Sandra Bullock, Bruce Willis and More! See Stars Who Went from Serving Cocktails to Slaying Red Carpets

Ellen Pompeo

Although she’s been known to fans as Meredith Grey since her start on Grey’s Anatomy in 2005, Ellen Pompeo actually spent her nights as a bartender before she broke out in showbiz. According to CNBC, the blonde beauty worked as a bartender following high school until her father encouraged her to pursue acting.

Ellen eventually gave up bartending after she landed her debut role as the love interest in 2002’s Midnight Mile.

Bruce Willis

Although Bruce hasn’t said much about his bartending chops, rumor has it that he was quite the professional. In fact, John Goodman once called the Die Hard actor the “best bartender in New York” while chatting with The New York Post about his mixology skills.

“He kept an entire joint entertained all night. He just kept the show going. He was amazing,” the Roseanne star once recalled.

Mila Kunis

During her younger days, Mila Kunis worked as a bartender on and off. In fact, she was such as well-kept bartender, she’d work shifts from 8PM to 4AM, take shots, bring herself home, and wake up in the morning completely fine. It’s no wonders she starred in Bad Moms, Mila is a low-key savage.
While she’s a major fan of whiskey, she found that her bartending days was over when she pursued an acting career. Even though she’s happily married to Ashton Kutcher, has two children, and works as a talented actress, being a bartender will always stick to her history.

Ellen DeGeneres

She’s been making us laugh for years, so we can only imagine how many jokes Ellen DeGeneres had for all of her customers while bartending in her 20s while living in New Orleans. Oh, she also found herself painting houses and even sold vacuum cleaners. She literally could do it all!

Sandra Bullock

Not to blind side you (yup, that happened), but Sandra Bullock worked as a bartender at the same time she joined the Neighborhood Playhouse Theatre where she honed her craft. “I learned a lot of accents as a bartender,” Bullock told Metro UK. “A lot of girls came in looking for rich husbands. I learned to imitate them.” Sounds like the bar taught her more than the theater.

Russell Crowe

He may have two Oscars to his name, but it wasn’t all glitz and glam for Russell Crowe, as he was once behind the counter taking drink orders. When that wasn’t enough, Russell also worked as a fruit stocker and called out bingo numbers.

Jon Hamm

Something tell us Jon Hamm was still making people swoon during his bartender days. In fact, actress Kelly Lynch and her husband used to hire the Mad Men alum to serve drinks at parties. “All of the women would be lined up at the bar like alcoholics just to see him shake his martini shaker,” Kelly once recalled to Xfinity TV.