25 best TV stars who became movie superstars [PHOTOS]
Over the past decade, Zendaya has risen from Disney Channel TV star to Emmy-winning actress and star of blockbuster films like “Dune: Part II.” She is the latest in a handful of performers who shot to stardom on TV before becoming a movie superstar. Tour our gallery featuring the 25 best to make the leap from television to films.
Steve McQueen was one of the first people to become a household name from a TV series, with the hit “Wanted Dead or Alive” from 1958 to 1961, before becoming one of the most famous movie stars in the world. He was soon followed by Clint Eastwood and James Garner, who also made the leap from western/adventure series to big screen success.
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In the decades since, some of our most beloved film stars got their starts on TV series, across all genres. Sally Field from sitcoms “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun” and Jamie Foxx from comedy series “In Living Color” and “The Jamie Foxx Show” went on to become Oscar-winning actors. Meg Ryan was part of a popular super-couple storyline on the soap opera “As the World Turns” before becoming one of the most popular rom-com actresses of the 1980s and 1990s. And George Clooney was a doctor on “ER” (among several short-lived TV series) before he became an award-winning film actor and filmmaker, while Pierce Brosnan, Bruce Willis and Benedict Cumberbatch were all TV detectives before becoming big screen heroes James Bond, John McClane and Doctor Strange.
For those old enough to remember Tom Hanks, Cher, John Travolta and Johnny Depp on their star-making TV series, here’s a fun trip down pop culture memory lane in our gallery above. If you’re too young to remember, here’s some fun oldies to check out. Enjoy our gallery of 25 of the most memorable actors and actresses who segued from TV fame to film stardom.
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Launch Gallery: 25 best TV stars who became movie superstars
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