TV actors who became movie stars

Willis was not the first choice to star in “Die Hard,” the film that made him a presence in movies. Plus, he was a bit busy at the time. The actor was starring in “Moonlighting” and even won an Emmy for that show. However, he got the role of John McClane, and his time as a TV star was basically over.

We know Hanks as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. This is such a given that his time on television starring in “Bossom Buddies” is basically showbiz lore at this point. Of course, it helps that the premise of the show involved him and Peter Scolari as men pretending to be women to live in an all-female building. That silly sitcom was the launching point for a two-time Oscar winner.

Marty McFly didn’t start as a movie star. Before that he made noise as Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties.” You know who also had a small role on that show? None other than Tom Hanks. Not that Hanks was able to make as much of an impact as the charming Fox in his main role.

Pratt wasn’t even a primary character on “Parks and Recreation” during the first season! He played Andy, Ann’s slacker boyfriend, and he seemed primed to be written off the show. He wasn’t, but along the way he also became one of the biggest stars in the world. The dude is Star Lord! He’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

Everybody from “Friends” tried their hands at movies. A couple, namely Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow, had a smidge of success. Only Aniston really made a go of it in film, though. Maybe it’s just because Adam Sandler seems to like working with her, but a movie star is a movie star.

We loved Carell on “The Daily Show,” but he wasn’t really acting. Then he got the lead role on “The Office,” where he turned Michael Scott into an iconic character. Eventually, he got the chance to star in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and now he’s able to star in both comedies and dramas. Not bad for the guy who first turned heads in movies as Brick Tamland.

Steve Carell isn’t the only star from “The Office” to have success in movies. Now John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, hasn’t quite had the career of his co-star. Things are looking up, though. He just starred in and directed “A Quiet Place,” a rare original property that was a commercial success in 2018.

Judd Apatow is a loyal guy. Rogen, a teenager from Canada, got a small role in the short-lived sitcom “Freaks and Geeks,” and then the also-short-lived and not quite as cultishly adored “Undeclared.” Eventually Rogen popped up in a memorable supporting role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” before getting the starring nod in “Knocked Up.”

Odenkirk has had a fascinating career. He went from being a cult sketch comedy legend thanks to "Mr. Show." Then, he got the role of Saul Goodman and eventually started getting Emmy nominations for drama on "Better Call Saul." Naturally, this led to him becoming...an action star? Odenkirk got his "John Wick" on with "Nobody," and it actually worked quite well.

Poehler is beloved forever for playing Leslie Knope on “Parks and Rec,” but her TV bona fides go way back. She and her fellow “Upright Citizen Brigade” compatriots had their sketch show on Comedy Central at the turn of the millennium. While Poehler’s live-action movies haven’t always been super successful, “Baby Mama” and “Sisters” have their supporters but aren’t exactly hits. She also was the main voice role in “Inside Out.” You voice a main character in a Pixar movie and you’re on a one-way trip to stardom.

Williams is more of a critical darling than a superstar, but she’s been in a ton of films that have been well-received. If you watch Oscar bait, you often get to see Williams in action, occasionally in roles for which she is nominated for awards. Before all that, though, she had a main role in “Dawson’s Creek.” Her movie career has gone a bit better than James van der Beek and Katie Holmes were able to muster.

“That ‘70s Show” was another hit sitcom starring a lot of young, promising actors. And yet only a couple of them were able to really become movie stars. Funnily enough, the two who made it happen, Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, were a couple in the show (and also in real life). Kunis is taking her movie career to the next level recently, getting full-on starring roles in movies like “Bad Moms” and “The Spy Who Dumped Me.”

Everybody knows the Will Smith career arc. He was a rapper, then got to star in “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” This was just a stepping stone to true stardom, though. Ticking off Smith’s hit films would be a lengthy process. His sitcom remains well-known solely because of what a star Smith ended up becoming. He’s one of the last true movie stars, and it all began with a trip to Bel-Air.

