30 Rare Photos Of Celebs From Before They Were Famous

Everyone starts somewhere. But you might not expect some of these. Especially smoking hot mid-20s Joe Biden.

Robin Williams as a senior at Redwood High School. [1969]

Williams was voted "Least Likely To Succeed" while at the school. When the school asked him back to speak to students, he refused, saying it was some of the worst times of his life.

Barack Obama having a smoke as a freshman at college. [1980]

A 23-year-old Frank Sinatra has his mug shots taken after he was arrested for adultery and seduction, a crime at the time. [1938]

Brad Pitt (front row centre) with his childhood basketball team the Cherokee Rejects. [1977]

Brad, then aged 14, came up with the tongue-in-cheek name and even hired his dad Bill to coach them.

Vin Diesel's yearbook photo. [1985]

Tommy Lee Jones in his senior year at St. Mark's School of Texas. [1965]

Morgan Freeman sporting an afro in one of his first television roles. [1970s]

Freeman played Easy Reader on the PBS kids' show The Electric Company.

Muhammad Ali, then still Cassius Clay, training in a pool at the Sir John Hotel in Miami. [1961]

Ali convinced the photographer that a trainer taught him that this exercise gave his hands added resistance. It was a practical joke, Ali had made it all up and didn't even know how to swim.


Steve Carell dressed in costume for a play in his final year at Middlesex School. [1980]

Steve was playing the role of Grandpa Vanderhof in "You Can't Take it With You."

Robert Downy Jr poses with his father's friend, Mike Tyson. [c. 1980s]

Steve Buscemi during his days as a New York firefighter. [1976]

Buscemi rejoined his old engine company following 9/11 and helped search for survivors at Ground Zero.

Sarah Silverman at one of her first casting calls for 'Gypsy'. [c. 1980s]

Stephen Colbert in college. [c. 1984]

Jerry Stiller and his son, Ben Stiller, on a trip to New York. [c. 1978]

Arnold Schwarzenegger seeing New York City for the first time. [1968]

In 1968 Arnold Schwarzenegger had emigrated to the United States and spoke very little English.

 Bill Gates' mug shot. [1977]

He had been arrested for driving without a license.

A youthful 26-year-old Joe Biden. [1964]

Christian Bale playing with his Amstrad computer. [c. 1984]

Bob Ross as a Master sergeant in the USAF, before his trademark afro. [c. 1961–1981]

Bob Marley in his first band, the Wailers. [1965]

The Wailers would disband in 1974, with Marley leading a brief but incredibly successful solo career.

Bill Cosby when he played fullback in college for the Temple Owls. [1961]

Vladimir Putin (far left) as a young KGB spy, meeting Ronald Reagan.

He was disguised as a member of a tourist party and instructed to harangue Ronald Reagan over his human rights record on the President's first trip to Moscow.

A young Jim Carrey. [c. 1970s]

Michael Jordan in his dorm at college. [1982]

Unsurprisingly, North Carolina had offered Jordan a basketball scholarship. He majored in cultural geography.

A young BIll Clinton with his saxophone. [c. 1960]

Clinton was in the chorus of his elementary school and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section. He briefly considered dedicating his life to music.

Don Cobain, Kurt Cobain's father, holds his new-born son. [1967]

Joseph Stalin's mugshots. [1911]

Prior to the revolution of 1917, Stalin played an active role in fighting the Russian government. This is one of the information cards that Russian police kept on file.

Dwayne Johnson at age 15. [1987]

A young Tony Hawk. [1980s]

Bill and Hillary Clinton as college sweethearts at Yale. [1970s]