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Take A Look At 15 Actors Who Aced Their Debut Performance Like Professionals:
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1. Before she did her acting debut in The Mask, CAMERON DIAZ used to be a model. The producers were Iooking specifically for a model for the role of Tina Carlyle, and Diaz quickly won over director Chuck Russell. It took her a few dancing and acting lessons to get ready.
2. It was in the early ’80s when talk show host OPRAH WINFREY made her acting debut in The Color Purple. Long before she was an established host, Oprah did a TV show in Chicago-which is where The Color Purple’s producer Quincy Jones saw her and arranged for her to audition.
3. ALAQUA COX who we met recently in Hawkeye is a deaf Native American like her character Echo. All through the long audition process, Cox was a favorite. Not only did she land the role, but now a spin-off focused on her is in the making.
4. GEORGE LAZENBY used to be a model before he became a 007 agent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He landed the part after a chance encounter with Bond series producer Albert Rin who saw him in commercials.
5. Before playing River Tam, SUMMER GLAU used to be a ballerina dancer. She caught Joss Whedon’s eye in a small role in Angel and got cast as the main character in Firefly.
6. ANNA PAQUIN received an Academy Award for her first movie role ever in The Piano when she was just 11. “I had no idea what I was doing,” she said years later. Her ensuing career proves that it wasn’t a fluke.
7. MICHAEL NEWMAN was hired in Baywatch not because he was an actor, but because he was an actual bodyguard. A gig as a technical consultant quickly turned into a slot in the show’s main cast where he played a fictional version of himself.
8. Being a member of the Coppola family, JASON SCHWARTZMAN met the casting director of Rushmore at a party and was asked to audition for it- even though he was just a drummer in a band back then.
9. JENNIFER HUDSON was cast in Dreamgirls only because she could sing really well. However, her performance as Effie White was the highlight of the movie earned her an Oscar.
10. JULIA FOX used to run a fashion label before she made her screen debut with Uncut Gems. Before that, she was seen on Vine videos.
11. Japanese-British actress SONOYA MIZUNO only had experience as a ballerina when she was cast as Kyoko in Ex Machina.
12. KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES was only 12-year-old when she was given acting classes specifically to play Pai in Whale Rider. She went on to become the youngest person nominated to the Oscar for Best Actress.
13. She was aspiring to become a schoolteacher but ended up getting an Oscar nomination. YALITZA APARICIO’s sister tricked her into auditioning for Alfonso Cuarón’s movie Roma.
14. LENVAL BROWN was a rapper who was hired to lend his deep voice to the game Disco Elysium‘s narrator on the strength of a recording he made with his phone.
15. Somali actor BARKHAD ABDI used to be a limousine driver and a DJ before he stepped into the world of acting. He made his debut in Captain Phillips where he played pirate leader Muse. The role earned him several awards and a movie career.
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