Everyone in Hollywood had to get their start somewhere, and it's pretty interesting to see what path they decided to go down. For many actors and actresses, they don't land big roles right from the start. Instead, they go for smaller roles and move up the ladder from there.
A big career launching pad for many actors and actresses are soap operas, and quite a few careers of famous celebrities began from small roles on a soap opera, and it's interesting to look back on them and see where they began. These are 10 celebrities that got their start on a soap opera.
14 Kelly Ripa
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We all know Kelly Ripa from hosting Live With Kelly And Ryan alongside Ryan Seacrest, however, you might not realize that Kelly's career was literally launched all thanks to her role on a soap opera.
Kelly played the role of Hayley Vaughan Santos on the very popular soap opera, All My Children. She was on the show for well over a decade, starting in 1990 and finally stepping away from the show in 2002. Kelly also met her husband Mark Consuelos on the show, and their characters even got married, too.
12 Shemar Moore
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Of course, we all know Shemar Moore from shows like Criminal Minds and S.W.A.T. Like many others before him, Shemar Moore got his start on a soap opera, too. Shemar played the role of Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless.
He played the brother of Neil Winters, the character of the late Kristoff St. John. Shemar was on the show from 1994-2005 — taking a break from 2002 to 2004 — and then making a return for the funeral and tribute to Kristoff St. John on the show.
10 Brad Pitt
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As big of a star as Brad Pitt is, it's hard to believe that he was once on a soap opera. These days, he has an acting resume of some big movies and other projects, however, everyone has to get their start somewhere.
When Brad was first starting his career and trying to get as many roles as he possibly could, and that included soap operas. Brad made his debut on the soap opera Another World in 1987. He was only on the show for two episodes, but an acting job is an acting job no matter how big or small, and look where that got him!
8 Josh Duhamel
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Yet another actor that kicked off his career on a soap opera is none other than Josh Duhamel. Like many others, Josh starred on the soap opera called All My Children, where he played the character Leo du Pres from 1999 to 2002.
His character wasn't the best person, as he was a con-man. However, Leo du Pres finally met his demise in 2002 when he fell over a waterfall and was presumed dead. Josh loved his time on the soap opera and looks back on it fondly.
6 Justin Hartley
These days we know Justin Hartley as Kevin aka one of the "big three" on This Is Us. Little did fans know, Justin Hartley, kicked off his career on more than one soap opera. His first role came on the show Passions, where he played Fox Crane from 2002 to 2006.
After that role, he moved on to another soap, The Young and the Restless, where he played the role of Adam Newman before he was offered the role of a lifetime on the now hit show, This Is Us.
5 Mark Hamill
It's hard to picture Mark Hamill playing any other role besides Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, however, there was a time way before that when Mark had to take on roles in order to get his career started.
You guessed it, Mark appeared on the soap opera General Hospital where he played Kent Murray for about a year from 1972 to 1973. From then on, Mark moved on to bigger and better things, one of those being Star Wars, and the rest is history.
4 Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman wasn't always the iconic Morgan Freeman that we know and love today. Like any other successful actor, it took him a while to get to that point. He got a late start to his acting career, not doing so until he was in his twenties.
Willing to take any acting job that he could, Morgan Freeman turned to soap operas to get his name out there. In the early 80s, he was on two different soap operas — Ryan's Hope and Another World.
3 John Stamos
Of course, we know John Stamos as the lovable Uncle Jesse on Full House, however, he didn't get the role of Uncle Jesse overnight. Before Full House, John Stamos was on the soap opera General Hospital. From 1982 to 1984, he played the role of Blackie Parrish.
He was a beloved character on the show, and fans have even said that they would love for him to come back and reprise his role at some point. Who knows, maybe this wish will come true!
2 Ricky Martin
Livin' La Vida Loca, that's for sure. We might know Ricky Martin as one of the most famous and popular Latin artists to this day. Before he was singing hits like "Livin' La Vida Loca," and "She Bangs" he was making viewers swoon when he played the role of Miguel Morez on General Hospital.
He was on the show during the 90s, where his character also played a sensual singer that had a very dark and troubled past. He definitely was able to make the show pretty steamy.
1 Eva Longoria
We may know Eva Longoria for her iconic role on the show Desperate Housewives, however, she, too, had to get her foot in the door somewhere. Eva made her mark on the daytime TV circuit on two different soap operas.
Her first one was in 2000, where she had a small role on the soap General Hospital. After that role, Eva went on to try out another soap, where she had a bigger role as Isabella Brana on The Young and the Restless.