13 Incredible Ways People Found Their Hidden Talents

Have you ever been in somebody’s backyard, and they whip out their cornhole? You’re completely shocked for a moment, but then you start throwing square bags of sand into it? Well, what if you were all of a sudden amazing at throwing sandbags into your buddy’s cornhole? You could start competing in the now-countless leagues and tournaments across the country. It’s disgusting. Then maybe you can call us and let us know what having a sweet hidden talent is like! Cus our buddies whipped horseshoes, bocce balls, and sandbags at us, and we were terrible at getting them to their desired destinations.

How else could you find out about a hidden talent though, right? You’d have to stumble upon said game/instrument/sport/art somehow, realize your innate ability to be half-decent right away, then let it take you on a life-long journey. Man, it’d be great to be talented at something. Anything. What’s that even like?! We’ll keep hunting while you guys check out these 13 incredible ways people found their hidden talents.

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13 We want one!

CRACKED Margot Robbie found tattoo artistry while preparing for Suicide Squad. After picking up a (tattoo) gun as Harley Quinn, she really took to it and began tattooing crew members on set. She's tattooed her friends, herself, and even a staff member live on The Graham Norton Show. — *Warner Bros.,*
*Africa Studio/Shutterstock*
**BBC/YouTube**

12

A high school friend helped Steve Martin become a world-class banjo player. At 15, he fell in love with bluegrass music, so friend John McEuen (who joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) helped teach him the banjo. In 2010, he won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, and launched the Banjo Prize, awarding $25,000 to $50,000 to banjo players each year. CRACKED — *jo Crebbin/Shutterstock*
**Southern Living**
**ABC News**

11 People later found written lyrics inside some of his furniture.

CRACKED Jack White IS a professional upholsterer. Former neighbor Brian Muldoon was an upholsterer, and at 15 Jack apprenticed under him as a job. They even joined a band together called The Upholsterers, and he opened his own shop, Third Man Upholstery. — *MPH Photos/Shutterstock*,
*kibri_ho/Shutterstock*
GQ

10 Michael Scott has Bas Rutten to thank.

CRACKED Bas Rutten was a parkour pioneer. The former UFC heavyweight champ was bullied for his asthma and skin condition. Не climbed trees to escape bullies, and became a proficient climber - able to jump from tree to tree, house to house, without touching the ground. This was in the mid- '70s, decades before parkour. — *Joe Seer/Shutterstock*
**Fight Times**

9 This wasn’t one of his dirty jobs. Well, kinda.

CRACKED Mike Rowe was a professional opera singer. I joined the opera to get my union card and meet girls. I was a saloon singer, so I went down to the Baltimore Opera and learned an aria and auditioned. I figured I'd do one show and quit. But the girls were everywhere and the truth is, the music was really decent. — *Discovery Channel,*
*marcogarrincha/Shutterstock*
**Conduit Street**

8 If only bowling contracts were anywhere close to NBA contracts.

CRACKED AT&T Chris Paul chose prq basketball over pro bowling. As a kid, he went to the alley for the first time with his dad, fell in love, and returned daily. After high school, he had to make the difficult decision of going pro in bowling or in the NBA. Bowling offered $25,000 while the Hornets offered him $3.4 million. — *Erik Drost/Flickr*,
*Ronnie Chua/Shutterstock*
**thesportsrush.com**

7 From would-be member to President!

Neil Patrick Harris became a magician to get into the Magic Castle. P As a kid, he heard about a club called the Magic Castle in L.A., and started practicing to become a member. Then I became a regular member, and then I was on the board of directors, and then I became the president of the place. CRACKED — *Tinseltown/Shutterstock*,
*Fer Gregory/Shutterstock*
**Showbiz CheatSheet**

6 Into interiors? Seems redundant.

CRACKED Diane Keaton's mom got her info interior design. She said that her mom Dorothy Hall took her to a fabric store and encouraged her to experiment with design and decorating. She's since been designing and flipping luxury properties for years, and her work is featured in Architectural Digest. — *Tinseltown/Shutterstock*
**Financial Times**

5 What if he was into dinosaurs?!

CRACKED Angelina Jolie started flying because her toddler thought planes were cool. When her three-year-old son Maddox was interested in planes, she said, If I could actually fly a plane by the time he's four, I'll be like Superman to him. She got her pilot's license less than a year later, in December 2004. — *Gennaro Leonardi Photos/Shutterstock*,
*mountainpix/Shutterstock*
**People**

4 For the romance of it all.

CRACKED Christina Hendricks JANELLL IS a skilled accordion player. I think it's a very romantic instrument, and it channels all the things I love - French culture, Tom Waits - and all the things I try to make my house look like. She even played it in a Mad Men scene. — *Lionsgate Television*
**/Film**

3 Hollywood really is a “Boys Club.”

CRACKED Terminator 2 was Edward Furlong's S first time acting. Growing up without a father, he frequented The Boys' Club. The T2 casting director was tired of the same old actor kids auditioning for John Connor, and approached him the at club. Не thought he was in trouble. — *StudioCanal*
**Los Angeles Times**

2 The Olympics look cool, I think I’ll give that a shot.

CRACKED Geena Davis was almost an Olympic archer. In 1996, while watching the Olympics, she became interested in the archers. Then 41 years- old, she hired a coach and practiced daily. By 2000, she competed in an Olympic qualifier, and finished 24th. The top 16 advanced. — *Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock*,
*Butter45/Shutterstock*
**Mental Floss**

1 Just don’t burn the workshop down, Pierce.

CRACKED Pierce Brosnan started fire-eating to meet women. In 1969, he went to his acting rehearsal and there was a fire-eating instructor next door. He was teaching us how to put the flames across the chest and the young ladies had to take their bras off - there were no bras then anyway. So I learnt how to fire-eat, and it's still on my resume. — *Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock*,
*Nejron Photo/Shutterstock*
**The Guardian**

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