15 Awesome Hidden Talents of Hollywood Royalty
When Hollywood calls for talented actors and musicians, they often want a multi-dimensional person who has a series of talents. So it should come as no surprise that these members of Hollywood royalty come with their own set of heretofore-unknown skills that may or may not come in handy for a professional job.
Some just have a fun talent that’s a conversation piece at parties, some use their talents to help others, and still others invented something that changed the course of history.
Nevertheless, these superstars proved that they could do a lot more than act, sing, and dance.
1. Hedy Lamarr Invented Wi-Fi Technology
The technology that created Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS would not be possible without the contributions of Hollywood screen legend Hedy Lamarr.
In 1941, Lamarr — who earned Oscar nominations for her roles in Algiers and Sampson & Delilah — filed the patent for the technology she called “frequency hopping.” Even more incredibly, Lamarr created the technology thanks to generous donations provided by President John F. Kennedy and Howard Hughes. She’d even work on the technology in between takes in her trailer.
2. Harrison Ford Is a Licensed Pilot Who Has Helped Emergency Services
The legendary Han Solo came to life in Star Wars by a man who uses his hidden talents for people in need. Although Harrison Ford first took flight lessons in the 1960s, he didn’t earn his license until he was 53 years old.
In 2000, Ford made headlines by flying in and assisting ailing Wyoming visitors who were stuck up a mountain. Two years later, he helped Emergency Services locate a Boy Scout who went missing in the woods.
3. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, Is a Professional Calligrapher
Before she landed the role of Rachel Zane on Suits and subsequently married Prince Harry, Meghan Markle juggled several gigs to make ends meet. One such gig was as a professional calligrapher, where the Duchess of Sussex landed some pretty big-name clients, including Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana.
Perhaps her best-known client was Robin Thicke, who commissioned Madame Duchess to calligraph his wedding invitations when he married Paula Patton.
4. Margot Robbie Is a Professional Tattoo Artist
Margot Robbie became a star through her work in The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad, and Barbie. But in between those roles, she perfected her hidden talent as a professional tattoo artist after snagging a tattoo gun off eBay.
Robbie even tattooed her Suicide Squad cast members but admits she hasn’t tattooed anyone since 2020. “I did my own one. But I’ve hung up the tattoo gun, yeah. I don’t do it anymore. I had a few mishaps, and I thought I should quit,” she said.
5. Geena Davis Is an Olympic Archer
Geena Davis proves that one is never too old to try something new. In 1996, the acclaimed actress took up archery as a hobby after becoming fascinated by the sport.
Three years later, the 41-year-old Oscar winner competed against 300 other women for a spot in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Though she’d impressively placed 24th out of a possible 300, Davis fell just short of qualifying for the team. Still, the actress has no regrets about her efforts.
6. Taylor Swift Makes Jellies and Jams
Taylor Swift’s hidden talent is so hidden, that her fans have to travel back to 2012 to find any evidence of it. Alas, before America’s pop sweetheart became a global phenomenon, she admitted she made jellies and jams as gifts for her friends.
“When I was younger we had a grape arbor,” she notes. “My mom would go out and pick grapes and make grape jam in the sink — boil it, put it in jars, and give it away as gifts. So I started making raspberry jam and it is so good. You can put it on anything; you can dip pretzels into it. I don’t mean to brag, but it’s so good you could just eat it with a spoon.”
7. Bob Barker Had a Black Belt in Karate
The fight scenes in Happy Gilmore weren’t fake! The Price is Right legendary host, Bob Barker, apparently showed so much skill at karate that he’d earned a black belt in the sport. Even more amazingly, Barker trained for eight years in the sport courtesy of Chuck Norris, a longtime friend of the late game show legend.
“I was so impressed that I asked him if he would give me lessons,” he said in an interview. “He used to come to my home and we’d do karate. We started here on my lawn, and then I started parking my car on the driveway and made the garage into a karate studio.”
8. Bob Dylan Is a Professional Iron Sculptor
Everyone on this planet has heard a Bob Dylan song at least once in their life. He is a 1960s rock’n’roll legend, and his legacy cannot be touched.
So perhaps it will surprise listeners that the “Times Have Changed” raconteur has a bit of a side gig as a professional iron sculptor. Dylan is, in fact, so good at ironworks that a few galleries in New York City have exhibited his work. Galleries in London have also exhibited Dylan’s iron works. And the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique acquired one of his gates for their use in 2021.
9. Johnny Cash Was a Military Code-Breaker
Before he earned his moniker as the “Man in Black,” the late, great Johnny Cash served in the military. The military sent Staff Sgt. Cash to Landsberg, West Germany, shortly after his marriage to his first wife, Vivian. There, the “Walk The Line” singer-songwriter intercepted a transmission from Russia, where he cracked the code about the March 1953 death of Josef Stalin.
“I was the ace. I was who they called when the hardest jobs came up. I copied the first news of Stalin’s death. I located the signal when the first Soviet jet bomber made its first flight from Moscow to Smolensk; we all knew what to listen for, but I was the one who heard it,” he explained in his autobiography.
10. Mike Tyson Is a Pigeon Racer
“Iron Mike” Tyson loves competition both in and out of the ring. So it may come as a surprise that the fearsome fighter has a gentler hidden talent: pigeon racing.
After Iron Mike retired from the ring in 2005, he built a coop that housed more than 300 pigeons, where he trained them for competition. Six years later, he appeared on an Animal Planet special that documented his love of the strange sport.
11. Christopher Walken Is a Lion-Tamer
Christopher Walken is an unconventional Hollywood Bad Boy — an actor that directors go to when they want to cast a laconic, intimidating star with an undeniable presence. How unsurprising, then, that the lanky performer worked as a lion tamer at just 16 years old.
“I just got a job as a trainee lion tamer. Who’s going to turn that down?” he said in an interview in 2021. “I would come into the cage and wave my whip, and she’d lazily get up and sit like a dog and maybe give a little roar. I like cats a lot. I’ve always liked cats. They’re great company.”
12. Nick Offerman Is an Accomplished Wood-Worker
Nick Offerman made a name for himself as Libertarian Ron Swanson in Parks & Recreation, but in real life, acting is the “side hustle” to his true love: woodworking.
He runs a collective called the Offerman Woodshop, is an accomplished boat-builder, and even released a best-selling book called Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Workshop which gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at his beloved woodworking business.
13. Terry Crews Is a Flutist
Terry Crews currently hosts America’s Got Talent, but the actor possesses some hidden talents of his own. He demonstrated that his skill wasn’t just a stunt in 2019.
After a contestant on America’s Got Talent struggled with Ginuwine’s R&B classic, “Pony,” Crews whipped out his flute and played the song. And, in true Crews fashion, he performed the song without a shirt on.
14. Neil Patrick Harris Is a Professional Magician
Neil Patrick Harris is a talented actor, and one of the few who successfully transitioned from a “kiddie” role in Doogie Howser, M.D., to respected adult roles in How I Met Your Mother.
But Harris also has a talent as a professional magician. He’s frequently demonstrated his skills at charity telethons and holds membership at The Magic Castle. Harris became the first celebrity elected to The Magic Castle’s Board of Directors since Cary Grant had the honor in the 1960s.
15. Jason Statham Is a Professional Diver
Before he became known as Britain’s favorite action star, Jason Statham was a professional diver with Olympic dreams. He had such a talent at the sport that he competed at England’s Commonwealth Games in 1990.
Though he didn’t qualify for the Olympics that year, he still proved himself as a formidable talent. “I think what I didn’t achieve (in sports) has probably helped me focus more and take my acting career more seriously,” he said about his failed sports career back in 2008.
