9 Wildest Situations When Actors Were Discovered And Landed The First Role

The Entertainment industry is infamous for its vicious competition. Countless young men and women from all over the world journey to Hollywood every year, hoping to make it big in the entertainment business but meeting with nothing but failure. Sometimes, though, people get lucky and are found by accident. Maybe one day, they were getting out of a cab or having a slice of pizza (Natalie Portman)
Even though luck had a role in discovering these great performers, let's be honest: most of them on this list have stunning good looks and a natural charisma that makes them stand out. To look at a young Ashton Kutcher and not think he had the makings of a great modeling career would be inconceivable.

1. Jennifer Lawrence

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Jennifer Lawrence, an actress who has won several awards, seems to have always been at the top of her field. The 14-year-old from Kentucky was visiting New York when a talent agent saw her in Union Square. After making her television debut on Monk in 2006, Lawrence rapidly found employment as a young model.

2. Pamela Anderson

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Pamela Anderson's career began in the fitness industry in the 1980s. She wore a Labatt Blue t-shirt to a B.C. Lions game while she was a resident of British Columbia. With the help of the stadium's Jumbotron, Anderson was introduced to the audience. The response was positive that the Labatt corporation recruited the future Playboy playmate as a "Blue Zone Girl" spokesmodel.
Anderson's concentration shifted from modeling for Playboy to acting, and he quickly landed guest spots on several television series. She became widely known for her role as Lisa, or "Tool Time Girl," on Home Improvement. The breakthrough job as blonde bombshell C.J. Parker on Baywatch finally came to Anderson in 1992.

3. Charlize Theron

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At age 18, Charlize Theron uprooted her life and headed for Hollywood. When she was found at the bank, she was down to her last few dollars and living in a seedy motel room. She was uncovered in a bank, where she was yelling at a cashier when he refused to deposit her paycheck. That must have seemed like a life-or-death scenario for Theron.
Part of an interview with O Magazine, she detailed the trauma. Whenever anything bad happens, I tell folks, "It's survival, people. I would have had nowhere to sleep that night if I hadn't cashed the cheque. You don't understand - please! I told the teller. I was screaming and begging when a gentleman approached to offer assistance. I opened an account, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and finally got to cash the cheque.

4. Johnny Depp

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Johnny Depp aspired to be a rock star. A friend of his, Nicholas Cage, got him an audition for Nightmare on Elm Street, and the director's daughter, who was then a teenager, believed he would be perfect for the character. Into the Next Millennium In 1984, Jack Sparrow made his cinematic debut with the part of Glen. Glen, played by Depp, is featured in arguably the most iconic horror movie death scene of all time.

5. Natalie Portman

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Neta-Lee Hershlag (Natalie Portman) was minding her own business when a representative from Revlon walked by while she was eating pizza. Portman informed her representative that acting was much more her passion than modeling. Portman worked in theatrical plays throughout the summers to hone her acting skills.
She tried out for the character of Mathilda Lando in Luc Besson's Léon: The Professional back in 1993. At first, the actress wasn't considered because they thought she was too young. After several more attempts, Besson cast the eventual Oscar winner as a young hitman.

6. Ellen Pompeo

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In the mid-1990s, New York City resident Ellen Pompeo was tending a bar in the trendy SoHo neighborhood. A casting director overheard them and approached to give them some pointers; Pompeo regarded this as a sexual advance and rejected the offer. As time went on, she began appearing in advertisements and guest-starring on shows like Law & Order and Friends.
Following this, Pompeo landed parts in films, including a standout performance as Jake Gyllenhaal's love interest in Moonlight Mile and Luke Wilson's love interest in the blockbuster comedy Old School. Before her 2005 casting as Meredith Grey in the hit ABC medical show Grey's Anatomy, Pompeo had not achieved widespread recognition.

7. Rosario Dawson

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Rosario Dawson, then 15 years old, was sitting on her front porch chatting with her pals when she was seen by filmmaker Larry Clark, who had just happened to be passing by. After telling Dawson about the movie he was directing, he invited her to try out for a role.
Dawson was cast as Ruby in the controversial independent film Kids despite having no prior acting experience. In the controversial drama portraying New York City teenagers' lives for a day, Dawson's character Ruby is a sexually active young woman.

8. Katherine Heigl

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Reportedly beginning at the tender age of nine, Katherine Heigl posed for advertisements for her aunt's line of hair care products. Photos were forwarded to modeling agencies, and Heigl eventually signed with the highly regarded Wilhelmina Models. The contract she signed opened doors for her in television, cinema, and ads. In 1994, she was featured on the cover of Seventeen.
Her first major appearance on television was in the 1999 science fiction series Roswell, which ran for three seasons. Heigl became famous after she got the part of Dr. Izzie Stevens on the smash medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

9. Mel Gibson

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Mel Gibson allegedly gave a buddy a lift to an audition because he wanted to be a good friend. The Australian had been involved in a bar brawl the night before, and his face was covered in bruises and wounds. The director of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Mad Max, George Miller, noticed Gibson and believed he would be perfect for an evil supporting part because of his condition.
A few weeks later, when Gibson returned to the set without visible bruises, Miller cast him in the starring role. The filmmaker disputes Gibson's version of events.