15 Unhinged Reasons Celebrities Were Given for Why They'd Never Make It

Despite being told she had the "wrong face" by a director, Judi Dench went on to get eight Oscar nominations.
15 Unhinged Reasons Celebrities Were Given for Why They'd Never Make It

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and in Hollywood there are plenty of them. Here are 15 celebs who faced rejection early on in their careers, but eventually overcame it to become some of the most successful in the industry.

For example, Judi Dench is an Oscar-nominated actress who has been in some of the biggest films over the past few decades. She started her career back in 1957, and was quickly met with sexism. A director told her she'd never make it because of her "wrong face." Clearly, he was wrong and Judi went on to have a hugely successful career.

Or let’s take Sydney Sweeney, who is another actress having a moment right now. You may have seen her recently on shows like Euphoria and The Handmaid's Tale. But things could have gone very differently for Sydney - when she first started out trying to break into television, one casting director told her she would "never" be on TV because of how she looked. Clearly, well, that wasn't true either as Sydney has landed some major roles lately.

Boy George's career counselor suggested he work in an apple packing factory, but after five weeks it was clear this life wasn't for him.

George Alan O'Dowd, better known as Boy George, is from Eltham in south east London. George's career counselor scoffed when he suggested a career in the creative industries. After working in an apple packing factory for five weeks (per their advice), it was clear that this wasn't the life for him either. CRACKED.COM

SMH / Billboard 

People told Reese Witherspoon she wasn't tall/pretty/smart enough to make it in LA.

Reese Witherspoon came to LA with a dream and wasn't going to let anyone stop her. H People told her she wasn't tall enough, pretty enough or smart enough, she didn't care. That just made her more stubborn in achieving what she wanted. CRACKED.COM

Daily Mail / Parade 

Salma Hayek overcame discrimination in Hollywood.

Salma Hayek says she was told her Mexican heritage would prevent her from ever making it big In Hollywood. But she fought against that discrimination and now encourages other women not to give up on their dreams. CRACKED.COM

Yahoo  

Winona Ryder was rejected by a casting director who told her she wasn't pretty enough to be an actress.

Winona Ryder faced some rough rejection in her early days of acting. She was told by a casting director that she wasn't pretty enough to be an actress and should go back to school. CRACKED.COM

Tampa Bay / The Famous People 

Winslet was told fat girl parts are all she'd get.

Kate Winslet is an Oscar-winning actress who, early on in her career, was told by a drama teacher that she should settle for the fat girl parts. SHACADEMY ETLALADLIVE t E WARDS E AWARDS ЕЕ ЕЕ BRITISH AC BRITISH ACA FILM AWARD FILM AWARD EMY E SH ACADEMY E AWARDS In reaction to this, Winslet has said that any woman who's ever been put down shouldn't listen to it and should keep going. CRACKED.COM

The Guardian  

Arnold Schwarzenegger is successful and lucky because he didn't listen to the haters.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one lucky guy. Not only did he have a successful acting and bodybuilding career, but he also ignored all the naysayers that said it would never happen because of his accent or name. CRACKED.COM

Business Insider  

You told Mark Ruffalo he wouldn't make it as an actor? Get a new job, because you were wrong!

Mark Ruffalo had a terrible audition for SUNY Purchase, with the head of the department telling him he'd never make it as an actor. If given the chance today, Ruffalo would tell that person to get a new line of work. CRACKED.COM

Yahoo  

Ed Sheeran's former managers wanted him to change his hair color and ditch his looping pedal if he ever wanted to be a star.

Stuart Camp, Ed Sheeran's manager since 2011, recently revealed that another management company resigned from working with the singer because they didn't believe in his success. Hoa The other managers told Sheeran he needed to make some changes - like dying his hair black and ditching his looping pedal - if he ever wanted to be a star. CRACKED.COM

NME  

Millie Bobby Brown is a superstar, but could have gone very differently if she listened to one powerful casting director.

Millie Bobby Brown is an acting superstar, but things could have gone very differently. When she was only 10 years old, a powerful casting director told her that she was too mature to make it as a child actor. Luckily, Millie didn't listen and went on to star in Stranger Things when she was 12 years old. CRACKED.COM

Diply  

Sydney Sweeney is killing it on TV, despite what some casting director said about her looks.

Sydney Sweeney is having a moment, appearing on some of the biggest TV shows around. This success is despite what a casting director once told her, that she would never be on TV because of her looks. CRACKED.COM

PaperMag 

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