When Die Hard made Alan Rickman famous, he was 42 years old. Rickman wasn't always well-known on screen for the many roles he portrayed. However, he was well known and respected for his theatrical parts until he was 42 years old and took on the character of Hans Gruber for 1988's Die Hard.

When Morgan Freeman was 52 years old, he had his breakthrough year. Before 1989, when he rose to fame for his parts in films like Glory then Driving Miss Daisy, the last of which garnered him a nomination for the Oscar for best actor, Freeman had been toiling as an actor for years with varying degrees of success.

A professionally educated but ineffective vocalist, Susan Boyle depleted her earned money by purchasing produced recordings to submit to record labels and talent events. She stunned everyone when she performed on Britain's Got Talent in 2009. Boyle, who was 47 years old, went viral at the time and has since recorded seven albums.

Neeson won arthouse notoriety for critically acclaimed but underappreciated films like The Mission in the 1980s. It wasn't till Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List in 1993 that he rose to fame. From then, he appeared in thrillers like Taken and The Grey and big-budget movies like Star Wars: Episode I and Batman Begins.

Throughout most of her acting career, Kathy Bates grew steadily. It was her significant role in the film Misery that earned her an Oscar and eventually made her a household name. Kathy was 42 at the time she got the part. Kathy received further Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy nominations.

Before beginning to perform in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Jackson had a history of social activism. He primarily received modest roles in theater and film at this time. His career started to take off when Jackson collaborated with Spike Lee, first on School Daze and then on Do the Right Thing. With his role in Pulp Fiction — he became a true A-list actor.

Dame Judi Dench seemed to follow the same path that English celebrities did. Before making the transition to the big screen, Dench, like many other performers, enjoyed a long and successful stage career. Her launch to worldwide fame came with the movie GoldenEye with the role of M, which she got at 60 years old.

Before becoming a major Hollywood star, she started her career as a model and a minor actor. She would perform on Broadway and in some B-pictures, where she starred as a chorus girl, and in minor A-pictures as a supporting actress. Her career changed with the sitcom she, a 40-year-old, and her husband created — I Love Lucy.

Because of comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Carell was a well-known face. However, the NBC broadcast of The Office in the US finally made Carell a household star. From there, he played the lead in several comedies and got nominated for a best actor Oscar for his work in the drama Foxcatcher in 2014.

After graduating from North Carolina University with a medical degree, Jeong worked as a doctor for a while before switching to stand-up comedy and acting. He quit his job as a doctor to concentrate on his acting profession after becoming a breakout success in The Hangover and then in the comedy Community in 2009.

Scottish superstar Sir Sean Connery had been working continuously throughout his twenties. His meteoric rise to popularity didn't begin until he made his first James Bond appearance at 32 years old. Since then, Sean has been awarded an Oscar and established himself as one of the more prestigious performers in movie history.

For the better part of his early adulthood, the legendary actor Harrison Ford struggled to make it in Hollywood. Even his performance in American Graffiti didn't contribute significantly to his career. Instead, he will always be thankful for his leading part as Han Solo in George Lucas' Star Wars. Harrison received it at the age of 33. He got this legendary role, while he was working as a carpenter in Francis Ford Coppola’s office!

Before Quentin Tarantino cast Waltz as Col. Hans Landa in his 2009 World War II epic, the actor had decades of tiny appearances on German and British television. Since then, he has maintained a steady presence on screen, including another Oscar-winning portrayal in 2013's Django Unchained, for which he won every major prize that year.

Morrison worked as an editor before she became one of America's most renowned novelists, guiding the publications of black authors' novels. She released a piece of her writing in 1970 when she was 39 years old. Her book, The Bluest Eye, helped to launch her own writer's career, which led to her winning a Nobel prize.

While today we might know Bryan Cranston for his work in Breaking Bad and in some brilliant movie roles, he got his breakthrough role in a comedy series. As a 44-year-old, Cranston got the part of Hal in the series Malcolm in the Middle. Before that, he starred in minor roles and voiced characters in Power Rangers.

