From Emma Stone to Liam Hemsworth, Here Are Your Favorite Stars' Surprising Breakout Roles
Chances are you loved Emma Stone in Easy A and The Help, but can you remember her first role? Because spoiler alert: It was neither of those two flicks!
Tons of famous Young Hollywood actors and actresses got their start in some pretty surprising roles, and we're rounding up our absolute faves. From Chlo Grace Moretz to Theo James and Jaden Smith, here are this year's hottest stars and the movies you should watch all over again for a glimpse of their baby faces.
1/13Let's take a trip down memory lane.
Photo: Courtesy of 500 Days of Summer2/13Chlo Grace Moretz
Before she was terrifying us in Carrie or making us tear up in If I Stay, Chloe stole the spotlight in indie flick 500 Days of Summer. Chloe played Rachel Hansen, Tom’s teenage sister who supports him during his breakup with Summer. With that in mind, please stop everything and look at how adorable and young she is in this deleted scene. No words!
Photo: Courtesy of Superbad3/13Emma Stone
America's sweetheart hit the jackpot when she landed her breakout role as Jules in Superbad. No, the part wasn't huge, but Emma definitely rocked the socks off her performance and it wasn't long before she was cast in The House Bunny, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and eventually, Easy A. The rest is Hollywood legend in the making!
Photo: Courtesy of Footloose4/13Miles Teller
Miles Teller appears in basically every teen movie these days, but his first notable role was the reboot of Footloose, where he spent his time dancing his pants off and being generally adorable. Please do yourself a favor and watch a clip of Miles’ character, Willard, learning how to bust a move. But give yourself some extra time, because you might end up watching it on repeat.
Photo: Courtesy of About A Boy5/13Nicholas Hoult
Believe it or not, Nicholas Hoult got his start as a child actor in About A Boy, an adorable Hugh Grant film about a, umm, boy. Naturally, Nicholas was a super-cute and talented kid, but nowadays he's most famous for X-Men and Warm Bodies.
Photo: Courtesy of Aquamarine6/13Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts slayed in American Horror Story, but Julia Robert's doppelganger niece got started in a slightly less scary genre: mermaid movies. Yep, Emma starred in Aquamarine, a sweet flick about the friendship between two girls and their mermaid friend. It goes without saying that this movie was based on a true story. Kidding!
Photo: Courtesy of Underworld: Awakening7/13Theo James
Theo James is completely stellar as Shailene Woodley's love interest in Divergent, but his breakout movie was most definitely Underworld: Awakening, a crazy-creepy Kate Beckinsale film about vampires. What else?! Unfortunately, Theo's body wasn't covered in Twilight-style glitter, but he did get to wander around in a stylish dress coat while battling werewolves. Almost as good!
Photo: Courtesy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory8/13AnnaSophia Robb
Let's be real: We're still not over the fact that The Carrie Diaries was cancelled. But at least AnnaSophia Robb is free to take on some bold new movie roles! Yep, before playing a young Carrie Bradshaw, AnnaSophia appeared in several films. But her breakout role? Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. How cute was she in that sassy blue tracksuit?
Photo: Courtesy of The Last Song9/13Liam Hemsworth
Please cast your mind back to a time before Liam Hemsworth was making ladies swoon in The Hunger Games to when he was just getting to know Miley Cyrus. That's right, Liam's breakout performance was in none other than The Last Song, where he and future fiance, future ex Miley frolicked on the beach, stared dreamily into each other's eyes, and started their real-life relationship. Nowadays, Liam and Miley's careers couldn't be more different, but they'll always have Paris (er, North Carolina).
Photo: Courtesy of The Karate Kid10/13Jaden Smith
All you need to know about the formative years of Jaden Smith's career is that he relaunched the Karate Kid franchise. So yeah, he's basically the coolest person ever. The eldest Smith kid has a bright future ahead of him, but we'll never forget those awesome karate moves.
Photo: Courtesy of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 211/13Lucy Hale
Like any movie about BFFs who wear traveling pants, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is an amazing film that everyone should watchespecially since it co-starred Pretty Little Liars' Lucy Hale! This brunette bombshell was flawless as Lena's sister Effie, who steals the traveling pants and then loses them in Greece. Sigh, those traveling pants are sacred, girl!
Photo: Courtesy of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides12/13Sam Claflin
No offense to Peeta and Gale, but raise your hand if you're #TeamFinnick when it comes The Hunger Games. Sam Claflin kills his performance, but before he was wearing deep-V blouses in The Capital, he was wearing them in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Sam plays a captive named Phillip in the movie, who happens to fall in love with a mermaid. Not to be confused with the mermaid in Aquamarine! (So many mermaids, so little time.)
Photo: Courtesy of Step Up13/13Channing Tatum
Did you enjoy Channing Tatum's dance moves in Magic Mike? Because he literally pirouetted his way into our lives during Step Up, where he plays a troubled high schooler who falls for a gorgeous modern dancer (AKA his future real-life wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum). Obviously lots of passionate dance routines take place, so it's no wonder he went on to become such a huge star!
