The adverts the A-list would rather you forget! How the likes of Cheryl, Holly Willoughby, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio started their careers with humble beginnings
We all have to start somewhere.
For some, it might be the bottom rung of a long corporate ladder, for others it might be the back room of a forgotten studio and the unenviable task of selling fluoride toothpaste to TV licence payers.
Indeed, for every successful star there’s an inevitable rite of passage through the bowels of mainstream TV as they accept any and every job in their quest to make it big – some of which they would frankly rather forget.
Just ask this lot. While the present is filled with accolades for their contributions to acting and music, the past is littered with cheaply made TV commercials – left behind as they clamber to the top of their trade, one precarious rung at a time.
Turn on, tune in but don’t drop out of our comprehensive list of stars… before they were famous.
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Old times: Long before Girls Aloud, seven-year old Cheryl Tweedy made her TV debut alongside older brother Garry in a commerical for gas central heating
1. CHERYL
YEAR: 1990
COMPANY : British Gas
Long before Girls Aloud, Ashley Cole, Liam Payne, beloved son Bear and her stop-start solo-career, seven-year old Cheryl Tweedy made her TV debut alongside older brother Garry in a commerical for gas central heating.
Sat at a dining table in a comfortable family home, the pair are seen playing with toys as their mother – played by an actress – looks on approvingly before taking them for a warm bath.
Cheryl would go on to enjoy nationwide fame after appearing on Simon Cowell’s now defunct talent show Pop Stars: The Rivals in 2002, during which Girls Aloud were formed.
The five-piece band subsequently reached number one in the United Kingdom with their debut single, Sound Of The Underground.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Art imitating life: These days she’s one of Britain’s best known singers, so it’s not without a touch of irony that Dua Lipa would start her career in a commerical for The X Factor
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wB2QICuUcPs%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D59
It’s a yes from us: Dua is transported from her back garden to an X Factor audition room as the commerical reaches its conclusion
2. DUA LIPA
YEAR: 2013
SHOW: The X Factor
These days she sells out stadiums as one of Britain’s best known singers, so it’s not without a touch of irony that Dua Lipa would start her career in a commerical for long-running talent show The X Factor.
Then an unknown 18-year old, the superstar portrayed a vocally talented teen who draws a crowd with her singing ability while hanging out the washing.
As her now instantly recognisable voice plays to the masses, Dua is transported from her back garden to an X Factor audition room, where she is greeted to unanimous applause from judges Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne.
Four years later the singer would release her self-titled debut album and its lead single, Hotter Than Hell, before cracking America and embarking on a world tour in support of her second album, Future Nostalgia.
She looks familiar: Back in 1998, 17-year old Holly Willoughby made an early TV appearance as the face of Pretty Polly push-up bras
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uv5LmIitQe0%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D27
Racy: Joined by several attractive models, she was filmed declaring herself a ‘sex goddess’ while extolling the virtues of hold-up lingerie
3. HOLLY WILLOUGHBY
YEAR: 1998
COMPANY: Pretty Polly
You’d need to have spent the last 15-years under a rock if you haven’t seen Holly Willoughby on TV at least once.
The seasoned presenter has become a household name thanks to her daily role on much-watched magazine show This Morning, but fans with longer memories might remember her for something else.
Back in 1998, 17-year old Holly made an early TV appearance as the face of Pretty Polly push-up bras.
Joined by several attractive models, she was filmed declaring herself a ‘sex goddess’ while extolling the virtues of hold-up lingerie.
Six years later, Holly made her TV breakthrough on chaotic children’s TV show Ministry Of Mayhem, where she met producer husband Dan Baldwin, before joining Phillip Schofield as host of This Morning and Dancing On Ice.
Early start: Kate Winslet starred in a childhood Sugar Puffs commercial, transforming from innocent school girl to lumbering Honey Monster
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4KPHyZinP10%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D27
I want my honey! The Oscar-winning actress runs riot at a fairground after transforming into the iconic TV character
4. KATE WINSLET
YEAR: 1986
BRAND: Sugar Puffs
It would be more than ten-years before a floating door saved her from a watery grave in James Cameron’s award winning Titanic.
But no one could save Kate Winslet from the potential embarrassment of a childhood Sugar Puffs commercial in which she transforms from innocent school girl into a lumbering Honey Monster.
