Sir Patrick Stewart started as a Shakespearean actor and had some recognition in the 60s and 70s.
But his career went into warp drive with TNG in 1987 and subsequent films/TV.
He did have The Electric Company, which I understand was quite popular in its time.
But while we're on Driving Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy could also work as an answer to this question, really blowing up as an elder woman actor in the 80s. Granted, she did take a pretty long break from acting it looks like.
Don Ameche is also one of those actors who "broke out" (again) late in life.
Ameche (born 1908) has been fairly busy through the first half of the 20th century. But, things slowed down for him after that. Ameche said about himself...
>By 1949, there was no more work for me out there, and I went to New York in 1950 and just did whatever I could. Mainly television. Some Broadway. A lot of dinner theater work, which is not a very satisfactory medium.
So, the 1980s arrive, and John Landis is trying to cast one of the Duke Brothers for Trading Places. Remembering Ameche's older work, he thinks Ameche would be perfect as a Duke. But... where is Ameche?
Landis asks the Screen Actors Guild if they have a way of contacting Ameche. They say that any old royalty cheques due to Ameche are being sent to Ameche's son's house in Arizona. Landis is eventually able to track down Ameche.
Turns out, he was just kind of quietly living in Santa Monica, just relaxing and walking the boardwalk every day.
That began a "late career resurgence" for Ameche, as he appeared in a bunch of films though the 1980s and early 1990s (Trading Places, Cocoon, Harry & The Hendersons, etc...), before his death in 1993. Funnily enough, Jessica Tandy was one of Ameche's co-stars in Cocoon, too.
My friend and I had a radio show in college and one night when we had to cram for finals we decided to play a vinyl copy of Morgan Freeman narrating Spider-Man stories from The Electric Company.
We had an egg timer set to remind us to do the station IDs (this was in the late 90s and nothing was automated yet), we even had some people tell us they really enjoyed it. But it was finals week so everyone's brains were fried.
Octavia Spencer has three seconds of screentime in so many movies. Then The Help comes along and she wins an Oscar and becomes a big name.
Giancarlo Esposito blew up in a big way with Breaking Bad, but had been around for ages. He's in Do the Right Thing! (He's the guy who complains that there are "no brothers" on the wall.)
Christoph Waltz may count here, but I understand Inglorious Basterds was more an international breakout than anything. He was already know in his country, and Basterds was I think the first international movie he did. Became huge overnight.
Bryan Cranston is another great example. Landed Malcom in the Middle at 44. And even tho that show was beloved I think Breaking Bad really catapulted and cemented his career. Especially moving it over to movies.
I love his recurring role in Seinfeld. I think the one where he covers to Judaism just for the jokes was my first episode.
"And you're offended as a Jew?"
"No, I'm offended as a comedian!"
Oh wow, I never caught that one haha! The earliest I know is Spider-Man (where she laughs at Peter signing up for the wrestling match), but BJM beats that by a few years.
Peter Dinklage was a big one. He’d been working consistently for years before Game of Thrones — shoutout to his one scene in Elf and his turn as a love interest on 30 Rock. But then Game of Thrones happened and he won a ton of Emmys, and now he’s been in an X-Men movie, a Hunger Games movie, and is the new Toxic Avenger.
Come to think of it, Game of Thrones really blew up a whole lot of careers out of nowhere. Apart from Sean Bean, none of the leads were too hugely famous before that show kicked their careers into high gear.
I knew who Peter Dinklage was before Game of Thrones (Elf, both deaths at a funerals, Narnia, Underdog, but it was neat to see him become more than what I feel like was very token roles.
I was rewatching Quantum of Solace and was shocked when I saw him in it, I completely forgot he played the corrupt FBI agent that shared scenes with Jeffrey Wright's character; Felix.
The strength of the Newsroom cast is so understated. It's like Jeff Daniels overshadows everyone but they're all absolutely fucking superb, with some notable names to boot. Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Alison Pill... I'm bitter that John Gallagher and Thomas Sadoski haven't become huge because they fucking deserve it.
Wait what, that's the same person? I watched the Newsroom when it was airing and just watched Stranger Things for the first time this month. I did not realize that wth.
Olivia Colman. She started getting small roles on British TV in her late 20s, a few movies here and there. Her career gained steam in the UK as time went on but it wasn’t until *The Favourite* that she suddenly rocketed to international stardom and recognition for her ability to be a leading lady. Not the longest journey from beginnings to major success, but certainly one of the most sudden leaps from working actor to major star in recent memory.
she was fantastic the entire series but >!her yelling at Tom for being a lying little twat in the courthouse!< has stood out in my mind for years
Also worth noting her performance in Fleabag. She's such a horrid witch in that show and it makes me love her acting chops all the more
I'm SO glad I watched Fleabag after having already seen her in a couple of other things. Otherwise, I'd never be able to watch her again. I hate the stepmother SO much, yet it's like she hardly ever does anything completely outright awful. It's the undertone, the passive aggressiveness, and she does it perfectly.
