16 Celebrity Commercials From Before They Were Famous
Kevin Winter/Frederick M. Brown/Theo Wargo/Michael Buckner/Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Before they hit it big, celebrities had a hard-knock life they wish they could simply forget. Funnyman Jon Hamm, for instance, used to be a set designer for porn movies, and before Bryan Cranston became the infamous Walter White on 'Breaking Bad,' he was a video interviewer for a dating site. Unfortunately, these are nothing compared to the embarrassing commercials and ads so many actors agreed to perform in when they were just starting out.
Megan Mullally's McDonald's Commercial with John Goodman
In honor of the Egg McMuffin's 40th birthday, the folks over at AOL featured a snippet of this old McDonald's commercial in their “Morning Rush” segment. But there was a couple little things they missed. For one, 'Will & Grace' star Megan Mullally was that same little girl revealing that the treat was only 99 cents. And that random guy chowing down on a McMuffin and a cup of coffee? That's John Goodman, who'll be featured in the upcoming 'Hangover Part III.'
Meg Ryan's Burger King Commercial
If you look at current photos of Meg Ryan, you might not recognize her as that same woman who starred in 'You've Got Mail' and 'When Harry Met Sally' all those years ago. Maybe it's all the “alleged” plastic surgery. But if you check her younger self out in this Burger King commercial, you'll see the same face that later performed the classic fake orgasm scene.
Elizabeth Shue's Burger King Commercial
We apologize in advance for getting this old Burger King theme song stuck in your head. For what it's worth, we can't stop singing, “Aren't you hungry…” And we're pretty sure neither can Elizabeth Shue. Though you'll see her running away from a crazy person with Jennifer Lawrence in the upcoming movie 'House At the End of the Street,' she's currently running just as fast away from her past self hawking some good ol' fashion fast food.
Bruce Willis' Levi's Commercial
We should all know this one by now. One all-powerful Redditer posted Bruce Willis' dancing Levi's commercial, thereby spreading it all over the internet. In case you can't tell which of these actors is the 'Die Hard' action hero, check out the last guy in the yellow jacket who loses his shades after trying to pull off a graceful spin. Yup, that same man might sue Apple over the fact that he can't pass on his extensive iTunes music library to his children… Damn you, iTunes Terms & Conditions!
John Travolta's Safeguard Bath Soap Commercial
John Travolta may be a little off his rocker nowadays — rumors of having a six-year affair with a man while you're trying to maintain your heterosexuality can do that — but at least he has his past experience selling Safeguard bath soap as an excuse. Singing, “better than leading bars with hexachlorofene,” would drive us to insanity too! Maybe finally coming out of the closet would do him some good.
Keanu Reeves' Corn Flakes Commercial
Before Keanu Reeves starred in the 'Bill and Ted' movies and spawned a world-wide phenomena of mimicking his stoner character, the actor loved Corn Flakes. No, he REALLY loved Corn Flakes… and dancing. Check him out busting a move in this commercial. You'll see him checking around to see if anyone will spot him stealing a bite of Corn Flakes, but he really should be checking to see if anyone's paying attention to the ad. Now none of us will ever forget him in this light.
Elijah Wood's Cheese Commercial
If the Ring of Power mentally poisoned the Frodo-portraying Elijah Wood in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, it's only natural that cheese would have the same effect on his kid self, right? This commercial for cheddar cheese was not his only claim to fame as a child star, though. You might also recognize his facial features from an old-timey Pizza Hut ad. And his reaction to cheese remained at this level of chipperness.
Brad Pitt's Pringles Commercial
Brad Pitt was always a heartthrob… there's just no getting around that fact. Before his swoon worthy facial features hit the big screen, a casting director for a Pringles commercial got a hold of him back in the day. And guess what? Even in that ad, he couldn't stop himself from being the playa'.
Sarah Michelle Gellar's Burger King Commercial
“It's not Christmas… It's not your birthday…” No, it's Sarah Michelle Gellar trying to sell you Burger King. Although something as awesome as seeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a toddler does make it seem like it's your birthday. We wonder if this is what Joss Whedon saw before bringing her on to star in his hit TV series.
Leonardo DiCaprio's Bubble Yum Commercial
Many of us feel that someone as attractive as Leonardo DiCaprio could sell us anything, but what about Bubble Yum? That's exactly what the award-winning actor was trying to get you to buy as a kid. Fortunately for him, this was way before he starred in 'Titanic,' because all we can do now is picture his kid self next to an image of him trying to paint a naked portrait of Kate Winslet.
Paul Rudd's Nintendo Commercial
Remember when video games used to look like miniature, plastic bricks and the number one method for fixing them was blowing air across the gaming chip to release all the dust? Paul Rudd definitely does. In fact, you could say it's probably haunting him a little bit. See for yourself by watching the commercial below.
Seth Green's Nerf Commercial
If Seth Green turned out to be gay, we probably wouldn't be that surprised. There've been signs. Take the Nerf commercial he did as a kid (that he probably wishes he could forget about) as an example. In it he sees a group of girls who seem like they're flirting with him and his buddy, but instead of starting a conversation, he shoots Nerf balls at them. Not to mention his short stint on 'Will & Grace' seemed like an eye opener.
Morgan Freeman's Listerine Commercial
“It tastes bad, so I use.” Thanks for that, Morgan Freeman. It's a performance like this that got you an Oscar for your work in 'Million Dollar Baby,' we're almost sure of it. After movies like 'The Bucket List' and 'Evan Almighty,' there's no wonder why you probably wanted to leave this in your past.
Naomi Watts' Tampon Commercial
Please prove us wrong, but we think there's nothing more embarrassing for an actor than starring in a commercial about tampons. For a while, that was Naomi Watts' life in Australia. She was the face of Tampax… Tampax! No wonder she moved to the States. She probably couldn't get far enough away from the humiliation.
Nicolas Cage's Sankyo Commercial
Fact: Nicolas Cage has always been crazy. Evidence: His Japanese Sankyo commercial. From the looks of it, he starred in it while still an adult. Although many actors and actresses often agree to act in commercials overseas, but this one definitely takes the cake for being the most over the top. Cowboy outfit? Dancing robots? Eventually joining in with the dancing robots? We rest our case.
Bryan Cranston's Shield Soap Commercial
Before Bryan Cranston brewed up meth in 'Breaking Bad' and before he starred as the hysterical dad in 'Malcolm in the Middle,' he was known for selling soap dressed as a giant skunk. His commercial for Shield soap stunk so bad that when asked by The Hollywood Reporter to reveal the strangest job he ever worked, he decided to talk about his life as a dating site video interviewer instead. And we don't blame him.
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