It is very difficult to achieve real success. Of course, there are shirt-born actors who wake up famous after the very first role. But more often than not, it takes time, talent, and patience to become famous. There are also representatives of the stellar Olympus, who became popular in adulthood due to the fact that they later realized that their vocation was cinema. We present to your attention a photo-list of actors and actresses who started their careers late. They managed to prove that age is not a hindrance to fame.
Gwendoline Christie
- "Game of Thrones", "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus", "Top of the Lake", "Dark Reflections"
Many people remember this stately beauty from "Game of Thrones", but not many know that Gwendolyn began her acting career relatively late. The actress received her professional education at the age of 29, and got her first role when she crossed the 30-year mark. Participation in the "Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus", where her partners were Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp, did not bring her great popularity. The real breakthrough was the role of Brienne Tart. In order to play a courageous beauty, the actress began to actively play sports and gain muscle mass. Her efforts were not in vain, and now Gwendoline is known to viewers around the world.
Alisa Freundlich
- "On Verkhnyaya Maslovka", "Office Romance", "Cruel Romance", "Martha's Line"
Perhaps there is no viewer in Russia who does not know Alisa Freindlich and has not watched at least a couple of films with her participation. Her early roles did not bring her success, and the actress concentrated on a theatrical career. A real breakthrough for Alisa Brunovna was her participation in the "Office Romance". Eldar Ryazanov invited the talented artist to the main role when she was already 43 years old, and after that Freundlich fell in love with the whole country.
Christoph Waltz
- Inglourious Basterds, Big Eyes, Green Hornet, Massacre
Austrian Christoph Waltz starred for a long time in passing detective series in his homeland. The fact is that the actor's agent warned him in his youth: if Christophe starts acting in Hollywood films, the cliche of a Nazi in uniform will stick to him, and he will never build a normal career. Everything turned out to be exactly the opposite - Waltz woke up popular and in demand immediately after the release of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. At the time of filming, Waltz was 53 years old.
Jessica Chastain
- Goal Number One, Sloane's Dangerous Game, Most Brutal Year, The Servant
Despite numerous attempts to find her niche in Hollywood, Jessica for a long time was content with only episodic roles. She tried herself on the theatrical stage, but here, too, she failed. Everything changed after the release of Shelter, where Michael Shannon acted as Chastain's partner. Playing in "Servant" cemented the success of the 34-year-old actress and even brought her a nomination for the "Golden Globe" and "Oscar". After that, Jessica's film career is gaining momentum every year.
Halle Berry
- "Cloud Atlas", "Ball of Monsters", "Alarm Call", "Catwoman"
Holly has been a model for a long time, but she wanted more. She actively starred in commercials, but her main goal was Hollywood. Many castings, passing roles in TV shows and painstaking work on himself took a whole decade in Berry's life. She managed to achieve real success after thirty, when the pictures "Ordered to Destroy" and "X-Men" were released.
Samuel L. Jackson
- Jackie Brown, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Time to Kill
Samuel L. Jackson is another famous late starter. Before reaching fame, he managed to try himself as a social worker, study as an architect, move to the drama department and even recover from drug addiction. Everything was changed by a meeting with Morgan Freeman, it was he who sent Jackson on the right track. Now Samuel can be ranked among the highest paid actors, and he got his first successful role when he was already 43 years old.
Peter Dinklage
- "Stationmaster", "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", "Game of Thrones", "Lassie"
Peter is a great example of the fact that neither age nor congenital diseases can prevent you from achieving your goal if you are talented. Dinklage was born with achondroplasia and is only 1.32 meters tall as an adult. This did not become an obstacle to getting an acting education and participating in various castings. He got his first major role in 2003 in "The Station Keeper" opposite Michelle Williams. At that time, Peter was 34 years old. After the release of the film, directors began inviting him to various successful projects, but real fame awaited Dinklage after the release of "Game of Thrones".
George Clooney
- Ocean's Eleven, Siriana, Operation Argo, Catch-22
The beginning of Clooney's career can be considered one sheer bad luck. It is not known if the actor was born on Monday, but despite his talent, all of his auditions and auditions have yielded no results. He managed to work as a tobacco carver, a seller of women's shoes, an insurance agent and even a loader. George did not give up and at the age of 33 got a role in the cult Ambulance. The popular TV series became the actor's ticket to Hollywood cinema.
Leonid Bronevoy
- "Intercession Gate", "Promised Heaven", "The same Munchausen", "Formula of Love"
It is difficult to imagine such Russian films as "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "Pokrovskie Vorota", "Formula of Love" without Leonid Bronevoy. The national fame of the actor was preceded by a long and difficult path. The death of his wife, who left Leonid Sergeevich with a small daughter in her arms, theatrical performances in provincial theaters, lack of demand in the capital - he went through everything so that after that each of his roles was analyzed for quotes. By the time Bronevoy played Heinrich Müller, he was already 44 years old.
Monica Bellucci
- The Passion of the Christ, The Matrix Reloaded, Miracle: Tears of the Madonna, Mozart in the Jungle
Before becoming an actress, Monica Bellucci was in high demand as a model. She dreamed of a movie, but for many years in the film industry she was not taken seriously. The breakthrough came after the release of "Dracula" by Francis Ford Coppola. The actress was almost thirty years old at the time of filming, and after that she was invited to serious projects.
