Everyone loves Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMS), and many remain popular favorites, even decades after their release. From Halloweentown to High School Musical, DCOMS hold an important place in American pop culture.
They also serve as a great launching platform for young actors looking to break into the industry. In fact, some of the biggest names in Hollywood got their start in a Disney Channel Original Movie. Here are 10 famous actors, and the DCOMS that gave them their first big break.
10 Brenda Song
Years before Brenda Song would star in The Social Network and Hulu's Dollface, she had her first big acting gig in the year 2000 with The Ultimate Christmas Present.
In the film, Song plays Samantha Kwan, who, along with her best friend, finds a secret weather machine that Santa is designing to ensure the entire world gets a white Christmas (which, in the real world, would have a catastrophic impact on the planet).
9 Kaley Cuoco
Another DCOM from the year 2000, Alley Cats Strike starred Kaley Cuoco, who went on to gain fame in The Big Bang Theory. In the film, two rival towns are competing for a trophy after a basketball game between the town's high schools ends in a tie. The towns decide to settle the tie through a bowling match.
Cuoco plays for the West Appleton bowling team, who go on to win the tournament. In the years between Alley Cats Strike and The Big Band Theory, Cuoco landed a starring role in 8 Simple Rules, alongside the late John Ritter.
8 Zac Efron
Hollywood hunk Zac Efron shot to fame after his starring role in the smash hit High School Musical. The movie's title is pretty straightforward, it's a musical about a high school putting on a musical ... but what was shocking was the immense success of the film.
The premiere was viewed by 7.7 million households and remains one of the network's biggest rating hits of all time. Since then, numerous actors from the film, such as Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale, have gone on to become prominent figures in Hollywood, but none have achieved the superstardom of Zac Efron.
7 Kat Dennings
Many people will recognize Kat Dennings. She starred in the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, as well as films like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. But years before she landed these roles, she starred in the Halloween DCOM The Scream Team, about two grandkids who have to help their grandfather move on to the other side after he dies.
The movie was loaded with excellent talent, like Kathy Najimy, Eric Idle, and Tommy Davidson. Currently, Dennings is co-starring in Hulu's Dollface, with fellow Disney alum Brenda Song.
6 Hayden Panettiere
2004's Tiger Cruise tells the story of the Navy's real Tiger Cruises, which is when the family members of service people can stay aboard naval vessels for a few days to see what life in the armed forces is like.
In the film, Panettiere is staying aboard a ship with her father when they get word about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Just a few years after her Disney debut, Panettiere would get her big break by landing a lead role in the show Heroes, followed later by her role in Nashville.
5 Nick Jonas
The Jonas Brothers shot to fame after appearing in the DCOM Camp Rock in 2008, alongside Demi Lovato and Alyson Stoner. The brothers have had an extremely successful music career, as well as numerous roles in film and television.
While Kevin Jonas has provided a few voice roles, and Joe Jonas has gone on to work with The Voice, it's Nick Jonas who has emerged as the prominent actor in the family. From 2014 to 2017 he starred in the series Kingdom and he's also one of the leads in the new Jumanji reboots.
4 Brie Larson
Over a decade before Brie Larson became a global superstar from her Oscar-winning role in Room, she starred in the DCOM, Right on Track.
The film told the true story of Courtney and Erica Enders, two girls who broke into the male-dominated world of drag racing. Larson starred alongside 7th Heaven's Beverly Mitchell to portray the two sisters. As all cinephiles know, Larson now holds the role of Captain Marvel in the MCU.
3 Taylor Handley
Taylor Handley has starred in films like Chasing Mavericks, but he is probably best known in the horror community for his roles in Bird Box and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. He got his start back in 2000 in the DCOM Phantom of the Megaplex, about a giant cinema that's terrorized by a nefarious masked trickster.
Despite being remembered by fans as one of Disney's best Halloween DCOMs, the movie actually premiered in November of 2000, a little over a week after the holiday.
2 Aly And AJ
The sisters Aly and AJ Michalka got their start in the 2006 DCOM Cow Belles, which centered around two spoiled girls who are sent to work at a dairy farm to learn responsibility. From there, the sisters developed a successful music career and continued acting.
AJ went on to star in the popular sitcom The Goldbergs, as well as its spinoff, Schooled. Aly has since starred in movies like Easy A and series like Hellcats. In 2018, the sisters even teamed up to compete on Celebrity Family Feud.
1 Emmy Rossum
In the DCOM Genius, Charlie, a 13-year-old whiz kid, enrolls in college ... but soon takes on a bad boy image to make friends. His lab at the university is beneath an ice-skating rink ... the very one where Claire (Emmy Rossum) likes to skate.
Since her debut on the Disney Channel, Rossum has starred in The Phantom of the Opera and in Showtime's remake of Shameless.
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