Filmed in 1986, the commerical finds pig-tailed Kate at a fairground, where a harmless go on the hoops results in her winning a box of the sugary breakfast cereal.
But events soon turn awry as the 11-year old triumphantly yells out its signature catchphrase – ‘I want my honey!’ – and turns into the shaggy Honey Monster before running riot.
These days the talented actress is better known for her big-screen ventures, among them Nazi war drama The Reader – a role that earned her an Oscar at the 81st annual Academy Awards.
Main man: Kate’s Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio began his career in a similar fashion, with early roles including an American commerical for popular confectionery Bubble Yum Gum
https://youtube.com/watch?v=H2PBwRszm2A%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D1
Here we go: With a typically confident demeanour, young Leonardo promptly blows bubbles with the gum while playing tunes on his boombox – with dramatic results
5. LEONARDO DICAPRIO
YEAR: 1988
BRAND: Bubble Yum Gum
Kate’s Titanic co-star began his career in a similar fashion, with early roles including an American commerical for popular confectionery Bubble Yum Gum.
Aged 14, the then aspiring actor – now a celebrated Academy Award winner – takes a starring role as he promotes the gum in a straight-to-camera monologue.
With a typically confident demeanour, young Leonardo promptly blows bubbles with the gum while playing tunes on his boombox – with dramatic results.
The actor is now one of the most successful in his field with a string of blockbusters under his belt.
in 2016 he won the highest accolade of his career – an Academy Award for Best Actor courtesy of his starring role in 2015 masterpiece The Revenant.
Controversial: James Corden was an unknown 20-year old when he starred in an orange Tango commercial that was quickly banned amid claims it endorsed bullying
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PPqKOfCzN20%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D71
Unsettling: As the advert reaches its conclusion the emotional actor appears shirtless as a group of balding middle-aged men surround him, repeating his words in unison
6. JAMES CORDEN
YEAR: 1998
BRAND: Tango
Known to millions thanks to a variety of TV roles – among them American staple The Late Late Show – James Corden’s introduction to the world of acting could best be described as inauspicious.
The actor, comedian and presenter was an unknown 20-year old when he starred in an orange Tango commercial that was quickly banned amid claims it endorsed bullying.
Corden is seen being driven insane by a group of ominous looking middle-aged men with receding orange hair as they mimic his every word.
As the advert reaches its conclusion, the emotional actor strips off his shirt as the group surround him, slowly repeating his words in unison as he cries: ‘Look at me, I’m a mess!’
Corden went onto star in sitcom Fat Friends before earning wider fame in Gavin & Stacey, a show he devised with co-star Ruth Jones.
Leading lady: Courteney Cox was there for you as far back as the mid-80s, albeit without th3e famous Friends cast and for completely different reasons
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Useful tips: Nine years before she made her debut as neurotic chef Monica Geller in the hit US sitcom, the actress was plying her trade in a commercial for tampon brand Tampax
7. COURTENEY COX
YEAR: 1985
BRAND: Tampax
Courteney Cox was there for you as far back as the mid-80s, albeit without the famous Friends cast and for completely different reasons.
Nine years before she made her debut as neurotic chef Monica Geller in the hit US sitcom, the actress was plying her trade in a commercial for tampon brand Tampax.
‘Do you change your life for one week because of that time of the month?’ A tousle-haired Courteney asks while preparing for an aerobics class.
‘Still wearing pads?’ she adds in a straight to camera address. ”Then let me talk to you straight…’
And that she does.
Familiar face: Unlike many of the others on this list, Olivia Colman was already an established actress when she appeared advert for British motoring association The AA in 2004
https://youtube.com/watch?v=z8RulxpzLsw%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D16
Side-by-side: Olivia, then 30-years of age, starred alongside former Grange Hill actor Mark Burdis in a light-hearted ad that became an instant hit thanks to its ear-worm dialogue
8. OLIVIA COLMAN
YEAR: 2004
COMPANY: The AA
Unlike many others on this list, Olivia Colman was already an established actress when she appeared in an advert for British motoring association The AA in 2004.
Having already won fans for her recurring role in Channel 4 comedy Peep Show, Olivia, then 30-years of age, starred alongside former Grange Hill actor Mark Burdis in a light-hearted ad that became an instant hit thanks to its ear-worm dialogue.
