Very few people end up getting their dream job when they first start working. For instance, some of Bollywood’s most known celebs didn’t start their careers with acting. In fact, many were working at 9-5 jobs and decided to leave them to pursue their passion! 

So, here is just this, a list of celebrities who made a major career switch by going from a 9-5 job to pursue acting! Read on to know more. 

1. Taapsee Pannu

After graduating from Guru Teg Bahadur Institute of Technology, Taapsee Pannu began working as an engineer. But she soon left the job and decided to start modelling and auditioning for shows such as Channel V’s Get Gorgeous

2. Ayushmann Khurrana

Ayushmann Khurrana’s first job was radio jockeying for a breakfast show, after which he transitioned to hosting television shows and then eventually to acting in films. 

At the age of 22, I was probably one of the youngest in the country to host a breakfast show, which is generally hosted by very seasoned radio jockeys. So, here I was at my first job and they had given me the breakfast show and they had hugely promoted that show. I was on the hoardings in Delhi. So, that was really new for that time!

-Ayushmann Khurrana told Indian Express

3. John Abraham

John Abraham forayed into acting much later in life. His first job was as a strategic planner for an advertising agency and then at 26 years old, he ultimately stepped into modelling and then acting. 

I had had a fairly run-of-the-mill childhood. I went to school at Bombay Scottish and got an economics degree from Jai Hind College. After that, I did an MBA. My first job was with an advertising agency called Enterprise Nexus where I was a strategic planner. 

-John Abraham told Forbes India

4. Ranveer Singh

Ranveer Singh worked as a copywriter for ad agency O&M before he began acting. If a person could be defined as multifaceted, it’d definitely be him!

5. Parineeti Chopra 

Reportedly, after graduating with a triple Honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School, Parineeti Chopra decided to fly to Mumbai because unfortunately, she could not find a job back in UK. And even though she’d applied for an accounts job with Yash Raj Films, she ultimately landed an internship with the marketing and PR department of YRF. 

6. Randeep Hooda

Randeep Hooda finished his Masters in human resource management and marketing from an Australian university. He took on jobs such as delivering food, waiting tables at restaurants, and driving cabs and once he returned to India, he took up a marketing job in Delhi. But soon after he moved to Mumbai and began modelling, and then, eventually, acting. 

7. Sayani Gupta

Sayani Gupta graduated from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University and while she was there, she had dived into her love for theatre and acting by taking part in plays. And even though, initially, she worked with an infrastructure research firm called Indian Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., Gupta soon decided to study at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and turn her attention toward her passion.

When destiny calls, you’ve just got to take the darn call I guess!