SUCCESSFUL ACTORS WHO STARTED THEIR CAREER LATER IN LIFE

WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS?

By Riesa Pascal

Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong had an interest in comedy from a young age, but his early career path led him to become a licensed physician. Though he practiced medicine by day, Jeong moonlighted as a comic by night and eventually took his talents to Los Angeles where he continued to work as a stand-up comedian, actor, and doctor. After scoring several small roles, Jeong's medical background came in handy when Judd Apatow needed an actor who had medical knowledge for his 2011 romantic comedy, Knocked Up. At 39 years old, the role proved to be a game-changer and Jeong quickly became a household name landing numerous other hilarious roles in The Hangover series, Community, and more.

Danny Glover

Though Danny Glover acted throughout college in the 1960s, he decided post-graduation to work for the city of San Francisco as an evaluations specialist and program manager. A call to take up acting struck Glover in his late 20s and led him to set his sights on Hollywood. His breakthrough role came in his early 30s when he was cast in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning drama, The Color Purple. In 1987, Glover became a household name when he co-starred opposite Mel Gibson in the actioncomedy Lethal Weapon, which turned into one of the most successful franchises of the 1980s and '90s. Glover also appeared in Predator 2 and Angels in the Outfield and remains an active actor today.

Wanda

The daughter of an Army colonel, Sykes worked as a procurement officer with high-level clearance at the National Security Agency after graduating college in Washington, D.C. However, Sykes knew she had a talent for making people laugh and often performed as a standup comedian while working at the NSA. Sykes's first opportunity to truly pursue show business came as a writer and performer on The Chris Rock Show in her late 30s which even earned her an Emmy Award. Sykes also landed impressive gigs on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, MonsterIn-Law, and even ABC's hit comedy, Black-ish among other hits. Today Sykes continues to be one of the top female stand-up comics in the country.

Terry Crews

In 1991, Terry Crews was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams to play defense, but he ultimately played for several different teams over his five seasons of professional football. After making the difficult decision to retire at the age of 30, Crews fell into a depression before picking himself back up and deciding to try his hand at acting. He landed a series of small roles before securing his breakout role as the ex-con Damon Pearly in Ice Cube's cult hit, Friday After Next. Crews continued to show off his comedic skills on the big screen in the films White Chicks and The Longest Yard. Today, Crews is a household name with a starring role in the long-running sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and several memorable commercials for Old Spice.

Mr.

Before he was a 1980s pop-culture sensation, Mr. T was just Lawrence Tureaud. His football talent as a youth earned him a university scholarship to play at Prairie View A&M University, but he was ultimately expelled after just one year. Tureaud then served as a military policeman in the Army. In the 1970s, he worked as a nightclub bouncer in Chicago and developed his Mr. T persona. At the age of 30, Sylvester Stallone saw Mr. T in a televised strongman competition and cast him as the trash-talking boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III. The movie became a huge box-office hit and his famous catchphrase, "I pity the fool," became a part of the '80s lexicon. In 1983, Mr. T landed the role of B.A. Baracus on The A-Team and became so popular that he even got invited to the White House to meet Ronald Reagan… talk about a successful career transition!

Jon Hamm

Never thought I’d be jealous of a random high school in St. Louis, but I was after I found out that handsome Missouriborn actor John Hamm spent two years teaching high school drama there after finishing college! Maybe enough students (and their moms) told him he looked like a movie star, because in the mid-1990s he decided to head to Hollywood with the dream of becoming an actor. It wasn’t smooth sailing right away though and Hamm had to pick up waiting tables to make ends meet. Finally, at the age of 36, Hamm won his breakout role as Don Draper on the hit AMC drama Mad Men, eventually going on to even win an Emmy Award for his performance.

BMW is leading the luxury segment into a new era that will be shaped by innovations in the fields of sustainability and digitalisation. With the new BMW 7 Series, the world’s most successful manufacturer of premium vehicles is creating forward-looking ways to enjoy driving pleasure, unsurpassed long-distance comfort and a top-end digital experience. Central to this reinterpretation is the BMW i7. The all-electric luxury sedan is a fully integrated member of the model family and clearly demonstrates how an exclusive driving experience and the ultimate feeling of on-board wellbeing can be combined with an unwavering commitment to sustainability.

The generation change at the pinnacle of BMW’s model range is wrapped up in a new definition of luxury that focuses on the individual and their personal attitudes, needs and emotions. In addition to presence, elegance and exclusive premium quality, there is a progressive approach characterised by innovations that directly enhance the user experience, wide-ranging connectivity and standard-setting sustainability of the car. In this way, the new BMW 7 Series has been designed to meet the needs of a modern target group that sees itself as committed to meeting challenges in a responsible manner – and one that views personal mobility as a way to experience unique moments in everyday life and on trips away.

The new BMW 7 Series incorporates a modern style that focuses on the essentials in its exterior and interior design. The front-end design for BMW vehicles in the luxury segment is dominated by features that are typical of the brand, but a clear distinction is maintained between these models and the others in the BMW range. Innovative features such as the BMW Theatre Screen, the multi-sensory vehicle experience BMW iDrive with the latest generation of BMW Operating System 8, plus the BMW Curved Display and the Manoeuvre Assistant for automated parking and manoeuvring, highlight the progressive character of the luxury sedan. In addition to the enhanced level of comfort and the unique in-car entertainment system, the Executive Lounge option for the rear with optimised reclining seat position and new BMW Individual Merino leather/cashmere wool interior trim takes a pioneering route to maximising wellbeing inside the car.

45 years on from the debut of the BMW 7 Series, the seventh model generation takes to the stage as the most advanced and innovative vehicle in the luxury segment. At the same time, the new edition captures the imagination with an overall design coherence unmatched by any rival. The BMW 7 Series is therefore once again a symbol of the BMW Group’s innovative strength.

The world premiere of the new BMW 7 Series in April 2022 and its global market launch starting in November 2022 are the key milestones in the brand’s current model offensive in the luxury segment.

TAMPA