EVER wondered whether your favourite actors and actresses went to university or not? Before their careers in film launched, some of your Hollywood idols studied in university, either in thier home country or abroad. These clever nominees could be an inspiration for you and your future!
Michael Fassbender
His portrayal of Steve Jobs in the 2015 movie of the same name is magnificent, but did you know that he did drama studies at the Drama Centre London? At the age of 19 he moved to the city to start his studies, but he decided to drop out in order to kick start his acting career!
Tom Hardy
Interestingly, Tom Hardy, starring in so many movies over the past couple of years (Mad Max: Fury Road, Legend, and The Revenant, to name a few) also studied in the Drama Centre London. He is one of the best actors, and his nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Revenant seems too little for him! Taking into account that both Hardy and Fassbender studied in the same drama college, you should check out the Drama Centre London (part of the University of the Arts London) if you want to pursue a career in acting.
Mark Ruffalo
Many other actors and actresses you look up took theatre or drama studies in some form. Another one of these actors is Ruffalo, who, after high school and college, moved to Los Angeles to take classes in the Stella Adler Conservatory. In Los Angeles, he founded the Orpheus Theatre Company and with years of hard work, and getting experience in acting, you can see him now in the award-winning movie Spotlight. In my humble opinion, his role in this movie definitely deserves an Oscar recognition.
Rachel McAdams
Many will remember McAdams from her appearance in The Notebook and the deceiving second season of True Detective. However, her performance in Spotlight alongside Mark Ruffalo is one of the most powerful of 2016 and earned her a nommination for Best Supporting Actress. Rachel McAdams wanted to take a different path rather than acting and wanted to enrol in the University of Western Ontario in Cultural Studies. However, her drama teacher persuaded her to pursue a career in acting and she ended up graduating, after four years, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from York University, Canada.
Brie Larson
She won the award for Best Actress at the 2016 Oscars for her role in Rooms, and her acting career started in San Francisco, in the American Conservatory Theater. She has been acting since 1999 and she is not so well-known by the general public (at least, until last year's Oscar’s Ceremony), but if there is one lesson to take from her is that hard work and determination is the path to success.
Rooney Mara
Rooney, unlike her sister, chooses wisely the roles she wants to perform. Her appearance in Carol has granted her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Rooney started studying in the George Washington University but after a year she started studying in the New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, graduating in psychology, international social policy and non-profits.
Cate Blanchett
Rooney Mara’s partner in Carol was also nominated for an Oscar, but for Best Actress instead of Supporting. Blanchett started studying Fine Arts and Economics in the University of Melbourne, but after one year within her studies she dropped out of university to travel the world. When she returned to Australia she moved from Melbourne to Sydney and, pursuing an acting career, she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1992.
Matt Damon
Damon has cost humanity a whole lot of money constanstly needing to be rescued (e.g. The Martian, Saving Private Ryan), but before starring in all those award-winning movies, he was part of the class of 1992 in Harvard University. He has been awarded with the Harvard Arts Medal and he was part of the Harvard Delphic Club, one of the most important clubs within campus. He even wrote the screenplay of Good Will Hunting while he was studying at Harvard!
Sylvester Stallone
Rocky was a surprising nomination for Best Actor in the 2016 Oscars Awards, and was previously nominated for acting and screenwriting Rocky . Stallone portrays a great performance in Creed which has granted him applause from everyone in the film industry. Stallone studied dramatic arts in the University of Miami and he is one of their most popular alumni.
Not to mention:
Natalie Portman, an Oscar winner for her performance in Black Swan, also studied in Harvard and before considering acting she was thinking of becoming a vet or a clinical psychologist.
Emma Watson (Harry Potter) studied at Brown University and has taken an exchange year in Oxford University.
John Krasinski (The Office) also attended Brown University and graduated with honours in Theatre Arts.
Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) received a magna cum laude Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.
Edward Norton (Fight Club) graduated from Yale with a BA in History.
Other known actors such as Meryl Streep or James Franco have also attended and graduated from university. Despite the fact that not all actresses and actors hold a degree, in the current landscape more and more do. If you would like to pursue a career in acting, maybe you would like to follow the steps of some of these Oscar nominees? Or follow your own path? It is your decision, but remember the main lesson: only with hard work, starting from the bottom of the food chain and perseverance can guide you to success!
