In Hollywood, television is the most common jumping off point for actors and actresses hoping to one day have the chance to walk the red carpet, become film stars known worldwide and have their names associated with box office records and Academy Awards. Find out where this collection of movie regulars got their starts. 

10. Various members of the "Saturday Night Live" cast

"SNL" has been the kickstarter for upcoming actors, writers and comedians for years, since its foundation. While America may love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, a long list of actors, including Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Maya Rudolph and Chris Rock were at one point series regulars; many of the actors involved took part in the writing of the material as well. Ben Stiller had a four-episode run as a writer and castmember on the show, but left due to creative differences. Robert Downey Jr. even had a brief stint on the cast during the 1980s. Kristen Wiig, more recently, as well as Fey and Poehler, has gone on to other projects. Sarah Silverman, a featured member and writer, was recently heard as a voice actress in "Wreck It Ralph." The current cast members have had parts in movies, but taking into account their predecessors, we can expect to see more and more of them moving mediums to movies sooner rather than later. 

9. Morgan Freeman on "The Electric Company"

"The Electric Company," which ran from 1971 to 1977, was a PBS chldren's television series that employed sketch comedy techniques to encourage learning and education to its viewers. The original cast included Morgan Freeman, who continued with the show until 1977, playing various characters—an evil scientist in a parody of "Frankenstein" that focused on literacy and experiments,  "Easy Reader", a "smooth reading-loving hipster," and DJ Mel Mounds. The show was cancelled, in spite of high ratings and popularity, due to a lack of profit. Freeman went on in the 80s to take on supporting roles in feature films, then received acclaim as Chauffeur Hoke in "Driving Miss Daisy," whom he had played in the off-Broadway version of the play from 1987-1990. 

8. Emma Stone on "Drive"

Although she had appearances on "Medium" and "Malcolm in the Middle," it was not until "Drive" in 2007 that she began to make some name. Although the show, a drama about illegal road racing, was cancelled by FOX after only four episodes. (Notably, writer Tim Minear and actor Nathan Fillion, who played Stone's father, also had suffered a very similar early cancellation when working on "Firefly," which was cancelled after 12 aired episodes.) Although she auditioned for a role on "Heroes," it was her role in "Superbad" that turned Hollywood's attention towards her. Fun fact: In the Sept. 2007 issue of Marvel's "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man", Parker said that "ever since Fox cancelled 'Drive', it's been one piece of bad luck after another." Stone would later go on to play Gwen Stacy, Parker's love interest, in "The Amazing Spiderman" in 2012. 

7. James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel from "Freaks and Geeks"

Like the previous series, "Freaks and Geeks" suffered an untimely cancellation; airing on NBC from 1999-2000, the Judd Apatow/Paul Feig series was axed by NBC after 12 aired episodes, although 18 had been completed. The show gained a cult following, and has been called the "Best School Show of All Time" by AOL TV and was on Time's list of "All-Time 100 TV Shows". The "freaks", played by Franco, Rogen and Segel, have all gone on to be successful on screen and in television. Franco, who starred in "Pineapple Express" with Rogen, has films upcoming this year: "Oz: the Great and Powerful," which premieres on March 8, "This is the End," which also stars Rogen and premieres June 14. He will also play Hugh Hefner in June 28's "Lovelace," and star in the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, "Child of God." Seth Rogen, who gained his "big break" through "Knocked Up" was recently in 2012's "The Guilt Trip," starring alongside Barbra Streisand. Segel, who acted alongside Rogen in been in "Knocked Up," has been in films including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Despicable Me," "The Muppets" and "The Five-Year Engagement," and is best known for his role as Marshall on "How I Met Your Mother." Although they were originally "Freaks", they are no longer outsiders in Hollywood. 

6. Michelle Williams in "Dawson's Creek"

Although the "My Week With Marilyn" star may have taken on the iconic role just recently, she started playing blonde bombshells as Jen Lindley on the WB teen drama "Dawson's Creek" from 1998 to 2003. Since then, she has gone on to receive three Academy Award nominations, two for Best Actress. She began playing the character at the age of 17, and did not finish high school, electing to be home-schooled by her mother due to bullying. She was also emancipated from her parents at 15 in order to avoid child labor work laws as she pursued a career in acting. She will appear alongside Franco in "Oz: The Great and Powerful."

