14 Celebrities and Artists Who Were Boring Normies for Most of Their Lives
It’s cool that Tim Allen was able to squeeze in an acting career between endangering people’s lives with drugs and alcohol.
The ‘Car Talk’ Guys Focused on the ‘Car’ Part Before the ‘Talk’
Tom and Ray Magliozzi were actual automechanics who had opened a couple of mechanic shops and dabbled in local radio, when they were approached by NPR to contribute to a weekly show. They debuted Car Talk in 1987 when the older brother, Tom, was 50.
Wayne Coyne Was a Fry Cook
Before The Flaming Lips charted with “She Don’t Use Jelly,” Coyne spent over a decade working at Long John Silver’s.
Toni Morrison Was an Editor
She’d spent an entire career finding, editing and printing Black authors before she finally published her own book, The Bluest Eye, at age 39, and would go on to win a Pulitzer and a Nobel for her subsequent work.
Julia Child Was a Chef (and a Spy)
She was a spy in World War II and a normal chef until the age of 49, when she published the bestselling Mastering the Art of French Cooking, catapulting her to a successful television career.
Ken Jeong Was a Doctor
He had an entire career as a medical doctor before he began dabbling in stand-up. He quit the doctoring biz to focus on acting, and it paid off big time with his breakout role in The Hangover.
Harrison Ford Was a Carpenter
Legend has it that he landed Han Solo at the age of 33 because he was working on Francis Ford Coppola’s house, and Coppola recommended him to George Lucas.
Samuel L. Jackson Was an Activist
His early life was defined by his social activism, and he was even an usher at Martin Luther King Jr’s funeral. He dabbled in theater before hooking up with Spike Lee, and was 46 when he finally got his standout role in Pulp Fiction.
Ang Lee Was a Stay-at-Home Dad
He went to film school with Spike Lee, but while Spike was off jump-starting a successful career, Ang stayed home to help his molecular biologist wife kick off her own career. He finally got his big break — in Taiwan. He spent a few years producing films for a Taiwanese company before making his American directorial debut at 41.
Tiffany Haddish Was Unhoused
She was a struggling comedian in and around Los Angeles for years before finally getting on TV. Even then, it took until she was 37 to break out with Girls Trip.
Nick Offerman Is a Woodworker
Offerman runs an entire woodshop in LA, and says his preferred life would be nothing but wood and live theater. In fact, his television success is “cramping my style at the woodshop.”
Kathryn Joosten Was a Psychiatric Nurse
She started doing community theater at the age of 42, and didn’t land a starring role until The West Wing started when she was 70.
Joy Behar Was a Teacher, a Receptionist and a Producer
She had a low-profile career as an English teacher before becoming a receptionist at NBC, being promoted to producer and parlaying that into hosting a new show called The View at the age of 55.
Tim Allen Was a Drug Dealer and Drunk Driver
In 1978, Allen was caught with enough cocaine to put him away for life, but he narced on some other dealers and wound up with a little over two years in prison. Thirteen years later, he’d begin his starring role on Home Improvement! Seven years after that, he’d be arrested for a DUI while driving at almost twice the legal blood-alcohol limit.
Jon Hamm Worked in Porn (But Not in the Fun Way)
In his 20s, Hamm lost a catering gig and had to take a job doing set decoration on soft-core porn shoots.