Naomi Watts was trying to pursue a career in modeling at first. Actually, that’s how she met her friend Nicole Kidman. The two met as teens while auditioning for a bikini ad in Australia. Neither of them got the job but they both went on to become successful actresses.
Watts owes some of her success to Julie Gibson, her recurring role in the Australian soap opera Home and Away.
Courtney Cox
You simply can't look at Courtney Cox without thinking 'Monica'. She may have played other roles after Friends was over but she will always be the shrill clean-freak we all know and love. Playing a certain character for 10 years straight can do that to you.
Apparently, Courtney Cox's first TV acting credit ever goes to As the World Turns — a soap opera in which Cox played a character named Bunny for a single episode in 1984.
Heath Ledger
One of Hollywood’s darling actors, Heath Ledger became internationally famous after his excellent acting in the teen comedy film 10 Things I Hate About You. Australians knew him way before that when he starred in the soap opera Home and Away. The young actor continued to rise in popularity when he appeared in A Knight’s Tale two years later. In 2005, he took the legendary role of Ennis in Brokeback Mountain and shook audiences. His last and arguably greatest performance was as the Joker, in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
There’s no denying that Ledger was an absolute force of brilliance in this one. Fans were originally horrified when they heard that the actor was cast as the Joker, until they saw his performance and realized it was the best film portrayal of the character they'd ever seen. Unfortunately, the actor died shortly around the time of the film’s release, he was posthumously awarded an Oscar for his role.
Judith Light
Highly respected in her field, Judith Light brought a lot to the set of One Life to Live. She played the melodramatic and manipulative Karen Wolek and even won an Emmy for the part.
She then went on to play on the iconic sitcom Who’s the Boss? opposite of Tony Danza. And make no mistakes, Angela was definitely the boss.
Nathan Fillion
Soap operas excel in spinning the most outrageous romantic tales. Just ask Nathan Fillion and he will tell you. Fillion’s character in One Life to Live was named Joey Buchanan, and it was outrageous alright.
Teenage Buchanan apparently had a thing for older women, and he was often seen in the company of his lover, Dorian Lord, who was also his mother’s sworn enemy. Thank god it was just a show!