Believe it or not, but stars aren’t born into the world of fame and fortune; rather, they make their way into this world by working strange and sometimes degrading jobs. Like most of us, celebrities don’t always know from a young age what they want to be when they grow up, and while some move to Los Angeles in the hopes of making it in the show business, others find their way to Hollywood entirely coincidentally.
Steve Buscemi, for example, was an FDNY firefighter before he stumbled upon his big break in Hollywood, and Danny DeVito worked as a hairdresser before he realized he belonged in the entertainment industry. We’re here to examine the wildest dreams and aspirations of the stars (before they were stars), and the surprising jobs they had on their way to the top.
Steve Buscemi
When your breakthrough role is in a Tarantino film, your career is bound to be a success, and so was the case for actor Steve Buscemi. He embarked on his acting career in Quentin Tarantino’s film Reservoir Dogs (1992), and that’s when he started making a name for himself in the industry. Buscemi’s career technically started in the mid-80s, but only after his talent was discovered by the acclaimed director, he became a hot-shot in Hollywood.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, before he rose to fame, Steve Buscemi was among New York’s finest: he served as a firefighter for the FDNY’s Engine Company 55 in Manhattan, from the years 1980 to 1984. Once an FDNY firefighter, always an FDNY firefighter, after Buscemi’s acting career took off, New York’s fire department was still in his heart; following 9/11, Buscemi returned for several intense days to help the Engine 55.