money was great," she said. "See now, people would know my voice."

Orlando Bloom: clay trapper


Hugh Jackman: party clown

Jackman's natural comedian tendencies would make him the perfect candidate for a party clown. At about $50 per show, he's come a long way.

"I just love making a fool out of myself," he said. "I made my living as a clown at kids' parties for about three years. I was Coco the Clown and I had no magic tricks and I remember a six-year-old standing up at a party saying 'Mummy this clown is terrible, he doesn't know any tricks' - and he was right."

Patrick Dempsey: professional juggler

One of Dempsey's first jobs was juggling for money. When he was 15, he competed in the International Jugglers' Association and came in second to then eight-year-old Anthony Gatto, who went on to set numerous records and perform in Cirque du Soleil.

Here's a video of him dancing and juggling at 18 years old in a music video. Dempsey also showed off his juggling talents on ABC and Rachel Ray.

Brad Pitt: chicken

Brad Pitt was a chicken mascot and a limo driver for strippers

Pitt may be one of Hollywood's leading men, but once upon a time, he was nothing more than a chicken. His first employer was El Pollo Loco (Crazy Chicken) and he had to dress as a chicken, hand out flyers, and attract customers to the restaurant.

During the same year, as he struggled to become an actor, he chauffeured strippers in a limousine. "My job was to drive them to bachelor parties and things," he told People magazine. "I'd pick them up, and at the gig I'd collect the money, play the bad Prince tapes and catch the girls' clothes."

Matthew McConaughey: chicken coop cleaner

While McConaughey was living in Australia as a Rotary exchange student, he earned money by cleaning chicken coops. On the side, he washed dishes as well. Still, he doesn't regret his odd-end jobs while travelling. “Those types of trips are really ones that leave a lasting impression," he says.

Christopher Walken: lion tamer

At the age of fifteen, Walken joined a travelling circus and was briefly a lion tamer. He's modest about his lion-taming days; he claims Sheba, the lion, was very old and "really more like a dog."

Sylvester Stallone: lion cage cleaner

We're not sure who had it worse: Walken, who tamed a lazy lion, or Stallone, who cleaned up after them. While waiting for his acting career to take off, the Rambo actor cleaned up lion cages at the Central Park Zoo.

Warren Beatty: rodent catcher

Most famous for his role in Bonnie & Clyde, to say that Beatty got his start in theatre is putting it lightly. When the actor was 17 he got his first job at the National Theatre in Washington—patrolling alleys at night to spot any mice.

Mick Jagger: porter at a mental hospital

Long before joining the Rolling Stones, this rocker carried around luggage at the Bexley Mental Hospital while he was a student at the London School of Economics. He earned about 90 shillings per week (equivalent to almost $7 dollars—worth roughly $52 during 1961).

Ellen DeGeneres: oyster shucker

The outspoken talk show host has had her share of menial jobs, including house painter, vacuum salesperson, bartender, waitress, and sales clerk—but the most notable is an oyster shucker. Oyster shucking involves opening the shell of the oyster with a knife.

In Ellen: A Biography, DeGeneres is quoted as saying, "When you live in New Orleans, you're bound to be an oyster shucker, aren't ya?"

Jon Stewart: puppeteer

According to the New York Times, "After graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1984 with a degree in psychology, he returned to New Jersey where he worked for the state, performing puppet shows designed to sensitise schoolchildren to the disabled."

He also held jobs as a shelf stocker at Woolworth's, a busboy, and a caterer.

Mariah Carey: hat checker

Like many other rising celebs, Carey worked many jobs, one of them being a hat checker. According to IMBD, Carey "stated that she got fired from all her jobs because of her attitude and was concentrating on becoming a [backup] singer and mixing demos."

Channing Tatum: stripper

Since the release of the film "Magic Mike," more is being revealed about Tatum's stripper days. Dropping out of college, he went by the alias of Chan Crawford in Florida.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that Magic Mike's main character is an entrepreneur by day and exotic dancer by night. His former stripper co-workers are coming forward with claims that he stole their stripper moves.

Matt Damon: breakdancer*

*It is rumoured that, as a student at Harvard, Damon used to breakdance for cash at Harvard Square. Though many sources claim this is true, Damon insists that this is a rumour started by friend Casey Affleck. Affleck abides by his story, and talk show hosts have been asking Damon to spin on his head ever since.

Megan Fox: banana


On the Ellen DeGeneres show, she admitted that it was the only real job she had. As a joke, DeGeneres had a man dressed as a banana sneak up from behind and scare her.


What was your first job like, and does it bear any relation to your current profession?

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