9 Hollywood Stars You Totally Forgot Started Their Careers with Disney
Truth bomb: All the stars you see in your favorite films and at the top of the charts started their careers with Disney. OK, not all of them...but you'll be shocked (legit gasps!) when you discover how many stars were born on Mickey Mouse's home turf. And we're not just talking about Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. Disney has also gifted the world with the likes of Ryan Gosling and Zac Efron, and we're just getting started.
Check out our roundup of Disney-grown stars in the slideshow above, and feel free to thank Mickey Mouse personally for bringing them into our lives.
Photos: Getty Images1/10Thanks, Mickey!
Photo: Getty Images2/10Zac Efron
Zac Efron's working with some pretty impressive actors these days, but he rose to fame when Disney debuted the miraculous gift to mankind that is High School Musical. We assume you've watched this iconic movie and its sister-friends, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year, but if you haven't we've gotta admit—you're really missing out on life.
Photo: Getty Images3/10Hayden Panettiere
Remember the inspirational Disney sob-fest that is Remember the Titans? Well 10-year-old Hayden was the adorable little girl who stole every scene. She went on to star in several TV shows, including Heroes, Malcolm in the Middle, and of course Nashville, but RTT is definitely her sassiest role to date.
Photo: Getty Images4/10Shia LaBeouf
Before he was rocking a paper bag on his head and starring in Transformers, Shia LaBeouf was the star of one of our favorite Disney shows ever: Even Stevens. Shia played a completely insane little kid with a penchant for harassing his older sister, but obviously the most important thing about circa-Disney Shia was his amazing taste in Hawaiian shirts.
Photo: Getty Images5/10Demi Lovato
These days Demi Lovato is best known for being a songstress, but she made it big in the Disney movie Camp Rock, starring…wait for it…The Jonas Brothers. Completely amazing. On the off chance you haven't seen this TV movie, watching Demi and Joe serenade each other is utterly wonderful. Also, you've gotta check out how great Demi look with bangs.
Photo: Getty Images6/10Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Like Hayden, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was lucky enough to star in a Disney movie at a young age, which skyrocketed him to fame. After landing the role of Roger Bowman in Angels in the Outfield when he was just 13 years old, he continued his relationship with Disney in Treasure Planet. Of course Joseph went on to star in beloved '90s rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, which has nothing to do with Disney, but is still very important information.
Photo: Getty Images7/10Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Hudgens also got her big break dancing around the fictional halls of High School Musical just like Zac, as well as a role in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Of course her career has taken a slightly less G-rated turn thanks to hits like Spring Breakers and Machete Kills, and let's not forget that she's also coming to Broadway as the star of Gigi. Because that's pretty awesome.
Photo: Getty Images8/10Ryan Gosling
Believe it or not, Ryan Gosling started his career on Disney's Mickey Mouse Club along with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. In other words, Mickey Mouse is directly responsible for the guy who started the "Hey, Girl" meme, starred in The Notebook, and is a certified heartthrob.
Photo: Getty Images9/10Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway might be an Oscar-winning actress, but remember when she was a literal Disney princess on Disney? Anne got her big acting break alongside Dame Julie Andrews in The Princess Diaries, otherwise known as the ultimate makeover movie.
Photo: Getty Images10/10Justin Timberlake
You know who else was on Mickey Mouse club with Ryan Gosling? That would be Justin Timberlake. And we can't thank Disney enough for launching the guy's career who later went on to be the curly-haired boy wonder of the "Bye Bye Bye" video (AKA the best boy band video of all time).
