16 Superstars Who Got Their Start in TV Commercials

John Travolta – 1973 Band-Aid

Grease star John Travolta was stuck on Band-Aids in an early commercial in which he advertised the boo boo covers.

Courteney Cox – 1985 Tampax

She would dance her way from a Bruce Springsteen music video to the famous sitcom but first Courteney Cox made close friends of another kind in a Tampax ad while wearing nothing but undies.

Sharon Stone – 1983 Finesse Shampoo

Sharon Stone, who advertised washing her luscious locks with Finesse, would go on to dazzle audiences in Casino and Basic Instinct .

Brad Pitt – 1989 Pringles

Even in this Pringles commercial, future two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt proved that he was no ordinary potato chip off the old block!

Keanu Reeves – 1986 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes

Years before Keanu Reeves became the chosen one in The Matrix and the rough-and-tumble star John Wick , he won hearts as a dancing waiter happily downing a bowl of crunchy cereal.

Mark Hamill – 1971 Kodak

Acting beginner Mark Hamill was helping Kodak sell cameras and film just six years before he became a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker!

Drew Barrymore – 1979 Pillsbury

Drew Barrymore would eventually become a tough cookie in Charlie’s Angels . But she got her first taste of stardom in a Pillsbury cookie dough commercial at the tender age of four!

Leonardo DiCaprio – 1989 Bubble Yum

One day, Leonardo DiCaprio would become a Titanic star and an Oscar winner but only after he blew up his acting career in a Bubble Yum commercial when he was only 13 years old!

Mark Ruffalo – 1989 Clearasil

Avengers star Mark Ruffalo was once a superhero to teens battling villainous acne in a Clearasil commercial.

Ben Affleck – 1989 Burger King

In a Whopper of a career start, future Batman Ben Affleck hawked hamburgers by having it his way — 27 years before his turn as the Caped Crusader!

Morgan Freeman – 1970s Listerine

The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby Oscar winner Morgan Freeman first showed a fellow worker how to get a fresh breath in a Listerine commercial.

Steve Carell – 1989 Brown’s Chicken

No doubt playing a peppy employee of a chicken joint helped prepare Steve Carell to become the manager of a paper company in The Office .

Demi Moore – 1990 Diet Coke

From Ghost to Indecent Proposal to G.I. Jane , Demi Moore has always stayed slim and trim. Is that bubbly diet soda she advertised 34 years ago her real secret?

Matt LeBlanc – 1988 Cherry 7-Up

When reel life collides with real life: Matt LeBlanc 's Friends character, Joey, made a slew of TV commercials, just like his real-life spot for Cherry 7-Up — where the cruising cutie got the girl in the end.

Bruce Willis – 1986 Seagram’s

Who on earth could be cooler than Die Hard hunk Bruce Willis selling and singing about Seagram’s Wine Coolers … they must have had a Sixth Sense about him.

Bryan Cranston – 1980s Preparation H

Bryan Cranston became a drug dealer in his hit series Breaking Bad , but he started out in the ’80s selling a different kind of medication for people breaking out with those pesky hemorrhoids!