Celeb roommates before they were stars
Even celebrities had to start out somewhere, and for many stars that meant dealing with a roommate before fame came calling. But sometimes two budding stars found each other as roomies while waiting for their big breaks.
Justin Long once roomed with a co-star, but moved out of their California home when he realized they were acting "like an old married couple." Who was his roomie?
Long's roommate was his "Accepted" co-star Jonah Hill. Though still friends, in 2009 Long said he finally moved out because he was constantly nagging Hill to pick up after himself.
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Comedic actor Robin Williams once roomed with a future on-screen superhero in college. Do you know who his roommate was?
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Williams' roommate at the Julliard School of Drama was "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve. After both Reeve and his wife passed away, Williams vowed to take care of their orphaned son.
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Indie film darling Parker Posey had a fellow future-celeb-to-be as her roommate in college. Do you know who she was?
Posey roomed with future "ER" actress Sherry Stringfield while they were both students at SUNY Purchase. However, only Stringfield graduated, with Posey dropping out to take a role on "As the World Turns."
While attending the University of Texas, Owen Wilson had a famous roommate with whom he ended up co-writing the movie that would be his feature acting debut.
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Wilson's college roommate was Wes Anderson, who went on to direct Wilson and his brother, Luke Wilson, in 1996's "Bottle Rocket." He's since directed such movies as "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox."
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Tommy Lee Jones had a college roommate who was destined for bigger things, albeit in the political world instead of the entertainment field.
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Proving that the world is indeed a small place, Jones roomed with future Vice President Al Gore while they were both upperclassmen at Harvard University.
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Raven-Symone hit it off with a fellow former child star at a fashion shoot and ended up splitting rent on an apartment with her. Do you know who she is?
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Raven's roommate was Lindsay Lohan. Although neither had plans to go to college, they both still wanted the roommate experience. However, Raven has been quoted as saying Lohan rarely stayed there, paying rent and leaving mostly just her clothes at their pad.
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Kiefer Sutherland once shared a Los Angeles apartment with a fellow Brat Pack member.
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Scottish actor Ewan McGregor once shared an apartment with a British actor also bound for big-screen fame.
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McGregor's roommate was Jude Law before either of them had hit the big time. The pair have stayed friends, co-founding the production company "Natural Nylon" with Sadie Frost, Jonny Lee Miller and others.
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Offered the opportunity to stay for a few nights, Dustin Hoffman made himself at home at which fellow actor's one-bedroom New York City apartment?
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Hoffman crashed with Gene Hackman, who he had once been a classmate with at Pasadena Playhouse. Hoffman reportedly overstayed his welcome and Hackman eventually had to take him out to look for his own place.
But Hackman was not Hoffman's only celeb-to-be roommate. He also once shared an NYC apartment with what other future star?
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Hoffman and Robert Duvall shared an apartment while studying at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in 1955.
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Holly Hunter hit it off so well with her roommate at Yale University, that the two ended up as roomies again as young actresses.
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Hunter and Frances McDormand not only roomed together in college, but also again in 1982 in the Bronx, N.Y.
John Cusack grew up in Evanston, Ill., with a fellow future actor who later would become his roommate. Do you know the identity of his boyhood-pal-turned-roomie?
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Cusack shared a Chicago-area apartment with "Entourage" actor Jeremy Piven. Growing up, the two attended theater workshops run by Piven's parents.
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Danny DeVito shared an apartment on New York City's West 89th Street in the 1960s with a fellow young actor.
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DeVito's roommate was Michael Douglas. The two would eventually work together several times, with Douglas producing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which DeVito appeared in, and both acting in "Romancing the Stone," "The Jewel of the Nile" and "The War of the Roses."
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Once upon a time, Ali Larter, who would go on to star in "Heroes," bonded with a fellow model in Italy. When both found themselves as aspiring actors, they decided to give living together a shot.
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Larter's fellow model-turned-actress is Amy Smart. The two, who went on to star together in "Varsity Blues," once shared an apartment together in Los Angeles.
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Producer/director Judd Apatow once shared a small San Fernando Valley apartment with a fellow young up-and-coming standup comic who he would eventually work with years later.
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That young comic was none other than Adam Sandler. Apatow, who would later direct Sandler in "Funny People," has said that living with Sandler was like living with "the comfortable naked guy at the gym."
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Perhaps the best-known case of future celebs rooming together while waiting for their break is that of Matt Damon and his one-time Boston roommate.
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Damon roomed with Ben Affleck while the duo wrote their Oscar-winning script for the movie "Good Will Hunting."
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When future "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi was just starting out, she found a willing roommate in somebody who had already found her fame.
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DioGuardi's roommate was Paula Abdul, who she would spend one season alongside of on "American Idol." Abdul reportedly discovered DioGuardi and invited her to live in her home for a year.
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Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush once shared an apartment with a fellow Aussie actor similarly bound for fame.
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Rush and Mel Gibson shared an apartment for four months while they were both studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in the late 1970s.
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"The Devil Wears Prada" star Stanley Tucci once roomed with a fellow future star while in college.
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Tucci's roommate while studying at SUNY Purchase was Ving Rhames. It was Tucci who gave Rhames the nickname of "Ving," whose full name is Irving.
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"Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Goldbergs" star Jeff Garlin once shared a Chicago apartment with a fellow young comedian who would go on to become a famous talk show host.
Garlin's roommate was Conan O'Brien. While living together, the two even started a pet care service to make money before becoming famous.
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