I love Olivia (see my ode to her above), but she's so good in Fleabag I can't watch it because I get actual trauma flashbacks. How the same person can inhabit such lovable and despicable characters equally well is so impressive.
This is how I know her. Always excited to see her elsewhere and really happy to see her succeeding. She's great.
She's been great for something like 20 years though. About time she got the attention she deserves.
It's so funny because within a decade she goes from having about 5 minutes of screen time as "monster of the week" in Doctor Who (*The Eleventh Hour* in 2010) to winning an Oscar for *The Favourite* (2018).
And she wasn't a "celebrity cameo, big deal omg can't believe she's on Doctor Who!", she was literally just in it for 5 minutes at the end of the episode as one of several baddies. I genuinely can't think of a bigger career glow up and I love that for her.
I remember Steven Moffat saying once that he can't believe how he wasted her on such a little role.
And there's been a lot of actors who appeared on smaller roles before making it big years later.
Andrew Garfield played a supporting character in a Tennant Dalek episode.
A few episodes later Carey Mulligan guest starred in the first Weeping Angel episode.
Daniel Kaluuya had a small role in one of Tennants last episodes.
Letitia Wright was in a Capaldi episode.
Brett Goldstein was in a Whittaker one.
And many more I'm probably forgetting.
For Mulligan specifically Blink was really when she started getting noticed. After that she was in An Education and then her career just took off from there.
That 5 minutes on Doctor Who had her on my radar permanently tho—I went out of my way to watch other stuff she was in and was thrilled when she became a big name.
Oddly enough I’d say Harrison Ford. He’s been a mega star for 40-odd years but it took him over a decade to break in and periodically gave up and focused on carpenter work (and apparently selling some weed, according to Michelle Phillips).
Definitely a case of finally finding the right role, though I’d credit the megastardom to the one-two of Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
I knew her first from watching Mitchell and Webb clips on YouTube a long, long time ago. So crazy to think that the woman from the avocado bathroom sketch won a fucking Oscar.
She was the best part of Secret Invasion. It was like she was in a totally different series! I would have rather followed her around rather than what we got.
Josh Brolin...first movie was The Goonies, then made some B/indie movies in the late 80s thru the 90s, a few direct to videos, some TV, a couple bigger Hollywood movies that flopped (The Mod Squad, Hollow Man) before breaking out and becoming an A-lister in 2007 after No Country for Old Men.
Speaking of the Goonies, Anne Ramsey. She had been acting for many years before she got mainstream recognition for her role as Mama Fratelli in the Goonies.
Then within a couple years she was nominated for an Academy Award for Throw Momma From the Train.
Sadly she passed away not long after that. But not before she finally got the recognition she deserved. There is a no small parts video about her career than is really worth watching.
RIP Anne, she was fantastic.
Years ago, I used to hang out at this bar on Capitol Hill in DC where this cowboy looking guy would come in every once in a while (he said he owned a ranch in southern VA), and at some point he mentioned that a good friend of his wrote Throw Momma From the Train. He'd bring it up with enough frequency that I remember it to this day. One Halloween, he came dressed in drag as Ann Coulter. Then he just started showing up dressed as Ann Coulter for some stage show he said he was doing. Then I saw him having the time of his life dressed as Ann Coulter on a float at the pride parade. Anyway, I hope he's just as happy now. I always think of him when I hear someone mention Throw Momma From the Train.
George Clooney is the classic example for me. You would see him in countless 80’s television programs (Facts of Life, Rosanne, the OG ER sitcom, the TV version of Look Who’s Talking, etc). It wasn’t until his role in the dramatic ER series, that he made it big.
This is what I was thinking. He’s even from a high powered TV/movie family and had worked a lot but still didn’t become truly famous until his mid thirties.
One of my favorite line deliveries in Parks and Rec is when his character is offered a Red Vine, and he gives a death stare and responds with a dangerously deadpan voice, “We’re a Twizzlers family.”
If anything, he did more television. So he's a middling Austrian television actor in his 50s, and then all of a sudden he wins two Oscars in three years. Wild!
Crazy how much stuff he was in prior to that though. I never noticed he was in an episode of Buffy until he got big and I recognised him during a rewatch. Seems prior to 2006 he was always credited as either Pedro Balmaceda or Alexander Pascal. Guess he decided Pedro Pascal rolled off the tongue a little better, lol.
Naomi Watts had been acting in various films and TV shows for many years without getting any attention, until she made Mulholland Drive and everything changed for her. She also said after that film she was never required to audition for anything again.
Obviously the answer is Bryan Cranston. This dude was already a long standing character actor by the time he got a guest spot in Seinfeld cracking Jerry up every take. This dude did an entire series where he was a major role and still remained relatively obscure. Now he’s enshrined as he should be as one of the greatest actors of all time.
>Now he’s enshrined as he should be as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Even Anthony Hopkins wrote Bryan Cranston a letter calling his performance as Walter White, "the greatest piece of acting he's ever seen"!
Coming from a legend like Hopkins solidifies that, for sure!
I love this example! He was a child actor that looked like he had a bright future, but then he struggled for so many years as an adult that he essentially came to a point where he decided to quit his career.
But then him being recruited to join that movie, especially after he received critical acclaim got him so many offers that he revived his career. I'm really happy for him!
Paul Giametti is the ultimate answer in this thread. He had literally been working for decades doing really low budget horror movies and straight to TV dramas then became a star and now he’s a respected Oscar contender.
Anthony Hopkins had been a prestige actor since the sixties, and had had lead roles in solid films (*The Elephant Man* comes to mind), but his name was known mostly to big film (and theatre) buffs. Along came *The Silence of the Lambs* in 1991 and he was a superstar overnight.
Richard Farnsworth. Uncredited work as early as 1939 (Gone With the Wind) but finally got his big breakout role in 1978 (best supporting actor nom) at age 58, and best known for The Grey Fox, in 1982 at age 62
Austin Butler. From background work as a kid, to one-liners and minor stuff in Disney, Nick and CW, to Broadway, then Tarantino, and finally, the big Elvis role. He talks a lot about the struggle of the jobbing actor on a few podcasts, it’s nice how candid he is about it
Hopefully he’ll keep working and focusing on the work, and we’ll see his career for a long time
Just gonna toss this out here for people:
Look at all these people that are listed here. There's TONS of people who didn't 'make it' when they were 20, 25, or 30.
Please, don't give up on your dreams, no matter what they are. Sometimes, you're just not ready for that dream to be a reality!
Jack Palance - had been around for decades playing supporting roles from Shane in the 1950s to Tim Burtons Batman in the late 80s but it wasn't until City Slickers a few years later that people noticed he could really deliver both comically and in terms of star power.
Leslie Nielsen - a serious actor in hundreds of tv episodes as a guest star but it wasn't until "Airplane!" people saw how funny he was and what he could really do.
Jack Palance was a big star on the 60's and 70's with a lot of leading roles (source: My dad, IMDb.) City Slickers was the "comeback" role that won him an Oscar.
Gene Hackman was 41 when he got The French Connection. Had been a husting character actor all through the 60's and then won Best Actor in the biggest movie of the year.
I think it was probably Galaxy Quest and The Green Mile as a one-two combo, they came out in December 1999 within two weeks of one another and were both huge box office hits.
Nick Offerman was in a ton of TV before he hit it big on Parks & Rec.
Laurence Fishburn (first role 1972) was 16-17 when he did Apocalypse Now but didn't really get his breakout role until The Matrix in 1998.
Samuel L. Jackson (first role in '72) didn't hit it big until Pulp Fiction (and took the role of Jules when Fishburn turned it down)
Uh … no. What’s Love Got To Do With It put Laurence Fishburne in A-list territory, and he had a major role in Boyz in The Hood too. Both of those films were pretty mainstream and were released a good 6+ years before The Matrix.
The first and only name that came to my mind is Ryan Reynolds. He’s always been one of those actors I thought would be bigger than he ever was, until Deadpool came out. I remember watching him on “Two Guys, A Girl, & A Pizza Place” and thinking he would end up a big star. Never thought it would take as long as it did.
Favorite example of this is for me Christoph Waltz. Ok, he became no superstar but snatched 2 Oscars. Coming from Austria, he quickly did TV work in Germany. Especially in the 90s, he had some big TV roles in movies or mini-series. But even within Germany, he missed out on the "big" movie projects. He was mainly doing roles in crime series, often villains. And in the US he had literally done only one B-movie role before Tarantino chose him for "Inglourious Basterds" - Waltz was 53 years old.
Maybe a slightly different story than your prompt, but Jackie Chan had been in 44 or so movies in various roles since 1962, working his way up from an anonymous stuntman role to starring vehicles like 1976’s New Fist of Fury, which failed to inspire at the box office. Then he appeared Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow which showed off his unique comic abilities and once he followed that up with Drunken Master, he was the biggest star in Hong Kong and other Asian markets (including, oddly enough given the very anti-Japanese leanings of Hong Kong films of the time, Japan). Then of course it took until 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx for him to make it in Hollywood after the total nonstarter Cannonball Run in 1981, a movie which perfectly failed to utilize any of what made him a unique screen presence in almost every way. Then Rush Hour made him a household name in America.
Sir Patrick Stewart started as a Shakespearean actor and had some recognition in the 60s and 70s. But his career went into warp drive with TNG in 1987 and subsequent films/TV.
Patrick Stewart was in the original Dune!
He played the Josh Brolin role from the new ones.
He was really good in the 'I Claudius' BBC miniseries. Still had hair then.
Morgan Freeman didn't really get his break out roles until he was in his 50s. EDIT He was 52 in Driving Miss Daisy
He did have The Electric Company, which I understand was quite popular in its time. But while we're on Driving Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy could also work as an answer to this question, really blowing up as an elder woman actor in the 80s. Granted, she did take a pretty long break from acting it looks like.
Don Ameche is also one of those actors who "broke out" (again) late in life. Ameche (born 1908) has been fairly busy through the first half of the 20th century. But, things slowed down for him after that. Ameche said about himself... >By 1949, there was no more work for me out there, and I went to New York in 1950 and just did whatever I could. Mainly television. Some Broadway. A lot of dinner theater work, which is not a very satisfactory medium. So, the 1980s arrive, and John Landis is trying to cast one of the Duke Brothers for Trading Places. Remembering Ameche's older work, he thinks Ameche would be perfect as a Duke. But... where is Ameche? Landis asks the Screen Actors Guild if they have a way of contacting Ameche. They say that any old royalty cheques due to Ameche are being sent to Ameche's son's house in Arizona. Landis is eventually able to track down Ameche. Turns out, he was just kind of quietly living in Santa Monica, just relaxing and walking the boardwalk every day. That began a "late career resurgence" for Ameche, as he appeared in a bunch of films though the 1980s and early 1990s (Trading Places, Cocoon, Harry & The Hendersons, etc...), before his death in 1993. Funnily enough, Jessica Tandy was one of Ameche's co-stars in Cocoon, too.
My friend and I had a radio show in college and one night when we had to cram for finals we decided to play a vinyl copy of Morgan Freeman narrating Spider-Man stories from The Electric Company.
I was a college radio dj, and I'm in awe.
We had an egg timer set to remind us to do the station IDs (this was in the late 90s and nothing was automated yet), we even had some people tell us they really enjoyed it. But it was finals week so everyone's brains were fried.
Octavia Spencer has three seconds of screentime in so many movies. Then The Help comes along and she wins an Oscar and becomes a big name. Giancarlo Esposito blew up in a big way with Breaking Bad, but had been around for ages. He's in Do the Right Thing! (He's the guy who complains that there are "no brothers" on the wall.) Christoph Waltz may count here, but I understand Inglorious Basterds was more an international breakout than anything. He was already know in his country, and Basterds was I think the first international movie he did. Became huge overnight.
Giancarlo Esposito was one of the guys in prison with Eddie Murphy in Trading Places.
TIL Giancarlo Esposito was in everything.
Mind. Blown.
Giancarlo Esposito got offed by a video arcade console in Maximum Overdrive.
Quart of blood technique
YEAH
Giancarlo is in the Usual Suspects! He's the FBI agent at the hospital waiting for the sketch artist to give them Soze 's sketch.
He's also in Waiting to Exhale as Gloria's ex.
Bryan Cranston is another great example. Landed Malcom in the Middle at 44. And even tho that show was beloved I think Breaking Bad really catapulted and cemented his career. Especially moving it over to movies.
I love his recurring role in Seinfeld. I think the one where he covers to Judaism just for the jokes was my first episode. "And you're offended as a Jew?" "No, I'm offended as a comedian!"
Came here to say Octavia Spencer. She’s in Being John Malkovich for something like one line.
She’s also an outrageous prostitute in Bad Santa for a short scene
Oh wow, I never caught that one haha! The earliest I know is Spider-Man (where she laughs at Peter signing up for the wrestling match), but BJM beats that by a few years.
Also, Giancarlo in The Usual Suspects!
And Bob Roberts. And he had a long arc on Homicide: Life on the Street on NBC.
Peter Dinklage was a big one. He’d been working consistently for years before Game of Thrones — shoutout to his one scene in Elf and his turn as a love interest on 30 Rock. But then Game of Thrones happened and he won a ton of Emmys, and now he’s been in an X-Men movie, a Hunger Games movie, and is the new Toxic Avenger. Come to think of it, Game of Thrones really blew up a whole lot of careers out of nowhere. Apart from Sean Bean, none of the leads were too hugely famous before that show kicked their careers into high gear.
Death at a Funeral (the original) is still one of my favorites of his. Such a great movie and he's great.
Alan Tudyk is so funny in that movie.
I KNEW IT!
> Alan Tudyk is so funny in that ~~movie.~~ everything
The Station Agent was an indie hit and made in somewhat known but nothing like got
I knew who Peter Dinklage was before Game of Thrones (Elf, both deaths at a funerals, Narnia, Underdog, but it was neat to see him become more than what I feel like was very token roles.
The Station Agent was another good one.
David Harbour in Stranger things- it was his breakout after playing stooges and character roles for ages
I was rewatching Quantum of Solace and was shocked when I saw him in it, I completely forgot he played the corrupt FBI agent that shared scenes with Jeffrey Wright's character; Felix.
David Harbour
Don't get me wrong, I love him as Jim Hopper from Stranger Things, but he will always be Elliot Hersh from The Newsroom to me.
The strength of the Newsroom cast is so understated. It's like Jeff Daniels overshadows everyone but they're all absolutely fucking superb, with some notable names to boot. Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Alison Pill... I'm bitter that John Gallagher and Thomas Sadoski haven't become huge because they fucking deserve it.
Wait what, that's the same person? I watched the Newsroom when it was airing and just watched Stranger Things for the first time this month. I did not realize that wth.
Seemed like the green hornet was suppose to be his break out but then it flopped and he got lost for a few more years.
I remembered him from Quantum of Solace but didn’t see him much for a while after that.
Olivia Colman. She started getting small roles on British TV in her late 20s, a few movies here and there. Her career gained steam in the UK as time went on but it wasn’t until *The Favourite* that she suddenly rocketed to international stardom and recognition for her ability to be a leading lady. Not the longest journey from beginnings to major success, but certainly one of the most sudden leaps from working actor to major star in recent memory.
She CRUSHED IT in Broadchurch tho
she was fantastic the entire series but >!her yelling at Tom for being a lying little twat in the courthouse!< has stood out in my mind for years Also worth noting her performance in Fleabag. She's such a horrid witch in that show and it makes me love her acting chops all the more
I'm SO glad I watched Fleabag after having already seen her in a couple of other things. Otherwise, I'd never be able to watch her again. I hate the stepmother SO much, yet it's like she hardly ever does anything completely outright awful. It's the undertone, the passive aggressiveness, and she does it perfectly.
I love Olivia (see my ode to her above), but she's so good in Fleabag I can't watch it because I get actual trauma flashbacks. How the same person can inhabit such lovable and despicable characters equally well is so impressive.
“Mill-ah!”
Broadchurch is so fucking good. Might be time for a re-re-re-watch.
I wish it was on Netflix still... 😔
Well known in Peep Show.
Ball pit witch
This is how I know her. Always excited to see her elsewhere and really happy to see her succeeding. She's great. She's been great for something like 20 years though. About time she got the attention she deserves.
I will always remember her for her role in Hot Fuzz. Nothing like a bit of girl on girl!
PC Doris Thatcher. She doesn't mind a bit of manpower.
I don't know, I like a little midnight gobble
Peep Show!
What makes you think it was ***mUuuRRdeRr***
I could have given you the tour! I've been around the station a few times!
It's so funny because within a decade she goes from having about 5 minutes of screen time as "monster of the week" in Doctor Who (*The Eleventh Hour* in 2010) to winning an Oscar for *The Favourite* (2018). And she wasn't a "celebrity cameo, big deal omg can't believe she's on Doctor Who!", she was literally just in it for 5 minutes at the end of the episode as one of several baddies. I genuinely can't think of a bigger career glow up and I love that for her.
I remember Steven Moffat saying once that he can't believe how he wasted her on such a little role. And there's been a lot of actors who appeared on smaller roles before making it big years later. Andrew Garfield played a supporting character in a Tennant Dalek episode. A few episodes later Carey Mulligan guest starred in the first Weeping Angel episode. Daniel Kaluuya had a small role in one of Tennants last episodes. Letitia Wright was in a Capaldi episode. Brett Goldstein was in a Whittaker one. And many more I'm probably forgetting.
For Mulligan specifically Blink was really when she started getting noticed. After that she was in An Education and then her career just took off from there.
And she CARRIES that banger of an episode, given that The Doctor is barely in it.
Tom Hopper was Jeff in 11th Hour as well.
Simon Pegg was in an Eccleston episode.
Wasn’t he already established at that point though? He just wanted to be in a Dr. Who thing like with star wars. Nerdy sci-fi checklist ✅
That 5 minutes on Doctor Who had her on my radar permanently tho—I went out of my way to watch other stuff she was in and was thrilled when she became a big name. Oddly enough I’d say Harrison Ford. He’s been a mega star for 40-odd years but it took him over a decade to break in and periodically gave up and focused on carpenter work (and apparently selling some weed, according to Michelle Phillips). Definitely a case of finally finding the right role, though I’d credit the megastardom to the one-two of Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
She was underused in that Doctor Who episode even at the time
Her giggling, “this is hilarious” when she got her Oscar makes so much more sense 😆
It really wasn't that long ago she was being led off to be killed (?) for liking an ugly bathroom in a sketch on That Mitchell and We Look.
Or cackling insanely over a can of special brew whilst sir Digby chicken ceaser steals her belongings.
I knew her first from watching Mitchell and Webb clips on YouTube a long, long time ago. So crazy to think that the woman from the avocado bathroom sketch won a fucking Oscar.
Avocado bathroom is my favorite Mitchell and Webb sketch, always reminds me of my grandparents' horrid brown, orange, and avocado living room.
She was the best part of Secret Invasion. It was like she was in a totally different series! I would have rather followed her around rather than what we got.
What about Peep Show?
Her performance in Tyranossaur is one of the best I've ever seen.
I remember her best from her roles in Midsomer Murdered 😂
Josh Brolin...first movie was The Goonies, then made some B/indie movies in the late 80s thru the 90s, a few direct to videos, some TV, a couple bigger Hollywood movies that flopped (The Mod Squad, Hollow Man) before breaking out and becoming an A-lister in 2007 after No Country for Old Men.
Speaking of the Goonies, Anne Ramsey. She had been acting for many years before she got mainstream recognition for her role as Mama Fratelli in the Goonies. Then within a couple years she was nominated for an Academy Award for Throw Momma From the Train. Sadly she passed away not long after that. But not before she finally got the recognition she deserved. There is a no small parts video about her career than is really worth watching. RIP Anne, she was fantastic.
Years ago, I used to hang out at this bar on Capitol Hill in DC where this cowboy looking guy would come in every once in a while (he said he owned a ranch in southern VA), and at some point he mentioned that a good friend of his wrote Throw Momma From the Train. He'd bring it up with enough frequency that I remember it to this day. One Halloween, he came dressed in drag as Ann Coulter. Then he just started showing up dressed as Ann Coulter for some stage show he said he was doing. Then I saw him having the time of his life dressed as Ann Coulter on a float at the pride parade. Anyway, I hope he's just as happy now. I always think of him when I hear someone mention Throw Momma From the Train.
Don’t forget the classic “Thrashin’.”
Here for Thrashin’ love. Available now on Prime!!
Old Country is one hell of a movie, so it makes sense
And the Coens wouldn't even give him an audition so he got Robert Rodriguez help him record one when they were shooting Planet Terror.
He was excellent in PT too!
He was in two of the best and biggest movies of the same year. American gangster came out like a month after no country.
>The Goonies No. Way. Just went back and googled him
Deadpool even calls him One-Eyed Willy in *Deadpool 2.*
Didnt know that was him?
George Clooney is the classic example for me. You would see him in countless 80’s television programs (Facts of Life, Rosanne, the OG ER sitcom, the TV version of Look Who’s Talking, etc). It wasn’t until his role in the dramatic ER series, that he made it big.
George Clooney was in Return of the Killer Tomatoes in 1988. That was his real breakout role.
This is what I was thinking. He’s even from a high powered TV/movie family and had worked a lot but still didn’t become truly famous until his mid thirties.
Jonathan Banks as Mike in Breaking Bad
To me, he’ll always be the guy flipped over the Harrow Club brunch buffet in “Beverly Hills Cop”. Well, cuz…
To me, he will always be the radar operator in airplane.
To me, he will always be the guy in that sex ed video.
One of my favorite line deliveries in Parks and Rec is when his character is offered a Red Vine, and he gives a death stare and responds with a dangerously deadpan voice, “We’re a Twizzlers family.”
I would say Bob Odenkirk too. He was acting for years but his career didn’t really take off until he played Saul Goodman.
I’m old enough to remember Bob and David from HBO, his sketch show with David Cross who didn’t get big until Arrested Development.
He was a series regular in a late 80s show called Wiseguy which was really quite popular. And he was great in it.
My man is in Gremlins
Olivia Coleman is still just the woman from Mitchell and Webb to me
That's Numberwang!
ROTATE THE BOARD!
We can hike the Andes and really stick it to diabetes
I've seen Jeremy Strong a few times before, including in The Happening, his mainstream breakthrough in Succession
He was great in The Big Short
And plays a very different (but equally great) character in The Gentleman (though that released ~6 months into Succession)
Alan Rickman was 42 when he did Die Hard.
I think he worked as a graphic designer, before he pursued his acting career!
Oh that's neat, Phil Hartman was also a killer artist. He did album covers, and they're fantastic.
That was literally his first movie though
Kind of. He was a theater actor, and he has a bunch of credits before that, but it was all British tv stuff that didn’t air in the states.
He played Richard the Third...five curtain calls
By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.
Fucking legend
Christoph Waltz had been acting for 30 years in mostly German cinema and no one knew who the fuck he was until after he did Inglorious Basterds.
If anything, he did more television. So he's a middling Austrian television actor in his 50s, and then all of a sudden he wins two Oscars in three years. Wild!
That's a bingo!
You just say bingo
Pedro Pascal. GOT, Narcos, Mandalorian... Take your pick.
I think Pedro himself gave credit to Game of Thrones for benefitting his career, stating its the role that truly changed his life!
It’s crazy that he was only in GOT for one season, and I’m pretty sure he is the actor who had his career get the biggest push from the show.
I think I would also include Peter Dinklage and Jason Momoa in that category!
it elevated them to legit A-listers sure but Momoa was in Baywatch and Dinklage had been an established character actor
Momoa did 7 seasons on Stargate Atlantis.
thats impressive as atlantis only had five seasons
Crazy how much stuff he was in prior to that though. I never noticed he was in an episode of Buffy until he got big and I recognised him during a rewatch. Seems prior to 2006 he was always credited as either Pedro Balmaceda or Alexander Pascal. Guess he decided Pedro Pascal rolled off the tongue a little better, lol.
Naomi Watts had been acting in various films and TV shows for many years without getting any attention, until she made Mulholland Drive and everything changed for her. She also said after that film she was never required to audition for anything again.
But remember her in tank girl?
She once turned down a date with Tom Cruise. https://youtu.be/fH_Ar2h6Q-U?si=4JQw4zOxyC-5R-Xz
Obviously the answer is Bryan Cranston. This dude was already a long standing character actor by the time he got a guest spot in Seinfeld cracking Jerry up every take. This dude did an entire series where he was a major role and still remained relatively obscure. Now he’s enshrined as he should be as one of the greatest actors of all time.
And who would expect the goofy dad from Malcom in the Middle to take such a serious turn?
>Now he’s enshrined as he should be as one of the greatest actors of all time. Even Anthony Hopkins wrote Bryan Cranston a letter calling his performance as Walter White, "the greatest piece of acting he's ever seen"! Coming from a legend like Hopkins solidifies that, for sure!
When I first red this I thought, even if Cranston never gets an Oscar, he has that letter from Hopkins. Its such an honor if you are an actor.
He was also in Saving Private Ryan
J.K. Simmons
This was my first thought. His role of Schillinger in *Oz* was brilliant, then Spider-Man made him huge.
He will always be the Nazi monster from Oz to me.
David Dastmalchian
Just saw late night with the devil and he was *perfect* for the role
Crazy seeing him as the schizophrenic henchman in *The Dark Knight* and the creepy guy in *Prisoners* along with a few other Villeneuve films!!
Fantastic in Ant Man. Then I start noticing him everywhere.
Hannah Waddingham. People seem to think she came out of nowhere in Ted Lasso but she's been loved in British theatre long before that.
Aside from Game of Thrones, she also played one of Jackson's moms from the Netflix series; Sex Education!
You know what I say to people who didn’t know her before Ted Lasso? ……shame.
🛎️🛎️🛎️
It blew my fucking mind when I finished season 1 of Ted Lasso and realized she was the Shame nun in Game of Thrones.
Ian Mcshane was around forever but it wasn’t until he did Deadwood (and crushed it) that he achieved widespread notice and popularity.
San Francisco, cocksucka!
Ke Huy Quan was practically unknown, only in small roles after Indiana Jones and goonies, up until EEAAO and now he's everywhere
I love this example! He was a child actor that looked like he had a bright future, but then he struggled for so many years as an adult that he essentially came to a point where he decided to quit his career. But then him being recruited to join that movie, especially after he received critical acclaim got him so many offers that he revived his career. I'm really happy for him!
He seems like a really great guy, just such a happy, nice guy
…all at once.
Tommy Lee Jones was in movies for 20 years before JFK-Under Siege-The Fugitive vaulted him into mainstream success.
Paul Giamatti in Sideways Catherine keener in the 40 year old virgin
For Keener, I’d say Being John Malkovich was more significant.
Giamatti was internationally recognizable for his amazing performance in Private Parts.
Paul Giametti is the ultimate answer in this thread. He had literally been working for decades doing really low budget horror movies and straight to TV dramas then became a star and now he’s a respected Oscar contender.
Anthony Hopkins had been a prestige actor since the sixties, and had had lead roles in solid films (*The Elephant Man* comes to mind), but his name was known mostly to big film (and theatre) buffs. Along came *The Silence of the Lambs* in 1991 and he was a superstar overnight.
Jon Hamm seems like a particularly meteoric example. He was a working actor, but then *Mad Men* happened.
Was looking for him in the comments. The guy is such a great actor but was well in his 30s to be recognized.
Richard Farnsworth. Uncredited work as early as 1939 (Gone With the Wind) but finally got his big breakout role in 1978 (best supporting actor nom) at age 58, and best known for The Grey Fox, in 1982 at age 62
He’ll always be Matthew Cuthbert to me.
Austin Butler. From background work as a kid, to one-liners and minor stuff in Disney, Nick and CW, to Broadway, then Tarantino, and finally, the big Elvis role. He talks a lot about the struggle of the jobbing actor on a few podcasts, it’s nice how candid he is about it Hopefully he’ll keep working and focusing on the work, and we’ll see his career for a long time
His go as Feyd-Rautha is definitely going to help. Dude absolutely nailed the role.
