9 Actors Who Played Lead Roles At The Very First Role, Then Nailed It

If you're an actor, getting cast in the main part is the ultimate validation that you've "made it" in the field that you've chosen to work in. The majority of performers spend years honing their craft in little parts and supporting roles, but a select few are blessed with good fortune and are given the lead role in their very first film or television program role.
There are a great number of people who harbor the hope that one day they will get their big break. Even while this doesn't take place very frequently, it is still a possibility. Just take a look at these nine actors—in their very first roles in movies or on television, they were given leading roles. And if you were to compare where some of them started to where they are today, you'd be shocked at the difference.

1. Zendaya

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Zendaya, who at one point planned to become a WNBA player, instead made her acting debut in the Disney Channel original movie Shake It Up, in which she played the role of Rocky Blue.

2. Rachel Zegle

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In Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story, Rachel Zegler was chosen by over 30,000 other people to play Maria Vasquez. 'The procedure was really long and quite stressful,' she said. I auditioned for little under a year, which is unusual for such events. About five or six times before I made it on the squad, I tried out for it. From January of 2018 until January of 2019, however, I spent most of my time auditioning.

3. Jason Schwartzman

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At a screening for a film their grandpa had composed, Jason Schwartzman's cousin, the director Sofia Coppola, recommended him to the film's casting director, who then cast him as Max Fischer. I'm not going to get it, so I may as well give it a go," he said. I gave the casting director my Los Angeles address and received my first screenplay at my house.

4. Maisie Williams

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At her audition for "Game of Thrones," Maisie Williams felt out of place, but later she recognized that her differences helped her get the role of Arya Stark. "I even remember that on my audition day I had a hole in my leggings and I was attempting to conceal it with my hand while I was doing the part," she said to Backstage. But now I know that Arya has a reputation for being untidy, especially from her childhood; she is often the source of her mother's embarrassment since she is frequently late or dirty from playing outside.

5. Jamie Lee Curtis

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Despite not being John Carpenter's initial choice, Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie Strode in his 1978 horror film Halloween. Carpenter was so thrilled with her performance that he developed a character for her in his 1982 film The Fog

6. Zoe Saldana

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Zoe Saldana made her acting debut in the year 2000's Center Stage, playing the role of Eva Rodrguez.

7. Cameron Diaz

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To play Tina Carlyle in The Mask, Cameron Diaz was discovered by casting director Fern Champion through her modeling agency, who happened to share an office with Champion. Director Chuck Russell said, "[Diaz] was the sole person for the character, as far as I was concerned, following her first reading. I noticed she and Jim [Carrey] worked well together. After eight callbacks, including some improv with Jim, I was able to win over the producers.

8. Kelly Osbourne

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Eighteen years ago, Kelly Osbourne made her acting debut on the television series Life As We Know It as Deborah Tynan.

9. Emma Watson

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Emma Watson was discovered at her school and had to audition eight times before landing the role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. "They came to my school and asked if they could put forth a group of 20 youngsters between the ages of 9 and 12," she recalled to Interview Magazine. I received a phone call three weeks after being photographed in the school gym.