“I was so embarrassed but I think that’s why I got it!”
Every celebrity gets their start somewhere and for a lucky few, it’s on the set of a music video! While some musicians recruit one of their famous friends to make a cameo, others are willing to cast a relatively unknown actor to star in the video that showcases their latest single. And looking back on some of these appearances, you’d be surprised about how many music video stars actually turned into household names!
From Channing Tatum to Angelina Jolie, watch these stars make their music video debuts…
1. Jennifer Lopez
Back in 1993, Jennifer Lopez appeared in Janet Jackson’s music video for “That’s the Way Love Goes.” At the time, Jennifer had only worked as a backup dancer and made appearances on “In Living Color.” Janet later claimed that Jennifer was actually supposed to continue on to perform on tour with her but the rising star dropped out in order to pursue her own career.
“She was supposed to do the whole Janet tour, but she only did the ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ video. Then she called and she said she wanted out, because she wanted to do her own thing,” Janet told Vibe magazine.
2. Kim Kardashian
Before “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” debuted on television, Kim Kardashian made an appearance in Fall Out Boy’s music video for “Thnks fr th Mmrs.” At the time, Kim was mostly known for her famous friends and definitely wasn’t a household name. She says she took the job because she was a fan of the band but says things got a little scary on set when they were working with the monkeys that were in the video.
“It was so much fun working with them…I think music videos kind of all show the same thing. They kind of want a hot girl and cool cars. This one was totally different…I remember my first scene, I had to sit there and watch the boys perform and I had all the monkeys sitting next to me. It was so scary because the trainer was saying, ‘Don’t call them by their name. Don’t look at them in the eye,’ basically freaking you out — like ‘Don’t move,'” Kim told The News Times.
3. Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum’s first role ever was in Ricky Martin’s music video for “She Bangs” back in 2000. The then-18-year-old served as a backup dancer in the vid, which was shot in the Bahamas. Looking back on the experience, Channing says it was a lot of fun and he definitely enjoyed hanging out with the other dancers.
“I was one of about three guys that was in the video and about 200 women that were more beautiful than anyone I’d ever seen at that time…We partied a little…we got down,” Channing said on “The Late Late Show With James Corden.”
4. Christina Hendricks
When Christina Hendricks was a freshly 23-year-old actress, she landed a starring role in Everclear’s music video for “One Hit Wonder.” She only had one acting credit to her name as she took on the role of Loopy, an enthusiastic game show contestant. At the time, it was the biggest production that the band had ever done.
“It was wonderful because I finally had a budget and this is what I dreamed of for years. I was following up a successful record. I knew radio was going to pay attention to this, people were going to write about it. There was pressure on,” singer Art Alexakis said.
5. Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel was still a teenager when she was given the starring role in The Offspring’s music video for “She’s Got Issues.” Although she wasn’t credited for her part, she was every bit a leading lady as she was plagued by cartoon monsters in the music video.
6. Matt LeBlanc
Before he starred on “Friends,” Matt LeBlanc actually landed quite a few roles in music videos, starting with Jon Bon Jovi’s “Miracle” music video in 1990. The following year, he was cast in Alanis Morissette’s “Walk Away” music vid and went on to be featured in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ video for “Into the Great Wide Open.”
7. Adam Scott
Early on in Adam Scott’s career, he was told he was handpicked by Tia Carrere to be in one of her music videos. It was one of his first big acting opportunities so he accepted the role, only to discover it really wasn’t what he thought it was.
“It was my first big acting job…I got there and it was supposed to be a coffee shop and I’m at a table with a model. I brought my own beret because it was a coffee shop and I was super serious about it. It wasn’t until after a few hours I realized, like, ‘I think I’m an extra in this!'” Adam said on “The Late Late Show With James Corden.”
8. Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell has been in numerous music videos — and it all started when she was only seven years old. Back in 1978, a young Naomi was featured in Bob Marley’s music video for “Is This Love” after being connected to the casting agent through her arts academy.
“Of all the videos, Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love’ was the most exciting. Our family loved reggae. I didn’t realize Bob Marley would be standing right next to me, tucking me under a blanket. He was the most handsome man, with beautiful bone structure; mellow, too, and soft-spoken, with a strong Jamaican accent, the kind I already knew from home,” Naomi said while recalling her experience.
9. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey may have been the leading man in Trisha Yearwood’s music video for “Walkaway Joe” but he never even met the country star! The actor says he was a student at the University of Texas and was trying to pick up odd jobs in front of the camera when he was cast in the video.
“‘Walkaway Joe’ was my first time in front of the camera. And I still don’t believe I’ve met Trisha in person,” he said on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
10. Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie was in numerous music videos as a teenager, starting with Antonello Venditti’s video for “Alta Marea” when she was just 15. She went on to appear in Lenny Kravitz’s music video for “Stand by My Woman” as well as videos for Widespread Panic and The Lemonheads. She even starred in two different Meat Loaf music videos!
11. RuPaul
RuPaul’s first-ever acting credit was in The B-52s’ music video for “Love Shack.” At the time, he was working as a drag queen in Atlanta and met the group during a trip to New York. While on set, RuPaul says he had a big part of getting the video’s Soul Train line started.
“The big story — and the B’s always remind me this — is that they wanted to do a Soul Train line. They couldn’t. It wasn’t going right. So I had to step in and say, ‘OK, listen. This is how you do a Soul Train line.’ It’s like two wheels that are sort of smashing pasta out; it’s like a pasta machine. The two wheels have to be rotating. So when the two people are going down the middle, the line is actually in rotation, so it replenishes the two new people that come down the middle. They were very impressed by the fact that I was able to do that,” he told Billboard.
12. Alicia Silverstone
In 1993, Alicia Silverstone starred in Aerosmith’s music videos for “Cryin,'” “Amazing” and “Crazy,” several years before her breakthrough role in “Clueless.” At the time, she was widely recognized for her part in the videos — but she really wanted to be known for her acting. While it bothered her back then, she says that now she thinks it’s hilarious.
“I do remember when I was in the Aerosmith videos and people would call me ‘The Aerosmith chick,’ and I was like 17 and I was very offended! Because I was like, ‘I’m a very serious actress. How could you? The Aerosmith chick? That was really… and now I think it’s hilarious! But at the time, I was like, ‘That’s so rude,'” she told Cinema Blend.
13. Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox was just a teenager when she was cast in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video. In the audition, she had been up against professional dancers and actually thought she was in the wrong place when she arrived.
“I thought I was in the wrong place. I was like, I don’t know what they’re doing, but I can’t even bend my leg…I was so embarrassed but I think that’s why I got it…I think that’s what they wanted, a fan that just couldn’t believe it,” Courteney said on “The Howard Stern Show.”
