Celebrities who got fired from their day jobs before becoming famous

Celebrities get fired, too. Sometimes, a celebrity gets fired from a movie or TV show because of some scandal or another, and sometimes the chemistry is just not right. Whatever the reason, it’s actually not all that uncommon for celebrities to lose acting gigs even once they’ve already started filming. It can even happen to big-name, A-list actors, and while that often comes as a surprise to the public, the reasons are usually valid. Sometimes, though, it seems totally unfair — at least from the outside looking in.

Liam Neeson is known for being the unstoppable father from Taken, amongst a slew of other iconic roles.

But the Irish-born actor wasn’t always on the star-studded path to Hollywood.

Before he was famous, Neeson trained as a teacher in the UK. He worked at a college and was fired for hitting a pupil after the student pulled out a knife.

“He was a big guy too, about 15 years of age,”

“I had to punch him and then I was reprimanded for hitting the kid.”

He added: “My reaction was to punch him, which I shouldn’t have done but I felt threatened.”

This was in the 1970s, and Neeson went on to join the Belfast Lyric Players Theatre, where he discovered his passion for acting.

The path to fame never did run smoothly!

Before they were household names, these celebrities were sacked from their jobs while they struggled to make it in Hollywood.

From Bill Hader’s job at the movies, Hugh Jackman’s brief stint at 7/11 and Liam Neeson’s ill-fated teaching post, scroll through to read about the celebrities who were fired before they were famous.

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J.K. Rowling

It appears as if many billionaires were fired from their day jobs prior to breaking out big, and J.K. Rowling is one of ’em!

The Harry Potter author has since amassed a net worth of $1 billion, the first author to do so, however, her career wasn’t always a walk in the park. During her time working as a secretary at Amnesty International, Rowling was fired for using her computer for personal business

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Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson is known for being the unstoppable father from Taken, amongst a slew of other iconic roles.

But the Irish-born actor wasn’t always on the star-studded path to Hollywood.

Before he was famous, Neeson trained as a teacher in the UK. He worked at a college and was fired for hitting a pupil after the student pulled out a knife.

“He was a big guy too, about 15 years of age,”.

“I had to punch him and then I was reprimanded for hitting the kid.”

He added: “My reaction was to punch him, which I shouldn’t have done but I felt threatened.”

This was in the 1970s, and Neeson went on to join the Belfast Lyric Players Theatre, where he discovered his passion for acting.

3 of 12

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga became one of the world’s biggest pop stars thanks to her 2008 bop ‘Just Dance’.

However just three years earlier in 2005, the singer almost gave up after being dropped by her record label just months after being signed.

Gaga was only 19 when she was signed onto Def Jam Records, however they let her go after she sent in her unfinished demos.

“It was one of the worst days of my life and it happened quite quickly, but in my mind, when I think back on that period of my life, it all happened very slow,”.

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Robert Redford

Before iconic 1960s actor Robert Redford found success on the silver screen, it seems manual labour simply wasn’t his forte.

The Butch Cassidy star once worked at an oil refinery in California long before he skyrocketed to fame in Hollywood.

Redford was reportedly found asleep in an oil tank and was moved to a bottle washing position, before he was fired for breaking glass bottles on the job.

“I had discipline problems,”

“For a period of time I think a lot of people – family, friends and myself included – wondered where I was going to end up.”

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Jerry Seinfeld

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is a household name thanks to his breakout role on the ’90s sitcom Seinfeld.

However, it seems not everyone thought Seinfeld had what it takes to be a star.

Before creating Seinfeld, the actor had a small role on the show Benson in the 1980s – however when he showed up to a table read after filming three episodes, he realised the character had been erased from the script.

It looks like the unceremonious firing was a blessing in disguise for Seinfeld, who decided to focus on his stand-up act, which led him to co-create his hit series with fellow comic Larry David.

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Madonna

While she was a struggling artist, Madonna worked several jobs to try and pay the bills.

The ‘Material Girl’ hitmaker once worked at a Dunkin’ Donuts at Times Square, but she was reportedly fired after she squirted jelly from a donut onto a customer’s face.

Imagine being that customer now!

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Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is arguably one of the most famous women in the world.

The successful journalist and host had her own iconic talk show for 25 years and has interviewed some of the most iconic names throughout history.

But her incredible rise to stardom didn’t come without any hiccups.

While she was struggling to make it in the media industry, Oprah was fired from her first job as a TV anchor in Baltimore.

A producer reportedly told Oprah she was “unfit for television news” after just seven months in front of the camera.

This then led Oprah to find her true calling in daytime television and the rest, as they say, is history!

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Bill Hader

SNL funnyman Bill Hader always had a knack for causing trouble.

The actor and comedian once worked at a movie theatre in Arizona and was fired for spoiling the ending to a famous movie: Titanic.

“One night a group of sorority girls came in and were blocking the doors. I asked them to move… They were being really rude to me,” Hader revealed.

So, as I tore the tickets I said, ‘By the way the boat sinks at the end, Leo dies … It’s great, you think he’s sleeping, but he’s frozen! Oh and the old lady throws the jewellery in the ocean. Enjoy the movie.’ My always-stoned boss had to come over and go, ‘Did you just tell them the end of Titanic? I have to fire you.'”

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Elvis Presley

Iconic crooner Elvis Presley was once fired from his job as an usher at a theatre in his home town of Tennessee.

The Jailhouse Rock singer was just 13 when he got into an altercation with a fellow usher and was promptly sacked.

The manager at the time, Arthur Groom, apparently took pity on Elvis and hired him back shortly after.

Less than 10 years later, Elvis was gracing the screens of theatres around the country instead of working at them.

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Lisa Kudrow

Before she was Phoebe on Friends, Lisa Kudrow was supposed to play a character named Roz Doyle on the sitcom Frasier.

The actress revealed she lost out on the role just three days into filming the pilot because of an issue with the director, James Burrows.

“I wasn’t right for the part [or] for the chemistry of the group. So that wasn’t working but I did think, ‘Oh, I am not this guy’s cup of tea,’ “.

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Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman’s path to becoming Wolverine wasn’t always smooth sailing.

Before he cracked Hollywood, the Australian-born star worked behind the counter at a 7/11 – but he couldn’t win over his manager the way he did with his adoring fans.

“I got fired after six weeks because the [boss] said I talked too much to the customers,”.

Everything happens for a reason!

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Megan Fox

Megan Fox was swiftly fired after badmouthing Transformers director Michael Bay. The two evidently did not get along very well, and in 2009 she publicly compared him to Hitler and said that he’s a “nightmare” to work with. For years, it put a real damper on her career, but she’s made quite the comeback in 2021.