If you’re into television, you probably know Shemar Moore as his role on the long-running FBI procedural “Criminal Minds.” He got his start looking good for the camera by honing his skills in the modeling world before moving on to the role that got him his first dose of wide-spread fame, that of Malcolm Winters on the daytime soap “The Young and the Restless.”
He stuck with the part from 1994 to 2005 before he joined the fictional version of the behavioral science unit. He went back to his original character in 2014 and 2019. He’s now the lead character on the television show “S.W.A.T.” since 2017.
Antonio Sabato Jr.
Early in his career, Antonio Sabato Jr. landed one of the most sought-after jobs in the modeling industry — underwear model for Calvin Klein. Once he had grown his brand and gotten people to know his name, he pushed into a low rung of the television industry, appearing as Jagger Cates on the daytime soap opera “General Hospital.”
He made his next move up the ladder on “Melrose Place” during the nineties as Jack Perezi. He's continued to find success on TV and on soap operas. His most notable other role was as Dante Damiano on “The Bold and the Beautiful” in the first decade of the new millennium.
Tom Welling
Famous people are discovered anywhere and everywhere, and Tom Welling is the proof. He was working a menial construction job when a modeling scout happened upon him back in the nineties. He wanted to pursue acting from the get-go, but in the meantime, he landed gigs for Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, and everyone's favorite, Calvin Klein.
He got his breakout role in 2001 as none other than the hero himself, Superman (though when he was just Clark Kent) on “Smallville.” He reprised the role in a 2019 episode of “Batwoman.” He later for recurring character roles on “Lucifer,” and “Professionals.”
Gabriel Mann
Gabriel Mann was a runway model for a long time before he moved on to acting. In his mid-twenties, he got a few roles, in the films “Parallel Sons” and “Stonewall,” credited as Gabriel Mick.
He's best known for playing the main character Nolan Ross in the show “Revenge,” but he's also been in “The Blacklist,” and has appeared on Netflix's “What/If.” He's also co-starred in films like “The Life of David Gale,” “The Bourne Identity,” and “The Bourne Supremacy.” Since 2019 he has been Tommy Elliot and (spoilers) Hush in “Batwoman.” He's actually been in quite a lot of superhero shows, whether in person or with his voice.
Hayden Panettiere
Long, long before she won the hearts of America and the world as the cheerleader Claire Bennet on the show “Heroes,” Hayden Panettiere was already used to the camera. As the image shows, she was modeling before she could even drive.
Look close enough and you can see a little bit of early photo magic — there are strings holding up the edges of her skirt and the ends of her pigtails to make it look like she's sliding across the floor. Panettiere's other big roles include the lead in “Nashville,” the voice of main character Kairi from the “Kingdom Hearts” series, and the voice and mocap of main character Sam from the video game “Until Dawn.”