Laura Dern was once called “insane” for deciding to drop out of college to pursue her career in acting. Now, UCLA’s film school is teaching her breakout movie.
Dern was a guest on Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” July 23 and recalled being “forced” to leave UCLA film school after she was given the role as Sandy Williams in “Blue Velvet.”
Although Dern already had the film “Mask” under her belt, “Blue Velvet” in 1986 was the film that catapulted her to fame.
“I was 17, so excited to get into UCLA,” Dern told Danson and Harrelson. “I was there for two days, and I had auditioned and got offered the role in ‘Blue Velvet.’”
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Once she was cast for the role, Dern asked the head of her college department for a leave of absence while filming the movie. The actress recalled being told “absolutely not.”
“I said, ‘I have this opportunity, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll look at the script if you want to give me the script, but, you know, you’re not going to get a leave of absence. It’s not going to happen. It’s not a medical emergency,’” Dern said.
After UCLA’s film school head read the “Blue Velvet” script, Dern was called back into his office.
“First of all, if you make this choice, you are no longer welcome at UCLA,” Dern recalled being told. “You’ll be out. But, secondly, having read this script, that you would give up your college education for this is insane.”
Dern admitted, “Obviously, it was an incredibly shocking script.”
The “Big Little Lies” actress shared with the podcast hosts that UCLA’s film school now has new criteria for graduates.
“I will just end by saying after my two days, today, if you want to get a master’s in film at that school, when you write a thesis, there are three movies you are required to study. And you know what one of them is?”
“Pisses me off,” Dern added.
Dern is not the only star who found success after deciding to walk away from pursuing a college degree.
Jake Gyllenhaal was enrolled at Columbia University for two years before he decided to drop out and focus on his steady rise to fame in Hollywood.
In 2002, Gyllenhaal was a guest on the “Late Show” with David Letterman when he explained why he decided to leave Columbia, even though his older sister Maggie was still enrolled and on track to graduate.
At the time, Letterman asked Gyllenhaal if he had plans to attend school.
“I’m a college dropout,” he said. “I did two years at Columbia college,” Gyllenhaal said. “I decided to major in something, and I had the opportunity to major in acting. So, I decided to go do that, make movies.”
Letterman asked the star if he planned to go back to school and finish his degree. Gyllenhaal simply said, “no.”
Gyllenhaal has had many successful movies throughout his career, including his Oscar-nominated performance in “Brokeback Mountain” and playing the villainous character in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”
Matt Damon was enrolled at Harvard University in 1992, before dropping out to focus on his acting career.
In 2017, Damon’s former freshman year roommate, Jason Furman, spoke to Harvard’s Crimson newspaper about what it was like to live with the star.
“The first thing he said to me is that I was really lucky to room with [him],” Furman told the college publication. He explained that Damon meant that he was not going to be in the pair’s dorm room for very long, since he planned on leaving campus to film a movie.
Furman also shared that Damon’s longtime friend, Ben Affleck, would visit him on campus, and the trio would do things they “couldn’t do until [they] were 21.”
In 1997, Damon spoke to the Crimson about his time at Harvard.
“Let me tell you, I loved Harvard,” Damon said at the time. “It was a huge, huge part of my life. I still have time left, and I want to go back when I get a chance.”
Tom Hanks detailed his experience with college in an op-ed for The New York Times published in 2015.
At the time, the actor wrote, “In 1974, I graduated from Skyline High School in Oakland, California, an underachieving student with lousy SAT scores. Allowed to send my results to three colleges, I chose MIT and Villanova, knowing such fine schools would never accept a student like me but hoping they’d toss some car stickers my way for taking a shot. I couldn’t afford tuition for college anyway.”
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Hanks ended up attending a community college, Chabot College, in Hayward, California, before transferring to California State University, Sacramento. He was enrolled in the school for a year before he decided to pursue a different path.
In 1976, Hanks studied theater at Cal State Sacramento for a year before he dropped out and took an internship at Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland.
According to Hank’s op-ed, the 2011 film, “Larry Crowne,” is based on his experience in college.
Kelsey Grammer attended Juilliard School for two years before he was kicked out for poor attendance, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to the outlet, Grammer’s sister, Karen, was murdered when she was 18, leading to his poor attendance at the prestigious music school. Grammer was asked to leave after his second year.
The five-time Emmy Award winner found success in Hollywood. He is most notably known for his role as Frasier Crane in the hit sitcom “Cheers” and “Frasier.”
Clint Eastwood attended Los Angeles City College but did not graduate.
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According to Backstage, Eastwood worked different jobs to get by before he rose to fame for his role in the television show “Rawhide.”
Eastwood has since won four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and an AFI Life Achievement Award.
Halle Berry enrolled in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College after high school but did not complete her time there.
According to Backstage, Berry left the community college in Cleveland to pursue her modeling career in Chicago. Berry rose to fame in Hollywood, becoming a film actress and model.
She made history as the first Black woman to win an Academy Award for her role in the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball.”
