“But when I put on a suit and a tie, I became desperately unhappy.”
Before making it big in Hollywood, many stars have completely different plans for their careers. In fact, some celebrities admit that when it came time for college, the entertainment industry wasn’t even on their mind. Instead, they opted for a field of study that was a little more secure, going on to receive their law degree. Stars like Gerard Butler and Gemma Chan came incredibly close to being lawyers for the rest of their lives — but ended up getting bit by the acting bug just in the nick of time!
Find out which celebrities could take you to court…
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1. Rebel Wilson
Before Rebel Wilson made it big in Hollywood, she was a student at the University of New South Wales, one of the top ranked schools in Australia. While she had initially planned on just pursuing law, she had a life changing experience during a gap year trip to Africa. She ended up dealing with a bad case of malaria and hallucinated that she was a successful actress. When she returned home, she decided to pursue a degree in both law and acting.
By her second year of law school, Rebel had landed a recurring role on television and was balancing school work with her acting career. At one point, she was commuting from Sydney to Melbourne — and ended up having to schedule all of her classes on one day so she could fly in at 4 am and fly out at 9:30 pm.
“People would say, ‘Why are you still doing this? You’re on TV.’ But the television industry is very volatile, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. And I worked [really hard] in high school to get into the degree. I couldn’t just waste that,” she said while receiving a UNSW Alumni Award. “I never failed anything though. I’m proud of that.”
When she graduated, she received a B.A. in theater and performance studies as well as a Bachelor of Laws. While she never worked in a law office, she’s been able to negotiate some of her own contracts.
2. Gemma Chan
As a teenager, Gemma Chan says her parents expected her to go to college and pursue a field of study that would allow her to get a “proper job.” Looking back, Gemma shared that she was luckily interested in law so she enrolled at Oxford University. While she ended up figuring out during her first year that she didn’t want to be a lawyer full time, she did go on to complete her degree.
“My parents had the thing of, you know, the proper jobs are: doctor, lawyer, accountant. But, luckily, I was interested in law, and, um, and I thought, ‘Why not?’ You know, people need lawyers. And then I went and I did my degree. And I did enjoy the academic challenge of it,” Gemma told Allure.
She continued, “There were certain areas of law that I was more interested in than others. I quickly realized I wasn’t that interested in the kind of corporate law world, which is where I had a job lined up. But you know, I’m still really interested in it. I’m still interested in human rights law, public international law. It’s a really tough field.”
After graduating, Gemma even had a job lined up at a law firm but ended up turning it down to go to drama school. While she didn’t become a lawyer, she says she’s now able to look over her own contracts — and having to memorize so many cases in law school helped her learn to memorize scripts quickly.
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3. Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler had an entire career as a lawyer before he decided to pursue his acting ambitions. After high school, he went on to study at the University of Glasgow, where he was president of the Law Society.
“I’ve always kind of had the luck of the devil, even in law school. I kind of blagged my way into the position of president of the Law Society. I’m not the most academic of guys. Considering the amount of work that I put in, it’s amazing that I got through law school. And with an honors degree,” Gerard told Esquire.
In 1992, he graduated with honors and took a year off to travel around America. He admittedly let himself “go a little crazy,” realizing there was a life of “traveling, craziness, adventure [and] partying” out there. When he returned home, he continued his partying ways but managed to secure a traineeship at a top law firm in Edinburgh.
“But when I put on a suit and a tie, I became desperately unhappy,” he explained. “There was something else at work, something I didn’t have control of. If I hadn’t f–ked up that job…I might be a very mediocre lawyer in some small town in the middle of Scotland.”
Gerard worked for the firm for two years but just a few weeks before he was set to finish his traineeship, he was fired. Although he says he was “humiliated,” he used it as an opportunity to pursue his dreams of acting.
4. Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli has been performing since he was just a child but as a teenager, he decided to enroll at the University of Pisa to study law. He told People that he made the choice to pursue something other than music because he believed that “in life we should have concrete alternatives.” But while in school, he continued to hone his love of music by performing at piano bars — which also helped him earn some extra cash while studying.
After graduating, Andrea went on to work at a law firm until he received his big break in the entertainment industry. Eventually, he left his law career behind.
“I studied law, and I was ready to be a lawyer in my country. Probably it is better for many clients that I changed my direction! But I was happy to study [law] and I was a good student, I finished my studies. And everything that you learn is useful in life,” Andrea told The Columbus Dispatch.
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5. Jerry Springer
Before the late Jerry Springer had a career as a television personality, he spent time working in the field of politics and law. In 1965, he graduated from Tulane University with a degree in political science and went on to receive his law degree from Northwestern University several years later. While he spent some time working as a political campaign adviser to Robert F. Kennedy, he later put his law degree to use while working at a Cincinnati law firm. In 1978, he became a partner at Grinker, Sudman & Springer.
After years of practicing law, Jerry followed his political ambitions. He served on the Cincinnati City Council and then was elected mayor of the city in 1977. Eventually, he began his broadcast career, becoming a news anchor and then a political commentator. In 1991, he launched his own eponymous TV show, which ran for almost 30 years.
Before his passing, Jerry got back to his roots as a lawyer as the host of Judge Jerry.
“NBC had been talking to me for years about doing something else, and they thought the judge show was a natural fit because I started out as a lawyer and it’s a daytime audience — the same audience with me in a different role, but a role that I believe people can accept,” he told Page Six. “I love doing [Judge Jerry] because it’s the first grownup job I’ve had in 30 years. I have to do research and I have to remember what I learned in law school and practicing law. I really do my homework.”
6. John Cleese
Before the days of Monty Python, John Cleese attended Downing College Cambridge with the intention of becoming a lawyer. While studying law, he joined the Cambridge Footlights, a student sketch comedy troupe. Despite his interest in comedy, he continued on with his education and eventually graduated with a law degree — although he quickly decided to become a scriptwriter and comedian instead of pursuing law.
John went on to tour the world and appear on Broadway. He wrote for other programs and comedy troupes, eventually founding Monty Python with his writing partners.
“I actually got a law degree and had a place in a very posh suburb in the city of London. I think I would have been quite good at law but I think I would have found it ultimately very empty,” John told Yahoo in 2013.
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7. Julio Iglesias
Before he became a singer known all around the world, Julio Iglesias was a law student at CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Also a talented soccer player, his athletic dreams were pushed aside following a tragic car accident. He spent years recovering and along the way, he learned of his love of music thanks to a nurse who gave him a guitar. While he did briefly return to school, spending three months at Cambridge University, he ultimately dropped out to pursue his singing career. By that time, he had passed all but one final law exam.
Julio went on to have an incredibly successful career, but through it all, his father always questioned his decision not to finish school. Ultimately, in 2001, Julio returned to college to complete his degree.
“I did it for my father,” he told The Guardian that year. “Four or five years ago he started asking me if I was not ashamed about never having finished.”
He went on to receive his degree from Complutense University in Madrid but decided not to take on work as a lawyer. Instead, he focuses on writing most of his international contracts.
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