Everyone has to start somewhere. Many of today’s most remarkable actors had to take any job they could while trying to make a name for themselves. Getting your face out there and gaining exposure is an opportunity that an aspiring actor needs to take at any moment.
Most of the time, these early tries to gain attention come in the form of commercials. Due to the frequent play certain commercials get on TV, it can become easy to recognise their faces, which helps with actors’ career moves.
It helps if these commercials are for some of the biggest and most popular brands or chains, such as the next big toy craze or fast food restaurant menu. If any actor wants to gain some exposure, bagging a commercial where they can put their face next to a powerful brand is the way to go.
Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars did just this, and it allowed them to get in touch with the spotlight they were dreaming of. However, as they did these commercials during a certain embarrassing style trend or performed a rather cheesy script, the commercials can be a little embarrassing or awkward for them.
Here are ten actors who starred in tacky commercials, which are very different compared to their work now.
10 distinguished actors and their embarrassing commercials:
Brad Pitt and Pringles
Actor Brad Pitt burst onto the film scene in the 1990s through infamous roles such as Tyler Durden in Fight Club and Detective David Mills in Se7en. He gained heartthrob status due to his charming persona and good looks. Since then, he has received various accolades and is now one of Hollywood’s signature faces.
Considering this, it’s weird to think that Pitt got some early work the decade prior to his breakthrough. In 1988, the heartthrob turned film star appeared on TV screens in an advert for Pringles. It has all the cheese of the 1980s with bright colours and large hair.
Paul Rudd and Super Nintendo
Paul Rudd is another ’90s dream boy who featured in classics such as Clueless and Romeo + Juliet. He transitioned swiftly to the early naughties by playing Phoebe’s final love interest Mike in the hit series Friends. These days, he is most known for playing Ant-Man in the MCU.
Before Rudd was appealing to comic book nerds with his energetic performance in the Marvel world, he was taking up roles for video game nerds. In 1991, 24 years before he joined the Avengers, Rudd appeared in a Super Nintendo commercial. The actor geeks out by getting to play video games on a huge screen in an abandoned theatre.
Joseph Gordan-Levitt and Pop Tarts
Joseph Gordan-Levitt is a household name with roles such as soft-boy blueprint Tom in 500 Days of Summer and Robin in The Dark Knight Returns. His career holds nearly 50 award nominations and ten wins, and he has also moved into some directing work.
Before he was playing a cop version of the Boy Wonder, Gordan-Levitt appeared in a Pop-Tarts commercial. The advert came out in 1991 and showed a baby faced Gordan-Levitt making sure his father has his most important meal of the day.
Elijah Wood and America’s Dairy Farmer
Elijah Wood managed to get his name and face in cinema history with just one film. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings is one of the greatest films of all time, with Wood in the starring role of Frodo. The actor has also appeared in Green Street and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In 1990, the super young and adorable Wood was featured in an America’s Dairy Farmers commercial. The commercial makes an attempt to get kids like Wood to eat their vegetables as well as cheese.
Bryan Cranston and Preparation H
Bryan Cranston is a TV legend thanks to his performance as Walter White in the smash hit show Breaking Bad. The character is one of the most complex and intriguing TV characters ever. Cranston has also made successful film appearances such as Little Miss Sunshine and Isle of Dogs.
Cranston made a TV appearance decades before Breaking Bad. In the ’80s, he was the face of Preparation H, a cream treatment for haemorrhoids. This makes for a nice change from selling meth so you can pay for cancer treatment.
Stanley Tucci and Levi Jeans
Stanley Tucci is noted for playing legendary director Stanley Kubrick in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and art director Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada. He has also appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games trilogy.
The Devil Wears Prada isn’t the only time Tucci played a role to do with high-brand fashion. In 1985, the actor appeared in a Levi 501 jeans commercial where he sported the popular denim brand with a simple white tank. Watching the commercial, it’s rather clear Tucci was feeling himself in the Levis.
Ben Affleck and Burger King
Ben Affleck’s roles range from masked vigilantes in Daredevil and Batman vs Superman to dramatic war performances. He has worked for great directors such as Gus Van Sant and David Fincher, alongside starring with Rosamund Pike and Bruce Willis.
If you were looking for a comical image to think about, here’s one: Battfleck eating Burger King. In 1989, a 17-year-old Affleck starred in a Burger King commercial where he dropped off food for a hungry lover and father.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Bubble Yum
Leonardo DiCaprio captured several hearts when he starred as the dashing Jack Dawson in Titanic. He has since starred in some great work made by many great directors. These include Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby and Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. The countdown to the actor receiving his first Oscar win was an iconic era for film culture and the internet.
DiCaprio started out as a child star, with his blonde hair and cute smile making him impossible not to cast (just watch that 2019 Joaquin Phoenix award speech). One of his first roles was in a commercial for Bubble Yum, where he compares the gum’s ‘pop’ to a boombox.
John Travolta and Band-Aids
John Travolta has starred in beloved film classics such as the musical romance Grease and the crime masterpiece Pulp Fiction. He has also shown his comedy side in the self-aware Get Shorty and in drag in Hairspray.
Before he played Danny Zucko, Travolta was cast in a band-aid commercial in 1973. The commercial mirrors aspects of Grease, as it shows Travolta alongside some other guys singing about the product, almost as if it were a deleted product placement scene.
Mark Ruffalo and Clearasil
Mark Ruffalo is one of Hollywood’s golden boys. With heartwarming performances in 13 Going on 30 and Just Like Heaven, Ruffalo holds many hearts thanks to his adorable charm. The actor also received praise for his appearance in the MCU as the Incredible Hulk. We’re still waiting for his solo film.
Before he was smashing buildings, Ruffalo was zapping acne away in a commercial for Clearasil. The commercial was released in 1989 and showed a fresh-faced Ruffalo with his signature curls showing his skincare routine that features some quality acne treatment.
