The career of an actor is not an easy one. Some finally get their big break in movies or television, and end up hating the role that brought them fame.
Others work for years, sometimes in blockbuster movies, but never achieve fame or real recognition, and their favorite roles may well come in obscure movies seen by few.
In a volatile business, patience is a definite asset. There may be a string of solid roles that go unnoticed before that big break comes along, sometimes late in life – and sometimes, not at all.
10 Christopher Waltz Was 51 Before He Saw Fame
Many actors have careers much like Christopher Waltz’ used to be. He came from a family of stage actors, with grandparents who's appeared in silent films. He worked steadily in TV in Germany and Austria before his big break came in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, where he played SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa. He went on to win several awards for his portrayal of the complex character, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. He's since won both again in another Tarantino film, Django Unchained.
9 Jane Lynch Worked For Decades Before 'Glee'
Actress Jane Lynch had a solid resume in acting, with many roles in forgettable TV movies, cartoon voice-overs, and guest appearances on TV shows. That all changed in 2009 when she landed the role of Sue Sylvester on Glee. She won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the age of 50. Since then, her career has pretty much exploded, with multiple TV roles, including a recurring role in Netflix's Space Force, and voice acting in American Dad! and many other animated series.
8 Judi Dench Was Well Known In Britain, But Became An International Star With James Bond
London theater lovers and British film fans already knew Judi Dench from her many roles on stage and screen. But, it wasn’t until she landed the role of M, James Bond’s tough spy boss, that she became well known around the world. She first appeared in GoldenEye starring Pierce Brosnan in 1995 – Judi was 61. In 1999, she’d win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Shakespeare in Love. Having turned 84 in December 2020, Dench is still hard at work in various movie projects.
7 John Mahoney Won A ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ Award At 47
John Mahoney started acting late, and was 47 when he got the Clarence Derwent "Most Promising Male Newcomer" Award for his work on Broadway. He'd gotten supporting roles in movies like Moonstruck and Barton Fink, but he didn’t land the role that would make him famous until he was 53 – as Martin Crane, Frasier’s grumpy Dad.
That was in 1993, and he’s stay on the show until it wrapped up in 2004, nominated twice each for a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe for the role.
6 It’s Hard To Believe Morgan Freeman Was 52 Before He Made It Big
It wasn’t that Morgan Freeman went totally unnoticed early in his career, with roles in the soap Another World, and the kids’ TV powerhouse Electric Company, but he was already in his 30s by then. It wasn’t until he took the role of Hoke Colburn, the driver in Driving Miss Daisy, at the age of 52 that he shot to national and then international fame. Since then, he’s enjoyed an enviable career of iconic movie roles, including the president, vice president, Nelson Mandela, and even God.
5 Estelle Getty Was A Real Golden Girl
Estelle Getty had been working in TV and movies since 1978, with such roles as "Middle-Aged Woman" in the 1982 Dustin Hoffman hit Tootsie, and a string of guest appearances on various TV shows. In 1985, at 62, she took the role that would make her recognized everywhere - as Sophia Petrillo on the classic TV show The Golden Girls. That gig would last until 1992, and she'd reprise the role in a number of other projects, adding other series until she retired in 2001 at age 77.
4 Ricardo Montalbán Moved To Hollywood At 23 – But Got His Best Roles In His 50s
Ricardo Montalbán moved to Hollywood at age 23 from his native Mexico, and worked steadily in roles that received little attention. When he was 51, he was cast in Escape From the Planet of the Apes, a high profile movie role that led to his iconic role as Mr. Roarke, the suave and smooth talking host of the Fantasy Island TV series from 1978 til 1984.
When he was 62, he got arguably his greatest role as Star Trek supervillain Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
3 Betty White Is Everyone’s Favorite Late Bloomer
Betty White has been a staple on TV since 1945. With recurring roles in a couple of TV series during the 1950s, she spent several years going from one guest spot to another. It was 1973, when Betty was 51, that she landed her first really memorable role as the smiling yet acid-tongued Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. She went on to have her own show, among other TV roles, and then hit the jackpot again with The Golden Girls from 1985 – when she was 63 – to 1992.
2 Ann Dowd Is Doing Her Finest Work Now At Age 65
Character actress Ann Dowd spent has an impressive acting resume that dates back to 1985. She's appeared in a string of TV series in largely below-the-radar roles. She first came to a wider notice with a prominent role in the indie film Compliance in 2012, when she was 56. She's worked steadily in recurring TV roles since, but shot to real fame with her role as the cruel Aunt Lydia Clements in the hit Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale. Many critics have noted that she is doing the best work of her career in the role of the strict and often violent disciplinarian.
1 Regis Philbin Didn’t Reach Fame Until He Was 57
Regis Philbin, who retired from Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in 2011, still holds the Guinness World Record for most hours (total 16,746.50) on US television. He started his career in television by working as a page at The Tonight Show tapings in 1955. He graduated to writer and announcer, and got his first show at 30 for local and then national shows, but it wasn't until Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee in 1988 that he got his hit show on a national network at the age of 57.