Every actor has their own path to take before - if they're talented and lucky enough - they hit the big time. Many of the older guard of the profession, for example, started their acting careers after attending drama school by appearing in theatrical presentations, before moving into television and later film. A long stint working in television isn't unusual for most actors who end up on the big screen, but by the time they reach the position when their faces are emblazoned on huge billboards it's easy to forget that they started out from considerably more humble beginnings. Few acting roles can be considered more far removed from huge Hollywood blockbusters than the television soap opera - and yet more than a few famous stars first came to wider attention after appearing in a soap on a regular basis. From the American hit show Dallas through to Australian ongoing series' such as Neighbours and Home And Away, the soap opera has bred more A-list stars than you might think. Whether you're a soap addict and can't get enough of your daily dose of over the top slices of life or you avoid them like the plague, the format is a fixture of television broadcasting which is here to stay. Given that they've produced so many great actors over the years, perhaps they're not such a bad thing after all. Let's take a look at ten huge stars who appeared in soap operas before they hit the big time.