Sometimes, to succeed in Hollywood as an actor or an actress, the person has to go through a lengthy process of formal education in both acting and performing. This can take several years complete, and even worse, for every star that succeeds, there are dozens of others who didn't make it in the business.
However, these top celebs are exceptions to that traditional way into Hollywood. Their sole talents are what makes them shine. Meg Ryan was a former journalism student, Charlize Theron used to be a dancer, and Matthew McConaughey even planned to be a lawyer. Here are ten actors and actresses who never took an acting class.
10 Meg Ryan
Golden Globe-nominated actress Meg Ryan wasn't even thinking of pursuing a serious acting career. After graduating from Bethel High School in 1979, she continued her higher education in journalism at the University of Connecticut before moving to New York.
She starred in some commercials and the soap opera As the World Turns as part-time jobs to help support her college studies. Her small success in these roles landed her a place at the Screen Actors Guild. After becoming a household name, Ryan left college to work on feature films.
9 Channing Tatum
Growing up with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, young Channing Tatum turned to sports to make up for what he lacked academically. As he told GQ, the actor played football, soccer, baseball, and even martial arts. He earned a football scholarship from Glenville State College in West Virginia before eventually dropping out. Tatum later moved to Miami, where a model talent scout discovered him.
8 Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron grew up in a military family in South Africa. Although she spent some years studying at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg, young Theron always saw herself as a dancer. She landed a one-year modeling contract after winning a local competition in Salerno, Italy, when she was only 16.
After a few bad injuries to her knees, Theron quit everything and moved to L.A. to pursue acting.
7 Tom Cruise
One of the most well-known examples of talented actors who saw no need of taking acting classes is Tom Cruise. Young Cruise didn't have a picture-perfect childhood or the privilege to attend an art school like many Hollywood actors today. That said, it did not stop him from moving to New York and trying his luck in pursuing an acting career. Within six months, he received his first role in the movie, Taps.
6 Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix is a case of learning by doing. Growing up, Phoenix and his siblings had to perform at various talent shows to provide for their family, according to The Guardian. It wasn't too long before Iris Burton, one of the best child actors' agent, discovered his and his family's talents getting them jobs in commercials and television shows.
5 Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp didn't have any acting roots as a kid. In fact, growing up, he always wanted to be a rock musician. Young Depp dropped out of high school to pursue a musical career in a local band called The Kids, but the band split up before landing a record deal.
Depp was supporting his music career by selling pens, when his friend, actor Nicolas Cage pushed Depp to meet with Cage's agent, and the rest is history.
4 Eminem
Eminem is one of the faces of the Mount Rushmore of hip-hop. He's a vivid storyteller throughout his songs, but there was something about the year 2002 that made his career special. It was his big-screen debut with battle-rap hit 8 Mile, and Em never had any theatrical education. He dropped out of the ninth grade several times before dropping out of the school completely to focus on his rap battle career.
3 Will Smith
Another rapper-turned-actor, Golden Globe-nominated actor Will Smith never had any formal education in any form of acting. Smith started his career as an emcee of hip-hop Philly-based duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He took the latter as his on-stage moniker. It wasn't until 1990 when NBC signed the rapper to build a hip-hop sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will Smith credits the show as his "informal acting school."
2 Jennifer Lawrence
Growing up, Jennifer Lawrence was a regular in her school's musicals and church's theatrical plays. The outspoken actress and philanthropist was only 14 when she was discovered by a talent agent. Her mother used to convince her to go into modeling instead of acting, but she took the opposite path. She dropped out of school at 14 with no GED whatsoever but continued to thrive in Hollywood as a young and aspiring actress.
1 Matthew McConaughey
Before starring in some of the best romantic comedies of the 2000s, Failure to Launch actor Matthew McConaughey actually planned to be a lawyer and has never had any formal acting classes.
"I was very interested in law back then. And actually I thought my path was going to be, I was going to be the family lawyer," he told NPR.
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