Viola Davis, 43, became the center of attention when the movie Doubt came out. When she was 28 years old, she graduated from Juilliard with a master's degree and enjoyed a couple of years of success in the theater. But it wasn't until 2008, when she faced up against Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, that she rose to fame.

He was usually the man who would either be murdered or dismissed every time he was on screen until he became an icon. However, Modern Family arrived when Burrell was 42 and oversaw his ascent to TV prominence and new chances. Ty was relieved to get his break a little later.

Julia Child proves that the kitchen is nothing to be feared. Before becoming known to the world, Child worked for a long time as a chef and even a World War II spy. With the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she became an icon for people, and Child was then 49 years old.

Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor and writer in the 1970s who couldn't pay his rent and had to sleep wherever he could. But as Sylvester was in his 30s and the Rocky script — written in three days — was up for production, he got his big break. He not only wrote it but also starred in the lead role.

When talking about modern movie or TV mobsters, no one is more feared and respected than James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano. Appearing in True Romance and Crimson Tide, Gandolfini was 38 years old when he became a lead actor in The Sopranos. After that, television history would be forever changed.

When she played the Oscar-nominated role in Bridesmaids, Melissa Mccarthy was 41 years old. Before her performances in Bridesmaids and CBS' Mike & Molly, both of which garnered favorable reviews and substantial award attention, McCarthy had decades of lesser TV and movie parts.

Lynch performed in Chicago theaters for 15 years before pursuing opportunities in television and motion pictures. She had a modest, scene-stealing part in almost every comedy of the decade after landing her first significant role on the 2000 comedy Best in Show, which led her to the cheerleading coach position on Fox's Glee in 2009.

Michael Emerson began acting later in life and worked in Florida's small-scale regional productions during the 1990s. However, in 2000, while Michael was 46, he was cast as a serial murderer in The Practice, which at last gave him the opportunity he had been waiting for. Since then, he has won a couple of Emmys for his work in Lost.

After making her cinematic debut in 1990, Margo Martindale performed for the past several decades, playing supporting roles in TV and film. Finally, in 2004, after Margo, then 53, played Big Mama in Broadway's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, her name became more well-known. After that, she started working on excellent television and movies.

Tina Fey, like Amy Poehler, is another member of the improv wizards who joined the Saturday Night Live ensemble. This opportunity was the reason that propelled her into a sustained acting career in television. However, when Tina was 34, she co-starred in the film Mean Girls, which was her real big break.

Through his twenties and the beginning of his thirties, Jon Hamm struggled as an actor in Los Angeles, with sporadic spurts of little TV "success." But it was 2007 that gave us Mad Men and made Hamm famous. When Jon received the role, he was 36. Since then, he has gotten a lot more brilliant parts.

A late bloomer can be in her early 70s before landing a career-changing role. Kathryn Joosten was a psychiatric nurse before joining a theater group in her local community center. Working slowly up the ladder of acting, she landed a career-changing role in the series West Wing at the age of 70 years old. 

Jeremy Renner became famous at 38 years old. Before portraying the title character in The Hurt Locker, which earned him an Oscar nod for best actor in 2010, Renner had a variety of roles in primarily indie films. Since then, he has played Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as in big blockbuster films like The Town.

Fisher is one more late bloomer who owes her popularity to The Office, as she primarily had supporting roles in independent movies before that. Her performance in the NBC series paved the way for her to land roles in comedic projects like Blades of Glory and the ABC sitcom Splitting Up Together.

When he was 36 years old, Kumail Nanjiani got the role of Dinesh in Silicon Valley. Before assuming the role in the HBO program, Nanjiani played several parts in comedy TV shows and motion pictures. Since then, he produced The Big Sick, a semi-autobiographical film about his early comedy career and how he met his wife.