Harrison Ford
- All parts of the Indiana Jones franchise, The Witness, Ender's Game, Cowboys vs. Aliens
Harrison Ford is one of the brightest foreign actors who managed to achieve fame after thirty. He dreamed of acting, but several unsuccessful castings forced him to take up professionally carpentry. He liked his new profession, he fulfilled orders for Hollywood stars, which also brought money. However, a lucky chance brought him together at the age of 35 with George Lucas, who offered Ford to participate in Star Wars. After that, Harrison Ford became one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Tatiana Peltzer
- "After a rain on Thursday", "How to become happy", "There, on unknown paths", "You never dreamed of ..."
Tatyana's father dreamed that the girl would become an actress. The first role went to Tatiana at the age of 9, but in her student years she was accused of being incompetent. She never received an acting education and until the age of 50 she worked as an ordinary typist, resigned to her fate. Peltzer became popular and in demand already at an advanced age, and she called herself “a happy old woman”. The fact is that no one could convey as she did caring and kind mothers and grandmothers, but the actress herself had neither grandchildren, nor children.
Sylvester Stallone
- "Rocky", "Unstoppable", "Racer", "Hired Killers"
Many viewers are interested in how the actors began their careers. The start of Sylvester Stallone's popularity can be called spicy - he came to big cinema after films for adults. He does not hide this fact and believes that shooting in porn was the only way for him to survive. He was 30 when he sold the script for Rocky on the condition that he would star in it. After that, Stallone woke up famous.
Inna Ulyanova
- "Burnt by the Sun", "Raising Cruelty in Women and Dogs", "Where is Nofelet?", "When I Will Become a Giant"
Inna Ulyanova became famous throughout the Soviet Union after the release of the film "Pokrovskie Vorota". She was able to bypass the already approved for the role of Natalia Gundareva. Unfortunately, the actress was no longer given big roles. In post-Soviet times, she had to act in commercials and host programs for housewives. Ulyanova began to abuse alcohol and was soon left alone. Her fame was late, bright and short-lived, but many viewers still remember her vivid image and type.
Morgan Freeman
- The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Street Boy, Unconquered
Morgan Freeman also belongs to the list of stars who have achieved success after 30 years. The actor tried several times to break through to the big screens, but he only managed to star in episodic roles. With a wave of his hand on a film career, Freeman turned to television. He returned to the film industry after 50 years, and the most venerable directors have been fighting for his participation in his projects for three decades.
Andrey Krasko
- "Storm Gate", "Liquidation", "Turkish Gambit", "I Remain"
Despite the fact that Andrei was the son of the famous Soviet actor Ivan Krasko, he was not a “golden youth” in the film industry. After a failed debut in the Tomsk Youth Theater, Krasko was handed a summons to the army. Later, he decided not to associate himself with the cinema and was interrupted by odd jobs. Glory found him herself - when Andrei was 42 years old, he got a role in the TV series "National Security Agent". The audience was so fond of Krasko Jr. that in the future he received roles in many successful domestic projects.
Michael Fassbender
- Shame, Steve Jobs, 12 Years a Slave, Prometheus
Michael is also one of those artists who came to success late. Several TV shows and a couple of feature-length films in which the actor played small roles - this is exactly the track record Fassbender had by the age of thirty. When he was invited to the "300 Spartans", he did everything possible to be remembered by the audience and film critics. He constantly went in for sports and still impressed everyone with his pumped up body in the role of Stelios. He later consolidated his success by participating in X-Men: First Class.
Jon Hamm
- Mad Men, The Richard Jewell Case, Good Omens, Baby Drive
John was left without a family early, burying his father, mother and grandmother before graduating from college. At first, he decided to return to his hometown to teach acting there, but after a while he left for Los Angeles. Combining his job as a waiter in a cafe with constant auditions, by the age of 29, Hamm had achieved success - he was given a role in the popular TV series "Providence". By the age of 36, John had become a recognizable actor, and in 2016 he even received a Golden Globe for his role in Mad Men.
Kim Cattrall
- "Sex and the City", "Police Academy", "Every Human Heart", "Ghost"
It is no coincidence that Kim Cattrall is on the list of late-hitting actors. She became famous after playing Samantha in Sex and the City. Her cheerful heroine has definitely entered the history of cinema. But before that, Kim had to go through a difficult path and she, like Samantha, had to smile and, after all the failures, go to her goal. Cattrall's finest hour came after forty years.
Steve Carell
- "Office", "Battle of the Sexes", "Falling Game", "Handsome Boy"
Steve wanted to become an actor since childhood. For many years he honed his comedic skills in various television shows. He was noticed and appreciated only after he took part in The Daily Show. When he was cast in Evan Almighty, where Morgan Freeman and Jim Carrey became his partners, Steve was already 43 years old. Now he is actively filming and dubbing popular cartoons.
Hugh Jackman
- The Prestige, Kate & Leo, The Greatest Showman, Logan
Our photo list of late-career actors and actresses would not be complete without Australian actor Hugh Jackman. In his homeland, he starred in various TV series and film projects, but woke up famous all over the world after the release of X-Men. Rumor has it that Jackman got the role of Wolverine under the patronage of another Australian - Russell Crowe. The actor refused this character in favor of filming in "Gladiator", but recommended the director to take a closer look at the young and talented Jackman. Hugh at that time was 32 years old, and after this incident, they are still friends with Crowe.