12 Famous Sidekicks Turned A-Listers

Everyone’s got to start somewhere. The sidekick or sidepiece role is the celebrity equivalent to being somebody’s plus one at an event, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the final destination.

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These 12 famous sidekicks turned A-listers used tagging along with a friend as a way into their respective industries before creating their own lane and the checks that came along with it.

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Photo: New Line Cinema/Priority Films screen capture

photo: WENN

Terrence Howard

Does anyone remember Sparks? Howard was billed third behind James Avery and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. And you can make a solid argument that people were checking for Robin Givens more than Howard, yet here he is with a major role on the highest-rated drama in America.

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Kanye West

Yeezy went from being the guy who gave Jay Z those sped-up soul samples to the closest thing we have to rockstar royalty in Hip-Hop. The song “Big Brother” pretty much sums it up.

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Kim Kardashian

Do remember that Kim used to be both Paris Hilton’s swarthy gal pal and an accessory to both Nick Cannon and Ray J before eclipsing all of her former boyfriends in fame and taking her family to a level of fame that even her late father couldn’t achieve. She’s figuratively bigger than the O.J. trial.

2 Chainz

Back when he had a NSFW, mammary-inspired nickname, 2 Chainz was a nondescript member of Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace crew. Ludacris has bonafide movie success, but on the musical side, the pupil has probably surpassed the master at this point.

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Mo’Nique

Let the annals of history show that Mo’Nique Imes-Jackson went from being a supporting cast member on a UPN show to winning an Academy Award. Like Kevin Garnett said, “Anything is possible!”

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Gayle King

Check her IMDB credits, and you’ll see Gayle has been rolling with Oprah since The Color Purple in 1985. Does anyone even know what she used to put on her 1099 before she turned being Oprah Winfrey’s homegirl into a lucrative, real job?

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Jim Jones

“Capo Status” huh? Jim used to be the bummy dude Cam’ron was throwing rocks at in the “Let Me Know” video. Check it out again on YouTube if you need a refresher.

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Verne Troyer

As Mini Me in the Austin Powers series, Troyer was literally a sidekick, and arguably one step remove from being a stage prop. Now he gets paid to show up to places. Only in America.

Chris Tucker

You can’t get much more sidekick status than Tucker was in Friday. At his prime, he went from the comedic relieve in a cult classic stoner comedy to an A-list actor and comedian with roles in Silver Linings Playbook, Rush Hour, and The Fifth Element.

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Scottie Pippen

He’s not a billionaire, and kids aren’t camping outside of stores to get his kicks. But was there a better sidekick in all of sports (non Al Cowlings category) than Pip? Michael Jordan won exactly zero chips without Pip for what that’s worth.

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Arsenio Hall

Arsenio basically flipped his standup career and a memorable, semi-autobiographical role as Eddie Murphy’s ace in Coming To America into two cracks at being America’s premiere late night talk show host. The first attempt was historic, and the less said about the second attempt the better.