▲After starring in a music video, Tatum got his first acting role in 'CSI: Miami.' This led to his first film role in 'Coach Carter.'

▲Jennifer Lawrence is one of the biggest Hollywood stars, so it's hard to imagine her not having a huge wealth of acting experience.

▲When she was just 12, Lawrence was spotted by a talent agent. She became something of a teen model, before getting her first acting job in 'Monk.' Success soon followed with 'Winter's Bone' in 2010.

▲Channing Tatum was originally going to be a college football star. However, a talent agent spotted him walking down the street, and helped him get a modeling gig.

▲Theron moved to Hollywood when she was just 18. She was spotted by a talent agent, after arguing with a bank teller.

▲Months later, the actress appeared in her first film, 'Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest.'

▲After finishing college with no acting experience, McConaughey worked his way up through TV commercials. An encounter with a producer at a bar led to his first film role in 'Dazed and Confused.'

▲The hard work paid off, and Lilly went on to score her first role in 'Smallville,' without any acting experience.

▲Evangeline Lilly was just strolling around British Columbia when she was spotted by a model agent. She even worked for a hotline to make end's meet.

▲The blonde-haired star of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was first spotted at the age of four, snacking at a restaurant in New York.

▲Another one of Hollywood's biggest personalities didn't have much of an acting education.

▲Not long after, Gellar got her first acting role in 'An Invasion of Privacy.' She was later cast in 'All My Children' after a few more minor TV roles.

▲Statham has modeled, and actually competed with Britain's National Swimming Squad. He hadn't acted before, but has been a success since 'Two Smoking Barrels.'

▲Before the fame, this British action star reportedly sold fake jewelry on the streets of London. A talent agent linked him with Guy Ritchie, who cast him in 'Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.'

▲Pam Anderson was a fitness instructor before she became the "Blue Zone Girl" model for Labbat's beer.

▲Portman was 11 when a Revlon rep signed her into modeling. She got an acting agent, and scored a role in Luc Besson's revered film 'Léon: The Professional.'

▲The British actress was just 17 when she was spotted by director Andrea Arnold, while having an argument with her boyfriend on a train station.

▲'Kids' kickstarted a career in Hollywood for the actress. She has since starred in films like 'Rent,' 'Sin City,' and 'Death Proof.'

▲After posing for Playboy magazine, Anderson scored her first acting gig in 1990, with a role in 'Married with Children.' Two years later, she became a mainstay in 'Baywatch.'

▲Wilford Brimley has had a strange career. After serving in the Marines, he worked on set in westerns. Not as an actor, but as a stuntman, rand hand, and wrangler.

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Jarvis was cast as a poverty-stricken teenager in 'Fish Tank,' an independent film which won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA Awards. She also starred in the soap opera 'Eastenders.'

▲Rosario Dawson was chilling on her porch when Larry Clark and Harmony Korine approached her for a role. She starred in their controversial film, 'Kids,' without any acting experience.

▲'Training Day' marked a turning point for Eva Mendes, and she went on to make it in the mainstream, with more roles in 'Hitch' and 'The Place Beyond the Pines.'

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After his success in modeling, he moved to L.A., and scored a big role in 'That '70s Show.' The series led him to big success as a mainstream actor.

▲Eva Mendes got her start in the late '90s, starring in 'Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror.' She hadn't had any acting experience, and hired an agent to help her get more prestigious roles.

▲Ashton Kutcher originally hoped to be a biochemical engineer, but moved into modeling in the late '90s.

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In Hollywood, experience and education go a long way. Some of the biggest stars came from revered schools like RADA, while others have worked their way up through small roles over decades. However, these stars all got acting roles with little to no experience. Big names like Johnny Depp and Jennifer Lawrence made it to the big screen in no time at all.

Click on to meet these stars, and find out exactly how they did it.

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Brimley had no hopes of being a big actor, but landed a role in 'The China Syndrome' in 1979. He has since established himself as a dependable character actor.

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Not without his controversies, Johnny Depp is still one of Hollywood's brightest stars. But how did Depp get his start?

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He actually drove his friend, Jackie Earle Haley, to an audition for 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' Haley didn't get it, but director Wes Craven liked the look of Depp, and cast him as Glen. Believe it or not, he didn't have any previous acting experience.

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'Léon' was Portman's first acting role, launching her into the mainstream.