For a lot of famous faces, the real action happens far away from red carpets and press tours. Behind the scenes, some of the biggest names in film, music and TV quietly clock in at candy counters, woodworking benches and even in ambulances. These low‑key ventures are not just vanity projects, they are second careers that reveal what actually keeps these celebrities curious and grounded.
From a historic general store in a sleepy New England village to a tiny drama bookshop in Manhattan, these side gigs are hiding in plain sight. Fans might never spot them unless they wander into the right neighborhood bakery or click through an obscure business website, but the stories behind them say more about celebrity life than any glossy profile.
Small‑town shopkeepers in A‑list bodies
Some stars do not just endorse local businesses, they literally own the place and worry about inventory like any other shopkeeper. Steve Carell is a prime example, quietly running the historic general store in the village of Marshfield Hills. Reporting notes that Steve Carell owns the historic Marshfield Hills general store in Marshfield Hills, and that detail has turned into a kind of local legend, with residents just as likely to bump into him behind the counter as on a movie screen. A separate account of celebrity side gigs also points out that Steve Carell owns the local general store, reinforcing how central this shop has become to his off‑camera life.
He is not alone in treating retail as a second act. In New York’s Hudson Valley, Paul Rudd and his wife have become part of the fabric of a beloved neighborhood candy store, with fans trading stories about running into them at Samuel’s Sweet Shop. One pop culture thread on Celebrity Side Hustles spells out how Paul Rudd and his wife are hands‑on at the shop, and another discussion of random side gigs mentions how Steve Carrell (spelled there with a double “r”) owns the local general store he helped revive. Together, these small storefronts show how some of the most bankable names in Hollywood choose to spend their downtime worrying about coffee filters and gummy bears instead of box‑office totals.
Craft nerds and book lovers building niche empires
Other celebrities lean into deeply specific passions that would look right at home on an Etsy page or in a theater‑kid group chat. Woodworking obsessive Nick Offerman has turned his love of lumber into a full‑blown business at Offerman Woodshop, where custom furniture and hand‑crafted goods sit miles away from his sitcom persona. The shop’s physical footprint is reflected in a dedicated place listing that pins Offerman’s workshop on the map, underscoring that this is not a symbolic side project but a real working studio. A broader rundown of quirky celebrity gigs even singles out craftspeople like Offerman among “37” unusual examples, with that list counting down from “37” to “36” and name‑checking artists such as Erykah Badu and Ross Val as proof that niche passions can scale.
On the other side of the creative spectrum, theater fans in New York have quietly been shopping alongside one of Broadway’s most influential names. The Drama Book Shop has long been a haven for playwrights and actors, and its current incarnation is tied to a high‑profile creative team that stepped in to save it from closure. The store’s location is marked in a separate place listing that situates the bookshop in Midtown, a reminder that some of the most interesting celebrity businesses are not splashy streaming platforms but cramped, lovingly curated spaces stacked with scripts and cast recordings.
From stage and screen to emergency calls and construction sites
Not every side gig is cozy or cute. Some celebrities have taken on work that is physically demanding and, in one case, literally life‑saving. Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth trained as a state‑licensed EMT in New York, trading arena pyrotechnics for ambulance sirens. A profile of his second career notes that the Former Van Halen singer described the work as a way to live a different life away from music, and a later rundown of “normal jobs” spells out that David Lee Roth is a state‑licensed EMT in New York who has spoken about how the job gave him a different perspective. That same list of working celebrities highlights how he kept the EMT role relatively quiet, treating it as a genuine public service rather than a branding exercise.
Others have gone in a more literal bricks‑and‑mortar direction. In one widely shared thread about random side gigs, fans point out that Anthony Mackie does this too, with one commenter adding that they think he builds new houses as well. A second link to the same discussion reiterates that Anthony Mackie does this too and again mentions that he builds new houses, suggesting that construction and development have become a real parallel track for him. These are not the kinds of gigs that come with red carpet photo calls, but they do show how some performers are drawn to work where the stakes are tangible and the results are measured in square footage or lives saved.
Wellness moguls, wine sellers and the business of being a brand
At the other end of the spectrum sit celebrities who have turned their names into full‑scale lifestyle brands. Gwyneth Paltrow is the most obvious case, having launched Goop as a weekly lifestyle newsletter that grew into a sprawling wellness company. A broader look at celebrity side jobs notes that in 2008 Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop and has since written books and built out a full product line, while a more recent breakdown of surprising side hustles points out that while many do not take Goop or Paltrow seriously, she has proven she has what it takes to get a side gig off the ground. That second analysis underlines how Goop and Paltrow have become shorthand for the modern celebrity‑as‑CEO model, where a newsletter morphs into a global brand.
Alcohol has become another favorite lane for star‑driven businesses, but even there, some projects fly under the radar. A detailed roundup of celebrity alcohol brands notes that there are “34” such labels and highlights how Plus more stars, including Elizabeth Banks, James Harden and Cameron Diaz, are sipping and selling their own vinos. The same piece points out that People spotlighted how Elizabeth Banks, James Harden and Cameron Diaz have leaned into wine as a side business, turning their taste for a good bottle into a revenue stream. A separate overview of celebrity side jobs lists “25” celebrities with side gigs and uses those figures to show just how crowded the field has become, with names like Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop sitting alongside actors and athletes who have quietly attached their names to spirits and canned cocktails.
Music icons, candy counters and the internet’s favorite listicles
Some of the most surprising side hustles belong to musicians who already have decades of hits behind them. A financial rundown of unexpected gigs points out that Grammy‑winning singer and songwriter Erykah Badu has built a lucrative second career beyond recording and acting. That same report emphasizes that She has turned her creative instincts into a business that sits comfortably alongside her Grammy credentials, and a separate image‑driven list of “37 celebrity side hustles” again singles out Erykah Badu among its “37” and “36” entries. Together, those pieces show how a musician can treat entrepreneurship as another experimental space, not just a cash grab.
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