Uncover the fascinating journeys of these actors and how they managed to secure their remarkable breakthrough roles against all odds?

When Henry Golding was cast in a leading role in the groundbreaking film Crazy Rich Asians, he had never appeared in a movie before. Previously, he worked at a prestigious hair salon in London and more recently as a television presenter in Kuala Lumpur, where he hosted travel shows for BBC and Discovery Channel Asia. It was during this role that an accountant from the film’s Malaysian production team noticed him and recommended him to director Jon M. Chu.

?[Jon] was like, ?You can do this. We see so much of this character in this role for you, that if you bring who you are as a person, we?re going to nail this,?? Henry shared with Vulture, highlighting the confidence the director had in his potential.

Rachel Zegler was merely a high school student with a deep passion for singing and musical theater when she caught the eye of casting directors for Steven Spielberg?s West Side Story. After a friend alerted her about an open casting call, Rachel submitted her audition without any expectations. To her surprise, just weeks later, she received a callback, ultimately leading to a meeting with the director himself. It was a journey that spanned nearly a year of auditions before she finally secured the coveted role.

?It?s sort of crazy to look back on that girl who was singing show tunes in her bathroom, and I wonder what she would think of me now,? Rachel told Variety, reflecting on her remarkable transformation from an aspiring artist to a leading actress.

Iman Vellani was still in school when she auditioned for the lead role in Ms. Marvel. With no acting experience, she almost dismissed the opportunity when her aunt forwarded her a post about an open casting call. Nevertheless, she decided to submit a self-tape at the last minute. Just days later, she found herself being flown to Los Angeles for auditions.

?This happened through a WhatsApp forward. My aunt was part of some Brown group chat that she never opens, and one day she opened it and someone had forwarded this casting call and she sent it to me. I thought, ?Look, this is what a scam is,?? she recounted on The Daily Show.

She added, ?I?m not an actor. I can?t. It was totally a blank page that said, ?Send headshot and résumé here, Ms. Marvel casting??Then they sent the sides for the self-tape and an NDA, and I was like, ?Oh my God, it?s real.??

When Gabourey Sidibe was cast in Precious, she was a psychology student working as a receptionist. Having stepped away from local theater productions years earlier, she was initially hesitant to audition for the leading role in the film, particularly since she had just begun her classes. However, on the day of the audition, she ultimately chose to go.

?I didn?t think I had any business going to the audition; I didn?t think I could get an acting job with one audition. I wasn?t an acting student; I never wanted to act. The biggest thing I learned is that I was wrong about what I thought I could do. I thought I?d be a receptionist my whole life,? Gabourey told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, illustrating her unexpected journey into acting.

Alexis Bledel had just graduated high school and had only been an extra in one film when she auditioned for Gilmore Girls. Her lack of experience in the entertainment industry surprisingly played a role in her securing the lead role. Alexis noted that she went through six callbacks, which was a frustrating process for her at the time.

?Oddly, I wasn?t a very seasoned actor at all. I didn?t know the process,? she shared on Late Night with Seth Meyers. ?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.??

Camila Mendes? role as Veronica Lodge on Riverdale was the first acting job she ever secured. The audition process took place right before her graduation from New York University, where she was studying acting. Some of her professors were not pleased with her frequent absences during this critical time.

?Some teachers were really cool about it, and some teachers? weren?t,? she reminisced to 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.?

Before Hunter Schafer landed a pivotal role on Euphoria, she was working as a model and had plans to attend fashion school. When she stumbled upon the casting call for the show, she considered applying, despite having no previous acting experience. Incidentally, her modeling agency invited her to audition for the role, leading to her big break.

?I had not acted before and was not planning on it really either. I was modeling for about a year in New York and had my sights set on fashion school afterwards, and then? I saw this casting call floating around on Instagram. It was for trans women, who didn?t want to be trained and it didn?t say ?Euphoria? or anything… I had been thinking about trying acting and? I was in the craft but didn?t really push myself to do it. Then, my model agency rang me up a few days later and had me go in for an audition, and it was the weirdest thing ? it kept going,? Hunter explained to EW.

Jameela Jamil was working as a model with aspirations to become a comedy writer when her modeling agency suggested she audition for The Good Place. Despite her lack of interest in acting and any prior experience, she reluctantly agreed to attend the audition, which ultimately led her to land the coveted role.

?I wanted to be a writer, and a comedy writer, specifically, and I was pressured, really, to go to the audition for The Good Place. And I was only kicking and screaming because I thought that I didn?t belong in a Mike Schur comedy since I had no previous experience whatsoever, but they gave me the role because Mike Schur is a strange, strange man,? Jameela recounted to W Magazine.

Kunal Nayyar may have studied acting, but he had never landed a significant role until The Big Bang Theory, aside from an uncredited appearance on NCIS. When he auditioned for the CBS series, he had no idea how pivotal this audition would be for his career.

?I had no idea I was going to get the role. I remember [co-creators] Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady laughing a lot, and I just felt so much in my element. I had just gotten my MFA in acting from Temple University and was high on life, just back from the Royal Shakespeare Company in England,? Kunal shared with The Hollywood Reporter. ?I wasn?t jaded and didn?t understand the weight of the situation. This was my second job; I played a terrorist on NCIS. I didn?t recognize the gravity of the scenario and just walked in. That was so dumb!?

Rosario Dawson was still a teenager when she was cast in Kids. Looking back, she recalls hanging out on her front porch in New York City when renowned director Larry Clark and writer Harmony Korine approached her. The duo was scouting locations for the film and aimed to cast non-actors. After auditioning for the role, Rosario successfully landed it, marking the beginning of her acting career.