Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to finding their dream career. Sometimes the career we choose changes or evolves as time moves on.
There are many celebrities who started out as tradespeople before they got their lucky break into a career that catapulted them into the spotlight. Here are 12 celebrities who were tradies before they became famous.
12 Celebrities Who Were Tradies Before They Became Famous
1. John Farnham
Any time I hear a song on the radio from John Farnham I’m taken back to my childhood. My parents had his cassettes on high rotation in the car. The 80’s hit singer was an apprentice plumber in the 60’s and a part-time musician before he signed a recording contract with EMI in 1967.
2. Mark Beretta
I learned about Mark’s family history with plumbing at the Construction Skills QLD Excellence Awards in 2008 when he was the MC. He was originally a plumber’s labourer before he got his break into media.
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Seems Arnie has had a few career changes in his life. He worked in construction to make ends meet before he became a movie star. Arnie was also trying to be a professional bodybuilder and even partnered with a bodybuilding friend to create a bricklaying business.
4. Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi, like Arnie, was a bricklayer before she became a star.
5. Harrison Ford
If Harrison didn’t train as a carpenter he may not have been in Star Wars. Before becoming Han Solo, Harrison trained as a carpenter and was hired to install cabinetry at George Lucas’s house.
6. Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy trained to be a plumber before he became famous for heavy metal.
7. Michael Caine
Mr Caine became a plumber’s apprentice before becoming an actor.
8. George Harrison
Changed from learning to be an electrician to being renowned for playing electric guitars.
9. Kesley Grammar
The struggling actor painted offices to make ends meet before ‘Frasier’ became a hit series.
10. Sean Connery
Before Mr Connery became Mr Bond, he was a bricklayer.
11. Elvis Presley
Presley worked as an electrician’s helper before sparking women around the world with his voice and acting abilities.
12. Matt LeBlanc
The Friends star comes from a genealogy of tradesmen. His grandfather was a carpenter and his dad was a mechanic. Le Blanc was training to become a carpenter before becoming an actor. He told Jimmy Kimmel Live “I made a complete kitchen and installed it in a house,” he said.
As these celebrities show, being a tradie can be the foundation to a great career.
I can’t knock off that potential career in TV after all! 😉
