While we tend to think of celebrities as those who have dedicated their all to the pursuit of what made them famous, in truth, a great many of them are not quite so single-minded.

Sometimes these jobs were first sought before they got famous. Other times these celebs pursued side-projects despite success in whatever made them famous.

Whatever the case, we thought it would be fun to take a look at some celebrities who would have had very different careers if their first plans hadn’t worked out.

Terry Crews

Originally finding success in professional football, retirement left this lovable giant at a loss of what to do with the rest of his working life.

Far from being the cliché jock, Terry showed immense talent in painting.

Sometimes working for commission from his former teammates, and at other times holding a variety of jobs like his brief stint as a courtroom sketch artist, Crews showed that he has a lot more to offer than just his charisma and undeniable handsomeness.

Mayim Bialik

Many of our older readers might recognise her as the lead character in Blossom, though more recently she has seen immense success in The Big Bang Theory sitcom.

Apparently not happy to being relegated to intellectualism on the screen, Mayim spent no short amount of time as a celeb seeking a degree and life of scientific pursuit.

Now having earned a PhD in neuroscience, Mayim stands as one of the few actors who doesn’t just mirror the intelligence of one of her most famous characters, she exceeds it.

Nick Offerman

Best known as the libertarian hard-ass with the heart of gold in the sitcom Parks and Recreation, his character’s affinity for woodworking was more than just theatrical.

A highly skilled and successful carpenter in his own right, Nick still finds work crafting in his own time, finding it helps him balance and give him another creative outlet.

While he commonly builds furniture, his speciality is wooden canoes, which as we all know, is the most outdoorsy thing to build since a stone tied to a stick.

Christopher Lee

This is one of the most famous vampire actors of all time, and a modern household name as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Not just a badass in the magical or bloodsucking sense, the late Lee also served his country during the Second World War.

Tasked with tracking down war criminals, Lee was notoriously tight-lipped about his time in the Special Forces, though occasionally his experience would pay off in his later acting career.

While filming Lord of the Rings, Lee was being directed by Peter Jackson in how to act following being stabbed in the back.

Lee famously responded with “Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody’s stabbed in the back? Because I do.”

We could write a book on the wide range of interesting careers which celebrities have held in the past and who knows, we just might.

Who are your favourite celebrities with surprising former careers and backstories of their own? Let us know below.