A-List Actors Who Got Their Start On Soap Operas

Although he'd had small parts in films and made for TV movies prior — including a now-iconic role in the eventual cult classic "National Lampoon's Animal House" — Kevin Bacon's first steady gig was his year on the daytime series "Guiding Light." (Soap Opera Digest claims Bacon first graced daytime TV as Todd Adamson on "Search for Tomorrow," a role so small it's not even listed on his IMDb page.)

From 1980-81, Bacon played the role of TJ Werner on "Guiding Light" as part of their hip "teen scene." While that sounds like a role built for frivolity and lighthearted fare, the show actually had the actor delving into deep, dark territory as a young alcoholic and more than your average girl problems. It is a soap, after all.

Tim eventually moved to Oregon with his adoptive mother, never to be heard from again, but by then future phenom Kevin Bacon had moved on to bigger and better things himself, with a breakout role in "Diner" that led to his star-making turn in 1984's "Footloose." Today, Kevin Bacon is a household name, likely connected to everyone else in Hollywood by six degrees or fewer.

Before he was King T'Challa of Wakanda, Chadwick Boseman was Thurgood Marshall. He was James Brown. He was Jackie Robinson. And at the very start of his professional acting career, back in 2003, he was Reggie Porter Montgomery (#1) on "All My Children." An inauspicious beginning, perhaps, but one that nonetheless led to one of the most beloved actors of his generation.

"All My Children" was a staple of the daytime landscape for over 40 years, with a plethora of fan-favorite actors and characters who transcended generations. Reggie Porter Montgomery was actually adopted by the famous one of all, Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci. Reggie was a troubled kid and a gang member, though, and that never sat right with Boseman.

Boseman played the Reggie character on the daytime drama for just one week before being fired for refusing to play into racial stereotypes. Even then, Boseman knew exactly who he was and what he stood for. That integrity is one of the many reasons his name is still legendary after his untimely death in 2020.

It might be hard to picture Morgan Freeman as a young actor, primarily because when he finally hit the big time in 1989 with roles in "Lean On Me," "Driving Miss Daisy," and "Glory," he was already 42. But Freeman had been in the game more than 20 years at that point, toiling away in a business that is often unforgiving of age and inhospitable in general.

For Freeman, those first 20 years were defined by bit parts (sometimes uncredited) in films, TV movies, or the bygone genre of "Television Theater," with only three exceptions. The first was a long-running stint on the PBS children's programming show, "The Electric Company," as a variety of characters, one of which even cameoed on "Sesame Street" in 1974. The other two were soaps.

Morgan Freeman had brief runs on two daytime dramas in the early '80s: "Ryan's Hope" and "Another World." On "Ryan's Hope," Freeman played Cicero Murphy, a private detective (not the champion pool player). On "Another World," his character was Roy Bingham, a charming and caring architect. Both roles were short-lived, but they further enriched Freeman's experience as an actor. Now Morgan Freeman's rich voice and steely gravitas are warm reassurances in any unsettling situation, no doubt explaining why he so often plays God, the president, or other calm, collected men of authority. 

In "Black Panther," Killmonger was never able to secure his place in succeeding King T'Challa. When Chadwick Boseman was let go from "All My Children" after only a week, however, Michael B. Jordan easily stepped into the role. Coming off a 13-episode arc on "The Wire," Jordan was just showing his impeccable range and talent as a performer, and as Reggie Porter Montgomery he was able to stretch and flex his skills.

On the show, Jordan's character tackled issues of peer pressure, race relations, class discrepancies, criminality and recidivism, and teenage sexuality. He appeared for three and a half years on the show. When he left, it was mentioned he was in college out of state on a basketball scholarship, leaving open the possibility of him coming back if ever there was the desire.

Unfortunately "All My Children" shuttered production in 2011, but Jordan continued working on his growing and varied career. Since working in daytime TV, he's appeared in highly acclaimed independent feature films, blockbuster movies, and as genuine thirst traps. He doesn't seem to be slowing down, as he wrote, directed, and starred in the latest in his boxing franchise, "Creed III." There seems to be no limit to what Michael B. Jordan can do, so expect him on the A-list for decades to come.

