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34 Surprising Celebrity Facts That Made Us Say ‘That’s a Surprising Fact About That Celebrity!’

By:: Brian C. Miller; Cracked Writers

November 13, 2023

34 Surprising Celebrity Facts That Made Us Say ‘That’s a Surprising Fact About That Celebrity!’

Sure, celebrities are probably reasonably good at the thing that made them famous in the first place — be it pretending to be a Marvel superhero, or beating the hell out of an instrument to make a pleasant sound. But there’s a lot else going on beneath the surface that would surprise us. Plenty of celebrities have had interesting jobs before they got into showbiz (Hugh Jackman, for example, was a clown), ambitions completely away from the spotlight (LeVar Burton wanted to be a Catholic priest) or just strange tangentially related ambitions that sound kind of insane (Michael Jackson wanted to make a Harry Potter musical).

Here’s a list of some of our favorite celebrity facts that made us, in fact, say, “Hey, this fact about this celebrity is quite surprising, and I’ll remember to bring this up as a fun fact next time they come up in a conversation!”

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

34 Glenn Close

Glenn Close was raised in a cult. Close's parents joined the Moral Re-Armament, a right-wing religious cult, when she was seven and she was in it up until she was 22. The actress says the experience had a profound impact on her life, and that for years after she wouldn't trust any of her instincts because all her beliefs had been dictated to her. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

33 Steve Carrell

CRACKED.COM Comedic actor Steve Carrell was originally going to pursue a career in law! Не changed his mind while filling out his law school application: Не couldn't answer the question Why do you want to be a lawyer? — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

32 LeVar Burton

Before developing an interest in acting, LeVar Burton dreamt of becoming a Catholic priest. Не got as far as enrolling at St. Pius X, a theological seminary in Galt, California. Не studied for several years before deciding that joining the clergy wasn't right for him. It was through the school's theatre program that he found his passion for acting. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

31 Ariana Grande

Before she was a superstar, Ariana Grande was known in the news as the есод. РГЯ for getting struck by hockey BOCA KID GETS A PUCK AND ICE . JOSE LAVREET Sport Flurida Insider pucks, not once, but twice. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

30 Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott was bumped up two grades in school, because her IQ was super high. WANG She got so lonely, she decided to fail everything and get moved back. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

29 Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell was Jack Nicholson's personal axe polisher CRACKED.COM Early in his career, Cowell was a prop guy at London's Elstree Studios. When they were filming The Shining there, one of his jobs was polishing the axe that would haunt Shelley Duvall's dreams for decades. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

28 Jerry Springer

Jerry Springer Jerry Springer'd himself out of a promising political career CRACKED.COM Не was actually a pretty legit politician. Не was the Mayor of Cincinnati, and was running for Governor of Ohio, when he tanked his campaign with a bit of radical honestly. Не admitted in TV commercials to cutting a check to a prostitute, which somehow didn't endear him to the Buckeye State. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

27 Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch was kidnapped while filming a movie CRACKED.COM Driving back to set in South Africa after a brief hiatus, his tire blew out and he and his two buddies were stranded. They were swiftly kidnapped by 6 armed men, who threw him in the trunk and later dumped them all by the side of the road. When he was rescued, I cried with gratitude. F* it. If that's a cliche, I don't care. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

26 Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was rejected by J.K. Rowling CRACKED COM Just two unproblematic celebs, doin' unproblematic celeb things. Jackson really wanted to do a Harry Potter musical, but Rowling found that, of all things, an inappropriate expansion of her vast empire. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

25 Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling borrowed Justin Timberlake's mom CRACKED.COM Gosling lived with the Timberlakes for 6 months, while the two future heartthrobs were filming The Mickey Mouse Club. During that time, Justin's mom became Ryan's legal guardian. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

24 Helen Mirren

CRACKED.COM Helen Mirren was a carnival barker. Her job was talking fast and loud to draw people to a dart stall. — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

23 Jon Hamm

Before getting his big break, Jon Hamm worked as a set dresser for Cinemax soft-core- porn movies. Не said it was soul crushing. GRAGKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

22 Justin Bieber

CRACKED.COM Justin Bieber can solve a Rubik's Cube in less than two minutes! RUBIK'S 4LIFE Yes, probably faster than you can! Bieber has been showing his puzzle-solving skills in many interviews through the years, for example on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2015. — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

21 Prince

Prince has been described as a pool shark. The Purple One's personal photographer (who considered himself as a fairly decent pool player) told a story about how Prince beat him: He proceeded to basically clean the table two times in a row before I even had a chance to shoot. When I did finally have a chance, he beat the pants off me. Не was that good. And he was cocky about it, too. CRACKED COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

