13 Times People With No Acting Experience Were Cast In Lead Roles And Absolutely Killed It

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Kunal Nayyar's debut television role was Raj Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory. After landing the gig, he said, "Oh my god! I have a job!"

1. For her very first role, Rachel Zegler was cast as María in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of West Side Story. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance.

Rachel Zegler smiles while looking slightly upward, head resting on her arms, appearing wistful or hopeful

After beating out 30,000 actors, she told BuzzFeed, "The process was extremely long and very stressful. I auditioned for about two and a half weeks shy of a year, which is not very common in things like this." When asked about her reaction to getting the part, she said, "I screamed a curse word. And then I told Steven that it had been the longest year of my life. He apologized to me and gave me a huge hug."

Rachel Zegler is smiling, wearing a sleeveless black top with a gold collar detail, and blue earrings. She has shoulder-length hair and is standing outdoors

2. After a decade as a TV host, Henry Golding's first Hollywood gig was Crazy Rich Asians.

Henry Golding in a dark suit with white shirt, gazing ahead in a dimly-lit room

He was initially reluctant to even audition for the lead role of Nick Young considering he had so little acting experience. On The View, he recalled, "They were like, 'Oh, do you want to audition for this role? It’s going to be a big movie.' I was like, 'Oh, I've heard of it. It's going to be fantastic, but it's for someone else, someone else who is going to bring the A-game, who's a legitimate actor, who the studio's going to gamble on. Because it's such a big deal.'"

Henry Golding in a black tuxedo with a bow tie at the Fragrance Foundation Awards. Various brand logos are in the background

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Since then, Henry has starred in A Simple Favor, The Gentlemen, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

3. Victoria Pedretti only appeared in two short films in college before landing The Haunting of Hill House.

Woman with a distressed expression stands in a public space with a few people in the background. She wears a denim jacket

The show was released in 2018, just a year after she graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburg with an BFA in acting. During an interview with Collider, she recalled her first role, saying, "It was really an environment that was conducive to real creativity, and I’m forever grateful… It was a really special way to start off my career."

Victoria Pedretti in a black suit and tie, stands in front of a promotional backdrop for "A Friend of the Family"

4. Lupita Nyong'o appeared in only a couple of episodes of a Kenyan TV show and a short film before 12 Years a Slave. For her performance, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Lupita Nyong'o in a patterned dress, sitting on grass, appears thoughtful in front of a house with tall plants around her

She landed the role of Patsey right after she graduated from Yale School of Drama. During an interview with Vanity Fair, she said, "It was very difficult to be Patsey, and it was very difficult to leave her alone at the end of the day... But it was a privilege to be in that place of grief; it was hard, but I just felt so privileged to do it because, at the end of the day, my discomfort and my unease were temporary, and hers was not."

Lupita Nyong'o poses in a sequin-studded jacket, looking at the camera with a confident expression against a sparkling backdrop

5. Camila Mendes's first role was Veronica Lodge in Riverdale.

Camila Mendes sits in an auditorium with arms crossed, wearing a sleeveless top and pearl necklace. Another person sits behind her

She auditioned for the show weeks before her graduation from NYU. "Some teachers were really cool about it, and some teachers… weren’t," she said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "The goal is for me to be able to pay my loans. I was frustrated that they would get mad when someone’s trying to pursue the career that you’re teaching us."

Camila Mendes at a media event, wearing a sleeveless, low-cut top. The background displays text "Chapter" and "Lion"

6. After competing in American Idol, Jennifer Hudson was cast as Effie White in Dreamgirls. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Jennifer Hudson, with short curly hair, is seated in a room looking to the side in a thoughtful expression, with a vanity mirror behind her

She told Entertainment Weekly that she didn't even know what a screen test was before this audition. "All of it was just a whole new experience for me," she recalled. "I felt as if I’m good because no one’s looking for me. You got all these megastars in it from Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Beyoncé Knowles, and Jamie Foxx — no one’s thinking about me. So I was able to do my work without having any pressure."

Jennifer Hudson stands on the red carpet in a floral-patterned gown at the National Academy of Television Arts &amp; Sciences event. CBS logos are in the background

7. After high school, Hunter Schafer enjoyed a successful modeling career before she was cast as Jules in Euphoria.

Hunter Schafer with a neutral expression, dressed in a stylish outfit featuring crisscross lacing at the front, looks off-camera indoors

During an interview with V Magazine, she talked about some similarities between her and the character she played. "I know she has dreams, [many of] which she stated in the first episode. Which is just what I did in a way: escaping to New York, and working or interning in fashion…And that was [part of the character] before I was even cast, so it was really freaky to see that written into the script."

