Which famous actors had no previous formal acting training at all before they became famous?

Question

(Just out of interest.)

Answer 1

Sorry, the answers above are silly. Courtney Cox did get pulled up onstage in a Springsteen video, that was her big break--but she was only AT that video shoot because she was already working as a professional. Johnny Depp not formally trained--ROFLMAO! And yes, Costner got a business degree--but d'ya think he had anything like formal instruction on his way to fame?

No, there are only two categories of people who got famous before any formal training:

1. Child stars. Raven-Simone and Roddy McDowell and Kate-and-Ashley Olsen and so forth. Note that this only counts for those who started at infancy or at best preschool; Shirley Temple did not automatically start singing or dancing at age 3, really...

2. People already famous for other things. Ah-nold Schwarzeneggah, Mr. Universe before acting (and it shows, in his first Conan film the director was afraid to let him talk or even move). Keep in mind that this category can be a real fooler--models-turned-actors (Imam, Berry, Parrish) doubtless got some acting lessons while training for modeling, pro-wrestlers-turned-actors (Hogan, Funk, "The Rock") have already had performance coaches and professional makeup artists in the WWE.

And the child stars and athletes-turned-actors, if they stay in the business, wind up getting instruction either by doing acting workshops and seminars, or by picking up pointers on the set. Bill Cosby, comedian-turned-actor, credited Robert Culp for teaching him everything about acting, for example.

Answer 2

TR said it all. You can't expect to be able to do something that's hard to do at the professional level without serious training and a lot of practice. Part of the actor's job is to make it look easy. Now: An opportunity for those who answered and didn't know what they were talking about to learn something. You had a notion in your head that you belived was true. You adjusted the facts to suit your theory. If you want to be a successful human being ALWAYS do the opposite of that. Draw your conclusions based on facts and don't fill in your own blanks. And when you hear something from someone who knows what they are talking about that is contrary to what you thought, change your mind. To the asker, I knew you were just asking.

Answer 3

Evangeline Lilly from Lose and all those Hobbit movies had NO training. She was discovered in Canada as a model in her early 20 s. she did not go to college for acting or study it in any way. she was in 2 or 3 tv show in the background (no lines) a few commercials. then auditioned for Lost and got the part. it was her first speaking part in a tv show and she was one of the LEADS! And she was not a child star. she was around 25 what that show first aired.

Answer 4

Rupert Grint(plays Ron Weasley on Harry Potter) he was only in one school play before taking a chance and going to the Harry Potter audition.

Answer 5

Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray the Movie) her only acting training was in her High School Drama Club.

Answer 6

TR isn't completely right, though probably mostly. Jennifer Lawrence never had any formal training and she started acting in her teens.

Answer 7

Johnny Depp.

Answer 8

Kevin Costner got a business degree from Cal before he did any acting of any sort.

Answer 9

Lana Turner.

Answer 10

courtney cox....she is from my hometown and was discovered after being pulled on stage at a bruce springsteen concert to dance w/him! she ended up in the video for the song and well, so the story begins!