Top 10 Actors Who Didn't Make It Big Until They Were Older

MsMojo

Some actors get better with age. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be looking at performers who proved that good things come to those who wait.

Transcript

00:00 It's what I do and I'm very good at it.

00:02 Welcome to Miss Mojo and today we'll be looking at performers who proved that good

00:07 things come to those who wait.

00:09 I am God.

00:11 Number 10.

00:12 Lucille Ball For this comedy icon, the ball didn't get

00:16 rolling until she was almost middle-aged.

00:27 Despite having appeared in films and on Broadway, Lucille Ball's success was a long time

00:32 coming.

00:33 She was once referred to as the "Queen of the Bees" due to her many appearances in

00:37 low-budget flicks.

00:39 But in 1951, at the age of 40, she got her big break thanks to a little television sitcom

00:45 called I Love Lucy.

00:54 Starring alongside her real-life husband Desi Arnaz, Ball cemented her status as a true

00:59 comedian and actress turning the black and white series into a television classic.

01:14 Number 9.

01:15 Alan Rickman Before Alan Rickman became an actor, he followed

01:19 another artistic pursuit, graphic design.

01:23 After attending the Royal College of Art, Rickman and some of his pals established their

01:27 own studio.

01:32 Eventually, his passion for acting inspired him to kiss graphic design goodbye and he

01:45 enrolled in Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

01:54 Afterward, he appeared in several theatrical productions in the UK and eventually New York,

02:03 where he earned a Tony nomination for his role in Les Laisons de Jérus.

02:08 Despite his success, he didn't earn a feature film credit until he appeared as the villainous

02:13 Hans Gruber in 1988's Die Hard.

02:23 At the time, he was 42 years old and finally Hollywood noticed what they had been missing.

02:29 Number 8.

02:30 Bryan Cranston Years before he was Walter White on Breaking

02:33 Bad, Bryan Cranston was playing a very different role on Malcolm in the Middle.

02:38 From 2000 to 2006, Cranston played the role of Hal Wilkerson, the dad to five boys, one

02:45 of who happens to be a genius.

02:57 The future Academy Award nominee was about 44 years old when the show first aired.

03:02 Despite appearing on shows like Seinfeld, Middle was the project that made him a recognizable

03:07 face.

03:08 However, his role on Breaking Bad made him a household name, which began airing when

03:15 Cranston was almost 52 years old.

03:27 Number 7.

03:28 Kathy Bates If you find yourself scrolling through Kathy

03:31 Bates' filmography, you might be scrolling for a while.

03:35 The Tennessee-born actress has a long list of credits, appearing in everything from movies

03:40 to television to theater.

03:51 In fact, it's hard to even imagine a time when she wasn't a staple of the screen.

03:55 However, her big breakthrough didn't come until she was 42.

04:07 Already a Tony nominee, Bates had the acting chops to terrify audiences when she was cast

04:12 as the deranged Annie Wilkes in the screen adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel

04:17 Misery.

04:30 She made such an impact that she earned herself an Oscar for Best Actress.

04:34 We guess you could say her win was a smashing success.

04:38 Number 6.

04:39 Steve Carell Steve Carell has been making audiences laugh

04:43 for nearly 20 years, but his road to fame was a long one.

04:47 After starting off his career with Second City and The Daily Show, Carell was hit with

04:52 not one, but two major career successes in 2005.

05:10 When he was cast in the American adaptation of The Office as Michael Scott, he was still

05:15 relatively unknown.

05:16 That being said, that summer, he also appeared in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which catapulted

05:22 into stardom and helped bring an audience to The Office, and turned it into one of the

05:26 most acclaimed network comedies of all time.

05:31 Oh, and this all happened for him at the ripe old age of 43.

05:51 Number 5.

05:52 Patrick Stewart You may not know it, but Patrick Stewart had

05:56 quite a career before he joined the intergalactic world of Star Trek.

06:07 The British actor dazzled audiences in the UK for years, appearing in classic theatre,

06:12 making Shakespeare proud in plays like A Midsummer Night's Dream.

06:16 In the late 80s, the world of television came calling and casted him as Star Trek's next

06:22 generation's leading man, Jean-Luc Picard.

06:36 The role made him a well-known face across the world, and opened new frontiers for Stewart

06:41 to explore the on-screen world.

06:43 Live long and prosper, Patrick!

06:55 Number 4.

06:56 Bea Arthur In 1950s New York City, the late and great

07:00 Bea Arthur was making waves all over the theatre scene, appearing in both on and off Broadway

07:06 productions.

07:13 At 48 years old, she made an appearance on the television comedy All in the Family, which

07:18 impressed both viewers and the powers that be at CBS.

07:22 A short time later, at age 50, Arthur was the star of her own hit TV series, Maud.

07:33 In 1985, she continued to find success in the sitcom genre, with the ensemble comedy

07:39 The Golden Girls, which she booked at age 63.

07:51 Number 3.

07:52 Samuel L. Jackson It's hard to believe there was ever a time

07:56 when Samuel L. Jackson was not keeping snakes off the planes, or just lighting up the big

08:01 screen.

08:07 The prolific actor appeared in films like Do the Right Thing and Coming to America in

08:12 the 1980s, but it wasn't until the 90s that Jackson's career really took off.

08:17 Director-writer Quentin Tarantino offered the actor the role of Jules Winfield in his

08:21 new crime flick, Pulp Fiction, which premiered in 1994.

08:35 At this time, Jackson was only five years away from turning the big 5-0.

08:40 The role cast a spotlight on him, and earned him an Oscar nomination to top it all off.

08:51 Number 2.

08:56 Viola Davis Today, Viola Davis is a celebrated actress,

09:00 producer, and EGOT winner.

09:02 But there was a time before she was the star we know and love.

09:17 After graduating from Juilliard, Davis worked primarily in the theater, appearing in bit

09:21 parts in film and television on the side.

09:24 Eventually, she became a familiar on-screen face thanks to movies like Doubt, which she

09:29 was Oscar nominated for.

09:38 A year after winning her second Tony Award, she appeared in 2011's The Help, which earned

09:43 her another Oscar nomination, and was her breakout role at age 46.

09:55 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

09:59 Jane Lynch This actress was full of glee when her big

10:02 break came around.

10:09 Ken Jeong This Hangover star went to the red carpet

10:17 in his 40s.

10:24 Ricky Gervais This comedian became a household name at age

10:27 40.

10:39 Katherine Joosten At almost 60 years old, Joosten went from

10:43 aspiring actress to a TV star.

10:55 Estelle Getty This golden girl didn't get her big break

11:11 before her big break.

11:28 Morgan Freeman Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Morgan Freeman

11:43 pursued a career in the United States Air Force before he decided to commit to acting

12:00 full-time.

12:01 Through the 1970s, Freeman built up his resume, appearing in theatrical productions and the

12:04 acclaimed children's series The Electric Company.

12:07 Despite his budding career, he did not strike showbiz gold until he was cast as Leo Smalls

12:12 or Fast Black in the thriller Street Smart, garnering an Oscar nomination.

12:17 In the past, Freeman has credited the villainous role as his big break, which happened when

12:22 he was just about 50 years young.

12:32 Which one of these actors' big break surprised you the most?

12:35 Let us know in the comments.

12:50 [music]

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