20 Dr. Phil

CRACKED.COM Dr. Phil used to race moto- cross. Не can still pop a wheelie on a dirt bike. — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

19 Katy Perry

Katy Perry collects the hair of her enemies CRACKED.COM She's got a weird habit of collecting scraps of hair from other female celebs, tying them in a bow, and keeping them in her purse. We don't know what her full collection looks like, but by all accounts it includes her partner in beef, Taylor Swift. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

18 Bill Murray

Bill Murray smuggled 10 pounds of weed onto a plane CRACKED.COM When he was 20 years old, he was busted trying to sneak about $20k worth of weed onto an airplane as he was heading back to college. The arrest inspired him to... not get kicked out of college, so he quit, and ultimately ended up pursuing comedy. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

17 Chris Kirkpatrick

Chris Kirkpatrick was almost BSB's bad boy CRACKED.COM Chris tried out to be da bad boi of the Backstreet Boys, but Lou Pearlman thought of a more inventive way to steal all his money. Не had Chris cobble together some other handsome cliches, which he called NSYNC, and promptly shuffled Chris into the background. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

16 Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was investigated by the Vatican CRACKED.COM There was a rumor going around Europe that she was too good at acting to be a child, and had to be a full grown adult of short stature. So the Vatican sent a representative to, somehow, verify that she was indeed a child. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

15 Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston was suspected of a very real murder CRACKED.COM When he worked in a restaurant as a young man, he would repeatedly joke that he wanted to murder the head chef. When that guy actually was murdered, the police asked his coworkers if there was anyone who ever, maybe, expressed a desire to kill him? Cranston, obviously, fit the bill. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

14 Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins paints canvases that sell for up to $80,000. BLK Не paints four times a week, for hours and hours, and he's made more paintings than he can count. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

13 Ezra Miller

EZRA MILLER IS A TALENTED OPERA SINGER adidas BROW Не started taking singing classes as a child to overcome his stuttering. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

12 Margot Robbie

CRACKED COM days onste Margot Robbie has given 100 tattoos to different people in her free time. — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

11 Hugh Jackman

Before he was the greatest showman, Hugh Jackman was a children's birthday party clown. His last gig was for an 8-year old celebrant who thought he was сгар. CRACKED COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

10 Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd glazed hams. To save up money for a move to Los Angeles, Rudd got a job at Holiday Ham Company. There he would sift sugar onto a heated ham and then using a propane torch he would melt the sugar. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

9 Vangelis

The Blade Runner score composer is musically illiterate MAN H .NO CRACKED.COM Vangelis is a Greek musician who wrote the scores to Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, but he can't read or write music: When the teachers asked me to play something, I would pretend that I was reading it and play from memory. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

8 Martin Luther King Jr

Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced Nichelle Nichol not to quit Star Trek CRACKED.COM It turns out MLK was a huge Trekkie, and when he heard Nichol was planning to quit her iconic role as Uhura, he called her up and convinced her to stick around. Of course, it had more to do with showing a Black woman in a position of leadership, but still, it's nice to think he was a sc-fi nerd. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

7 Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was a natural blond CRACKED.COM In retrospect, no normal hair product could possibly achieve such a soaring quaff. Не would actually smother his mane in shoe polish. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

6 Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson was inspired to act by a Malaria-induced hallucination. CRACKED.COM She contracted Malaria while living in South Africa, and in her ensuing fever dreams, saw herself as a really good actress who also won an Oscar. That inspired her to leave the family business -- dog-showers, one step above carnies .. behind, and pursue acting. — Source: 14 Bizarro Celebrity Facts That Sound Like Mad Libs

5 Geena Davis

Geena Davis used to be a live mannequin. One day while working at a clothing store, Davis decided to pose as a mannequin in the store's window display. Since she managed to attract a crowd, and was really good at staying still, the store hired her to work as a live mannequin over the weekends. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

4 Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth used to clean breast pumps. Before making it as an actor, Hemsworth used to clean rented breast pumps for a pharmacy. Не has described the job as the worst one CRACKED.COM he has ever had, and no wonder: to keep the machines clean, he had to wash them by hand! — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

3 Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus' first paid job was to... ...go on stage after her dad's show and pick up all the thrown bras and underwear. Не paid her $10 for that. MILEYMANET CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

2 Angela Kinsey

the office One of Angela Kinsey's all-time favorite moments was the Yankee swap during the very first Christmas episode. You know, the one featuring that bizarre jazz babies poster. It's so weird. They didn't let us see the poster until we did the first take, and we all lost it. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

1 Jack Gleeson

Jack Gleeson says Joffrey's funeral was one of his NYL favorite days on the GOT set. I was on a cliff with stones in my eyes and I just got to sleep all day. So that was fun. CRACKED.COM — Source: 36 Bananas Facts About Fav Celebs

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