Ten Top Actors Who Started on Soaps

Alison Sweeney is bidding adieu to her character Samantha on Days Of Our Lives after 21 years on the show. WATCH.

In lieu of this big soap news, check out 10 stars that, like the Biggest Loser host, were once soap stars!

Ryan Phillippe made television history during his year-long stint on One Life to Live from 1992 to 1993. The actor played Billy Douglas, who was the first gay teenager ever to be portrayed on a daytime soap opera.

All of the lying and cheating Eva Longoria did from 2001 to 2003 playing Isabella Brana on The Young and the Restless certainly must have prepared her for the role of Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives.

Demi Moore spent a year on the set of General Hospital playing reporter Jackie Templeton before making a move to the silver screen. 

Former model Josh Duhamel began his acting career playing heartthrob Leo du Pres on All My Children from 1999 to 2002, when his character allegedly died in a waterfall. In true soap opera fashion, the body was never found. Duhamel returned to television from 2003 to 2008 to star in the series Las Vegas and later starred in the Transformers franchise.

Before diving into her film career, Susan Sarandon, a former model, spent a year playing Patrice Kahlman on A World Apart in 1970. Five years later, she would become a household name with movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Great Waldo Pepper.

"The Hoff" began his acting career playing Dr. William "Snapper" Foster Jr. on The Young and the Restless in 1975. He stayed with the cast for seven years.

Before strapping on his dance shoes for his breakthrough role in Footloose, Kevin Bacon played Tim "TJ" Werner on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1980 to 1981. 

Before becoming one of America's sweethearts in films like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan was a romantic on the small screen. From 1982 to 1984, she played Betsy Stewart on As the World Turns.

Marisa Tomei, a former NYU student, got her acting start playing Marcy Thompson on As the World Turns in 1984. Shortly after being cast, Tomei dropped out of school to focus on her acting career. Her determination paid off -- she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for the film My Cousin Vinny.

Before her breakthrough role as Amber Waves in the film Boogie Nights, Julianne Moore played the dual roles of half-sisters Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on As the World Turns. Her 1985-1988 soap opera stint won her a Daytime Emmy.

Alison Sweeney is bidding adieu to her character Samantha on Days Of Our Lives after 21 years on the show. WATCH.

In lieu of this big soap news, check out 10 stars that, like the Biggest Loser host, were once soap stars!