5. Ryan Gosling on "The Mickey Mouse Club"

Starting in 1993, Gosling began his career as a child actor in the "Mickey Mouse Club" alongside Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. The show was cancelled in 1995, although Gosling only had secured a two-year contract. He appeared in other children's and family entertainment programs in Canada, including "Goosebumps" and "Breaker High," and later, "Young Hercules" in 1998 to 1999. At 19, he switched focus from children's television into "serious film", beginning with a supporting role in "Remember the Titans"; he went on to get mainstream recognition playing Noah in "the Notebook," opposite Rachel McAdams. On March 29, he will star in "The Place beyond the Pines," directed by his "Blue Valentine" director Derek Cianfrance. 

4. Mila Kunis in "That 70s Show"

From 1998 until 2006, Kunis played the character of Jackie Burkhart in "That '70s Show." She began the role at the age of 14. In order to be cast, she told the casting directors that she would soon be turning 18, although the producers quickly figured it out, she was still cast, as they considered her audition to be the best. Additionally, in 1999, she began voicing the character of Meg Griffin on Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom "Family Guy," whom she continues to voice today. While she appeared in some poorly reviewed films, many of which were straight-to-DVD, her largely improvisation-based role in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" won her acclaim; she later had parts in "Max Payne," "Rejected," "Black Swan," "Friends With Benefits" and "Extract." Alongside Franco and Williams, she will portray Theodora, the youngest witch, in "Oz: THe Great and Powerful." She will also be in the Clive Owen film "Blood Ties" and a Robin Williams and Peter Dinklage comedy "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn."

3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "3rd Rock from the Sun"

He began playing in made-for-TV movies and had small roles in some series by the age of six and appeared in "Angels in the Outfield" in 1991. His most memorable early role, however, was Tommy Solomon on "3rd Rock from the Sun." In the show he portrayed an extraterrestrial posing as a boy. During the same time, he attended a Los Angeles high school, and resented the publicity "celebrity" gained him. In 1999, he had a role in "10 Things I hate About You," alongside Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, but then took a break from acting to attend college at Colombia University. In 2004, he played a gay prostitute in "Mysterious Skin" and a high school student who gets tangled with a drug ring in "Brick." More recently, he played Tom Hanson in "(500) Days of Summer," Arthur in "Inception," Adam in "50/50" and John Blake in "The Dark Knight Rises," as well co-starring with Bruce Willis in "Looper." In 2013, he will star in "Don Jon's Addiction," which he also directed and wrote, and has been announced to star in "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," which is currently filming.

2. Jennifer Lawrence in "The Bill Engvall Show"

Although her breakthrough performance was in the dark "Winter's Bone," for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, her first major role was on the TBS comedy "The Bill Engvall Show," playing Lauren Pearson, the eldest child. The show premiered in Sept. 2007 and was cancelled in 2009, before "Winter's Bone", which premiered in 2010. She did have some small roles in television shows and films, including "Garden Party" and "The Burning Plain," as well as "The Poker House," alongside Selma Blair and Chloë Grace Moretz. Her career in the past three years has been on fire, taking the lead in "The Hunger Games" franchise and "X-Men First Class," and will be appearing in the sequels to both films in 2013 and 2014, respectively. She has since won Best Actress for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook," in which she was just 21 as she played a recovering sex addict in the adaptation of the novel. She is working on the Depression-era film "Serena," playing the titular character, and will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," the second of a trilogy, to be released on Nov. 22. 

1. George Clooney in "E/R",  but also, "ER"

Not to be confused with that other show of nearly the same name that Clooney also starred in, his first major role was on the sitcom "E/R." "E/R" lasted a single season in 1984, with 22 episodes aired. It was originally on CBS, although it was cancelled, Clooney's acting life in the emergency room would be revived a decade later in the very similarly tilted "ER," which was also much more successful. In between "ER's" debut in 1994 and the cancellation of the previous show, he had a breakthrough role on "Roseanne," playing the recurring character Booker Brooks, Roseanne's supervisor. He then received a co-starring role as a detective of CBS' "Bodies of Evidence," and a role as Detective James Falconer on "Sisters." In 1994, he was cast as Dr. Doug Ross on "ER," a role which lasted from 1994 until 1999 and earned him three Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations. During his tenure on the show, he appeared in Hollywood films "From Dusk till Dawn" in 1996, then appeared alongside Michelle Pfeiffer in "One Fine Day" later that year, and then with Nicole Kidman in "The Peacemaker." After leaving "ER," he was in "O Brother, Where Art Thou" and "Ocean's Eleven," and continued a successful stream of starring roles in feature films. He will star with Sandra Bullock in the Alfonso Cuaron sci-fi film "Gravity," to be released on Oct. 4, 2013, and is producing the film adaptation of "August: Osage County" (I'm so excited for this you have no idea), the release date for which is yet unannounced. 

Reach Staff Reporter Christine Bancroft here. Follow her on Twitter here.