MANY celebrities started acting by working on soap operas – and became celebrities.
From Demi Moore’s role on General Hospital to Brad Pitt’s turn as a young basketball player on Another Word, soap operas have been a career launching pad for many Hollywood stars.
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Here are the actors who started out on soap operas before moving into Hollywood films.
DEMI MOORE
After appearing in the 1982 sci-fi horror B-movie Parasite, Demi, 61, found her first big break in the acting world as investigative journalist Jackie Templeton on General Hospital from 1982 to 1983.
She would go on to star in the next Brat Pack reunion documentary, St. Elmo’s Fire in 1985, the highest-grossing film of the year, Ghost in 1990, alongside Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in 1992’s A Few Good Men, and alongside by Woody Harrelson in 1993. Indecent proposal.
The actress also had high-profile marriages to Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher and has always remained at the forefront of culture with her headline-grabbing roles in Striptease (1996) and GI Jane (1997).
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BRAD PITT
Before Brad, 60, lit up screens as Tyler Durden in 1999’s Fight Club or Rusty Ryan in 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, the Hollywood star appeared on the soap opera Another World in 1987 as a young basketball player called Chris.
In the same year, Brad would appear in small background roles in the film Hunk as Man at the Beach with Drink and in the Charlie Sheen-led crime drama No Man’s Land as a waiter.
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The actor would have a storied career, landing roles in major Hollywood blockbusters like Troy (2004) and Inglourious Basterds (2009) and winning an Oscar for starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Tarantino. .
MICHAEL B. JORDÃO
Michael B. Jordan, 37, may be known for his role as the tough son of boxer Apollo Creed now, but before he rose to stardom by taking the lead in the Rocky spin-off series, he played troubled teenager Reggie Montgomery in All my children.
After appearing as Wallace in Season 1 of The Wire in 2002, he starred on the soap opera for 59 episodes from 2003 to 2006.
Since leaving the soap, Michael has starred in the award-winning Fruitville Station (2009) and turned villainous as Killmonger in the second highest-grossing film of 2018, Black Panther.
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JULIANE MOORE
Julianne, 63, was receiving praise long before she took home the Oscar for Best Actress for Still Alice, in 2014.
The May December star won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 1988 for playing Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on As the World Turns.
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From 1985 to 1988, Julianne played Frannie and Frannie’s half-sister and identical cousin, Sabrina.
Julianne has been nominated for an Oscar five times in her career – for her work in Boogie Nights (1998), The End of the Affair (2000), Far From Heaven (2003), The Hours (2003) and Still Alice.
EVA LONGORIA
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Actress-turned-director Eva, 49, may have found her breakthrough as Gabrielle Solis on the ABC comedy Desperate Housewives, but she cut her teeth playing Isabella Braña on The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2003.
Although the actress appeared on another soap opera, General Hospital, in 2000, it was her role on The Young and the Restless that jumpstarted her acting career.
Eva recently landed a recurring role on Only Murders in the Building and made her directorial debut in 2023’s Flamin’ Hot.
NATHAN FILHÃO
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Before starring as best-selling mystery novelist Richard Castle on the TV series Castle or as captain of the Serenity in the space western Firefly, Nathan Fillion, 53, played teenager Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live.
Nathan played the character from 1994 to 1997 and briefly reprized the role in 2007 for Joey’s adoptive grandfather’s funeral.
Since leaving the series, Nathan has had roles in Serenity (2005) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and has acted in the police procedural The Rookie since 2018.
SHEMAR MOORE
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Perhaps the oldest soap star on the list, Shemar Moore, 54, starred as Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 2005.
The actor briefly returned to the role in 2014 and again in 2019, the latter to honor cast member Kristoff St.
From 1999 to 2003, Shemar hosted the revival of the musical variety show Soul Train before landing a role in Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005).
The actor returned to television the same year and starred as Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds until 2017.
Since 2018, Shemar has starred as Sergeant Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson on the CBS action drama SWAT.
JOSH DUHAMEL
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Before taking on the Decepticons alongside the Autobots in Transformers, Josh Duhamel, 51, starred on All My Children as part of supercouple Leo and Greenlee.
He won a Daytime Emmy for the role, but left the show in 2002, leaving his character Leo to die in a shocking twist.
Josh returned to the role of Leo Du Pres in 2011, visiting Greenlee in a dream.
Josh would go on to star as Danny McCoy on NBC’s Las Vegas from 2003 to 2008 and in the Transformers film franchise from 2007 to 2017.
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