Dancers who ended up as famous actors

The 'Hannibal' (2013–2015) and 'Rogue One' (2016) actor has a background as a dancer and made a name for himself as a student at the Copenhagen ballet academy. His talents as a dancer helped him for his role in 'Death Stranding,' he said. “My past as a dancer allowed me to adapt to this character. For ten years, I did ballet before becoming an actor and this experience helped me find the right movements”, the actor confided to the magazine Première.

Although he has no professional dance training, Vin Diesel is a born dancer. Actually, he was a breakdancer in New York before he got famous. He later impressed his fans by posting a video on social media in which he dances to Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' and Beyoncé's 'Drunk in Love' to celebrate the success of his film 'Riddick'.

Did you see Penelope Cruz's dance in the movie 'Nine'? The Spanish actress was trained as a dancer: she studied classical ballet at the National Conservatory in Madrid, followed by several years of jazz in different schools.

The 'Spiderman' star took ballet lessons as a child in England. In June 2008, he participated in the production of 'Billy Elliot', leaving everyone speechless with his great talent. Then, he caused a sensation with Rihanna's 'Umbrella' in the American program 'Lip Sync Dancing.'

Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' trained as a ballet dancer and singer, which brought her to Broadway. She participated in the shows 'Annie' and 'The Heidi Chronicles'. She's in the board of the New York City Ballet.

Ever wondered why JLo dances so well? The star followed three parallel pieces of training: acting, singing, and dancer. Encouraged by her mother, she started dancing at the age of 5. Nowadays, she considers this art an integral part of her personality.

Her beginnings in dance were not easy for the young woman. She said that, back then, she was barely allowed to eat a single slice of pizza a day. She had to hold out the entire day on very little food.

Before experiencing success, Channing Tatum did odd jobs, including that of an exotic dancer. And even though he never had any formal dance training, the actor made a name for himself in the movie 'Step Up' thanks to his dancing skills. He also showed his talent in Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' music video. In 2012, we could see him with a more suggestive choreography once again in Steven Soderbergh's 'Magic Mike' - Channing Tatum really reconnected with his past.

Her grandparents passed on their love for dancing to her, and she made her passion a profession. At the age of 9, Julianne started competing and won several international competitions. At 18, she participated in TV programs such as 'Million Dollars Dancers'. Her dance talent led her to play in 'Footloose', 'Safe Haven,' and 'Burlesque'.

Natalie Portman, who played a prima ballerina in the film 'Black Swan', studied this discipline for several years, as well as contemporary dance at the American Theater Dance Workshop. It is not strange that she expressed the wish to repeat this kind of role in film.

The late actor was the first dancer of the Elliot Feld company. Before participating in films, he participated in theater musicals such as 'Grease'. Of course, he will forever be remembered as the excellent dancer from 'Dirty Dancing' (1987).

From an early age, she studied dance at the School of American Ballet in New York. Although she has never danced at a professional level, Jennifer Garner has repeatedly said that it was one of her passions.

Jamie Bell grew up in the world of dance, as his grandmother, mother, sister, and aunt are all dancers. So naturally, at the age of 6, he took his first lessons. At 12, he starred in the film 'Billy Elliot'. He said that the other kids called him 'dancing boy'... which motivated him to show that dancing isn't just for girls.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt surprised everyone with an imitation of Janet Jackson in the American television program 'Lip Sync Battle'.

Before becoming famous for her roles in 'Avatar' and 'Star Trek', Zoe Saldana was a dancer. She spent several years in the ECOS dance academy before she realized that she had no special talent to stand out in dancing. Her pride and ambition did not allow her to just be a member of a group, hence her desire to become an actress.

Charlize Theron started dancing at the age of 4, before joining the National School Of The Arts in Johannesburg at the age of 12. She ended up realizing her dream in New York when she joined the Joffrey Ballet School. Unfortunately, after seriously injuring her knee, she had to put an end to her dancing career at the age of 19.

"Once I lost ballet, I had to step back and evaluate it in order to find something to replace it. At least I could do without eight hours of training every day, and blood poison from blisters on my toes not being able to heal and all of these things…" she told the Guardian in 2006. She received the Oscar for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in "Monster".

Did you know that Amy Adams played and danced in dinner shows for almost seven years? As a high school student, she fell in love with dance and dreamt to become a ballerina. But after several years of training, she realized that ballet required far too drastic discipline, and she turned to musical theater at 18.

Before starring in the 'Back to the Future' saga, Lea Thompson was destined for a career as a dancer. She practiced ballet throughout her youth and exercised her passion in several companies. After she was turned down by the Russian Mikhail Baryshnikov's company, she looked for another career path. That's when cinema became her goal.

Before becoming the famous actor in 'The Deer Hunter' (1978), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Walken followed a very complete artistic training. Gifted for dancing, he joined a Broadway musical before breaking into other musical plays. And that was how he would be noticed for theater roles and, later, the film industry.

The talented Alicia Vikander, Oscar winner for 'The Danish Girl' (2015), spent much of her youth in ballet classes at the Royal Swedish Ballet school in Stockholm. "I think I knew deep down that I wouldn’t be able to dance until [I was] thirtysomething," she told Harper’s Bazaar.