Admit it: When you and your friends were kids, you probably all thought you'd be famous. You probably sat around at some sleepover during third grade and talked about the future -- one of you saying he'd like to be president, another boasting she was going to be a world-famous pop star. Fast-forward 20 years, and one is working in an office and the other is cooking meth.
But, as we've previously discussed, there absolutely are groups of childhood friends who all wind up being world famous, often via completely different paths. For example ...
#8. Jay Z, Biggie Smalls, Busta Rhymes, And DMX All Went To The Same School
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Where you go to high school has a massive effect on what you do with your life -- it can determine the college you go to, your eventual career, or how many times your rap album goes platinum. For most of us, that last number is "none," but if you went to Brooklyn's George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in the 1980s, you apparently have to go out of your way not to sell a million records: Four of the world's most famous rap artists all went there.
Those four are Jay Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, and DMX. Obviously, some members of that group have had a huge effect on the musical landscape, whereas the impact of others is better felt in Steven Seagal movies but, nevertheless, they all began their respective careers in these halls:
Kevin Walsh
Big Pimpin' 101 is their most popular elective.
While Biggie chose not to share his skills with his fellow students, Jay Z and Busta Rhymes actually had a rap battle in the school lunchroom. According to Busta, "That was probably the first time I lost a battle that mattered," which seems to indicate that facing off against Jay Z was his own personal Vietnam. Despite the fact that he wasn't the best rapper in the school, it is presumably some consolation that the man who defeated him currently has a net worth of over $500 million.
Hot 97, Handout/Getty Images News/Getty Images
He's "wears a handkerchief in his pocket and communicates telepathically with Bill Gates" rich now.
So, what, is this just one of those freak coincidences, like how most of America's astronauts are from Ohio? Maybe. But we should also point out that these guys knew each other, challenged each other, worked together ... and in general, probably got a really healthy concept of just how much they'd have to practice to get ahead. Having moderate rap skills might make you King Shit in suburban Wisconsin, but these guys had to wake up every morning knowing they had to sharpen their skills daily just to keep up with the other dudes in gym class.
#7. Craig Ferguson And The Current Doctor Who Were In A Punk Band
CBS Television Studios
Over the course of a schizophrenic career, former Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson has dabbled in everything from stand-up comedy and producing to voice acting and starring on The Drew Carey Show. The man's career already seems like a random collection of crossword puzzle clues, which makes the revelation that he started off by playing in a punk band with Doctor Fucking Who only slightly less surprising.
Sounds Magazine
He's wearing a bowtie, as if he somehow already knew.
The Scottish-born Ferguson entered show business in the '80s by playing drums in a band called the Dreamboys (originally "The Bastards from Hell") with Peter Capaldi, AKA the current star of Doctor Who, which for all intents and purposes is one slain enemy of the Crown away from full-blown knighthood. When they weren't playing loud music, they were engaging in the other chief pursuit of punk musicians -- doing absolutely all of the drugs in the universe.
Shapers Of The '80s
All of them.
According to Ferguson, there wasn't much cocaine in Scotland at the time, so they mostly got by on speed and acid. This is another way of saying that, by the time the group disbanded, Peter Capaldi's mind had likely already conjured up scarier creatures than he would ever encounter as a Time Lord.
"Outer Limits," the greatest "accidentally fucked an alien who collects people like stamps" song ever written.
Before they went their separate ways, it was Capaldi who gave Ferguson the idea that he should pursue comedy. Three decades later, one's portraying a classic sci-fi character and the other is hosting a game show after a long stint as a late-night talk show host, so we think we're way overdue for a reunion via an improbable crossover episode.
#6. Kevin James And Mick Foley Were On The Same Wrestling Team
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
If you did a word association with actor Kevin James, the words "star athlete" would probably be ranked six or seven results lower than "Adam Sandler charity." The heavyset comedian is better known for playing sad sacks and blue-collar working men (the two are not mutually exclusive). And yet, in high school he was the star of the wrestling team, totally eclipsing one of his teammates, Michael Foley, better known as Mick "bestselling author and hardcore wrestling legend" Foley. Foley is most recognizable as Mankind, the masked lunatic who rose to WWE stardom in the late 1990s by throwing himself headfirst into every kind of violence imaginable.
Getting thrown from the top of a cage was probably less painful than being in Grown Ups 2.
It's easy to imagine James as being the comedic foil to Foley's wrestling champion back in high school, but both men agree that James was the better wrestler. Foley looked up to Kevin James, whom he considered "the toughest kid in school" (again, this is in reference to the man who would eventually enjoy his greatest box office success as Paul Blart: Mall Cop). According to James: "We were both heavyweights. And I used to take him down all the time."
Seth Poppel / Yearbook Library
"And I didn't even need thumbtacks."
In fact, if it wasn't for James, Foley might never have become a WWE Hall of Famer. In a classic sports film setup, Foley moved up from sparring partner to star when James hurt his back and was out for the season. Foley rose to the challenge, no doubt through an '80s power ballad montage, and went on to raise the standards of violence in televised wrestling. Meanwhile, James recovered and had a promising college football career ... only for his shitty back to ruin everything again.
It was apparently then that James got bored of the life-risking injuries and decided to go from sports to stand-up comedy -- a career progression, by the way, that Foley is now trying to imitate. So it is our responsibility to assume that Mick Foley will soon be appearing in an Adam Sandler film as Kevin James' weird cousin or something.
#5. Cameron Diaz Probably Bought Weed From Snoop Dogg In High School
Scott Gries/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
If a fortune teller had told 16-year-old Cameron Diaz, one of the most popular cheerleaders at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, that she would go on co-star in movies with Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio, her response probably would've been, "Sure, I can see that" (or "This is 1988; who the hell is Leonardo DiCaprio?").
Seth Poppel / Yearbook Library
"You're going to have to suffer through some bullshit movie about a magical cartoon mask, though. So, be ready for that."
On the other hand, if that same soothsayer told her that Calvin Broadus, the skinny kid who sold pot at Diaz' school, would also become a world-famous superstar with 16 Grammy nominations, and that the two of them would be their high school's most famous alumni, that might have been harder to believe. Although if we're being perfectly honest, judging by their yearbook photos it seemed like both of them were destined to become elementary school guidance counselors.
Seth Poppel / Yearbook Library, Seth Poppel / Yearbook Library
They would recommend every kid pursue either herbal medicine, or hair care.
Snoop Dogg was a year ahead of Diaz and, though they weren't friends, Snoop recalls Diaz as being "hip" and "fly," while Diaz says Snoop "wore a lot of ponytails," which is about as much of a judge of character as we can expect the star of two Charlie's Angels movies to be. Incidentally, they both think he might have sold weed to her at some point, though Snoop added that he probably gave her "white girl weed. Y'know, sticks and stems." Probably because that fortune teller told him about Knight and Day.
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