9 Celebrities Who Had Other Plans, but Fate Brought Them to Their True Path

People say that there are no coincidences in life, only fate. We don’t know if that’s true, but it’s clear several success stories do not start in a conventional way. For some people, fame came knocking at their door in the least expected way. They were talented enough to take the opportunities as they came, with lots of enthusiasm, and today we can see the results on the screen.

Bright Side wants to share with you a list of 9 celebrities to whom fame came as a happy accident.

1. Matthew McConaughey ran into a producer at a diner.

The actor was at a point in his life where he was already interested in acting; he studied film in Australia, but didn’t know how to move forward. One day, his girlfriend at the time told him to go to a diner to celebrate the end of the semester. McConaughey wasn’t that interested, but eventually agreed to go. Coincidentally, Don Phillips, a well-known industry casting director, was there too.

The now Oscar winner decided to introduce himself and hang out with the producer. A few hours later, Phillips liked Matthew so much that he took him to meet Linklater, the director of a new project he was working on, Dazed and Confused. At first, Linklater saw him as too good-looking for the job, but McConaughey grew his hair and mustache, proving his determination. And that’s how he landed his first big screen role.

2. Nick Jonas was scouted singing in a hairdresser’s shop.

Before the Jonas brothers became a Disney Channel icon, as a 6-year-old in 1999, Nick Jonas had to join his mom to the hairdresser. While she was getting her hair done, Nick started singing. Coincidentally, an agent happened to be nearby and saw something in him. As a result, he was invited to appear in Broadway shows such as Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables.

It was not until 2005 that the singer joined forces with his two brothers to create the band Jonas Brothers. Their ambition was to reach stardom and eventually have their own show and appear on the best albums charts in the United States.

3. Natalie Portman told a talent scout, “I don’t want to be a model. I want to be an actress.”

When she was 11, Natalie went to a pizzeria after her dance classes. An agent from Revlon was there, too, and he thought Portman was the perfect image for one of their products.

He tried to introduce her to modeling agents, but she said, “I don’t want to be a model. I want to be an actress,” and these people connected her with acting agents. And that was the beginning of a very successful career that includes prominent roles in Star Wars, Thor, and The Black Swan, for which she won an Oscar.

4. Keira Knightley was part of the cast because she resembled Natalie Portman.

Keira Knightley had been interested in acting since she was young and had even participated in some ads before. Once, casting agents thought she bore a strong resemblance to actress Natalie Portman, so she became her stunt double for the movie Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. While being a stunt double may not sound that impressive, that’s what helped her jump to international fame and allowed her to build a career in Hollywood.

5. Chris Pine was not looking to be an actor, even though many of his relatives were.

In an interview, Pine stated, “I don’t even feel like I chose this. I just started doing theater in college, and then I went to Los Angeles and got an agent. It’s something that rolled like a very slow snowball to where I am now. It’s very strange.” Still, we love his characters so much, and we’re grateful for his career.

6. Anya Taylor-Joy was walking her dog.

One day, when the actress was 16, she walked her dog in a park. Anya had a party to attend that night, where she would have to wear heels, so she decided to take a walk in those shoes. A black van started following her on her way back, which initially scared her. In an interview, she mentioned, “I thought ’Oh, there’s no way that car is following me,’ but it was. I started running, and this man stuck his head out the window and said, ’If you stop, you won’t regret it.’ Strangely, I did stop.”

The guy turned out to be a talent scout who invited her to work as a model, a path that led to acting. Still, let’s keep in mind that our safety comes first, and, as Anya did at the time, we must investigate that the information is accurate before accepting any offer from strangers.

7. Heo Sung-Tae was “The King of TV Sales.”

The actor of The Squid Game worked for a large company in marketing and was even nicknamed “The King of TV sales.” He became an actor because he once saw a commercial on TV called “Miracle Audition.” He applied to be a contestant in the show and was accepted, and, thanks to his great natural talent, he won fifth place.

He had not had a single acting experience before and not much interest in it either. The show’s judges praised his talent, which motivated him to start his career as an actor, learning to imitate comedians on television. In an interview, he mentioned: “I became an actor because the judges complimented me. If a single judge had told me I wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have become an actor”.

8. Mandy Moore was spotted by a parcel delivery employee.

At 13, Mandy Moore knew she wanted to be a musician and was in an Orlando studio recording a demo. At that moment, a delivery man arrived to deliver an order and overheard her. Luckily for Moore, this man had a friend working at one of the biggest record labels in the world, and he told him about her. Word spread until the singer and actress signed a contract with the company.

9. Billie Eilish recorded Ocean Eyes for her dance instructor

When she was 13, her dance teacher asked her to write a song for a choreographed dance. With the help of her brother, Eilish recorded Ocean Eyes, which she uploaded to the popular music streaming site SoundCloud. The surprise came when, the next day, she discovered that her song was already viral. The rest is history.

Have any accidents led you to unexpected, amazing accomplishments?