20 sets of celebrities who knew each other before they were famous

B.J. Novak and John Krasinski’s characters on The Office had a unique relationship, but off-screen, these two go way back. The two actors grew up together, and Krasinski once revealed that he and Novak played in the same little league and went to the same high school. 

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been besties for decades. They became friends while growing up in Boston, and they wrote Good Will Hunting together, which catapulted them into superstardom and earned the two friends their first Oscars. 

Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, the members of the comedy trio The Lonely Island, met while growing up in Berkeley, California. The group went on to write for Saturday Night Live together, where they changed the show’s format for good with their iconic digital shorts. 

Andy Samberg didn’t just know his Lonely Island pals as a kid. He also knew his Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star Chelsea Peretti. Peretti also grew up in the Bay Area, and their prior connection was reflected in their characters’ backstories on the cop comedy. 

Two of Broadway’s most notorious stars were friends before either stepped foot on a famous stage. Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein met as teenagers at a mutual friend’s Bat Mitzvah. They later met again at school in Los Angeles, and they’ve been close friends since. 

Beanie Feldstein isn’t the only person in her family who earned fame alongside an old friend. Her brother, Jonah Hill, and Adam Levine were childhood friends. The two grew up together in Los Angeles, and as adults, Hill officiated Levine’s wedding. 

Talk about friends with a shared talent. Laura Linney, an Oscar-nominated actress, and Brook Shields, one of the most iconic Hollywood stars of her generation, were childhood friends. The two grew up together in Manhattan. 

Why haven’t these two made music together yet? Jessie J and Adele, two of the best vocalists to come out of the U.K., went to school together in London. The friends have shared that they used to sing together at school, but for some reason, they haven’t done so for the rest of us. 

More Bat Mitzvah connections! As Zach Braff once revealed, Lauryn Hill was a guest at his party. The two went to high school in Maplewood, New Jersey, together.  

Cameron Diaz and Snoop Dogg weren’t best friends before becoming famous like some celebrities, but they did go to high school together in Long Beach, California. Diaz was a year behind Snoop in school, but she has recalled buying weed from him as a teenager. 

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance might have the neatest love story in all of Hollywood. The two met at the Yale School of Drama before either became famous. The two didn’t date then, but they eventually reconnected in Los Angeles after starting their acting careers. They’ve been married since 1997. 

Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford have a great love story, too. After meeting at church camp, the actress and musician knew each other as kids. Each became famous in their own right and reconnected as adults. They’ve been married since 2012. 

These men became famous at young ages, so it’s pretty remarkable that they knew each other before that. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire met when they were kids trying to become working actors. The two have been friends ever since. 

Australia is a massive country, but Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts met there long before they became famous, as they went to the same high school. They weren’t friends at the time, though. It wasn’t until they were on the set of the film  Flirting that they formed a bond. 

The connection these two ladies share goes beyond their own lives. Maya Rudolph and Gwyneth Paltrow’s fathers were best friends in college, and the ladies met when they were seven. Now Rudolph is an  SNL icon, and Paltrow is a film and lifestyle guru. 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were well on their way to becoming famous when they met, but they hadn’t quite made it. The funny friends first met when they were taking improv classes in Chicago. They’ve taken their friendship to SNL’s “Weekend Update,” hit films like Mean Girls and Baby Mama, and the Golden Globes stage. 

Lisa Kudrow found fame on Friends, and Conan O’Brien found fame through his late-night talk show, but before either of them became TV royalty, they were friends. The two dated for a bit and supported each other’s career goals. 

The comedy world is pretty small. Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler were friends before the former was known for making the best comedies of the ‘00s, and the latter was known for starring in the best comedies of the ‘90s. The two were roommates prior to making it big. 

Jamie Dornan and Andrew Garfield were also roommates before finding fame. Dornan became best known for his work in the Fifty Shades of Grey series and Garfield for his turn as Spider-Man. 

Remember what was said about the comedy world being small? Nick Kroll and John Mulaney met at Georgetown University, where both were members of the improv group. Kroll went on to create projects like Big Mouth, and Mulaney became a major stand-up star. The two have collaborated some, too.