Justin Hartley was a cast regular in TV shows such as Smallville and Revenge, but you probably remember his face from the recent NBC drama This is Us.
Hartley and that lovely square jaw of his were actually around for longer than you think. In 2002, he got the part of Fox Crane in the soap opera Passions. He served as the on-set heartthrob for four years and left the show two years before it came to an end.
James Earl Jones
Those who don't recognize James Earl Jones's face are sure to recognize his voice. He has used his unmistakable basso profundo to voice the characters of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films and Mufasa in The Lion King.
In 1966, however, the man was busy playing doctor. Literally. He was cast as two separate doctor characters in the soap operas As the World Turns and Guiding Light. That authoritative voice must sound incredible telling you to take your new pills twice a day on a full stomach.
Laurence Fishburne
Some people seem to have been born fully grown adults. It would simply be too weird to think they were ever children. Can you imagine Meryl Streep as a two-year-old playing in the sand? How about Sir Ian McKellen’s first day of preschool? We didn’t think so.
Laurence Fishburne is also one of those people. But in his case, we have TV archives to prove he was, indeed, a child once. As a child actor, Fishburn played Josh West Hall in One Life to Live from 1974 to 1976.
Amber Tamblyn
When a soap opera has been around for 58 (!) seasons, it stands to reason that almost any actor in Hollywood would have passed through it at some point. General Hospital is one such show.
Amber Tamblyn started her acting career as a child actress, playing the role of Emily Quartermaine from 1995 to 2001. She later gained world fame when she starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Now you may slap your own forehead and say “So that’s where I know her from!”
Josh Duhamel
Prior to his acting career, Josh Duhamel played quarterback for the Beavers while dreaming of an NFL career. He loved playing football but settled for acting. As fate would have it, he started out as a model and transitioned into acting through his popular role of Leo in All My Children.
Transformers just would not have been the same without drop-dead-gorgeous knockout Duhamel. He recently became single after divorcing Black Eyed Peas popstar, Stacy Ferguson. Ladies, get in line.