16 Superstars Who Got Their Start in TV Commercials
Sept. 13 2024, Published 12:01 a.m. ET
John Travolta – 1973 Band-Aid
Grease star John Travolta was stuck on Band-Aids in an early commercial in which he advertised the boo boo covers.
Courteney Cox – 1985 Tampax
She would dance her way from a Bruce Springsteen music video to the famous sitcom but first Courteney Cox made close friends of another kind in a Tampax ad while wearing nothing but undies.
Sharon Stone – 1983 Finesse Shampoo
Sharon Stone, who advertised washing her luscious locks with Finesse, would go on to dazzle audiences in Casino and Basic Instinct.
Brad Pitt – 1989 Pringles
Even in this Pringles commercial, future two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt proved that he was no ordinary potato chip off the old block!
Keanu Reeves – 1986 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
Years before Keanu Reeves became the chosen one in The Matrix and the rough-and-tumble star John Wick, he won hearts as a dancing waiter happily downing a bowl of crunchy cereal.
Mark Hamill – 1971 Kodak
Acting beginner Mark Hamill was helping Kodak sell cameras and film just six years before he became a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker!
Drew Barrymore – 1979 Pillsbury
Drew Barrymore would eventually become a tough cookie in Charlie’s Angels. But she got her first taste of stardom in a Pillsbury cookie dough commercial at the tender age of four!
Leonardo DiCaprio – 1989 Bubble Yum
One day, Leonardo DiCaprio would become a Titanic star and an Oscar winner but only after he blew up his acting career in a Bubble Yum commercial when he was only 13 years old!
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Mark Ruffalo – 1989 Clearasil
Avengers star Mark Ruffalo was once a superhero to teens battling villainous acne in a Clearasil commercial.
Ben Affleck – 1989 Burger King
In a Whopper of a career start, future Batman Ben Affleck hawked hamburgers by having it his way — 27 years before his turn as the Caped Crusader!
Morgan Freeman – 1970s Listerine
The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby Oscar winner Morgan Freeman first showed a fellow worker how to get a fresh breath in a Listerine commercial.
Steve Carell – 1989 Brown’s Chicken
No doubt playing a peppy employee of a chicken joint helped prepare Steve Carell to become the manager of a paper company in The Office.
Demi Moore – 1990 Diet Coke
From Ghost to Indecent Proposal to G.I. Jane, Demi Moore has always stayed slim and trim. Is that bubbly diet soda she advertised 34 years ago her real secret?
Matt LeBlanc – 1988 Cherry 7-Up
When reel life collides with real life: Matt LeBlanc's Friends character, Joey, made a slew of TV commercials, just like his real-life spot for Cherry 7-Up — where the cruising cutie got the girl in the end.
Bruce Willis – 1986 Seagram’s
Who on earth could be cooler than Die Hard hunk Bruce Willis selling and singing about Seagram’s Wine Coolers … they must have had a Sixth Sense about him.
Bryan Cranston – 1980s Preparation H
Bryan Cranston became a drug dealer in his hit series Breaking Bad, but he started out in the ’80s selling a different kind of medication for people breaking out with those pesky hemorrhoids!