“It Was Just So Silly. It Was Like Anti-Comedy.” 4 Celebrities Who Were Disney Cast Members

Recently, celebrities have been playing “Disney Cast Member for a day” in the theme parks, and we can totally see why. Who hasn’t daydreamed about what it would be like to work in Disney World?!

These days, you never know who might be your Jungle Cruise Skipper or your Kilimanjaro Safari driver — you just might spot Josh Gad or Jordan Fisher working in the parks! But back in the day, Disney World, Disneyland, and even the Disney Cruise Line employed some MAJOR celebrities….before they got their big break. 

Let’s start with a television icon. These days, you might know Wayne Brady from the Let’s Make A Deal game show or the classic Whose Line Is It Anyway? show, but before his career on TV, Brady played a different kind of character.

According to an interview in Today’s Parent, Brady revealed that his favorite Disney character also happens to be the character that helped him start his first job. Brady explained that when he turned 16, one of his first jobs was at Disney World, where he worked with Disney characters, including Tigger. More recently, Brady returned to the parks to sport the iconic Dapper Dan outfit and sang a song with the famous group. That makes him an honorary Dapper Dan!

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Here’s another fun fact for ya! Now, it’s no secret that Jennifer Hudson has TALENT, but it turns out that before she went on American Idol, Disney Cruise Line was the first to recognize her vocal skills. In an interview with W Magazine, Hudson explained that she played Calliope the muse in ‘Hercules: The Muse-ical’ AND had a solo role in The Lion King‘s “Circle of Life” performance. Her work on the Disney Cruise Line helped her land a role in Dreamgirls.

Hudson told W Magazine, “I thought it was great for then. It was great for my age,” adding, “It was great for me as a talent that was trying to be a performer. And I actually gave myself that as a test to decide if I was going to go for ‘American Idol.'”

Raise your hand if you love Steve Martin. We better see EVERY hand raised — he’s a comedy ICON (and a Disney Legend)! Well, turns out Martin worked at Disneyland when he was young. According to Disney’s D23 website, Martin worked at Disneyland from the age of 10 to 18. In fact, Martin worked at the park “after school, on weekends, and during the summer.” At first, he sold guidebooks, then souvenir spinning lassos in Frontierland, joking, “The arrow-through-the-head was a thing we used to sell at Disneyland,” adding, “It was just so silly. It was like anti-comedy.”

Eventually, Martin worked at the old Merlin’s Magic Shop in Fantasyland, where he sold and demonstrated the packaged magic tricks. He said, “I knew every nook and cranny of the shop,” per D23.

One of our favorite fun facts about Steve Martin’s time at Disneyland is that he created a catch phrase on the job! He explained that he worked with a woman from the South who was known to say, “Well, excuse me for living,” which Martin abbreviated to, “Well, excuuuuuuse me.”

Finally, we’re throwing it back in time to the days when Disney’s Hollywood Studios was known as MGM Studios. Remember the MGM Studios Backlot Tour? Sadly, it doesn’t exist anymore, but this old attraction was once the place where Kevin Richardson (from the Backstreet Boys) worked in Disney World!

Richardson said, “It was an inspiring, incredible place to come to work every day.”

Who knows — you may experience a Disney attraction with a future celebrity! In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

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Have you ever seen a celebrity in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!