Amy Poehler, a versatile comic actress, began her acting career with improv. When she was 30 years old, Poehler got cast as a regular on Saturday Night Live. This casting became the pivotal moment in her career that allowed Amy to pursue her popularity in television and even take home a Golden Globe.

A stay-at-home dad at one point and a director after — Ang Lee was 41 years old when he became an icon in the cinematic world. Deciding to stay at home while his wife, a molecular biologist, built her career, Lee wrote the screenplay Pushing Hands, and in 1992, a Taiwanese company produced it, with him in the director's seat.

Before starting The Office at age 40, Ricky Gervais aspired to become a pop sensation. Beginning in 2001, the English rendition of The Office aired concurrently with Ricky Gervais' chat program, Meet Ricky Gervais. But before that, he had a radio career, performing sketch comedy and singing in the pop duet Seona Dancing, which was moderately popular.

Before winning the part of Sam Malone on NBC's Cheers in 1982, Danson spent the 1970s and early 1980s bouncing between various soap operas and commercials. Since then, he has established himself as a supporting character in acclaimed series like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Good Place.

From 2002's Spider-Man until 2008's Seven Pounds, Spencer has consistently delivered a fantastic performance on film. She started getting more notice for her part in The Help, which earned her a nomination for a supporting actress Oscar in 2011. Since then, she has received two more.

Alexander Skarsgård, a Swedish-born actor, continued to grow to fame when it was his chance to appear in the HBO TV miniseries Generation Kill in 2008 when he was 31. After that, US production opportunities began to approach him. He has since worked in both TV and movies, and it doesn't seem like he will be slowing down.

In her twenties, Phylicia Rashad performed extensively on stage both on and off Broadway, although her performance in the sitcom The Cosby Show was the reason she is known today. The role brought her two Emmy nominations and a solid foundation in Hollywood. At the time, she was 35 years old.

Everyone is familiar with Tim Allen's popular TV program Home Improvement, but he struggled before reaching that point in his career. Tim had to toil, suffer, and earn money through low-paying stand-up engagements and selling illegal substances. Tim, who had received a Golden Globe nomination, was 38 years old when he got cast as Tim Taylor.

Before becoming a star in the Girls Trip movie and winning an Emmy for her appearance in Saturday Night Live, she was just a struggling actress trying to make ends meet. When she was 37 years old, Haddish's comedy career started to take off as she got one role after another. Before that, she was practically homeless.

Who could have known that an English teacher would become an iconic person on the screen of television? Joy Behar worked in a classroom as an English teacher before she decided to become a receptionist at NBC, which led to her becoming a producer. At 55 years old, she became a host on the show The View.

When she was in her early 30s, Jessica Chastain finally got her breakthrough role. The Juilliard-trained actress rose to international prominence in 2011 thanks to her positive reviews for her roles in Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, and The Help, which is why she got nominated for the prestigious Oscar.

Kristen Wiig is not a stranger to comedy. Before beginning to write jokes for Saturday Night Live on NBC in 2005 at 32 years old, Wiig's early acting and comic roles frequently required improvisation. She joined the program as a full-cast regular the following year and got nominated for four Emmys during her time there.

When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released, J.K. Rowling was 32 years old. After being turned down by several publishers, Rowling's first Harry Potter novel got published in 1997 with a limited 500-copy print run. When she eventually made a breakthrough, she was a single mother reliant on welfare and battling despair.

Linda Gray began her career in the entertainment industry acting in commercials, with modeling jobs as a side gig. In 1978, she landed a role in the TV series Dallas, which completely changed the course of her career and earned her nominations for two Golden Globes and an Emmy. At the time, Linda was 38 years old.

Jayne Houdyshell, a seasoned stage actress, spent more than a few years appearing on stage in little-known local theaters and other local shows. In 2006, Jayne finally had her chance at glory with an appearance on Broadway in the play Well, which she crushed. Jayne had just turned 53 years old in 2006.