▲

Before his rise to the papacy, Pope Francis led a humble life in Buenos Aires, working a variety of odd jobs to make ends meet. During a visit to a church near Rome, the late pontiff shared that, as a college student, he worked as a nightclub bouncer, in addition to sweeping floors and conducting tests in a chemical lab.

These revelations further solidified Pope Francis' legacy as an "everyman" pope, known for rejecting many of the traditional luxuries associated with the papacy. His humble beginnings played a key role in shaping his image as a leader who valued simplicity and remained deeply connected to ordinary people throughout his life.

Before they became the shining bright stars they are today, Hollywood's elite had to find a way to pay the bills like the rest of us.

Though it is difficult to picture them as mere mortals, some of the biggest A-listers once scrubbed toilets, wore ridiculous costumes, or even tamed lions for a living. Check out this gallery to see the strange jobs celebrities had, based on a list by Ranker, before they became rich and famous.

▲

Simu Liu, who played the lead role in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' (2021), once worked as a stock photo model. A tenacious Twitter user managed to find old photos of Liu taken while he worked with the company iStock and compiled them all into one glorious thread. Liu was photographed in various situations like fitness classes and office environments, always looking slightly awkward! He says that iStock only paid him US$120 for the photoshoot and he signed away the rights to the images, which have now presumably increased in value quite a bit.

Liu took the job years ago before his acting career took off and he was simply trying to pay the bills. Although he's not a fan of the photos, he jumped into the Twitter thread to join in the laughs.

▲After he graduated college in 1984, the comedian was a puppeteer. He would put on puppet shows at schools to educate kids about the needs of the disabled.

▲In the 1970s, Moore dropped out of high school and got her start as a debt collector before her acting career took off.

▲In 1970, when Stallone was hurting for money, he starred in the soft-core adult film 'Party at Kitty and Stud's.'

▲Before she graced the big screen, Mendes wore a brightly colored uniform at Hot Dog on a Stick. She was reportedly fired from the job for playing a joke on a co-worker.

▲One summer, the 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' actor styled dead people's hair at a local mortuary.

▲The No Doubt lead singer got her start pumping out ice cream at the Dairy Queen. Stefani claimed that when she started her job at Dairy Queen, she fit into her outfit, but by the time she was on her way out, she couldn't squeeze into the uniform.

▲McConaughey once cleaned chicken coops and washed dishes as an exchange student in Australia.

▲One of the rock star's first jobs was reportedly making Christmas decorations.

▲Though Wiig worked many odd jobs in her 20s, one of her favorites was selling peaches at a local farmer's market.

▲In his younger years, Vaughn was a telemarketer for a time, as well as a lifeguard.

▲On 'The Ellen Show,' the actor revealed that her only "real job" before she got into acting was working at a smoothie shop where she would occasionally have to dress up in a banana suit.

▲Before her claim to fame on 'Friends,' Aniston sold timeshares in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. "I was awful," she said of her sales skills.

▲In 1989, the comedian washed dishes at Red Lobster. Rock claims that they kept him in the back because he had bad teeth and they didn't want customers to think it was because of the shrimp.

▲This is perhaps the craziest odd job of all. When Walken was a kid, he worked at a traveling circus as an assistant lion tamer.

▲At 18 years old, Adams rocked a pair of orange hot pants and a white tank top at a sports bar known for their particularly voluptuous waitresses. This is how she paid her way through college, and she has admitted that she enjoyed the experience.

▲Before he became known as a comedian, Seinfeld sold light bulbs. He would cold-call customers and use a fake name to try to make a sale. He quit the job shortly after he began.

▲Pitt's reputation as a Hollywood hunk makes it hard to picture him dressing up as a chicken outside of an El Pollo Loco restaurant, but it happened. At one point, the actor also drove strippers to their gigs to make a quick buck.

▲Back in the day, the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor worked as a telemarketer, selling ballpoint pens over the phone.

▲As she juggled her singing career, Turner worked as a nurse's aide in a maternity ward in St. Louis.

▲Long before 'Magic Mike,' Tatum was working as a male stripper in Florida, going by the stage name "Chan Crawford."

▲Because he grew up very poor, the actor dropped out of school at the age of 15 to become a janitor and support his family.

▲Before Hollywood, Hoffman held several odd jobs such as writing for the Yellow Pages, checking coats, and stringing Hawaiian leis.

▲George Clooney, who was hospitalized in 2020 after dropping 28 lbs for a film role, says his hardest acting roles will never beat his first job. “I’ve done physically rough films," he said, adding that even directing is physically challenging, but he still has no sympathy for actors who whine. "Listen, I once cut tobacco for a living for $3 an hour. When actors say how hard it is, I’m like, ‘Come cut tobacco for a day.’ I also sold ladies’ shoes and insurance door to door. To do our job, to still be kids, play make-believe, we should enjoy it," he said. "We’re the lucky ones."

▲When she lived in DeKalb, Illinois, the iconic model held down a job shucking corn in the hot summer sun.

▲Before he was a comedian and a late night talk-show host, Colbert worked as a busboy, as a cafeteria server, in library data entry, and as a futon frame maker, among other odd jobs.

▲The 'Mad Men' star once worked as a set dresser for semi-pornographic movies, which he has since described as a depressing experience.

▲Long before she got into acting, Davis posed as a live mannequin in a storefront. Perhaps this experience led her into her modeling and acting career.

▲Goldberg was a trained beautician before she won Oscars and became a talk-show host. She actually used her hair and makeup skills working at a mortuary.

▲

The actor started out his career flipping burgers at McDonald's. Some other A-listers who have worked for the fast-food chain include Jay Leno, Rachel McAdams, and Sharon Stone.

▲

When the 'Friends' star was going into adulthood, he was training to become a carpenter like his grandfather. He later fell in love with acting instead.

Sources: (Ranker)