15 Actors That Almost Quit Before Their Big Breaks

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Some of the MOST beloved characters on-screen wouldn't be the same without the actors who brought them to life. So tell me — what if those actors had quit before landing their iconic roles? Imagine The Office with a different Jim and Pam. I can't. I don't even want to. It feels like an alternate universe — or worse, a Black Mirror episode. And not the kind that makes you think deeply about society and our individual impact on it. No, one of the unsettling ones that rattles you to your core and makes you question if we're all living in a simulation.
It's wild to think that some of the most iconic actors faced brutal rejection — so much so, they almost quit acting entirely. But, thank god, they didn't!
Here are a few who pushed through…
John Krasinski
John Krasinski told Stephen Colbert in an interview that he called his mom to say he was ready to quit and move home to Massachusetts to become an English teacher. It was September, so his mother encouraged him to wait until the end of the year. Three weeks later, John booked The Office, and his character, Jim Halpert, launched him into stardom.
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy told Howard Stern in an interview that she set a deadline for herself: If she didn't find success as an actor by 30, she'd move on to something else. The week before her 30th birthday, she landed the role of Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls.
Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill told Graham Norton in an interview that despite constantly auditioning for lead roles, he kept hearing that producers needed a recognizable name. Feeling stuck, he considered joining the armed forces. But after his name started circulating from a screen test for a James Bond movie, things shifted — and not long after, he was cast as the lead in Man of Steel.
Annie Murphy
Annie Murphy told Kelly Clarkson in an interview that she hadn't worked in nearly two years and felt like the universe was telling her acting wasn't meant for her. She was crying in the Pacific Ocean, seriously considering quitting. Two days later, she got the audition for Schitt's Creek.
Brie Larson
Brie Larson told The Sydney Morning Herald, "I was toying with the idea of either studying interior design or marine biology." Then she got the call that United States of Tara had been picked up by a network. Later, she would join the Marvel universe.
Noah Centineo
Noah Centineo told MTV in an interview he had an existential crisis and began questioning whether acting was really the right path. He even considered moving to another country to start over. Shortly after, he landed the role of Jesus on The Fosters. Later, he would co-star in To All the Boys I've Loved Before.
Robert Pattison
Robert Pattinson said on the FHPA Podcast that his Twilight audition went so badly, he called his parents and said he was done — that he couldn't keep putting himself through it. The next day, he received a callback and went on to play Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise for years to come.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams told Vanity Fair in an interview that she was ready to give up. In her early 30s, Amy had just wrapped the indie film Junebug and decided to give herself a few more auditions. One of them led to her landing the role of Giselle in Enchanted. While she was filming, Junebug caught the Academy's attention — and earned her an Oscar nomination.
Daniel Kaluuya
Daniel Kaluuya said in an interview with Essence that he was disillusioned with acting and hadn't worked for a year and a half before landing the role as Chris in Get Out. Four years later, Daniel would win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2021 for the film Judas and the Black Messiah.
Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot told Access Hollywood that she and her husband were in L.A. for a two-week trip, and she was so exhausted by rejection that she considered skipping her Wonder Woman audition and flying home to rethink her career. But she went and landed the role.
Matt Le Blanc
Matt LeBlanc told Conan O'Brian in an interview that he had just $11 in his bank account when he auditioned for Friends. He admitted that two years earlier, he'd thought about getting a 'real job' and almost given up — but he stuck with it and landed the role of Joey Tribbiani.
Jacob Elordi
Jacob Elordi told GQ that before landing his role on Euphoria, he "wasn't booking jobs," and lived out of his car on Mulholland Drive with just $400 in his bank account. He was getting ready to move back to Australia — and Euphoria was the last audition he planned to go to before calling it quits. He booked the role, and everything changed.
Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer told Brian Baumgartner on his podcast, Off The Beat, that she was ready to quit acting and become a vet tech. Not long after, she got an audition for The Office — and landed the role of Pam Beesly.
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet told Scott Carty in an interview that he was ready to quit acting and become a concierge butcher. Two months later, he landed the role of Cameron Tucker on Modern Family. That same year, he went from the lowest point in his career to winning an Emmy.
And finally...Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia told Entertainment Weekly that he was thinking about quitting acting to become a car mechanic before landing the role of Jess on Gilmore Girls. He later starred in the hit show This Is Us.
What do you think? Drop a name in the comments — who's a star you'd be DEVASTATED if they gave up before making it big? I can't stop thinking about how different the world would be if Taylor Swift had quit after all those record labels turned her down when she was 11.
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