Lawrence has been a movie star since she was barely in her 20s, so you may have missed her TV career. Before she became the Oscar-winning actress she is today, Lawrence played the daughter on “The Bill Engvall Show.” No, seriously. Credit to that casting director, at least.

Plaza may not be the movie star that Chris Pratt is, but she’s turned her run on “Parks and Recreation” into a film career as well. She’s done well in indie films like “Safety Not Guaranteed” and “Ingrid Goes West,” which fits her darker sensibilities. However, she’s been in some bigger movies as well. She may be about to take things to the next level as well. Plaza is playing the mother in the “Child’s Play” reboot. Yes, she’s old enough to play a mother now. Yes, you are getting old.

Cumberbatch has been a notable name since he first made a splash in America. That’s due to the fact he was playing Sherlock Holmes and also because his name is “Benedict Cumberbatch.” Now, of course, he’s in the MCU like Chris Pratt, as he plays Doctor Strange.

Adams didn’t have any hit TV shows before movie stardom happened. Her most prominent role was honestly probably as Jim’s girlfriend on “The Office” for a handful of episodes. And yet despite her small television roles, she has quickly become a movie star and Oscars darling. She also finally got a chance to star in a show, with HBO’s “Sharp Objects.”

Hey, pro wrestling is on television. Johnson was so synonymous with his TV role that he was originally billed as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in movies. He may have dropped “The Rock” from his name, but he has not dropped from the list of the biggest film stars in the world. If an action movie is coming out, the odds are Johnson is in it. Or maybe it just feels that way.

Early in his career, way before he was famous, Cooper had a role in the movie “Wet Hot American Summer.” Then he turned to television, where he was able to get some traction with a role in “Alias.” However, he wasn’t even the heartthrob on that show, believe it or not. Now he’s both an Oscar-nominated actor and a talking raccoon.

Speaking of “Alias,” that show was Garner’s first major role. Then she got in early on the superhero thing, but as Elektra, which was a total bust. Fortunately she also made “13 Going on 30,” and she’s starred in a bunch of movies since.

Brie was a part of two critically acclaimed ensembles in the world of television. She had a smallish role in “Mad Men” and was part of the main cast of the cult comedy “Community.” Brie has been in a few notable movies, more of the indie variety than the big blockbusters. That being said, she’s also the voice of Unikitty in both of the Lego movies. Unikitty got her own TV spinoff. That’s not nothing.

Travolta’s star has waned, but he was truly a huge movie presence for many years. Before that, though, he got his start as Vinnie Barbarino in the hit sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter.” If you don’t remember that, well, up your nose with a rubber hose! That’s a thing he would say on that show, which is a far cry from “Pulp Fiction.”

If you watched movies in the ‘90s, you saw a ton of Williams. He was unavoidable in hit films, animated movies and also Oscar winners. In fact, Williams won an Academy Award for his performance in “Good Will Hunting.” Decades before he hoisted that Oscar, though, he was one of the titular characters in “Mork and Mindy,” in which he played a wacky alien.

Hunt has been acting since she was a kid. Did you know she was in the main cast of “The Swiss Family Robinson” way back in 1975? Of course, you probably remember her from her run on “Mad About You,” which started in 1992. She had done movies, to marginal success, for many years too, but then in 1996 she got a meaty role in “Twister.” The next year she won an Oscar for “As Good as it Gets,” and the rest was history.

Bateman has had an interesting arc. He went from TV to movies back to TV and finally to movies again. We could talk about him going from “Arrested Development” to movies like “Horrible Bosses.” He was also a child actor, though! That’s how he went from “Silver Spoons” to starring in “Teen Wolf Too.”

Medical dramas were a jumping-off point for many an actor. Why, George Clooney first became a movie star after hitting it big on “ER.” Before him, though, there was Washington, who has an enviable movie career that came after he put in 137 episodes on “St. Elsewhere.”