Shameful Starts

1. Sylvester Stallone in The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)

Six years before his writing/acting breakthrough in Rocky, Sly Stallone took up the lead role of "Stud" in The Party at Kitty and Stud's. He got paid $200. And did I mention that this was a porno?

Okay, it really wasn't -- Party was a softcore titillation flick, not quite as hardcore as urban legend states. Still, it would've been a completely forgettable first outing, except for Rocky's impact. Suddenly, Stallone was hot property, and Party got re-named and re-released as Italian Stallion to cash in on the fame. Despite the sour taste it probably left in his mouth, Stallone was never able to distance himself from this seedy beginning. I guess that goes to show you, kids -- beware of that "funny" clip you put on YouTube, it might just haunt you when you become a mega-star.

2. Adam Sandler in Going Overboard (1988)

Most actors' first outings aren't too memorable or great, but by all rights, the atrocious Going Overboard should have sunk Adam Sandler's career for good. A painful comedy that seethed inadequacy and lowbrow idiocy, Going Overboard showcased Sandler as (1) a horrible comedian -- as a plot point, (2) a guy who obviously thinks he's far more funny than he is, and (3) having no sense to stay away from this obvious turd of a flick. What's worse is that he thinks he's Ferris Bueller by talking to the camera, trying to invite us into this whole mess personally.

Adam Sandler spent the next four years working Saturday Night Live as penance, and eventually became a screeching hero to thousands of college jocks everywhere. He's since won a mind-boggling 30 awards from various institutions that did not expose themselves to Going Overboard, or else they would have stoned him on the spot.

3. John Travolta in The Devil's Rain (1975)

Low budget horror isn't exactly where you'd expect to find William Shatner, Tom Skerritt and Ernest Borgnine, but find them future Battlefield Earth star John Travolta did, as he signed up for his first role playing a guy in a mask who eventually melts. Because Xenu smiled upon him, Travolta escaped into stardom the next year with Carrie, and the following year with Saturday Night Fever.

4. Clint Eastwood in Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Horror and monster movies seem to be a birthing ground for many established actors (George Clooney, Kevin Bacon, Johnny Depp), but Clint took it one step further by making his debut as an uncredited lab technician in the sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature. In it, his character saves a rat. That's about as heroic as you're going to get from Eastwood in 1955, sorry.

Later on, Mystery Science Theater 3000 used this film in a 1997 episode, completing the axiom of "If you're going to break into film, don't do it in a movie that will later on be mocked by a midwesterner and two robots."

5. Renée Zellweger AND Matthew McConaughey in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

Also known as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it witnessed the first significant roles for both future stars Zellweger and McConaughey (of course, after they became famous the film was repackaged with their faces out in front, as is the style for crass pandering). This was sort of the fourth movie in the series (depending on whether you consider it a remake or not), and while McConaughey ends up being chopped by a plane propeller, Zellweger unfortunately survives.

6. Billy Bob Thorton in Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town

Before he was pistol-whipped by Kurt Russel in Tombstone, Billy Bob was even more in the gutter by starting his cinematic career with -- of all things -- a Troma flick. As we well know, Troma is to movies like porn is to the romance genre, and I don't even have to watch this film to know that it starred a lot of very fake gore, horrible acting, and subpar cinematography. And Billy Bob Thorton.