Today we all can be the CEOs of a small business called our life, and even our hobbies can be side-hustles. If you’re not multitasking or working three jobs these days, you’re a bum. We promote our brands on social media. We turn our cars into revenue streams with Uber or Lyft and even do the same with our homes on Airbnb. It’s not true of only ordinary folk either. Now even celebrities are getting in on the fun. Many times, these other gigs or hobbies are even more fascinating than a celeb’s acting career. Here’s 15 of your favorite actors and their sometimes-surprising side-hustles.
Photo: Jun Sato / Contributor (Getty Images)
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Celeb Side Hustles
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Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt’s love of ceramics is well documented, and he even has a pottery studio in his house, complete with multiple electric wheels and kilns. What’s truly amazing is that Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, his Once Upon A Time in Hollywood co-star, bro out hard while throwing clay late into the night.
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Tom Hanks
Just when you thought Tom Hanks couldn’t be any more lovable, you learn he has a deep affection for typewriters. Hanks wasn’t content with enjoying his own giant collection of vintage writing machines, either, and developed an app called Hanx Writer that lets anyone get a taste of the experience on their phone for free.
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Keanu Reeves
When Keanu Reeves isn’t slaying the internet with his stoic gaze while saving puppies from ninjas, he likes to ride motorcycles. Reeves is more than your average gearhead though, actually co-owning a shop, Arch Motorcycle, and even selling his own mega tricked-out crotch rockets.
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Kal Penn
In 2009, Kal Penn traded his role on hit TV show House for a side gig at a little place out East called the White House. Penn served as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement under Obama, though he eventually quit to focus more on acting.
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Dr. Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong has proven himself a comedic giant in movies like The Hangover and TV shows like Community, but he’s actually a licensed physician as well. Technically acting may be the side-hustle here — he was a doctor first — but if laughter is the best medicine, he’s helping more patients than ever.
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Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow’s side-hustle is a modern lifestyle brand called Goop, which essentially sells marked-up beauty products and modern-day snake oils. While we don’t advocate putting stones in your vagina due to the risk of septic shock, Paltrow has lots of non-lethal health advice on her new Netflix series The Goop Lab.
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Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston
Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston’s bromance has spilled from the screen and into the bottle. Their shared side-hustle is running their own tequila distillery called, of course, Dos Hombres.
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Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is a hilarious baritone who is also an actor, comedian, writer and wood worker. No joke here, as he actually runs Offerman Woodshop based out of L.A., where you can order beds, tables and many other very nice wood products.
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Cary Grant
Classic Hollywood leading man Cary Grant, star of legendary films like North by Northwest, had a side gig hunting Nazis in the homeland during World War II. Whether they ever chased him through a corn field with a biplane, we don’t know.
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Dolf Lundgren
Has there ever been more brain and brawn combined in one man than Dolf Lundgren? The 6’5” Swedish hulk hold a master’s degree in chemical engineering, with wits as fast as his big fists.
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Jim Carrey
Canadian funnyman Jim Carrey also enjoys painting and sculpting in his free time, not shying away from politically controversial subjects either. Unfortunately, his ambition as an artist seems to exceed to his grasp, and we don’t suggest the millionaire quit his day job.
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Steve Carell
When Steve Carrell isn’t being the most iconic good bad boss in history, he helps preserve small-town American history and communities. In 2009, Carrel bought the Marshfield Hills General Store in Massachusetts, vowing to preserve its historic character and role as a community gathering space.
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Jessica Alba
Actor-turned-entrepreneur Jessica Alba’s side gig is running The Honest Company, which wasn’t quite as honest as its name implied. It got in hot waters when multiple consumers complained because its sunblock didn’t, well, block the sun, leading many children to get severe sunburns.
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Kevin Smith
If you’re ever in New Jersey and in need of some comic books, you should visit the not-so-secret Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Its owner is Kevin Smith, a famous director, comic book writer and actor, known particularly for playing Silent Bob.
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Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley famously walks barefoot everywhere, even on the red carpet. It’s no surprise she forages for much of the food she eats daily and is particularly fond of stinging nettles.
