Secret triple threats! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for actors that you may not have realized starred on Broadway before their on-screen fame skyrocketed.
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00:00When you were a kid, did you ever dream of coming to New York,
00:03getting on the bus with your tap shoes and dancing up on a stage with the Rockettes?"
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo. And today, we're counting down our picks for actors that you may not have
00:11realized starred on Broadway before their on-screen fame skyrocketed.
00:15Oh, anyway, here I am!
00:20We're taking into account how prominent they were on Broadway,
00:23the likelihood you knew about it, and their overall fame now.
00:27Number 10. John Lithgow
00:29Short, the perfect setting for any experienced,
00:32sophisticated, strikingly handsome con artist to ply his trade.
00:37A major breakthrough in John Lithgow's film career came with his supporting role
00:41as Roberta Muldoon in the 1982 film The World According to Garp.
00:45I'm Garp.
00:46You're Jenny's son?
00:48Yes, I am.
00:48Oh, I just finished reading your novel. I think it's wonderful.
00:52He even got an Oscar nomination for it. The next year,
00:56he also received recognition for his role as Sam Burns in the movie Terms of Endearment.
01:00He later became recognized as Dick Solomon from Third Rock from the Sun.
01:10Yet before all of this, back in 1973, Lithgow was making a name for himself on Broadway. Indeed,
01:17he won a Tony for his work in The Changing Room, in which he brought rugby player Kenny to life.
01:22Right out of the gate, appearing that nude on Broadway,
01:26that was almost more than my mother could handle.
01:30The actor has continued to perform on the big stage throughout the years,
01:34always proving his talent.
01:36Number 9. Hugh Jackman
01:38River City isn't in any trouble.
01:40Then I'll have to create some.
01:41You may know him as Wolverine, or perhaps you see him as P.T. Barnum from The Greatest Showman.
01:53What you may not know is that Hugh Jackman was putting on a show,
01:59multiple technically, on stage before becoming such an eminent on-screen actor.
02:04His name and face were already known in the 90s in Australia,
02:07where he did lots of theater and some screen work.
02:10He also left his mark in England with his West End, Oklahoma performance.
02:23Then in 2003, he made his Broadway debut as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.
02:28He snagged a Tony Award for his efforts.
02:40While he had appeared in some movies and shows by this time,
02:43this was relatively early in his career fame arc.
02:47Number 8. Adam Driver
02:49Let's be real, that's Kylo Ren.
02:58Star Wars The Force Awakens, released in 2015, experienced substantial success.
03:04Of course, Adam Driver had a part in that with his performance as the bad guy.
03:08A few years later, Driver was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Flip Zimmerman
03:13in Spike Lee's Black Klansman.
03:15Prior to both projects, and the monumental surge in Driver's fame,
03:19he had a few other notable roles.
03:21But in a surprising twist, he was on Broadway beforehand.
03:25They're like the best. They're having a great time working with these people.
03:292010 saw him make his Broadway debut in The Greatest Showman,
03:33The following year, he starred alongside Frank Langella in Man and Boy.
03:37If you didn't know all this, you're not alone.
03:40Our roles are becoming reversed. Who is now the strong and who the weak?
03:44I can never be strong.
03:45Oh, I don't know.
03:46Number 7. Viola Davis
03:49Everything that boy do, he do for you. He want you to say, good job, son. That's all.
03:54I ain't got time for that, Rose.
03:56She has a lot to say, but she's not going to say it.
03:58He want you to say, good job, son. That's all. I ain't got time for that, Rose.
04:03She has been widely acclaimed for her exceptional acting talent
04:06and her ability to emotionally embody her characters.
04:09This is evident with her work in films like 2011's The Help and 2016's Fences,
04:14both of which she received Oscar nominations for.
04:17She actually won the coveted statuette for the latter project.
04:20I've been standing with you. I've been right here with you, Troy.
04:25I got a life, too. I gave 18 years of my life to stand in the same spot as you.
04:31Years earlier, though, Davis was a major Broadway success.
04:34In 1996, she took the world by storm in August Wilson's Seven Guitars.
04:39Then, in 2001, her performances Tanya in King Hedley II
04:43earned her the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
04:46I'd like to thank God for the following, for the joy of my work,
04:51and that includes the cast of King Hedley.
04:53You may not have known, but the fact that she excels on stage
04:56certainly isn't a surprise.
04:58I ain't got nothing else to give. I can't give myself. How I'm gonna give her?
05:03I don't understand what to do, how to be a mother.
05:05You either love too much or don't love enough.
05:07Don't seem like there's no middle ground.
05:09Number 6. Anna Kendrick.
05:15I'll drink to that.
05:16So here's to the girls on the go. Everybody tries.
05:24She's commonly known for her portrayal of Becca in the Pitch Perfect franchise.
05:28Anna Kendrick put her skills on full display for the public
05:31when the first movie musical came out in 2012.
05:34Shorty get down, good lord. Baby got them all up and all over town.
05:40She plays a college student who reluctantly joins an on-campus acapella group.
05:44Back in 1998, however, Kendrick was only 12 years old
05:48and was starring on Broadway in the musical High Society.
05:51That's right, she brought her acting and musical talents to the big stage
05:55way before her Pitch Perfect days.
