5 Celebrities That Wanted to Be Architects

It’s nearly impossible to imagine Friends without Courtney Cox, Pulp Fiction without Samuel L. Jackson, or Simon without Garfunkel, but these 5 notable figures had hopes of being “starchitects” before they ever dreamed of being celebrities.

1. Courtney Cox: Before starring as the beloved Monica Geller on Friends, Courtney Cox studied architecture at Mount Vernon College in Washington, D.C. Cox abandoned her original course of study in order to pursue a career in modeling and acting, which obviously paid off.
2. George Takei: George Takei’s original college pursuits centered on studying architecture. After having graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, he went on to earn his Masters of Arts in theater from UCLA. And it’s a good thing he did, because we simply can’t conceive of anyone else at the helm of the Star Trek USS Enterprise.
3. Samuel L. Jackson: We can’t imagine any other actor playing the role of Jules in Pulp Fiction or Zeus in Die Hard: With A Vengeance, so we’re glad that Samuel L. Jackson changed his Morehouse College major from architectural studies to dramatic arts.
4. James Stewart: Before he starred in such classic films as Rear Window and It’s A Wonderful Life, James Stewart studied architecture at Princeton University. His design of an airport terminal earned him a scholarship for graduate study, which he subsequently turned down in order to grace the silver screen with his debonair charm.
5. Art Garfunkel: Having produced and recorded the song “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright,” it comes as no surprise that Art Garfunkel had an interest in architecture. He studied architecture at Columbia University before going on to become one half of the dynamic singing/songwriting team known as Simon and Garfunkel.

Photo courtesy of andy, flickr.