Sitcom to Superstar: Actors Who Made it Big from Big Laughs

We laughed at them and with them in popular sitcoms, but these larger than life personalities couldn't be contained. Eventually, armed with a name carved from TV, their solid acting skills allowed them to move over to movies where they excelled in big budget productions. Some of the biggest film superstars ever got their big break in television laugh shows.

Will Smith

A hit making musician and rapper became a TV star, when Will Smith starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on NBC for six seasons.

Smith's show made him a household name and a sitcom staple before he moved over into movie superstar status, starring in such blockbusters as Independence Day, MIB and I, Robot. Soon, Smith can be seen in the dark, sci-fi thriller movie based on the Richard Matheson novel, I Am Legend, about an Earth where only his character remains human.

Tom Hanks

As one half of a comic duo, Hanks co-starred in Bosom Buddies a sitcom showcasing his more feminine side.

For two seasons on ABC, Hanks and co-star Peter Scolari dressed up in drag pretending to be Buffy and Hildy so they could live in the woman only Susan B. Anthony Hotel. Although short lived, it's a memorable start for a big Hollywood star like Hanks, if only to see how well he wore make-up and stumbled around in high heels. Tom Hanks would go on to such movie classics as Splash, Forrest Gump and Apollo 13.

Steve Carell

This star of comedy smash The 40 Year Old Virgin worked in three sitcoms before making it.

In The Dana Carvey Show, Carell was part of an ensemble cast led by former SNL comic Dana Carvey. It was more of a sketch series and didn't last long. In 2002 Carell acted opposite Seinfeld alum Julia Louis Dreyfuss in Watching Ellie, which also was short lived. Finally, Carell's big sitcom break was NBC's The Office in 2005. The sitcom is an American version of a British sitcom or "Britcom" and despite Carell's continued success in the movies; he says he has no plans to depart the NBC show. Sitcoms seem to follow Carell, because he landed the role of Maxwell Smart in the big screen version of the classic sitcom Get Smart.

Jim Carrey