The old notion of stars being born was really never true, but there's no denying that moment when a performer blasts into the cultural consciousness, as if they had always been there, waiting to happen.
Though the truth is that actors and actresses often work for years – sometimes decades – before they get a chance at that one Big Moment, we still all know the movies that launched them.
Here are some of those who owe their celebrity to the right role, in the right film, at the right time.