This may be hard to believe, but an unusual turn of events in his youth may have been the catalyst that led to Sam Rockwell becoming a familiar face in many Hollywood productions over the last 30-plus years. As a teenager, Rockwell dropped out of the San Francisco School of the Arts before he was able to graduate. As a result, his parents enrolled him in an alternative high school called "Urban Pioneers". Ironically, it was a school that had a reputation as being popular with stoners because it was an easy program to graduate from. And as Rockwell admits, at that age, all he wanted to do was get stoned and go to parties to flirt with girls!
He did end up receiving his high school diploma. But more importantly, during his senior year, Rockwell landed a role in an independent film which reignited his passion for performing. Straight after graduation, he moved to New York to pursue an acting career. Who knew that his passion for performance would be "re-lit" by his penchant for parties and pot!?
Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.
Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.
Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.