With the constant paparazzi images all over the media, it’s hard to imagine that celebrities can do anything or go anywhere without being berated and photographed. With that said, however, many stars have proved celebrity status is not all it seems. In fact, many of them have managed to get out of their famous bubble and pursue other interests and careers.
Paul Rudd, for example, in addition to being an award-winning actor, also co-owns a candy and coffee shop in Rhinebeck, New York. And before you think it’s just a celebrity throwing money into something – which surely does happen a lot – Rudd can reportedly be seen talking to customers and making coffee there quite often, per the Poughkeepsie Journal. Who knew?
To find out more stars who’ve juggled low-key jobs with their fame, like Prince William, Kevin Costner and Jennifer Stone, scroll below!
Prince William
Not only is Prince William a celebrity around the world, but he’s also the next in line to be King of the United Kingdom. But, despite all that, the royal worked as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, a non-profit that provides immediate care to those in emergency situations.
In 2016, William opened up about his high-risk part-time job. “I was a little bit anxious of [the attention] when I first started because I didn’t want to bring any chaos or any unhelpfulness to the scene,” he told BBC in 2016.
What happened, however, was quite different. “They don’t really care who turns up, as long as they’re getting the care and the help they need,” William explained. “If they have noticed that I’m there at all, then they just crack on and realize there’s a job going on and someone’s not well. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing – that the person who is unwell gets the right treatment.” Talk about King behavior!
Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd might be an award-winning actor, but he is also the proud co-owner of Samuel’s Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, New York.
“One of the most important things any human can experience is to be a part of a community and feel connected to where you live and to other people who live there, especially in a job like mine,” Rudd told the Poughkeepsie Journal in 2019. “I’m in lots of different locations meeting lots of different people. At times, you can feel you’re untethered a little bit. So to have this place, to come in and just serve coffee for a while and hang out at the store and hand out candies… to feel a part of the community makes us sane. It makes us feel part of something important.”
In addition to owning the place, the outlet reported Rudd often attends to customers and can be seen making them some coffee.
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham
While Brooklyn Peltz Beckham was famous practically since he was born, that didn’t stop him from becoming a barista at a coffee shop in his teenage years. According to Daily Mail, the oldest Beckham kid was paid £2.68 an hour and “got on OK” with his coworkers, a source revealed.
Beckham has gone on to pursue a career in the culinary arts, including his Facebook series Cookin’ With Brooklyn.
Kevin Jonas
In addition to being a third of the Jonas Brothers, Kevin Jonas has also pursued a career in construction and even launched a construction company, named Jonas Werner Homes, in 2014. The company was a collaboration between Jonas and Bill Werner.
“This partnership was born out of Kevin’s unique and varied real estate experience and Bill’s high-end building expertise and respect in this industry,” Terrie O’Connor Realtors told The Sun.
Noah Schnapp
In the summer between high school and college, Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp embraced non-celebrity life and became a lifeguard at a local pool. “It’s kind of a ‘just for fun thing,'” Schnapp told Flaunt at the time.
“I’ve kind of grown up with a normal life and normal friends and stuff outside of Stranger Things, so it’s kind of kept me grounded,” he explained.
Jeremy Renner
Much like Jonas, Jeremy Renner has also gone into construction and design. Alongside his real estate partner, Kristoffer Winters, the actor has reportedly bought, renovated, and sold more than two dozen Southern California homes since the early 2000s, per Robb Report.
“Most of our properties have sold between $3 million and $5 million and a few for much, much more,” Renner told the outlet. We’ve done modern, Spanish style, Greek revival, and we’ve gotten way smarter along the way. Ultimately, you want to turn around the ugly-turd house on a beautiful street. We’ve gotten better at doing that.”
Jennifer Stone
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Wizards of Waverly Place star Jennifer Stone shared with the world that she had become a nurse. “A very good friend of mine (@maiarawalsh ) pointed out to me that today is #worldhealthday,” she wrote in the Instagram caption. “It is also the day I went from a volunteer, then a student nurse, and now an RN resident. I just hope to live up to all of the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines now as I get ready to join them.”
