Before he was racing cars on Fast & The Furious, the late Paul Walker was setting hearts aflutter as the teenage dreamboat Brandon Collins on The Young and the Restless. Fans would be surprised to discover that the late movie star Paul Walker was a guest in Genoa City for nearly a year before he went on to become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Paul Walker is not the only one who got his start on daytime soaps. Many celebrities used soap as a springboard to launch their elite acting careers. It’s fair to say many A-list celebrities, including Brad Pitt (Dallas) and Julianne Moore (As the World Turns), have soaps to thank for their careers.
The long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless has the distinction of hosting most celebrities before they went on to make it big. Here are five celebrities who appeared in the Soap Opera.
5. Justin Hartley
The Tracker star was on The Young and the Restless from 2014 to 2016 as Adam Newman before snagging his big break as one of the Big Three on This Is Us. Prior to landing the soap, Harley appeared in daytime Soap Opera Passions and was also featured in Smallville for a season as Oliver Queen.
4. Penn Badgley
Before becoming the Gossip Girl, a 14-year-old Badgley scored a 10-episode arc as Phillip Chancellor IV in ‘The Young And The Restless. The ‘You’ Star went on to star in several sitcoms, including The Twilight Zone, before landing his breakout role as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl.
3. David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff got his start in Hollywood playing Dr. William “Snapper” Foster from 1975 to 1982 on The Young and the Restless before he ran down the beach on Baywatch.
2. Eva Longoria
The Desperate Housewives star had a two-year run on The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2003 as Isabella Braña before she drove down the Wisteria Lane in 2004.
1. Paul Walker
The late actor made his daytime debut in The Young and the Restless as Brandon Collins when he was 19 years old. The Fast & The Furious star appeared in the soap from 1992 to 1993 before starring in multiple sitcoms. Walker got his first big break in the 1999 teen movie She’s All That before going on to race family in Fast & The Furious. He also raked up an impressive resume resumé starring thrillers such as Joy Ride to blue-chip films like Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers.
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