Pre-Fame Celebrities in Commercials

Craig Hlavaty | March 22, 2011 | 9:00am

We all have to start somewhere, whether it be flipping burgers or flipping burgers in burger commercials. Just as not everyone is an immediate success in the real world, not all actors start doing blockbusters right after acting school (or blowing Michael Bay at a party). Sometimes you have to pay your dues to the commercial gods before you can take Hollywood by storm.

It's always fun to imagine that the girl hawking Excedrin, like Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss in this clip, could one day be starring in big-time movies with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, like Get Him To The Greek. Who would have known that the fat guy dancing in the McDonald's McDLT ad in the '80s would one day be the very poster child for heartless human behavior on Seinfeld? Or that at one time he had a full head of hair. We feel your pain, buddy.

Perhaps the best parts of these clips isn't the actors themselves--it's that look of happiness and determination on their faces. These people weren't household names yet; they were merely singing for their suppers. They all have a bright-eyed look they don't show these days unless they win an Oscar or get invited to Charlie Sheen's house.

Bruce Willis