30 Actors That Rose To Fame Without Ties To Fame Or Money

These actors managed stardom thanks to their own hard work

Kylin

• Published in Film & TV
• January 29, 2022

There a tons of professions that can be passed down through generations. You can easily find families of lawyers, doctors or musicians.

While sometimes the younger generation seem to have a choice in their professions, they still navigate to the same fields. In other cases, there are some families that force professions as the “family tradition.”

Either way, when children grow into the workforce, choosing a similar career path as their parents or grandparents lends access to many helpful connections. These connections are more than just a “foot in the door,” and can land them better paying jobs, or a position in a highly sought after field.

Nepotism at it’s finest, really. And while unfair to those who don’t have the same advantages, there’s not much to do about it.

However, those who make it without nepotism seem to also garner more respect from others than those who have a familial “in.” Recently a Reddit user was curious about nepotism in Hollywood, specifically those who made it without their Mommy and Daddy’s money or connections.

Reddit user PM_me_Thor_nudes posed the question in r/Movies: Which currently popular actor/actress is NOT a product of being well-connected and/or rich? And as usual, Redditors delivered with some great examples.

From Mark Ruffalo to Steve Buscemi, we collected the top 30 actors Redditors shared that rose to stardom without any Hollywood ties. Keep scrolling to see who made the list!

1. Donald Glover

Donald Glover. Dad was a postal worker and his mom was a daycare provider. Went on to be an insanely talented musician, producer, actor, etc.

SPOOKESVILLE

2. Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo is definitely not from a wealthy or well connected family. His family actually owns a pizza place in Kenosha, WI.

staffsargent

3. Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis used to work at the store her mom worked at even while she was staring on that 70s show to not let it go to her head.

Snake_Plissken224

4. Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen - went to public school, mom is a social worker and dad worked at a non-profit.

Fresca_p

5. Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum. Grew up in Alabama and Mississippi, he basically only got into showbiz by being signed as a dancer, and he was only a Dancer because he used to be a stripper.

Ihateregistering6

6. Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi was a firefighter before making it as an actor, but I think that's common knowledge by now.

Cats-over-People

7. Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain. Grew up in a low income family and could only make it through Julliard thanks to a scholarship (actually awarded by a foundation led by Robin Williams, if I'm not mistaken).

thefrayedfiles

8. Simu Liu

I guess Simu Liu from Marvel's Shang Chi counts. He was an accountant for a brief amount of time before becoming an actor. I'm sure he didn't get rich being an entry level auditor. Simu attended a private school in Toronto. He probably didn't make Hollywood connections there but being around affluence is an advantage. Edit: I thought it would be an advantage being brought up around affluence and communicating with the other wealthy people around. Apparently I'm wrong.

Impressive-Potato

9. Richard Madden

The UK actor thing is very real and kind of crazy when you look into it. But there are some exceptions. Richard Madden’s parents were a school teacher and a firefighter, for instance.

Arkeolog

10. The Olsen Twins

The Olsen Twins. They literally supported their families financially by working their entire lives and then people have the audacity to belittle them and act like everything was handed to them on a silver platter. They literally didn’t have a childhood and have always been working. They don’t get the respect they deserve. They’re now still massively successful with their fashion lines and have earned the privacy to stay out of the spotlight.

Their sister on the other hand definitely benefited from the pathway they paved. But I just think about all the child stars who were literally the sole support of their family and they had no control over it. People make jokes about child stars going down bad pathways, but that’s more on the environment and the industry than it is on the kids. Imagine blaming kids for being introduced to things at a young age they shouldn’t have been introduced to. Drew Barrymore’s talks about the things she was exposed to as a kid being part of a family dynasty are so disturbing and the media blames the kids and not the industry that cultivated that environment.

End of rant.

svargs01

11. Chris Evans

Chris Evans? Isn't his dad just a plain old dentist?

blackrock55

12. Selena Gomez

selena gomez. she literally came from nothing and worked as a child to support her family.

sel017

13. Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul ? His father was a baptist minister.

melonguy1789

14. Milla Jovovich

If you still count her, there is Milla Jovovich who was the daughter of a single mother from Ukraine. She's a nice lady who is still very down-to-earth. I've heard many good things about her.

nosmelc

15. Kelly Marie Tran

kelly marie tran (lead voice actor in raya, rose tico in star wars) was a nobody whose parents were vietnam refugees. she did collegehumor videos before rian johnson casted her in star wars. tbh i think most asian-american actors are a good place to look if u wanna search for talent without nepotist connections because most asian immigrants don’t start off in hollywood.

shrinkcylamen

16. Taylor Lautner

I was suppose to be childhood friends with Taylor Lautner. (His dad would ask my mom for us to hang out together as children and play I guess?) He got the gig because his karate teacher just happened to know the yellow power ranger at the time according to my mom. And his dad was a jerk apparently.

Oniketojen

17. Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield’s parents were interior designers

YomYeYonge

18. Olivia Cooke

Olivia Cooke is from the same town as me (Oldham, Lancashire) and it is a really poor, miserable place so you are spot on with her. I was genuinely shocked that she could be from there and become so successful but that just shows you how talented she is

sailorellie85

19. Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh. Her parents were middle-class South Korean immigrants and she paid out of pocket for her drama education at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. Her mom was a biochemist and her dad was a businessman.

InsomniaticAlien

20. Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams

“born on November 17, 1978, in London, Ontario, Canada, to nurse Sandra (née Gale) and truck driver Lance McAdams

hamer1234

21. Awkwafina

Awkwafina (daughter of IT worker dad, mother passed away when she was young), Simu Liu (son of engineers).

Kagomefog

22. Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds had a pretty humble background. I used to rent movies to his brother, back when rental stores were a thing.

givemethebat1

23. Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel was raised by a single mother and was doing community theater and independent projects which got him discovered for saving private ryan.

TBBT-Joel

24. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is def one. She's such a good actress and comes from a normal background. Grew up in Kentucky and her parents run a summer camp for kids.

dancersniper

25. Dev Patel

First thing that came to mind was Dev Patel. Mother was a caregiver, father was an IT guy.

amig_135

26. Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick is one of the prominent ones I can think of. No show biz parents, got her start in theater as a kid.

puppeteer23

27. Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt. Was working as the El Pollo Loco chicken on the corner of Sunset and La Brea while trying to make it in Hollywood.

revocer

28. Elijah Wood

Elijah woods parents ran a restaurant in Iowa city and weren’t particularly wealthy

DigitalFireStorm

29. Harrison Ford

Wasn't Harrison Ford a carpenter or something first?

Edit: he pretty much was always an actor, but he wasn't satisfied with the roles he was getting early on, so he became a carpenter until he was discovered by George Lucas.

TortureSteak

30. Adam Driver

I have a lot of respect for Adam Driver. He was the only main actor on Girls who didn't come from privilege or didn't have a parent who was already in the industry. Not surprisingly, he was the most successful actor after Girls ended.

PotentMiracleTonic

Do you think actors who worked their way up deserve more respect than those who came from families having a background or other connections in the entertainment industry? Did we miss any notable actors that you think should be on the list?

Let us know in the comments and be sure to share this with your friends.

Kylin