15 Movie Stars When They Were Young
Which teen tearaways became screen dreams?
From nerdy muso...
Being the da🧸ughter of a chemical engineer and and English teacher meant this yo🎉ung woman had more scholarly ambitions on her brain before the acting life beckoned.
Born in Texas and raised in West Virginia, she attended 🐼George Washington high school in Charleston and studied the saxophone (as✅ you can see in the pic).
Enrolling at Denison University to study chemistry, she switched to a drama course when she realised she e𓄧njoyed stage acting more than studying.
An𒉰d one of the big cl🍸ues to part of her future career? She was labelled a natural in fight choreogrpahy.
But who is she?
...to screen goddess
Jennifer Garner!
Garner's first proper acting job paid her $300 a week as an understudy. She's since done a little better, earning an estimated $✅14 million in 2005.
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While that might seem 🎉like small change to some Hollywood types, we certainly wouldn't turn it down.
In terms of accolades, she was named West Virginian Of The Year for "her dedication, work ethic and unique role as role model and ambassador for West Virginia." ജWe might turn that one down.
Her acting life might be taking second place to marriage♏ and motherhood with Ben Affleck🎃 at the moment, but Garner is sticking with performing.
From tennis amateur...
Tracksuits y🎐ou, sir! Ah, the nerdy glasses bely the fact that this𓂃 man has appeared on many a magazine front cover and regular makes lists of most attractive actors.
A native of Oklahoma, but raised in Spring🎶field, Missouri, this is the son of a high school counselor and a truck company ownerᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ.
Sporty from the s🅘tart, he attended Kickapoo High School (we're not making that name up) and swam, played golf 🔥and tennis.
But it wasn't all physical - h🌸e was a keen debator and also took pa🐠rt in school musicals.
Who is he?
...to professional megastar
Brad Pitt!
One of he most famous men in the world moved from school musicals to college 🎃frat shows and to the life of a struggling actor in LA.
One of his early jobs was dressing in a chicken suit to advertise the fast food chain El Pollo Loco and finally kick-started his career with uncredited work in the likes of No Way Out And Less Than Zero. We know whe🌜re it went from there...
Despite his lauded looks, he recently had W magazine photograph him in such a way that shows every line and countour of his face because, as he says, "I didn’t want to be “the guy coming out of the ocean water with his T-shirt w✨et, even though I've done that, too, but have always walked away feeling a little crap about it."
From bad hair decade...
The '80s were not, on the wh🍎ole, the best time to get your picture taken.
Just ask this young lady, born in Katy, Texas to a Swiss mechanical enginᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚeer and a Norwegian Nurse (some🅰thing she could use in a later acting role).
Despite the hair, she was voted "Best Looking" in her graduating class in 1987 and was always a fan of sports- be it footbaꦿll, basketball, baseball or gynmastics.
Add to that cheerl🅺eading and drama🥀 club, and you've got a solid start for a working - and award-winning actress.
Who is it?
...to stylish acrtress
Renee Zellweger!
Swotty Zellweger was a respected studඣent who had no intention of getting into serious acting. In fact, it wasn't until she needed a fine arts credit to complete her degree that she da𒅌bbled again in drama.
And she didn't run off to Hollywood after she decided to become 🔥an actress - nope, she mo𒉰ved back to Texas and got her first gig in a beef advert.
But it proved to be a🦩 smart move - her locale netted her sever💝al movies, including A Taste For Killing and TV miniseries Murder In The Heartland.
Oh, and thanks to her Norwegian moꦉther, she's addicted to Melkesjokolade (or milk chocolate as 🅘we call in in Blighty).
From smiley teenager...
This floppy-fringed young woman got her ꧒start in Miami, but moved to L🎐os Angeles at a young age and lived with her mother after her parents' divorce.
Born and raised Catholic, one of her earliest aspirations was to become a nun, which would hav🧸e denied the world one of the sexiest starlets a🔜round who is busy forging an interesting career.
Early childhood taunts about her "buck tee♛th" meant she focused more on academics than acting anꦦd after high school, she studied marketing at California State Northride University until she was spotted by an agent who convinced her to give acting a real try.
Who is she? The beauty spot might be a clue...
...To sexy lady
Eva Mendes!
Turns out, she's been fond of dres𓄧sing up all her life. "A lot of people think of me as maybe a tomboy or a tomboy growing up, but I'm the girliest girl aroun꧂d.
"I know I look tough at times, but I'm extremely girly. I use that o♍n the red carꩲpet and what I feel comfortable in.
"I love wearing dresses and I love, you knoꦚw, taking advantage of 🎃being a girl." And we can all be thankful for that.
Mendes got her start predictably in ads, before moving on to music videos and movies. Coincidentally, one of her earliest video shoots was for Will Smith's Miami - where she danced alongside her future Hitch co-star.
From cheeky chap...
The smirk might suggest a young Bill Gates, but if ther🅘e's a 𒁃point furthest from a nerd, this guy is it.
Born in New York City, he moved with his family to California for his fathe𒆙r's job and became a stu𓂃dent at Santa Monica high school, quickly becoming a star baseball player.
But his educational interest quickly waned - he was expelled a few weeks before graduation fꦅor bad grades and poor attendance.
That didn't stop him from pursuing an early love of ac💎ting, which first got its expression in Super-8 films he shot with a collection of mates who would go on to become famous with him.
And who is it?
...To wild man
Charlie Sheen!
Yes, it's not really surprising that a bad student became the man behaving badl💝y.
Sheen got his ✨s🍷tart in acting early, appearing at the tender age of nine in TV movie The Execution Of Private Slovik alongside his father, Martin.
His current starring rol﷽e on critically-loathed but high-rated sitcom Two And A Half Men was written for him.
Oh, and those school friends heไ made home movies with? Those would be Chad Lowe, Rob Lowe and their m💜ate Chris Penn.
James White is a freelance journalist wh🥃o has been covering fi✃lm and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine.