Simon Cowell

Before They Were Famous

Simon Cowell ('American Idol') got his start--in the mail room--for EMI Music Publishing where his father worked. (Photo: NBC)

More from this Slideshow

0 of 0

Simon Cowell Simon Cowell ('American Idol') got his start--in the mail room--for EMI Music Publishing where his father worked. (Photo: NBC)
Matthew Perry Matthew Perry ('Friends') was a top-ranked junior tennis player before moving to L.A. in 1984. (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Aniston was both a telemarketer and a waitress before 'Friends' launched her into the big time. (Photo: NBC)
Ray Romano No joke: comedian Ray Romano originally intended to become an accountant and worked as a bank teller. (Photo: CBS)
Ellen DeGeneres According to People.com, Ellen DeGeneres held several unusual jobs including an oyster shucker and a vacuum saleswoman. Degeneres once said on Larry King Live that "The worst job I ever had--and I lasted a half a day-- was when I worked in a glove factory in Atlanta, Texas." (Photo: FOX)
Steve Carell Steve Carell ('The Office') used to be a mailman. (Photo: NBC)
Dan Akroyd At first Dan Aykroyd ('Saturday Night Live') wanted to be a priest, then he worked as a mail sorter for Canada's national postal service. (Photo: MPTV)
Tim Allen Tim Allen ('Home Improvement') spent two years in prison for dealing cocaine before turning his life around and becoming an actor. (Photo: Columbia)
Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld was a telephone salesman peddling lightbulbs. (Photo: NBC)
Amy Adams Amy Adams ('Enchanted') worked at a Hooters for two months after she graduated. (Photo: Disney)
Dean Cain After graduating from Princeton, 'Superman' Dean Cain ('Lois & Clark') was signed to play pro football with the Buffalo Bills (but a knee injury ended his career early). (Photo: WB)
Alec Baldwin Alec Baldwin ('30 Rock') was once a bouncer. (Photo: NBC)
David Letterman David Letterman was a stock boy at Atlas grocery store in Indianapolis. He also was a weatherman on the local news in Indianapolis. (Photo: CBS)
Josh Holloway Josh Holloway, who plays con man Sawyer on 'Lost,' said his first job was picking up dead chickens at a farm in Georgia. (Photo: ABC)
Evangeline Lilly... Before she was discovered to play Kate Austen on the monster hit 'Lost,' Evangeline Lilly was a flight attendant in Canada. (Photo: ABC)
Pamela Anderson Pamela Anderson's ('Baywatch') first job was as a fitness instructor in Vancouver. (Photo: NBC)
Lucy Liu Lucy Liu ('Dirty Sexy Money') has a background as an aerobics instructor on her resume. (Photo: ABC)
Calista Flockhar... Calista Flockhart ('Ally McBeal,' 'Brothers & Sisters') was also an aerobics instructor along the way. (Photo: ABC)
Danny DeVito Danny DeVito was formally trained as a hair stylist before his big break on 'Taxi.' (Photo: ABC)
Drew Carey Drew Carey was in the Marine Corps Reserve in the '80s, and he also worked at a Denny's in Nevada. (Photo: ABC)
Megan Mullally Megan Mullally ('Will & Grace') used to teach ballet to children. (Photo: NBC)
Neve Campbell Neve Campbell ('Party of Five') had her sights set on a career as a professional ballerina but was forced to quit due to injury. (Photo: NBC)
Johnny Depp Johnny Depp originally wanted to be a rock star before he became a movie star, but he had a pit stop as a telemarketer in between. (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
William Shatner William Shatner ('Boston Legal') was a camp counselor as a teen in Quebec. (Photo: NBC)
Clay Aiken Clay Aiken ('American Idol') used to work as a counselor at the YMCA back in North Carolina. (Photo: FOX)
Kelsey Grammer Kelsey Grammer ('Frasier') used to paint apartments for a living. (Photo: NBC)
David Hyde Pierc... David Hyde Pierce ('Frasier') was previously employed as a security guard. (Photo: NBC)
Bill Cosby Bill Cosby shined shoes and worked in a supermarket before he joined the Navy, serving at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia and at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. (Photo: NBC)
Jon Stewart Jersey boy Jon Stewart worked as a high school soccer coach while he was a student at the College of William and Mary. (Photo: Comedy Central)
Dennis Fanina Dennis Farina ('Law & Order') knew a little thing about law & order before he became an actor; he was a police officer with the Chicago Police Department for 18 years. (Photo: NBC)
Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi ('The Sopranos') was a New York City fireman from 1980-1984. (Photo: Abbot Genser)
Rosie O'Donnell Rosie O'Donnell was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president and class clown before becoming a stand-up comedian and winning 'Star Search' five times. (Photo: ABC)
Whoopi Goldberg Whoopi Goldberg worked as a bricklayer and as a mortuary cosmetologist to support herself. (Photo: ABC)
Jason Lee Jason Lee ('My Name Is Earl') was a professional skateboarder for eight years. (Photo: NBC)
Adam Brody Immediately after high school, Adam Brody ('The O.C.') had a job working at Blockbuster. (Photo: FOX)
Chace Crawford Chace Crawford ('Gossip Girl') studied at Pepperdine University and worked as a parking valet when he moved to Hollywood. (Photo: The CW)
Ashton Kutcher Ashton Kutcher ('That 70s Show') studied to become a biochemical engineer before he left college to pursue modeling in 1997. (Photo: FOX)
Demi Moore Demi Moore, who got her acting start on 'General Hospital,' worked in a collection agency at one time. (Photo: ABC)
Warren Beatty Warren Beatty reportedly worked as a rat catcher before...becoming Warren Beatty. (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford had a solid career as a carpenter back in the day. (Photo: Paramount)
Gene Simmons KISS's Gene Simmons ('Celebrity Apprentice') taught sixth grade at an elementary school in Harlem. (Photo: NBC)
Sheryl Crow Before she was a singer, Sheryl Crow was an elementary school teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.
Mick Jagger Mick Jagger used to be a porter in a mental hospital. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)
Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi once had a job as a Christmas decoration maker.
Rachel McAdams 'Mean Girl' Rachel McAdams worked at McDonalds for three summers when she was a teen. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Madonna The Material Girl worked at Dunkin' Donuts before she became Madonna. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Gwen Stefani Gwen Stefani's first job was at Dairy Queen. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Queen Latifah Queen Latifah worked for a short time at Burger King. (Photo: ABC)
Scott Patterson Scott Patterson ('Gilmore Girls') was a professional baseball player, who played with the Yankees, the Rangers and the Dodgers, before he was inspired to take up acting. (Photo: The CW)
Jennifer Garner Jennifer Garner wasn't always a butt-kicking beauty like she was in her breakthrough role on the spy show 'Alias.' The West Virginia native cops to being a band geek who played saxophone in high school. (Photo: ABC)
Will Ferrell In high school, Will Ferrell ('Saturday Night Live') was a record-setting place kicker for the varsity football team. (Photo: NBC)
Nancy Grace CNN newshound Nancy Grace had a job at an Indian burial grounds in Georgia. (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
Lucy Lawless Lucy Lawless ('Xena, Warrior Princess') worked for a gold-mining company in Australia. (Photo: WB)
Chuck Norris Before Chuck Norris ('Walker, Texas Ranger') became a martial artist and actor, he was an Air Policeman in the US Air Force. (Photo: MGM)
Mr. T Mr. T's ('The A-Team') previous occupations include gym teacher, military policeman and bouncer. (Photo: NBC)
Jerry O'Connell Though he appeared as a child in the classic movie 'Stand By Me,' Jerry O'Connell ('Crossing Jordan') worked as a landscaper in between acting gigs when he was older. (Photo: NBC)
Lucille Ball Lucille Ball ('I Love Lucy') worked at an ice cream shop--and got fired. (Photo: MGM)
Robert Urich The late Robert Urich ('Vegas') was once a weather man. (Photo: MPTV)
Tom Welling 'Superman' Tom Welling ('Smallville') used to pay the bills by being a construction worker. (Photo: The CW)
Bruce Willis Can you picture 'Die Hard' tough guy John McClane on an assembly line? In his early years, Bruce Willis ('Moonlighting') had a job at a DuPont factory. (Photo: Mario Casilli)
Sylvester Stallo... Sylvester Stallone got his break into the movie business at age 24 by acting in an adult film in 1970 for $200. (Photo: NBC)
Where Are They N... Find out what your favorite child stars are up to today.