14 Actors and Actresses That Even Avid Fans Don’t Remember Young

Not all actors manage to break into Hollywood at a young age and settle there from their first attempt. Many of them have to do minor roles in movies and television for a long time and wait until their true success comes. This long-awaited moment comes at 32 for some and even later for others. Nevertheless, it brings the same big amount of joy as it does at an early age.

We at Bright Side decided to check the biographies of 14 celebrities whose fame came to them once they were at a mature age and see how they looked in their youth.

Melissa McCarthy, 50 years old

You might be familiar with Melissa McCarthy’s face if you watched the Gilmore Girls series. However, despite her long experience in the film industry, world fame didn’t come to the comedian/actress until the age of 41, when she starred in the movie Bridesmaids. Melissa’s role in it brought her an Oscar nomination and started a new whirl in her career.

Margo Martindale, 69 years old

Margo Martindale’s debut on the big screen took place in 1990. Within the first years of her career, she had small roles on television and in movies. Finally, in the year 2004, Margo’s name became world-famous after she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. At that moment the actress was 53 years old. After that success, filmmakers started to invite Martindale to movies with top-notch actors, as well as ask her to participate in serious projects. In 2011, Margo got an Emmy Award for the role of Mags Bennett in the crime series, Justified.

Steve Carell, 58 years old

Steve Carell was 43 years old when he debuted in his role as the absent-minded boss, Michael Scott, in the sitcom, The Office. This work drastically changed the actor’s career: he won the Golden Globe as well as a Writers Guild of America Award and he was also nominated for an Emmy Award several times. After that, he starred in numerous movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Foxcatcher, and Battle of the Sexes.

Kristen Wiig, 47 years old

American actress and comedian, Kristen Wiig, became famous in her motherland thanks to her participation in the sketch show Saturday Night Live. At that moment she was 32 years old. Wiig worked as part of the main cast of this project from 2006-2012, having gotten several Emmy Award nominations for her work. Meanwhile, through all these years Kristen was trying herself in movies too, however, she didn’t get her real breakthrough until 2011 when she played the main role and acted as a co-author of the script in the commercially successful film Bridesmaids. Since then, Wiig’s filmography has been replenished with many well-grossing movies.

Jessica Chastain, 43 years old

Today, many people are familiar with Jessica Chastain’s name and she should be truly happy about her career. However, the actress took the long way to her success despite her immense talent and attractive appearance. She studied acting at the Juilliard School and then had to agree to small episodical roles on various television projects. The year 2011 brought Jessica big changes because of the release of 2 big movies that she had parts in. Those flicks (The Help by Tate Taylor and The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick) got worldwide recognition and subsequently brought worldwide fame and many awards and nominations to the actress. The actress was 34 years old at that moment.

Octavia Spencer, 48 years old

Octavia Spencer has had 3 nominations for an Oscar Award and she managed to win one of them in 2011 for her role in the drama The Help. At that moment Octavia turned 39 years old and she had a long list of movies and series behind her in which she had insignificant roles. After having won the Oscar, Spencer achieved further success by starring in movies Hidden Figures and The Shape of Water.

Jane Lynch, 60 years old

Jane Lynch has been starring in movies since 1988, however, she didn’t manage to get to the status of a superstar until the age of 49. It happened after she got the role of Sue Sylvester in the Glee series. Critics and viewers were delighted with the actress’s work and she received a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and many other awards for participating in this project.

Jeremy Renner, 49 years old

Having played a big range of remarkable roles within the last 5 years, Jeremy Renner has proven to everyone that he is a versatile actor. However, before his first nomination for an Oscar for his main role in the war thriller The Hurt Locker (2008) at the age of 38, Renner mainly dealt with minor projects and was just trying to survive in the harsh environment of Hollywood.

Viola Davis, 55 years old

Before she started to work in the film industry, Viola Davis managed to build a successful career as a stage actress. After that, Davis kept appearing in various television series until in 2008 when she received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her 11-minute appearance in the movie Doubt. The actress, who was already over 40, decided to not stop at this point and later acted in big movies like The Help and Fences. Davis was nominated for an Oscar for her roles in the aforementioned flicks and managed to win one for her role in Fences.

Naomi Watts, 52 years old

Having become successful as an Australian television actress, Naomi Watts decided to move to Hollywood to conquer it as well. And she managed to do it: at the age of 33, she starred in the psychological thriller Mulholland Drive by David Lynch and in The Ring horror remake right afterward, which brought her immense fame. After such a breakthrough in her career, the actress took part in many movie projects and received Academy Award nominations for her roles in 2 of them (21 Grams and The Impossible).

Leslie Jones, 53 years old

Actress and comedian Leslie Jones didn’t become popular until the age of 47. From the late 1990s, Jones played small roles in movies and TV series until her breakthrough occurred in 2014 — she was invited to be on a comedy show called Saturday Night Live as a scriptwriter. Later Leslie started to act on this same show as an actress. It helped Leslie’s further success in her movie career: Jones played in famous movies like Trainwreck and Ghostbusters.

Jenna Fischer, 46 years old

Jenna Fischer has continued to try and build her career in Hollywood since the mid-1990s. However, for a long time she would play only minor characters both in films and on television. Everything changed in 2005, when the 31-year-old actress was invited to play the role of Pam Beesly in The Office. Not only did her participation in this project bring Fischer world fame, but also a nomination for an Emmy Award.

Allison Janney, 60 years old

Allison Janney is the recipient of many awards like a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, seven Screen Actors Guild Awards, and last but not least an Academy Award. She started her career in the early 1990s and, during this time, she starred in several dozen films and TV series. Most often Janney got supporting roles, but thanks to one of these works she got her long-awaited Academy Award. It happened in 2018 when the movie I, Tonya was released on the big screen. The flick was hugely successful and drew the attention of an even bigger audience to the talented actress.

Jennifer Coolidge, 59 years old

American actress Jennifer Coolidge is mostly famous for her comedic roles that are eccentric mature women. Her debut took place in 1993 on the Seinfeld sitcom. After that, Coolidge could be seen in various not-so-big projects, until 1999, when the comedy American Pie was released. The role of Stifler’s mom brought Jennifer world fame and provided her with work on other interesting projects.

Are there actors on this list of movies whose participation you never miss?