Being a celebrity can be a blessing and a curse. A successful career in Hollywood more often than not comes hand-in-hand with prying eyes and cameras flashing at all times. It’s difficult for celebrities to keep anything in their lives a secret.
For some stars, the most shocking facts are the ones hiding in plain sight. They don’t exactly go out of their way to cover up any of this information, but their talent and good branding makes each one a shock to learn.
1. Kesha
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Getty Images Entertainment / Jason Kempin
Though you can’t tell from her lyrical content, the pop star is a certified genius. She has an IQ of 140 and scored a 1500 on her SATs.
2. Channing Tatum
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You can spot the
Magic Mike actor in the background of Ricky Martin’s “
She Bangs” video, one of his first gigs. He received $400 for the 5-day shoot and sports some impressive face paint. (Tip: He’s the bartender at the 1:30 mark)
3. Thomas F. Wilson
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Getty Images Entertainment / Frazer Harrison
Though he’s best known for bullying Michael J. Fox in the Back to the Future trilogy, the actor was actually a self-proclaimed band and drama nerd during high school. He used his own experiences of being bullied to help him with the role.
4. Christian Bale
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Getty Images Entertainment / Jason Merritt
While promoting Christopher Nolan’s superhero reboot
Batman Begins, the English actor spoke with an
American accent in interviews. Producers feared the American public would not be accepting of a Brit playing the caped crusader.
5. Sean Connery
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The iconic 007 actor sported a toupee for every single Bond film.
6. Bruno Mars
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Getty Images Entertainment / Larry Busacca
The “Locked Out of Heaven” crooner was born named Peter Gene Hernandez.
7. Ralph Macchio
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Getty Images Entertainment / Andrew H. Walker
When cast as the original Karate Kid, many people thought he looked too young to play the 17-year-old character. He was 23 at the time.
8. Michael J. Fox
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The Family Ties actor’s middle initial doesn’t stand for anything. His middle name is actually Andrew.
9. Leighton Meester
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Getty Images Entertainment / Kevin Winter
The Gossip Girl actress and musician made her way into the world while her mother was serving time in a Texas state federal prison. Her mother was part of a drug ring that attempted to smuggle marijuana into the U.S. from Jamaica.
10. James Lipton
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Before asking celebrities their favorite curse word, the Inside the Actor’s Studio host spent a year during the 1950s as a pimp to an entire bordello in Paris, France.
11. Ozzy Osbourne
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Based on his wild antics, many assume the rocker is a Satanist. However, he’s actually a member of the Anglican church and is said to pray before each of his performances.
12. Matthew Perry
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The Friends actor is missing a portion of his middle right finger due to a door slamming accident in his youth.
13. Alice Cooper
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Like Osbourne, the rocker’s reputation as a devil worshipper is the opposite of the truth. He is actually a devout born again Christian, who participates in missionary projects and leads a Bible study every Wednesday.
14. Joseph Fiennes
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The Shakespeare in Love actor went on to portray the most infamous Protestant, Martin Luther, when in fact he is a devout Roman Catholic.
15. Simon Cowell
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Getty Images Entertainment / Kevin Winter
The American Idol bad guy got his start as a runner on Stanley Kubrick’s scary classic, The Shining. He even polished the axe used by Jack Nicholson to bust through the door.
If you learned something new here, then you should try to impress your friends this weekend with your newfound celebrity knowledge. If you’re a superfan who knew all of these, then you deserve a gold star. And you should probably take a break from the Internet.
