“From Innocence to Edginess: Discover the Surprising Debuts of Hollywood Icons in Their First R-Rated Roles!”
Halle Berry Jungle Fever (1991)
Halle Berry has been in way too many good movies. She’s won awards, made acceptance speeches, and advocated for the less fortunate with more class than just about anybody else in this industry. Even though she’s a classy lady, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to get down and dirty with an R-rated movie every now and again.
The first time she acted in an R-rated film was in 1991 in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. She and Samuel L. Jackson play a couple of crackheads who seem more charming than they are dangerous.
Reese Witherspoon S.F.W. (1994)
Reese started her acting career when she was pretty young, but she didn’t star in her first R-rated movie until 1994. That year, she played Stephen Dorff’s love interest in S.F.W. In the movie, Reese and Stephen’s characters fall in love while they’re being held hostage.
Reese would later go on to act in other R-rated movies, most notably, American Psycho starring Christian Bale. Recently, Reese produced and acted in the HBO series Big Little Lies.
Jennifer Lawrence The Poker House (2008)
Jennifer Lawrence has been in a ton of R-rated movies since her acting debut. You might think that Winter’s Bone, the movie that earned young J-Law and Oscar nomination, was her first R-rated film, but in reality, she had already been in an R-rated movie called The Poker House in 2008. In that film, she plays a young girl growing up in Iowa.
Jennifer Lawrence would later go on to win an Oscar for her work in Silver Linings Playbook.
Anne Hathaway Havoc (2005)
Anne Hathway began her career starring in kid-friendly movies like The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted. When she was ready to shed her PG image, she appeared in the 2005 film Havoc, which wasn’t very well received by the critics. In the film, her character has several nude scenes in the movie.
Anne Hathaway would go on to star in some better received R-rated films like Love and Other Drugs alongside Jake Gyllenhall.
Angelina Jolie Love Is All There Is (1996)
Angelina Jolie was just 20 years old when she acted in a little movie called Love Is All There Is. The film is a romantic comedy based on Romeo and Juliet set in the Bronx. The movie came out in 1996.
If you’ve ever seen this movie, it was probably in a high school classroom right after you finished reading Romeo and Juliet. The movie isn’t that great, but Angelina was pretty good in it.
Winona Ryder 1969 (1988)
After starring in the PG-rated Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder decided to expand her horizons and star in an R-rated movie. She acted opposite Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Downey Jr. in 1969, a film about a couple of draft dodger buddies.
1969 wasn’t very well received, but a year later, Winona would go on to make Heathers, which is still very well loved by audiences everywhere. You can now watch Winona Ryder in every season of Stranger Things.
Scarlett Johansson Just Cause (1995)
Scarlett Johansson started her career in PG movies, but it wasn’t long before she made her first foray into R-rated features. In 1995, Scarlett played Kate Capshaw as Sean Connery’s daughter in Just Cause.
The movie is about a lawyer (Connery’s character) who opposes the death penalty. He travels to Florida to investigate the truth behind a man’s murder trial. Scarlett was just eleven years old at the time.
Johnny Depp A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Johnny Depp has an acting career that spans decades, but the first time he starred in an R-rated movie was in 1984 when he appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street. A Nightmare on Elm Street was also Johnny Depp’s first ever movie.
His friend, Nicolas Cage, recommended him to the director of the film, Wes Craven. Later, Depp would go on to star in hits like Edward Scissorhands and just about every Tim Burton movie ever.
Edward Norton Primal Fear (1996)
Ed Norton burst onto the movie scene with more gusto than just about anyone else. From the very beginning, we knew this was an actor to watch. Ed Norton’s first movie (and first R-rated movie) was Primal Fear in 1997.
Orton’s performance in this film earned him an Oscar nomination. Norton would later go on to star in several hit movies including Fight Club alongside Brad Pitt.
Emily Blunt My Summer of Love (2004)
Emily Blunt also started her movie career with an R-rated film. In 2004, she starred in My Summer of Love, a film about two girls falling in love over the course of one summer. Blunt was just 20 years old when filming started. The film wasn’t very widely seen, but people who did see the movie appreciated Emily’s honest performance.
