It's hard to picture famous people as anything else. That's why we're such big fans of celebrity-audition tapes, which have been a cultural mainstay since the dawn of the Internet. The grainy VHS clips give us insight into what our favorite stars were like before they were well, our favorite stars. It's hard to believe, but icons like Hugh Jackman, Rachel McAdams, and Tom Cruise were once struggling actors desperate for their big break.
Those are just some of the stars included in this impressive compilation of celebrity audition tapes. Though many of these clips have been circulating the web for some time (a fresh-faced Natalie Portman auditioning for The Professional for instance), there are some amazing new additions to the cannon. Here, we see a young Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus doing their best to impress their Disney overlords. There's a little tyke named Leonardo DiCaprio, long before his days as the leading ambassador of the man bun. And, Lindsay Lohan reminds us all that before all the other stuff, girl could actually act.
For more celeb-induced nostalgia, watch the compilation below.