16 Celebrities Who Worked 9-to-5s Before Becoming Famous

Nicki Minaj

Iconic rapper Nickic Minaj, believe it or not, once worked as a customer service rep and as a server at Red Lobster. “I like dealing with people, but I don’t really like a lot of b—, so maybe customer service wasn’t the best job for me,” Minaj told GQ back in 2014. 

Margot Robbie

Speaking of fast food, Margot Robbie once worked as a “Sandwich Artist” at Subway. “I think I was really good at it though, because I you know would really spread everything out to the edges evenly — the right amount of everything,” Robbie remembered in an episode of Hot Ones, per Delish. 

Her experience, however, may have turned herself off of going to the chain altogether. “I actually don’t go that often anymore, because I watch them make it badly — and I’m upset,” she admitted. 

Terry Crews

Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews may not look like it, but is actually a incredible artist. In addition to painting portraits of his teammates during the NFL, Crews also worked as a courtroom sketch artist. In fact, he even worked for the worst murder case in the history of Flint, Michigan, per Esquire. 

“Humility gets you far,” Crews told the outlet. “If you want to make some money, you’ve got to humble yourself.”

Rachel McAdams

Before becoming the Queen of romance on the big screen, Rachel McAdams worked at McDonald’s “for a good three years,” she told Glamour in 2012. “My sister and brother worked there. My sister was my manager!”

“It was a great place to work, but I had a little bit of an OCD thing with hand washing and just didn’t have time,” she remembered. “They were like, ‘Hey, the drive-through’s backing up. Stop washing your hands!’ I was not a great employee; I broke the orange juice machine one day.”

Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes had a regular yet intriguing job before becoming a celebrity. Talking to Larry King for CNN, Sykes opened up about her top-secret role at the National Security Agency. “I have a degree in marketing, so I was a procurement specialist,” Sykes explained. “Basically, I shopped all day. Just bought [intel equipment].”

Lil Nas X

Prior to making it big in the music industry, Lil Nas X made ends meet by working a few different jobs. Per his Rolling Stone interview, the “Old Town Road” singer was a cashier at Zaxby’s, a Georgia chicken chain, and an attendant at Six Flags, where he supervised kids’ rides like Yosemite Sam’s Wacky Wagons.

Lucy Liu

Prior to becoming one of Charlie’s angels, Lucy Liu worked overtime in New York, balancing several jobs at a time.

“I worked seven days a week,” the actress told The Seattle Times in 2008. “I knew I needed money if I was going into acting because I was probably not going to be making a lot of money off the bat. So I worked five days a week as a secretary and on weekends, during the day, worked as an aerobics instructor and in the evening worked as a hostess in a place called Tennessee Mountain in SoHo [New York].”

Steve Buscemi

Prior to finding success in Hollywood, Steve Buscemi worked as a firefighter in New York City for four years. In the wake of 9/11, Buscemi returned to his old career, working 12-hour shifts alongside NYC firefighters to help search for survivors in the World Trade Center rubble, according to The Independent. 

Taraji P. Henson

Before hitting the silver screen, Taraji P. Henson attended college while working at The Pentagon as a receptionist and performing as a cruise ship entertainer. After she graduated, she moved to Los Angeles with her son to pursue a career in acting.

Channing Tatum

Much of the world became privy to Channing Tatum’s earlier career after the release of Magic Mike, but if you were not in the know, the star worked as a male stripper before pursuing a career in modeling, which eventually lead to acting.

According to Page Six, the actor dropped out of college and worked as a stripper in West Virginia under the name Chan Crawford at age 18. 

Hugh Jackman

Little did he know at the time, Hugh Jackman was prepping for his eventual role as Wolverine when he was working as a high school physical education teacher in England. He was hired at a prestigious school as an assistant housemaster, which primarily involved teaching P.E. and coaching various sports teams.

Danny Devito

Danny Devito’s sister owned a beauty salon, and she encouraged him to become a trained beautician so they could work together. He did just that, taking classes in makeup artistry at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he would eventually join as a student actor to pursue a career in film.

Jesse Williams

Before his landing his role on Grey’s Anatomy, Jesse Williams worked as a high school teacher for six years. Both of his parents were public school teachers, so after graduating from Temple University with a degree in African-American Studies and Film and Media Arts, he decided to follow in their footsteps.

Evangeline Lilly

Before landing her breakthrough role in Lost, Evangeline Lilly worked as a flight attendant for Royal Airlines. She hated the job so much that she told David Letterman in 2007, “That job has no redeeming qualities. I didn’t like the people. I didn’t like the destinations. I didn’t like the recycled air, the crappy food. [Or] the fact that they tell you, before you start your job, to buy your shoes two sizes too big because your feet swell.” Even the biggest celebs know the woes of working for The Man.

Whoopi Goldberg

Prior to starring in Ghost, Whoopi Goldberg had a different sort of spooky role — she was a mortician, doing hair and makeup for the deceased ahead of their funerals. She was also a licensed beautician, having attended beauty school before working as a mortician full-time.

Jim Carrey

Coming from humble beginnings, Jim Carrey quit school to support his family by working as a janitor for two years. He went on to make it as a stand-up comedian at the age of 15, which would eventually lead him to an acting career in Hollywood.