You need talent, luck, and the right timing to finally crack that ideal job. Hollywood has no shortage of talent with every aspiring actor auditioning for a limited number of movies and TV shows. Only a few manage to get noticed and live out their dream. Today, we are going to talk about those actors who had to wait a lifetime for a single door to open. After years or decades of struggling, these stars had made up their minds to drop out of this business. However, their luck pulled them back right on time and awarded them with breakthrough roles. Find out the 10 actors who almost quit acting before their big break.
Robert Pattinson
Everyone was smitten by Robert Pattinson’s Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. But that role didn’t leave much impact on the actor’s career. Failing to crack a satisfying leading role for years had pushed him on the brink of dropping out. He had marked “Twilight” as his last audition. The actor was convinced that he screwed up the audition and packed his bags to fly out. Little did he know that his stars were finally aligned and ready to change his life forever.
Gal Gadot
Even though Gal Gadot was appreciated in the “Fast & Furious” series, she felt that her career wasn’t going forward from there. She tried out almost every audition in town, only to never receive a callback. Gal was on the verge of leaving for Israel when her agent asked her to audition for “a secret project”. Oblivious of the role, she went there and tried not to keep her hopes high. It wasn’t until later that Zack Snyder called her up and revealed that she got in for Wonder Woman.
Henry Cavill
It’s impossible to imagine why such a talented actor like Henry Cavill had to struggle for so long. He lost coveted roles like Cedric Diggory and Edward Cullen to Robert Pattinson and “Fifty Shades of Grey” to Jamie Dornan. Henry was a gem hidden in plain sight. He had enrolled his name for the British Army Forces before trying out one last time for “Casino Royale”. Henry Cavill didn’t get the part, but he impressed the casting directors who forwarded his name to other projects.
Scarlett Johansson
This star took its own sweet time to shine bright. Scarlett Johansson wanted to be an actress since she was a little girl. Back then, it was Lindsay Lohan’s era that made things quite challenging for Johansson. She did get more roles after growing up, but most of them focused on her appearance than on her acting chops. Tired of such roles, Scarlett was prepared to quit Hollywood. We are grateful to MCU for not being so late.
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown was eight-years-old when she convinced her parents to leave everything and fly all the way from the UK to Los Angeles to help her pursue acting. It’s adorable to see how her parents believed in her and went with her to every audition for five years. Millie had also tried out for X-23 in “Logan” but lost it to Dafne Keen. They were on the verge of quitting when she got a call for a similar role, Eleven, in “Stranger Things”. Well, the rest is history.
Mark Ruffalo
The MCU star ran out of patience after facing about 600 rejections, back to back. Even when he didn’t believe in himself, Mark Ruffalo’s mom did. Every time he decided to change his career and explore something new, his mother threatened to not speak to him. We are glad that he listened to her. Today, the actor calls himself a “30-year overnight sensation”.
Brie Larson
Captain Marvel of the MCU has had a long journey full of ups and downs before earning a net worth of $25 Million. Brie Larson started working for the camera in her teen days. But that didn’t reflect much on her career as she was never in the spotlight. With no expectations from the show business, Brie had registered her name for the college. She almost kissed goodbye to Hollywood, but then she got a called for “United States of Tara”.
Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana’s experience in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” left a disappointing impression on her mind. According to sources, the actress was not happy with the politics that went behind the doors. She was convinced that this industry wasn’t made for her and that she would never return. The following years weren’t so smooth for her either until she got “Avatar”.
Emma Watson
You must be arching your eyebrows at Emma Watson’s name considering that she got a leading role at the age of 9. Well, the situation is kind of the opposite in her case. Unlike the other actors on this list, Emma was gliding over international fame since she was a kid. It’s needless to mention how synonymous Emma and Hermione are with each other. Despite the success, Emma wasn’t satisfied with her academic growth. Staying at Hogwarts aka WB Studios half the year enabled her to access only private tuition. She had almost decided to leave acting and pursue higher studies at Brown University. But then she decided to stick around and use her platform to bring a change in society.
Bradley Cooper
Sometimes people have to accept whatever is offered, no matter how questionable it may seem, in order to begin somewhere. Bradley Cooper also made a few bad choices when he started out. But the positive response he got from “The Hangover” changed it all. Since then, he has got the power to decide roles for himself. Eventually, Bradley moved from comedy to more intense roles. His most celebrated films are “Silver Linings Playbook” and “A Star Is Born”. It was his theatre performance in “Three Days of Rain” with Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd that changed everything. He had rested his decision to leave acting for good on the outcome of this Broadway show.