The commerical finds a smartly-dressed Bev, played by Olivia, parked at a set of traffic lights with husband Kev, played by Mark, where they encounter a doppelganger couple with the same maddeningly catchy names.
A cheerfully repetitive exchange ensues – but while it proved to be popular upon release, the motoring advert eventually drove viewers round the bend.
My turn: MTV was the icing on the cake for Jennifer Lawrence after the Oscar-winner won an early acting role for the channel’s My Super Sweet 16
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TWRKQGSLfN4%3Frel%3D0
Steady on: The actress, then aged 15, is seen blowing out candles on a two-tier birthday cake, only for it to explode – spraying white icing across Jennifer and her fellow guests.
9. JENNIFER LAWRENCE
YEAR: 2005
SHOW: MTV’s My Super Sweet 16
MTV was quite literally the icing on the cake for Jennifer Lawrence after the future Oscar-winner won an early acting role for My Super Sweet 16.
The actress, then aged 15, is seen blowing out candles on a two-tier birthday cake, only for it to dramatically explode – spraying white icing across Jennifer and her fellow guests.
Further embarrassment follows as Jennifer, playing 16-year old Lisa, is carried onto a stage, where she is unceremoniously dropped in front of watching guests.
Three-years later the actress would make her big screen debut in low-budget feature Garden Party before earning international recognition for her starring role in The Hunger Games and X: Men franchises.
Proper geezer: Once upon a time Danny Dyer was a cheeky Cockney teenager with a taste for soft drinks – in particular Coca Cola
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Not happy: The actor is seen raiding mum’s fridge for a cold drink, but is left fuming after discovering she’s bought shop-brand coke instead of the real thing
10. DANNY DYER
YEAR: 1994
BRAND: Coca Cola
These days he’s a ‘proper geezer’ with a reputation for playing no-nonsense hard-men in films such as The Football Factory, The Business and Mean Machine.
But once upon a time Danny Dyer was a cheeky Cockney teenager with a taste for soft drinks – in particular Coca Cola.
In this advert from 1994 the actor is seen raiding mum’s fridge for a cold drink, but is left fuming after discovering she’s bought shop-brand coke instead of the real thing.
‘Oh no, Mum’s at it again!’ He barks in his now famous east-end drawl as he swipes the bottle, before gingerly trying a glass of the imitation fizz.
More recently he’s better known for serving bottles of significantly harder stuff thanks to his role as pub landlord Mick Carter in EastEnders.
Dyer quit the role in 2022 and has since devoted himself to a presenting role on reality show Scared Of The Dark and new four-part drama Heat.
Whos’ that? Former Time Lord starred in a commerical for British chain store Boots in 2002
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KB7V9nbgnuo%3Frel%3D0
11. DAVID TENNANT
YEAR: 2002
COMPANY: Boots
David Tennant’s career had already taken off when he starred in a commerical for British chain store boots in 2002.
The Scottish actor boasted a handful of TV appearances in shows such as Duck Patrol and Foyle’s War, but it didn’t stop him playing a husband who surprises his wife by using Boots online to do their Christmas shopping.
Three-years later Tennant would win his best known TV role to date as iconic Time Lord Doctor Who, a role he kept for five years before handing the Tardis keys to Matt Smith in 2010.
He has since made recurring appearances on the BBC show, while establishing himself as one of Britain’s finest actors.
One to forget: Grant Mitchell would shudder if he saw what Ross Kemp put his name to before earning nationwide fame in EastEnders
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pnRW2jmMxGw%3Frel%3D0
Tucking in: Shortly before making his first appearance on Albert Square, Kemp was endorsing the benefits of Kellogg’s cereal in a playful advert set on a golf-course
12. ROSS KEMP
YEAR: 1990
BRAND: Kelloggs’ Fruit ‘n’ Fibre
Grant Mitchell would shudder if he saw what Ross Kemp was putting his name to before earning nationwide fame in EastEnders.
Shortly before making his first appearance on Albert Square, Kemp was endorsing the benefits of Kellogg’s Fruit ‘n’ Fibre cereal in a playful advert set on a golf-course.
