When it comes to being a celebrity, part of the job involves talking to the media to promote a project (or even yourself). One of the biggest things is going on talk shows, and while some celebs are pros at it now, they all had to start somewhere.
So, here are 17 moments from the first times these actors and musicians appeared on talk shows, and it either went great…or it has kind of aged poorly:
1.
First, Tom Holland’s earliest talk show appearance was when he was promoting Billy Elliot: The Musical in 2010. Notably, he started singing one of the songs from the show during the interview.
2.
When Finn Wolfhard made his first late night TV appearance with the cast of Stranger Things in 2016, he notably (and hilariously) insulted Jimmy Fallon.
3.
Madonna explained on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1987 why she picked this show as the first talk show she ever wanted to appear on, and her answer caught Johnny Carson off guard.
4.
Sofía Vergara went on Late Night with Conan O’Brien for the first time in 2003, and not even two minutes in, fellow guest Chris Rock made an offhanded joke about her boobs.
5.
Courteney Cox made her late night TV debut on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1994, the same month Friends premiered, and he began the interview by saying he wished she wore a different outfit after he saw her in just a towel backstage.
6.
Ryan Gosling’s first talk show ever was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2007, and he told a great story about Meryl Streep helping him comfort his mom at his first Academy Awards.
7.
Taylor Swift talked about the inspiration behind her song “Tim McGraw” during her first interview on The Megan Mullally Show in 2006, and Megan said she had a big career ahead of her.
8.
Jennifer Garner’s first talk show was The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn in 2001, where Craig awkwardly said she should not use her hyphenated last name after marrying Scott Foley, and he pointed out her dimples.
9.
When Jason Bateman first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1984, Johnny Carson accidentally kept calling him the wrong name, and Jason had the perfect comeback.
10.
Rachel Sennott hilariously told a story about how she hooked up with an intern from Late Night with Seth Meyers when she made her first talk show appearance on the show in 2022.
11.
Drew Barrymore made her late night talk show debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1982, and took out her false front teeth halfway through the interview.
12.
Chris Evans went on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2011 while promoting Captain America: The First Avenger, and brought his old school pictures to prove he wasn’t always “this ripped.”
13.
Selena Gomez’s first talk show was for Live with Regis and Kelly in 2008, and she was quickly asked if she had a boyfriend.
14.
Macaulay Culkin’s first talk show was on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1990 when he was promoting Home Alone. He was adorably feeling pretty great about having the biggest movie in the US at the time.
15.
Megan Fox went on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2007, and the first question Jimmy Kimmel asked her was how she was going to move up on Maxim’s Hot 100 list, and then just continued to comment on her appearance.
16.
Ayo Edebiri made her talk show debut in 2022 when she appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and talked about how she was almost a teacher, until her students scared her.
17.
And finally, when Julia Roberts went on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1990, a few months after Pretty Woman premiered, the first thing Arsenio Hall did was comment on how he wished she was wearing a dress.