Hunter Schafer wearing a metallic, embellished dress with intricate cutouts, posing at an event

8. Kunal Nayyar had only played a pizza man in a movie before portraying Raj Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory.

Kunal Nayyar smiles while holding a circular photo of himself at a dinner table with a meal in front of him

After the announcement of the final season, he told Entertainment Tonight how the role impacted him. "Twelve years ago, I was like, 'Oh my god! I have a job!' And now, [I’m] in a position where I’ve been able to change people’s lives for the better and make people laugh in a world that is so polarized. [Having the opportunity] to inspire kids to study science, to become astrophysicists and to help people who are sick, whose last wish was to come and spend time with the cast, those things are all the things that I’m going to hold onto really."

Kunal Nayyar in a black suit and white shirt poses in front of a "Spaceman" sign

9. Gabourey Sidibe made her acting debut in Precious. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Gabourey Sidibe holds a child wearing a hooded jacket

During an interview with NPR, she recalled connecting with the human side of the character despite having very different upbringings. "The thing about Precious is she's hiding.... And there's a lot of pain there. And I think that is the most human part of that character. And that's the most human part of me and the most human part of you and of everyone. We all can identify pain because we know pain. And so all I did was I channeled my own pain."

Gabourey Sidibe at a Bottomless Closet event, wearing a leopard print dress and smiling. Bottomless Closet banners in the background

10. Alexis Bledel was only an uncredited extra in a movie before she made her television debut in Gilmore Girls.

Alexis Bledel, in a scene from "Gilmore Girls," is sitting at a diner counter, wearing a school uniform with a collared shirt and vest, looking pensive

On an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, she shared that her sass helped her win the part after growing frustrated with the drawn-out auditions. "I didn't know the process," she recalled. "I grew a tad bit impatient. I had a little attitude, and our boss really liked that a lot. She was like, 'That's our girl!' I was like, 'Are you guys going to bring me back again...?' and she was like, 'I like that, that's perfect.'"

Alexis Bledel wearing an elegant, asymmetrical dress with hoop earrings, posing at an event featuring Elton John AIDS Foundation and The Kraft Group logos

11. Barkhad Abdi's first role was playing Abduwali Muse in Captain Phillips. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

Three men on a boat, armed with rifles. One man is shouting, possibly giving instructions, while the other two are looking in different directions

During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, he recalled asking the casting director how he could make acting his career. "She asked me how many Black actors I see in movies each year, and I said, 'Not that many.' She then said, 'Whatever you do in this movie will determine whether you’re going to keep acting or not.' That was a huge motivator for me and gave me the confidence to really push the battle to the floor and do my best to nail the part."

Barkhad Abdi at an A24 event, wearing a polka-dot shirt under a blazer, standing in front of a backdrop with 'GOOD TIME' and 'A24' logos

12. After years as a TV host, Jameela Jamil made her acting debut in The Good Place.

Jameela Jamil wearing a large hat with a floral accent and a pearl necklace, smiling while speaking to a person with visible blonde hair

During an interview with CNBC Make It, she admitted that she lied to land the role. "I also told the casting director that I had acting experience, which was a lie. I told her I’d been onstage, but I was talking about my school days." When asked if she had experience with improv, she lied again. "I was like, 'I love Improv! Did loads of that on the theater in England!'"

Jameela Jamil poses on the red carpet in an elegant strapless dress with intricate detailing at an event

13. And finally, Harry Styles was a global pop star before his role in Dunkirk.

Harry Styles sits on a beach in a military uniform and lifejacket, appearing contemplative. Industrial structures are seen faintly in the background

During an interview with This Morning, he was asked who was scarier between Christopher Nolan and Simon Cowell. He said, "I think Chris in that he doesn't say anything. Like at all. He just sits in the darkness in the back of the room... It's so intense because you do the audition and go home and obsess over whether people liked you or not."

Harry Styles smiles while wearing a dark, tailored suit in front of a blue backdrop with white text at a public event

Any other celebs who landed a leading role for their first acting gig? LMK in the comments below!

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