Our favorite actors all have to start somewhere, and for a lot of them, that’s commercials. We’ve already taken a look at some of the big names featured in Burger King and Levi’s commercials back in the ’80s, but what about the rest? The list below by no means features every single commercial or person, but it’s some of our favorite compilations from the ’80s and ’90s featuring celebrities before they were stars.
Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander was featured in tons of commercials in his pre-Seinfeld days. From Delta to Hershey’s to McDonald’s… if you were watching TV in the ’80s, then you probably saw him in a commercial or two.
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore has been in the business since she was a baby, as you can see here in the first commercial featured in our compilation. Now that’s some staying power!
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis started acting from a young age, and was featured in a series of commercials for Pacific Bell, a telephone company, in the late ’80s. We’ve also included a couple bonus commercials from his teenage years for Cap’n Crunch.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Before Leonardo DiCaprio got his big break on Growing Pains, he booked some commercial gigs for the likes of Fred Meyer, Bubble Yum, and Kraft Singles. Did they know they had a future Oscar winner on their hands?
Kirsten Dunst
Though you might have thought Kirsten Dunst’s first role was in Interview with the Vampire, in fact she starred in quite a few commercials when she was super young, including ones for Crayola and Baby Uh-Oh.
Corey Feldman
Being a precocious youngster on camera started way before Stand by Me and The Goonies for Corey Feldman, who was featured in commercials for McDonald’s and Kodak.Â
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Everyone’s favorite vampire slayer got her start way before she was Buffy. Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in a series of commercials for Burger King when she was a kid — but that’s not all, she also appeared in commercials for Duncan Hines and Avon as well.
John Goodman
A true commercial workhorse of the ’70s and ’80s was none other than John Goodman. He was in at least 14 commercials that we could find, ranging from after shave to root beer to McDonald’s to Foot Locker to… yeah, he was all over the place!Â
Jonathan Jackson
Jonathan Jackson got an early start acting on General Hospital, but that wasn’t the only thing he was acting in — he also starred in multiple commercials such as the above for McDonald’s and Corn Pops.
Matt LeBlanc
Before he was Joey Tribbiani on Friends, Matt LeBlanc starred in multiple big-name commercials, including those for Heinz Ketchup and Coca Cola.Â
Tobey Maguire
Though Tobey Maguire was playing the teenaged Spider-Man well into his twenties, when he was an actual teenager, he was starring in some memorable commercials for Atari and something called Twister Juice.
Brad Pitt
If you were wondering if Brad Pitt was always a hunk, look no further than two of his early commercials for Pringles and Levi’s, which definitely cashed in on his attractiveness.
Keanu Reeves
Everybody loves Keanu Reeves, and is it really any wonder? Just look at him in these ’80s commercials for Coca Cola and Cornflakes (among others), and you’ll see it’s no surprise he has had lasting power.
Meg Ryan
Before she was starring in some of the best romantic comedies of the ’80s and ’90s, Meg Ryan was getting her start in commercials for Aim Toothpaste, Burger King, Campbell’s Soup and MTV.Â
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue was in a ton of Burger King commercials in the ’80s (watch those here), but that’s not all. She was in a bunch of other commercials too, for Chewels, Honeywell, Atari, and Stridex.Â
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis got his start in a Levi’s commercial, but also was the face of Seagram’s Golden Wine Coolers for a portion of the late ’80s as well.
Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood has been in the business a long time, and some of his earliest work was in commercials for Pizza Hut and, well, cheese. These are technically after his big break in a bit part in Back to the Future Part II, but we figured they were still worth including.
- Drew Barrymore comes from a large family of actors including her father, John Drew Barrymore, and all of her great-grandparents, including John Costello.Â
- Jason Alexander originally leaned more toward theatre than television, but one of his professors at Boston University urged him to consider comedy.
- Bruce Willis made between $5–7 million over two years as the face of Seagram’s Golden Wine Cooler products, but chose not to renew his contract with the company when he decided to stop drinking alcohol in 1988.
- While Matt LeBlanc was in some big commercials above, he was reportedly down to his last $11 before landing his role on Friends.
- Though we were only able to find a couple to feature above, apparently Corey Feldman has been in over 100 commercials throughout his career!
- Drew Barrymore comes from a large family of actors including her father, John Drew Barrymore, and all of her great-grandparents, including John Costello.Â
- Jason Alexander originally leaned more toward theatre than television, but one of his professors at Boston University urged him to consider comedy.
- Bruce Willis made between $5–7 million over two years as the face of Seagram’s Golden Wine Cooler products, but chose not to renew his contract with the company when he decided to stop drinking alcohol in 1988.
- While Matt LeBlanc was in some big commercials above, he was reportedly down to his last $11 before landing his role on Friends.
- Though we were only able to find a couple to feature above, apparently Corey Feldman has been in over 100 commercials throughout his career!
