11 Awesome Actors Who Broke Into Hollywood Late

1. Kathy Bates

To younger film fans in particular, it probably seems like Kathy Bates has been a Hollywood institution for a good deal of her 70 years on this planet.

But real fame came to the actress more recently than that, and throughout the 70s and 80s, Bates had to mostly make do with playing single-named characters or women credited merely as "Mrs." This is all despite being nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in 1983.

Only did her fortunes change when she won the coveted role of Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's horror classic Misery.

Bates was 42 when the film hit screens and proved an immediate smash hit, planting her name on the map and winning her a well-earned Best Actress Oscar.

Bates has been a reliable character actor ever since, with well over 100 credits to her name across TV and film, not to mention two additional Oscar nominations in 1999 (Primary Colors) and 2003 (About Schmidt).

Which of these late-bloomer actors surprised you the most? Shout it out in the comments!