7 Careers Launched By Cannes

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival is nearly upon us. Every year the frenzied fortnight pushes another handful of directors and stars into the limelight.

Steven Soderbergh

Before: Wannabe director working low profile directing and editing gigs in Hollywood and his home town of Baton Rouge.

At Cannes: Soderbergh came to the 1989 festival with his debut film sex, lies and videotape expecting to win nothing.

He came away with the top prize, the Palme D’or, which helped make his film a hit and put American indie back on the movie map.

After: A short slump before becoming one of the smartest and most prolific American directors working today, creating stylish crime thrillers (Out Of Sight, The Limey), arty issue pictures (Traffic, Che) and all-out blockbusters (Oceans Eleven).
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Jamie Bell

Before: Lad from Stockton on Tees aspiring to be an actor.

At Cannes: The euphoric, dancing Brit-hit Billy Elliot with Bell in the lead was shown out of competition at the 2000 festival. Without a Stateside distributor before Cannes, the film generated a monumental buzz and was fought over by several studios.

After: Bell has become one of our leading young lights, picking a determined and intelligent path through his new Hollywood career: King Kong, Hallam Foe, Defiance and now Tin Tin.
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She sensibly refused a slew of acting offers until she’d finished school, then bounced back as highlights and health-sucking hero Rogue in the massive X-Men trilogy.