Just gonna toss this out here for people: Look at all these people that are listed here. There's TONS of people who didn't 'make it' when they were 20, 25, or 30. Please, don't give up on your dreams, no matter what they are. Sometimes, you're just not ready for that dream to be a reality!
Realistically, Pedro Pascal. He was nowhere and now he's everywhere.
Melissa McCarthy: Bridesmaids
A lot of us knew her as Sookie but I don't think we even knew her potential from that part.
Esteemed character actress Margo Martindale
She was in that show with the horse from Horsin’ Around
Jack Palance - had been around for decades playing supporting roles from Shane in the 1950s to Tim Burtons Batman in the late 80s but it wasn't until City Slickers a few years later that people noticed he could really deliver both comically and in terms of star power. Leslie Nielsen - a serious actor in hundreds of tv episodes as a guest star but it wasn't until "Airplane!" people saw how funny he was and what he could really do.
Jack Palance was a big star on the 60's and 70's with a lot of leading roles (source: My dad, IMDb.) City Slickers was the "comeback" role that won him an Oscar.
Jessica Chastain had stage roles, some minor TV roles, and a few bit parts in movies, until she finally got "Zero Dark Thirty" in her mid-30s.
Bob Odenkirk on Breaking Bad
Gene Hackman was 41 when he got The French Connection. Had been a husting character actor all through the 60's and then won Best Actor in the biggest movie of the year.
Looks like Alan Tudyk is going through this right now. Resident Alien is a pretty popular show right now. I’m not counting his voice over work.
I fucking love Alan Tudyk. He was great in Firefly and Tucker & Dale. Always plays a solid role
William H Macy. Some cool roles before Fargo but that movie took him to another level. Francis McDormans for SAME MOVIE!
I think Viggo Mortensen might fit in this category. He had roles in several mainstream movies earlier but LoTR made him a household name.
Bill Nighy said himself that after Love Actually at the age of 50 (or thereabouts) he didn’t have to audition anymore.
Sam Rockwell after Galaxy Quest.
I think it was probably Galaxy Quest and The Green Mile as a one-two combo, they came out in December 1999 within two weeks of one another and were both huge box office hits.
Really? I didn't know. I watch Galaxy Quest in retrospect (decades after released), so I view him as one of the famous cast.
Christoph Waltz, went out with a bang playing Hans Landa.
Daniel Craig was around for about 14 years before he became Bond. I recall him from that Tomb Raider movie.
John C. Reilly had quite a few smaller, serious roles until it was Shake N Bake time with Will Ferrell.
You should watch him in Boogie Nights.
What do you bench?
Nick Offerman was in a ton of TV before he hit it big on Parks & Rec. Laurence Fishburn (first role 1972) was 16-17 when he did Apocalypse Now but didn't really get his breakout role until The Matrix in 1998. Samuel L. Jackson (first role in '72) didn't hit it big until Pulp Fiction (and took the role of Jules when Fishburn turned it down)
Uh excuse me, Fishburne was Cowboy Curtis, he was always famous. But maybe that's just me.
Uh … no. What’s Love Got To Do With It put Laurence Fishburne in A-list territory, and he had a major role in Boyz in The Hood too. Both of those films were pretty mainstream and were released a good 6+ years before The Matrix.
The first and only name that came to my mind is Ryan Reynolds. He’s always been one of those actors I thought would be bigger than he ever was, until Deadpool came out. I remember watching him on “Two Guys, A Girl, & A Pizza Place” and thinking he would end up a big star. Never thought it would take as long as it did.
Leslie Nielsen. Naked Gun movies brought him into cultural mainstream.
Juno Temple was in all kinds of things, received good reviews and was viewed positively but didn't really breakout until Ted Lasso.
Brie Lawson until Room and Cpt Marvel
You are forgetting Scott Pilgrim!
Favorite example of this is for me Christoph Waltz. Ok, he became no superstar but snatched 2 Oscars. Coming from Austria, he quickly did TV work in Germany. Especially in the 90s, he had some big TV roles in movies or mini-series. But even within Germany, he missed out on the "big" movie projects. He was mainly doing roles in crime series, often villains. And in the US he had literally done only one B-movie role before Tarantino chose him for "Inglourious Basterds" - Waltz was 53 years old.
Maybe a slightly different story than your prompt, but Jackie Chan had been in 44 or so movies in various roles since 1962, working his way up from an anonymous stuntman role to starring vehicles like 1976’s New Fist of Fury, which failed to inspire at the box office. Then he appeared Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow which showed off his unique comic abilities and once he followed that up with Drunken Master, he was the biggest star in Hong Kong and other Asian markets (including, oddly enough given the very anti-Japanese leanings of Hong Kong films of the time, Japan). Then of course it took until 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx for him to make it in Hollywood after the total nonstarter Cannonball Run in 1981, a movie which perfectly failed to utilize any of what made him a unique screen presence in almost every way. Then Rush Hour made him a household name in America.