“It had been a big milestone for me to get this particular job in the ER at Providence just because that was where I started my nursing journey as a volunteer,” Stone told Teen Vogue at the time. “Plus, I’m so honored to be learning from and working with these nurses, and helping in any way that I can, especially during this time.” What an incredible feat!
Steve Buscemi
In another inspiring career change, Steve Buscemi paused his acting career and returned to his first job as a firefighter following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Per Independent, Buscemi worked 12-hour shifts alongside NYC firefighters to help search for survivors in the World Trade Center rubble.
“It was a privilege to be able to do it,” he told the outlet. “It was great to connect with the firehouse I used to work with and with some of the guys I worked alongside. And it was enormously helpful for me because while I was working, I didn’t really think about it as much, feel it as much.”
Chris Colfer
While Chris Colfer moved fans and helped them sing and dance during his time on Glee, his biggest talent developed off the screens. In fact, Colfer has since become a #1 bestselling author of children’s books including his six-book series, The Land of Stories, comprised of The Wishing Spell, The Enchantress Returns, A Grimm Warning, and Beyond the Kingdoms.
“If I had to choose [my title], I’m fundamentally a writer because you can do that in your pajamas,” he told Publisher Weekly. “Books are what saved me as a kid so I’m glad to give back to that world.”
Brian May
Legendary Queen guitarist Brian May has brilliantly balanced his love for music and astrophysics over the years. According to the band’s website, May took a break from music in 2007 and completed a Ph.D. degree in astronomy as well as becoming a Visiting Researcher at Imperial College.
In 2019, May shared with his followers that he had been working with NASA to reveal the furthest object ever seen from Earth, per Nicki Swift. “The very first stereo view of the most remote object ever seen by the human race begins to reveal its topography, as a flat picture never could,” he wrote on Instagram.
Kevin Costner
As well as a legendary Hollywood actor, Kevin Costner has also spent his time working on an oil and water separating technology company, named Ocean Therapy Solutions.
During the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, for example, the actor sold 32 of his centrifuges to BP for a hefty price of $52 million. “It separates oil and water at incredibly high speeds under very difficult conditions,” Costner told Good Morning America at the time, per ABC News. His equipment, however, was never used.
Tom Selleck
Actor Tom Selleck also has an unexpected part-time gig: he dabbles in avocado farming! It all started when the actor bought a ranch with a 20-acre working avocado farm and embraced the land.
“I live on a 63-acre avocado ranch. So I like to get outside and work on the farm, from fixing roads to clearing brush,” he told Good Housekeeping. “I hate going to the gym, so sweating outdoors sure beats sitting on a stationary bike staring at my navel. And I work cheaper than anyone I could hire to do it.”
Nick Offerman
For years, Nick Offerman pursued his passion for woodworking. When Parks and Recreation came along, he turned it into a business (named the Wood Offerman Shop).
“For years it was just me, alone, knocking out commissions between acting jobs,” he told Vanity Fair in 2015. “When Parks and Rec rolled around, I had a feeling it would be well received enough to seriously curtail my shop time, and thankfully, I was right. I first found Rebecca Lee to run the shop in my sporadic absence, and then we organically added the other redoubtable personalities to our roster. In doing so, we have become a multi-talented group of craftspersons, creating everything from kazoos to canoes to gazebos.”
Dylan Sprouse
After rising to child stardom as a kid, Dylan Sprouse opted for a much safer career choice when he began brewing mead in Brooklyn in 2018, per Vanity Fair.
“I think that if you are an actor, or you are an entertainer, and you don’t invest money in something that is more stable than the commission job that is acting, then you are a fool,” he told the outlet.
“After graduating, [I] realized that it’s something I really loved doing, and it was also a big business opportunity,” he said of the business. “I was thinking about ways to invest my money, and I thought, ‘Well, if there’s anything to invest your money in, alcohol is not a bad thing to invest in.'”
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