The jobs celebrities worked before they found fame
- Sandra Bullock worked as a bartender in Manhattan. She was also a cocktail waitress and coat checker.
- As a struggling actor, Nicolas Cage had a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater in Los Angeles. Dozens of films later, he's still selling popcorn -- indirectly, of course.
- Before "The Office," there was the mail room. Steve Carell sorted mail in Acton, Mass., but quit after a few months because he was "very, very bad at it."
- Before conquering grunge music, the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana mopped grungy floors: He worked as a janitor in Aberdeen, Wash. for Lemons Janitorial Service.
- About the same time he was mulling over a stint in the seminary, Tom Cruise was a paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
- From 1967 to 1985, Dennis Farina was an officer in the Chicago Police Department. His handgun skills were so poor that his fellow officers nicknamed him "The Great Wounder."
- Ford built a recording studio for Sergio Mendes and cabinets in the home of George Lucas. The latter gig led to a key supporting role in Lucas' 1973 film "American Graffiti."
- Tom Hanks was a popcorn and peanuts vendor at the Oakland Coliseum. Meanwhile, down on the field, MC Hammer was a bat boy for the Oakland As.
- "19th Nervous Breakdown" indeed: Mick Jagger was once a porter in a mental hospital. He also had a summer job selling ice cream.
- While studying for a biochemical engineering degree, Kutcher worked summers at General Mills' cereal plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Lady Gaga told Elle that as a Manhattan waitress, she always got big tips: "I always wore heels to work! I told everybody stories and for customers on dates, I kept it romantic. It's kind of like performing."
- Ever wonder what inspired those "Top Ten" lists? David Letterman got the hang of sorting as a stock boy at the Atlas Grocery Store in Indianapolis.
- Yes, there was a time when Rush Limbaugh balanced the Right and the Left: as a shoe shine boy growing up in Missouri.
- Before the Material Girl, Madge was the Cruller Queen, working at a Dunkin' Donuts in New York. Literally, she needed the dough -- she came to the Big Apple with just $35 in her pocket.
- Barry Manilow was canned from a job at a Schaefer Brewery when he reportedly left a truck door open and spilled the beer all over the road. What better prep for a career dispensing frothy ballads?
- Brad Pitt once dressed as a giant chicken while working for El Pollo Loco. It is a role, we venture to say, that he will not reprise.
- Queen Latifah lost her job at a New Jersey Burger King after she blew her stack in front of the assistant manager. It followed a thankless night spent cleaning the restrooms -- defiled by patrons who apparently couldn't hold the pickle or the lettuce.
- Rourke was let go from this job after getting into a fight with a co-worker. Seems "The Wrestler" has always had a pugilistic streak.
- Seems like a better fit for Kramer, but Jerry Seinfeld once worked as a telephone salesmen hawking light bulbs. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
- Howard Stern drove a truck selling ice cream to kids. Now: Would you let Junior buy a soft-serve cone from the man who invented "Butt Bongo"?