Ray Liotta will always be remembered for "Goodfellas." The 1990 seminal Scorsese film is a piece of our shared cultural legacy, and Ray Liotta's performance in the role of Henry Hill places him firmly within it. Liotta was never just one role, though. Over the course of his 44-year career, he would play more than a hundred different parts that ran the gamut from goofball comedy to serious drama. That's a legacy of another sort: a legacy of hard work and dedication to his craft. For Liotta, it started all the way back in 1978 on the daytime drama "Another World."

Playing the role of Joey Perrini, Liotta worked on the soap for three years and described his character as "the nicest guy in the world," but didn't hesitate to poke a little fun at the wild scenarios he found himself in.

"Another World" went off the air in 1999, but Ray Liotta was just hitting his stride, appearing in the dark sequel "Hannibal," the acclaimed dramas "Narc" and "John Q," the sitcom "Just Shoot Me," and "ER" (in an Emmy-winning guest role) over the next five years. While nothing quite met the heights achieved by his most renowned role in "Goodfellas" — an almost impossible bar to top — his A-list status remained solidly in place until his death in 2022.

"The Edge of Night" was one of the earliest daytime soaps, premiering on CBS in 1956 and then moving to ABC in 1975 until it went off the air in 1984. As the series was nearing its end, it featured an unknown actress in her television debut. That actress was Julianne Moore, the now Oscar- and Emmy-winning performer known the world over for her incredible dedication to her craft.

Her skill was evident even then, as her character Carmen Engler was of German or Swiss descent, giving Moore ample opportunity to use her talent for accents. This wasn't the only soap Julianne Moore appeared in; she was also on "As the World Turns" from 1985-1988. That talent was on display again several times across Moore's career in her roles in "An Ideal Husband," "The Big Lebowski," and even "30 Rock."

Julianne Moore is now considered one of the best actresses working today, and is definitely one of Hollywood's elite. From highbrow dramas to screwball comedies, Julianne Moore can do it all.

After the unexpected success of the original "Degrassi Junior High" and "Degrassi High," Canada continued in the teen soap genre with "Hillside" — named "Fifteen" in the US — for two seasons in the early '90s. In his early years as a Canadian youth, internationally beloved superstar Ryan Reynolds appeared on "Fifteen" as Billy, a young boy who turns to bullying to vent his frustrations with romantic rejection. Yes, Canadians once believed Ryan Reynolds would be rejected by girls.

Like most soaps — particularly ones focused on teens — the show didn't shy away from heavy issues that kids were dealing with in the increasingly fast-paced modern world, but it never had the clout the "Degrassi" franchise did.

Still, Reynolds did alright for himself. After "Fifteen," he eventually made his way to Hollywood and worked in lots of TV and film productions before being cast as adorable dolt Chip in the subversive and hilarious "Dick" starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams. He also got his first series, the abominably named "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place." His roles gradually got bigger and better as the years went on, and now he's practically a walking meme that men and women alike love beyond reason for his affably hilarious, laid-back wit and charm.  

Ever since stomping her foot to emphasize her biological clock in 1992's comedy classic "My Cousin Vinny," Marisa Tomei has been an icon. Almost 30 years after the fact, one of the more popular TikTok pandemic lockdown challenges was to perform a scene you know by heart, and Tomei's turn as Mona Lisa Vito in an Alabama courtroom frequently popped up in people's feeds.

Tomei's first regular work, however, was as Marcy Thompson on the CBS soap "As the World Turns." Marcy started as a teenage runaway and wound up married to a British lord. Obviously, a lot can happen over two years.

A lot happened for Tomei, too. That breakout role in "My Cousin Vinny" earned her an Oscar, and she even became a cultural touchstone on an episode of "Seinfeld" because of it. She then mostly kept to smaller films and more off-the-beaten-path characters, until she landed the role of Aunt May in the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. In a blockbuster once again, Tomei's role alluded to her earlier rom-com with actor Robert Downey Jr. when his Tony Stark is overwhelmed by May's attractiveness in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Plus, she was eventually given the most important line in any Spider-Man franchise: "With great power, comes great responsibility."

Her independent work gives her the credentials of a serious actress, but she's still a fan favorite no one can stop talking about.