Hugh Grant: What's the difference between the work of Van Gogh and the work of Monet? Well, Hugh Grant would have been able to answer that had he not listened to the talent scouts who persuaded the art history student to abandon his doctorate dreams for acting.

Halle Berry: Before heading to Chicago to pursue a modeling career, the beauty queen became the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1968, though Miss Trinidad and Tobago snagged the crown.

Tom Cruise: Young Tom could have been a priest and he even enrolled in a seminary to do so, but was asked to leave after allegedly sneaking in some alcohol, before acting and scientology found the way into his life.

Morgan Freeman: Freeman had a paper route as a teen, delivering the local news to his neighbors early in the morning before school.

Bryan Cranston: This "Breaking Bad" star learned the value of a dollar with a paper route as well.

Rachel McAdams: This beauty worked for three whole summers at McDonald's.

Rooney Mara: Before she became the iconic "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Mara was a summer camp counselor and made decent cash babysitting.

Rod Stewart: Rod worked as a gravedigger before becoming a music legend.

Johnny Depp: Johnny reportedly sold pens by phone before becoming, well, Johnny Depp.

Brad Pitt: Brad danced around in a chicken suit for a fast food restaurant.

Madonna: The super fit "Material Girl" used to work at Dunkin' Donuts at New York's Times Square. She reportedly got fired for squirting jelly filling all over customers.

Michelle Pfeiffer: Once upon a time, Pfeiffer worked as a cashier at a grocery store in southern California in the '70s.

Sandra Bullock: Before winning an Oscar and floating freely in on-screen space, Bullock took acting classes and supported herself with waitressing and bartending in 1980s New York.

Jon Bon Jovi: The rocker used to help his cousin out as a janitor after high school, all the while recording demos and paving his path to stardom.

Harrison Ford: Despite the fact he didn't have any formal training, Mr. Indiana Jones was a carpenter before becoming a household name. He picked up the craft in Los Angeles in the late '60s, building furniture for the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, Valerie Harper and Ray Manzarek.

Eva Mendes: As a teen, Mendes worked at the mall at both a pasta/pizza place called Ciao and a hot dog joint called Hot Dog on a Stick. She also applied to Nordstrom but admitted her heart wasn't in retail.

Jim Carrey: From 1978 to 1979, the comedian was a janitor at a factory, a job he took to help support his family.

Charlize Theron: Everyone knows the leggy blonde started out as a model before she got into acting, but Theron's very first gig actually involved singing. As a kid, the gorgeous star would fetch things for her mother at a Johannesburg market, then head to the town square and sing for money.

Rene Russo: The gorgeous actress once helped support her single mother by working as an inspector on a factory line at an eyeglass company.

George Clooney: Always an athlete, George tried out to play professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, but didn't make the cut.

Tim Allen: Tim Allen was a cocaine dealer. But after doing two years hard time for drug trafficking, Allen ditched the dope and headed to Hollywood.

Cindy Crawford: The former supermodel used to shuck corn at a fair in Illinois as a college freshman.

Mariah Carey: Frenchie from "Grease" wasn't the only beauty school dropout. Before singing her way to fame, Mariah studied to become a makeup artist and left prior to graduation.

Ashton Kutcher: Ashton didn't grow up looking for his car, he grew up fascinated by how things work and even went to college for biomedical engineering before finding fame.

Angelina Jolie: Frustrated by the way in which her grandfather's funeral was conducted, Jolie decided on a career path as a funeral director. She ordered a certificate, but didn't end up going much further than that.

Kanye West: Back in high school, West used to work at the GAP. He even mentions it in a song off his album "The College Dropout," where he raps: Let's go back, back to the Gap / Look at my check, wasn't no scratch / So if I stole, wasn't my fault / Yeah I stole, never got caught.

Jennifer Aniston: Before hitting the jackpot with "Friends," Aniston worked the phones as a telemarketer and waited tables.

Sean Connery: The original James Bond was well on his way to becoming a professional body builder before he found himself in third place for Mr. Universe. Luckily, the whole acting gig picked up shortly thereafter and he found fame as 007.

Jerry Springer: Before running the stage on his tabloid talk show, the law-school graduate sat as Cincinnati's mayor for two terms. But after an unsuccessful bid for governor in 1982, his political career came to a close.

Walt Disney: Long before Mickey made his way into Walt's life and the name Disney became synonymous with a magical empire, he was fired by a newspaper editor from his cartoonist job because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He also went bankrupt several times before his luck really turned around.

Amy Adams: Hooters!