Stars Who ALMOST Quit Before Their Big Break (And Why)

Life

9. Millie Bobby Brown

Millie Bobby Brown might seem too young to have really struggled or to have reconsidered her career choice, but things were tough for the young actor and her family in the early going. She was getting small parts and was earning little money, but it wasn’t all she had hoped for. “I felt at one point I couldn’t do it [acting] anymore,” she said. “But then I got this and everything changed.” Of course, the “this” was Stranger Things and the role of Eleven. Now, Brown is one of the industry’s most talented young stars and looks to have a very bright future ahead of her.

8. Daisy Ridley

It was a whole lot of bit parts and small films and TV shows for Daisy Ridley before Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For a film and a franchise that large, Ridley became a star the instant her casting information was released. According to the film’s director, J.J. Abrams, Ridley was close to quitting before nabbing the part. “At the beginning, she was claiming she was almost done with acting—she’d been working at a pub,” he said. Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi, said of Ridley, “Like Rey, she has this extraordinary talent, that has seemingly come out of nowhere, and I think Daisy’s just starting to scratch the surface of her skills.”

7. Uzo Aduba

Before getting the part of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Orange is the New Black, it was an uphill climb for Uzo Aduba. She tells of a very rough patch in which she almost quit. In fact, she says she basically did quit. “I definitely was in a place of despair,” she explains. “I was crying on the subway all the way home, and not like, loud, audible crying, but the tears, the ones where you just can’t stop them from coming down your face. I just couldn’t stop it. I was sitting on the train, and I said to myself, ‘this is it, I’m done.’ I had never in my life before quit. Then, 45 minutes later, I got home and I got a phone call. I’ll never forget it for my entire life. I could be 98, and my grandkids can be like, ‘Grandma, when did you get Orange is the New Black?’ and I’ll say, ‘5.43 pm. September 14.'”

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