05:57Life upon the wicked stage ain't ever but a girl's home,
06:02Oh, say!
06:03Stage-tour Johnny's aren't great,
06:05Jingle the yokel with dancing,
06:08Oh, say!
06:09Not only did she make her Broadway debut at a young age, but she killed it.
06:14Being nominated for the Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony.
06:17Why, oh, why do I love Paris?
06:27Because my love is neat.
06:37Number 5. Morgan Freeman.
06:39All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
06:45They have their exits and their entrances.
06:47Morgan Freeman was nominated for Academy Awards for his mid-to-late-80s work
06:51in Street Smart and Driving Miss Daisy.
06:53His 1994 performance in what many consider one of the greatest films of all time,
06:58The Shawshank Redemption, also earned him an odd,
07:00though he didn't win on those occasions.
07:03Of course, these are just a few of Freeman's many successes on screen.
07:07As it turned out, that somebody was me.
07:10Well, before his Hollywood career took off, though,
07:12he was making his mark on the Broadway stage.
07:15His first Broadway stint was in a production of Hello, Dolly! back in the 60s.
07:19And was that one of the first I think I've made it moments for you?
07:22Yeah, absolutely.
07:23And was doing a show for 11 months, was it exciting the whole time?
07:27I was working with Pearl Bailey.
07:29There you go.
07:29Every night was a joy.
07:31Multiple stage appearances ensued for Freeman, including in larger roles.
07:36He was even nominated for the Best Featured Actor in a Play, Tony,
07:39after portraying Zeke in The Mighty Gents.
07:42Number 4.
07:43Diane Keaton
07:59Diane Keaton's performance as the titular character in Annie Hall
08:03is one of her most well-received.
08:05And she has a lot of acclaimed work.
08:07Indeed, her contributions to the 1977 Woody Allen rom-com
08:10got her the Best Actress Oscar.
08:12What many don't know, however,
08:14is that Keaton had previously worked with Allen on Broadway.
08:17In 1969, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Linda Christie
08:22in Play It Again, Sam, which he wrote and starred in.
08:25Do you think it's possible to love two people at once?
08:27The year before, she was in the original Broadway production of Hair.
08:31Both those jobs came before Keaton became a major silver screen star,
08:35notably as Kay Adams Corleone in The Godfather.
08:43Number 3.
08:44Meryl Streep
08:53Having attained a record number of Oscar and Golden Globe nominations,
08:56Meryl Streep is nothing short of a legend in the industry.
09:00Many consider her among the best to ever do it.
09:03Interestingly, before demonstrating her on-screen brilliance numerous times,
09:07Streep exhibited her impeccable acting talent for theater audiences.
09:22Indeed, she appeared in several Broadway shows in the mid-to-late 70s.
09:26This includes Tony-nominated performances in 27 Wagons Full of Cotton
09:30and A Memory of Two Mondays.
09:32She also featured in the Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in 1977.
09:38That same year, she made her feature film debut in Julia.
09:41Well, I'm glad you had time to see me.
09:44Number 2.
09:45Jason Alexander
09:46Good old Broadway show, too.
09:50Nothing that has no tune.
09:54George Costanza is one of the most iconic sitcom characters of all time,
09:58played by none other than Jason Alexander.
10:00While you may have seen his face elsewhere on screen,
10:03Alexander is unquestionably most recognizable as George from Seinfeld.
10:08Before that, though, he was shining on Broadway.
10:10They only seem to know me that way.
10:15The first of those appearances came in 1981 in the musical Merrily We Roll Along.
10:20Stephen has this kind of odd alchemy of real sensitivity to the inner workings of the human
10:30heart, even though in life you wouldn't think of him as an effusive kind of guy.
10:36After a few more on-stage roles, Alexander garnered a major honor,
10:40the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.
10:44I am so proud to be part of the theatrical community of this city,
10:46and knowing that this comes from you makes it just fabulous.
10:49Thank you very much.
10:51This was for his work in 1989 as the narrator in Jerome Robbins' Broadway.
10:59Yes, that's the same year the public was introduced to Mr. George Costanza.
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11:28Number 1. Sarah Jessica Parker
11:30I've always been shy. I confess that I'm shy.
11:38Sarah Jessica Parker's illustrious career started at a young age on the big stage in 1976.
11:44At 11 years old, she was in her first Broadway production, The Innocence. Three years later,
11:49she became a true Broadway star, playing the protagonist in the all-time classic musical Annie.
11:55Come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun.
12:05After initially being cast in a smaller part, SJP took over the lead role. Her performance as Annie
12:11was essentially a stepping stone to an impressive career as a film and television actress.
12:16I wrapped you around my cute little finger. I made like a song, I made you the singer.
12:26After Annie came Rusty in Footloose, Sarah Sanderson in Hocus Pocus,
12:31and Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, among many others.
12:35Cats was just kittens. Cats, the musical. Hello?
12:40Oh, I loved Cats!
12:42Medic!
12:43It hasn't been that long, has it?
12:44Which of these actors do you wish you could see on Broadway? Let us know in the comments below.
12:49Dream, the impossible dream right here. The name is Paul Revere.
12:55Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer? Well, everything's coming up, roses!
13:01Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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