Random Real Stories of How Famous Actors Were "Discovered" (15 items)

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  (#12) Katherine Heigl

  • Grey's Anatomy, Roswell, State of Affairs, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, The Tempest

  When Katherine Heigl was just nine years old, she reportedly posed for pictures for her aunt's hair care products. Those pictures were sent to modeling agencies, and Heigl signed with world-renowned agency Wilhelmina Models. Her signing led to a career in commercials, TV, and film. She even made the cover of Seventeen magazine in 1994.

  Her breakout role on television came in 1999 with the sci-fi program Roswell, which lasted for three seasons. After appearing in several independent films, Heigl then landed the role of Dr. Izzie Stevens on the mega-hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which instantly made the actress a household name.
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  (#2) Pamela Anderson

  • Home Improvement, Baywatch, Days of Our Lives, Dancing with the Stars, Stacked, V.I.P., Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding, Baywatch the Movie: Forbidden Paradise, Stripperella, E!'s Pam: Girl on the Loose!, Package Deal

  Pamela Anderson worked as a fitness instructor in the late '80s. While living in British Columbia, she attended a B.C. Lions football game wearing a Labatt Blue t-shirt. Anderson was put up on the stadium's Jumbotron, and the crowd cheered so enthusiastically that the Labatt company hired the future Playboy playmate as a "Blue Zone Girl" spokesmodel. 

  After modeling in Playboy, Anderson began focusing on acting and received small parts on several TV shows. Her big break came as "Tool Time Girl" Lisa on Home Improvement. Then, in 1992, Anderson got the role that would define her career: blonde bombshell C.J. Parker on Baywatch.
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  (#3) Charlize Theron

  • Arrested Development, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, MTV Movie Awards

  Charlize Theron moved from South Africa to Hollywood when she was just 18 years old. She was on the verge of running out of cash and living in a sketchy hotel room when she was discovered at a bank. Actually, she was discovered at a bank while yelling at a teller because he wouldn't cash her paycheck. Apparently, it was a do-or-die situation for Theron.

  She explained the ordeal during an interview with O Magazine, "I’m like, ‘It’s survival, people.’ If I didn’t cash that check, I wouldn’t have had a place to sleep that night. I said to the teller, ‘You don’t understand - please!’ I was begging and pleading, and a gentleman came over and tried to help. I had to fill out a ton of paperwork and open an account, and I cashed the check.”

  The Oscar-winning actress cashed her check, but she also got discovered: The man who helped her was a talent agent. Theron scored her first feature film acting gig just a few months later in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest in 1995.
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  (#11) Burt Reynolds

  • Gunsmoke, Amazing Stories, Evening Shade, Win, Lose or Draw, Out of This World, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Dan August, The New Mike Hammer, Riverboat, Hope and Gloria, Gentle Ben, B.L. Stryker, The Blue Angels, The Brothers Brannagan, Michael Shayne, Hawk, Amazing Grace, Flight

  Burt Reynolds originally had no real interest in becoming an actor. He earned a football scholarship to Florida State University and was even drafted by the Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts), but his NFL dreams shattered when Reynolds suffered a career-ending injury.

  The ruggedly handsome athlete took a shot at acting and won a scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse in New York. After performing in a revival of Mister Roberts, Reynolds signed a television contract and appeared on several TV shows over the next decade. He hit the silver screen in 1972's Deliverance and became one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. 
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  (#9) Harrison Ford

  • Star Wars Holiday Special, The Graham Norton Show, The Making of Star Wars, Spike Guys' Choice Awards

  Harrison Ford moved out to Hollywood to become an actor but quickly grew frustrated. He taught himself carpentry in order to earn a living and support his family. Ford landed a small gig in George Lucas's American Graffiti (1973). However, success did not come quickly to Ford, who still had to do carpentry to make ends meet.

  Then, Lucas spotted the 35-year-old doing woodwork at a movie studio while the director was conducting auditions for his new movie Star Wars. Lucas remembered Ford from his small role in American Graffiti and asked the actor to audition for the part of Han Solo. Once Ford landed the iconic gig, he no longer had to work in carpentry.
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  (#8) Mel Gibson

  • Punishment, Complete Savages, Clubhouse, For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots, Carrier

  Mel Gibson was supposedly just being a good pal by giving a friend a ride to an audition. The Australian ended up in a bar fight the night before and had bruises and cuts all over his face. His condition caught the eye of director George Miller, who thought that Gibson would be a good fit for one of the villainous background roles in his post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie Mad Max.

  When Gibson returned to the set a few weeks later, Miller took one look at the bruise-free, extremely handsome Aussie, and decided to give him the lead role. At least, that's the way Gibson tells it; the director denies this account.

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