‘A round of golf will wake you up, they say… well Kellogg’s Fruit ‘n’ Fibre wins the day!’ he trills before taking a seat at an outdoor table – situated in a TV studio made up to look like an exterior setting.
Accompanied by a screen wife, the actor enthusiastically works his way around the song as he drives home the importance of a healthy breakfast.
Within weeks the actor would be making a name for himself as one half of the feared Mitchell brothers – a role he kept for 16-years.
Helpful: Long before he started cooking up crystal meth in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston was flogging hemorrhoid cream to the posteriorly afflicted masses
https://youtube.com/watch?v=K1LnLsMW19U%3Frel%3D0
13. BRYAN CRANSTON
YEAR: Unknown (early 1980s)
BRAND: Preparation H hemorrhoidal cream
Long before he started cooking up crystal meth in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston was flogging hemorrhoid cream to the posteriorly afflicted masses.
In an undated advert from the early 1980s, Cranston, now 67-years old, is almost unrecognisable in bookish glasses and a business suit as he tells viewers to ‘relieve inflamed hemorrhoidal tissue with the oxygen action of Preparation H.’
Thanks for the tip…
Minty fresh: Decades before he started Driving Miss Daisy, Morgan Freeman was a young, jobbing actor, keen to find a foothold in Hollywood – so keen that he found himself starring in an American commerical for Listerine
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bQHDBNrBmxE%3Frel%3D0
For a good cause: Joining the fight against bad breath, a then 38-year old Freeman played a manual lineworker whose physical job apparently included the promotion of minty mouthwash
14. MORGAN FREEMAN
YEAR: 1975
BRAND: Listerine
Decades before he started Driving Miss Daisy, Morgan Freeman was a young, jobbing actor, keen to find a foothold in Hollywood – so keen that he found himself starring in an American commerical for Listerine.
Joining the fight against bad breath, a then 38-year old Freeman played a manual lineworker whose physical job apparently included the promotion of minty mouthwash.
The actor had already racked up a lengthy CV before agreeing to the commercial, but it would be 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy that eventually turned him into a household name.
Prominent roles in 1994 blockbuster The Shawshank Redemption, a star turn alongside Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow in 1997 thriller Seven, and the lead in 1997 smash Kiss The Girls further cemented his status as a Hollywood legend.
One to forget: Poldark star Aidan Turner featured in a commercial for drinks brand Fruice in 2004
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15. AIDAN TURNER
YEAR: 2004
BRAND: Fruice
He’s famed for his starring role in period drama Poldark, but Aidan Turner’s acting career didn’t exactly get off to a galloping start – as this commercial from 2004 suggests.
Accompanied by a male co-star, Turner – then a fresh-faced 21-year old – went topless in an ad for Irish juice brand Fruice.
The men are seen accosting two women, initially believed to be naked, as they stroll through a local park.
‘I see you’ve got yours out too!’ he tells them approvingly, the camera panning down to reveal both girls are wearing off-the-shoulder dresses and holding bottles of the fruity drink.
While the ad would prove to be forgettable, Turner would develop a reputation as one of Ireland’s finest acting talents and is currently one of several actors linked to the vacant James Bond role.
Icon: Once you pop, you can’t stop – just ask Brad Pitt, who starred in a TV commercial for popular potato chip Pringles in the late 1980s
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mucuLrWHGqc%3Frel%3D0
Humble beginnings: Two years before his first significant role in the iconic Thelma And Louise, 25-year old Brad was flogging crisps from the back of a car
16. BRAD PITT
YEAR: 1988
BRAND: Pringles
Once you pop, you can’t stop – just ask Brad Pitt, who starred in a TV commercial for popular potato chip Pringles in the late 1980s.
Three years before his first significant role in the iconic Thelma & Louise, 25-year old Brad was flogging crisps from the back of a car, or at the very least he appeared to be.
Somewhere in Southern California, shirtless Brad and his two cronies are left without a ride after their red soft-top breaks down – even worse, the gang have run out of Pringles.
Fortunately, three bikini-clad babes are on hand with an available car and a full tube of potato chips, resulting in a roadside party before the boys set off on another adventure.
It’s hardly Oscar-winning material, but that would come later when Brad established himself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=gqpX4EZ64Dg%3Frel%3D0
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