Celebrity

10 Actors Who Made The Jump From Teen Star To Oscar Bait

by 8/1/2013

Chad Michael Murray doesn’t quite have a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Fruitvale Station, but his supporting role is a somewhat surprising turn for the actor who probably has a lifetime parking space at CW network HQ. Still, teen stars who make it big on soaps or period high school flicks aren’t beholden to playing those types of characters forever, despite what the career trajectories of certain performers might suggest.

  • Chad Michael Murray

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Matthew Lillard

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Ryan Phillippe

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Heath Ledger

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • AnnaKendrickOscarBait

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Blake Lively

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Anne Hathaway

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Jesse Eisenberg

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Michelle Williams

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

  • Leonardo DiCaprio

    [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

For every Amanda Bynes or Mischa Barton, there’s a Michelle Williams or Anna Kendrick— actors and actresses who are skillfully ridding themselves of teen angst or the knowledge of cafeteria hierchary for meatier, more adult roles. Check out our list of impressive performances you may have missed, or actors whose early gigs you somehow managed to forget. (Matthew Lillard playing a character inspired by The Real World: San Francisco’s Puck will forever be a genius move.)

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[Photo Credit: Getty Images]