Hollywood’s biggest stars are some of the most familiar faces across the globe, starring in blockbuster films and fronting major ad campaigns.
But before they skyrocketed to fame, certain celebrities spent years grafting in difficult jobs, trying their hardest to make it big.
Huge names like Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow led normal lives before finding their place in the spotlight.
In a piece for The Sun, Garth Pearce shared some intimate interviews with these stars, shining a light on their lifestyle before fame took over.
From driving exotic dancers around Los Angeles to fretting over sex scenes, the candid conversations prove these A-listers come from humble beginnings.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez was nervous about undressing on-camera during filming of her breakthrough role (Image: NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Jennifer Lopez, 50, is one of the biggest names in Hollywood today, with a stand-out career in both the music and film industry.
The Bronx-born starlet has put her name to hit tracks like Jenny from the Block and On The Floor, as well as starring in films from Hustlers to Maid in Manhattan.
At the age of 25, J Lo spoke with Pearce in Santa Monica, California, ahead of the release of her breakthrough movie, Money Train.
In the flick, the budding star was supposed to act out a sex scene with the male lead – Blade star Wesley Snipes.
She said: “I was nervous about the love scene with Wesley Snipes.
“I have to always watch my weight and my boyfriend had asked: ‘Are you going to show your body to the whole world?’
“So I spoke to some actor friends of mine and one of them said: ‘Ask about the love pillow.’
“He had been in a naked scene when the actress had asked for a pillow to be put between them.
“I made the request to wardrobe people, but they had never heard of it.”
J Lo starred opposite blockbuster star Wesley Snipes in boxing flick Money Train (Image: Getty Images)
A close-call, Jennifer confessed she nearly missed out on the role, had actors Wesley and Woody Harrelson not put in a good word for her.
She said: “I nearly didn’t get the part in this film. The director (Joseph Ruben) thought I was too young.
“But Woody and Wesley were youthful and you would not want to see them with anyone too much older. My screen test finally clinched it. Wesley looked at it and said, ‘Smoking.'”
During the interview, the dancer shone a light on her childhood romance with David Cruz, which ended in her mid-20s after a decade of dating.
She said: “We met at 15 when I was in high school and have been with each other since, apart from a break when I worked in LA.
“We got together at a school dance and he says that he fell in love with me at first sight.
“After meeting, he sent a dozen roses to my house, which in the Bronx in New York is very romantic! He is only a year older than me and a real sweetheart.”
Tragically, Cruz died earlier this year at the age of 51 after a battle with heart disease.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow was relatively unknown in Hollywood before starring in Seven (Image: Press Association)
Before the multi-million pound success of her lifestyle brand Goop, and her Oscar-winning role in Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow, 47, was an unknown young actress.
Aged 22, the mum-of-two landed a role in the thriller-flick Seven, starring opposite her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.
Speaking about their romance in a 1995 interview with Pearce, Gwyneth proved herself to be a lovesick twenty-something.
She said: “It was love at second sight with Brad [Pitt].
“We first met in Los Angeles but when we met up to film Seven it was immediate attraction.
“Maybe the time had not been right before? I had just come out of a relationship, so it was really a surprise.
“The first date was an Italian restaurant in LA, where we were left alone by photographers – probably because they didn’t know us.
“What’s he got? Everything. He is incredibly sensitive and intelligent.”
The Californian beauty also insisted she would shy away from sex scenes in the future, determined to keep her modesty intact in case her family watched her films.
Gwyneth played the girlfriend to Brad Pitt’s character in Seven
She said: “I won’t be appearing in any frank love scenes.
“I have turned down lots of movies which have them.
“But the real reason is that the material is exploitative by nature.
“I can’t do it to my grandfather, Buster Paltrow – who I love more than anyone in the world – my father, my uncle and my brother. They would be horrified.
“Family life is very important to me.”
In the years that followed, Gwyneth’s name was propelled into the spotlight with hugely successful roles in Emma and Sliding Doors, and a 13-year marriage to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
As humble as ever, the blossoming Hollywood star added: “I don’t think I am particularly sexy.
“The sexiest thing in my wardrobe is my pyjamas – made of flannel.
“The part of my body I like most are my wrists, because they are little. Like least? The rest of me.”
Angelina Jolie
Angelina met her first husband on the set of Hackers in the mid-90s (Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Before achieving international success with Tomb Raider, and making headlines with her marriage to Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie was wed to Trainspotting star Jonny Lee Miller.
The 44-year-old met the London-born actor while filming Hackers, eventually starting an on-set romance behind closed doors.
Speaking about their secret relationship, aged 20, she told Pearce: “Jonny and I were having a relationship during the movie, but thought that once the film was over we would say goodbye and go our separate ways.
“I had never had an on-set romance.
“But I had reached the stage in my life where I didn’t care.
“We were in a hotel and I am sure we were booked in rooms opposite on purpose.
“I have heard that happens a lot on film sets if the characters are supposed to be romantically linked.
Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie were married for 18 months before deciding to split (Image: Getty Images)
“The risk was that we had a relationship and things could have gone badly – and that would have been bad for the film.”
The lovebirds tied the knot in 1996, with Angelina wearing leather pants, as Johnny Lee “stuck a veil on me at the last second and put a garter on the pants”.
Recounting their romance, she added: “We wake up in the morning and think, ‘What can we do?
“‘Let’s get tattooed. We seem to have them all over the place.’
“Jonny is pretty wild.
“It is good when you are with someone you love and can feel safe with.”
The two separated after 18 months together, with Angelina going on to direct several successful films of her own in the years that followed, including First They Killed My Father and By The Sea.
Brad Pitt
Brad had a number of jobs in Los Angeles before landing his big break in film (Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
One of Hollywood’s biggest heartthrobs, Brad Pitt looks right at home climbing out of a limousine on the red carpet.
However, before cementing his status as a sex symbol, he was more commonly found behind the wheel, ferrying strippers around LA to make ends meet.
Speaking to Pearce aged 25, he said: “I did some film jobs as an extra and did anything I could to get by.
“I delivered refrigerators, dressed up as a chicken for a restaurant opening and drove strippers around for a while.
“It was a rude awakening for a boy from Missouri.
“I was employed by an office which hired out the strippers for private parties.
“I would do the driving, play the music, try and make the deal and get the strippers out with their clothes, and safely.
“We went to events like bachelor parties.
“Sometimes they did three shows a night.
Brad went on to become one of Hollywood’s biggest heartthrobs in the years that followed (Image: Press Association)
“The girls were all actresses – supposedly.
“They were not the kind of girls who you’d take home to mom.
“They were small-town girls in a big city.
“I was a small-town boy in that same city. I knew how they felt.”
At the time, Brad, now aged 56, was known for a handful of roles in the TV drama Dallas, as he confessed he was “waiting for work – and broke”.
He added: “I wanted to be an actor, so gave everything up before graduation to move to California and give it a shot.
“You can talk all you want but I believe it’s action that counts.”
Today, he has two high-profile divorces under his belt – from his marriages to Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston – and a whole host of accolades.
Most recently, he received the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s epic Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
