Cole Hauser
- Born: Santa Barbara, California (3/22/1975)
- Known for:
--- Carter Verone in "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003)
--- Benny in "Dazed and Confused" (1993)
--- Billy in "Good Will Hunting" (1997)

Admiring and envying the world's biggest stars is easy to do on Instagram. From A-list movie stars and major musicians to pro ball players and comedians who landed their own sitcoms, there's no shortage of evidence of just how good the good life is. They post pictures of themselves with other big shots on rooftop bars, at exclusive clubs, at backstage parties, and at restaurants where regular people can't get a reservation.
But the vast majority of these celebrities were born and raised outside of Hollywood, finding their way to the bright lights and big money of superstardom from obscure beginnings in regular small towns or cities across the country.
Stacker compiled a list of actors that were born in California from IMDb's most popular list. For each actor, we included a movie poster image from a film he is known for (all movie poster images from OMDb). Keep reading to see which favorite actors are from your home state.
You may also like: Famous actresses from California
You may also like: Hottest Septembers in California since 1895
- Born: Santa Barbara, California (3/22/1975)
- Known for:
--- Carter Verone in "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003)
--- Benny in "Dazed and Confused" (1993)
--- Billy in "Good Will Hunting" (1997)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (8/20/1983)
- Known for:
--- Desmond Doss in "Hacksaw Ridge" (2016)
--- Eduardo Saverin in "The Social Network" (2010)
--- Spider-Man in "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012)
- Born: Hayward, California (5/2/1972)
- Known for:
--- Spencer in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (2017)
--- Hank in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (2012)
--- Maui in "Moana" (2016)
- Born: Modesto, California (1/7/1971)
- Known for:
--- Staff Sergeant William James in "The Hurt Locker" (2008)
--- Cory Lambert in "Wind River" (2017)
--- James Coughlin in "The Town" (2010)
- Born: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (11/11/1974)
- Known for:
--- Cobb in "Inception" (2010)
--- Billy in "The Departed" (2006)
--- Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013)
You may also like: Most popular baby names for girls of the last decade in California
You may also like: Cities with the most expensive homes in California
- Born: San Diego, California (11/19/1983)
- Known for:
--- Kylo Ren in "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" (2015)
--- Paterson in "Paterson" (2016)
--- Kylo Ren in "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" (2017)
- Born: Concord, California (7/9/1956)
- Known for:
--- Producer in "Cast Away" (2000)
--- Josh in "Big" (1988)
--- Forrest Gump in "Forrest Gump" (1994)
- Born: Santa Monica, California (6/27/1975)
- Known for:
--- Capt. Sam Cahill in "Brothers" (2009)
--- Spider-Man in "Spider-Man" (2002)
--- James Leer in "Wonder Boys" (2000)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (12/19/1980)
- Known for:
--- Louis Bloom in "Nightcrawler" (2014)
--- Jack Twist in "Brokeback Mountain" (2005)
--- Donnie Darko in "Donnie Darko" (2001)
- Born: Long Beach, California (1/7/1964)
- Known for:
--- Castor Troy in "Face/Off" (1997)
--- Ben Sanderson in "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995)
--- Stanley Goodspeed in "The Rock" (1996)
You may also like: States where people in California are getting new jobs
You may also like: Countries from which California imports the most goods
- Born: Lynwood, California (1/18/1955)
- Known for:
--- The Postman in "The Postman" (1997)
--- Lieutenant Dunbar in "Dances with Wolves" (1990)
--- Robin of Locksley in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991)
- Born: Long Beach, California (7/5/1968)
- Known for:
--- Larry Gopnik in "A Serious Man" (2009)
--- Mr. Perlman in "Call Me by Your Name" (2017)
--- Dr. Robert Hoffstetler in "The Shape of Water" (2017)
- Born: San Francisco, California (5/31/1930)
- Known for:
--- Frankie Dunn in "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)
--- Walt Kowalski in "Gran Torino" (2008)
--- Robert Kincaid in "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (5/12/1981)
- Known for:
--- Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018)
--- Elliot Alderson in "Mr. Robot" (2015-2019)
--- Louis Dega in "Papillon" (2017)
- Born: Irvine, California (7/16/1967)
- Known for:
--- Producer in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006)
--- Producer in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" (2013)
--- Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004)
You may also like: Highest-rated museums in California
You may also like: Cities with the fastest-growing home prices in California
- Born: Los Angeles, California (4/27/1991)
- Known for:
--- Paxton Hall-Yoshida in "Never Have I Ever" (2020-2022)
--- Grant in "American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules" (2020)
--- Wilfred 'Freddy' Malick in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (2020)
- Born: Lompoc, California (9/7/1989)
- Known for:
--- Atticus Freeman in "Lovecraft Country" (2020)
--- Montgomery Allen in "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" (2019)
--- Johnny 'Lil Man' Curry in "White Boy Rick" (2018)
- Born: Santa Monica, California (12/30/1983)
- Known for:
--- Nick Goode in "Fear Street: Part One - 1994" (2021)
--- Charlie Isaacs in "Manhattan" (2014-2015)
--- Nate Sofrelli in "Succession" (2018-2021)
- Born: Berkeley, California (8/15/1972)
- Known for:
--- Producer in "Argo" (2012)
--- Nick Dunne in "Gone Girl" (2014)
--- Doug MacRay in "The Town" (2010)
- Born: Santa Monica, California (2/12/1968)
- Known for:
--- Thanos in "Avengers: Endgame" (2019)
--- Llewelyn Moss in "No Country for Old Men" (2007)
--- Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)
You may also like: Zip codes with the most expensive homes in California
You may also like: Highest-rated breweries in California
- Born: Oakland, California (2/16/1974)
- Known for:
--- Remy Danton in "House of Cards" (2013-2016)
--- Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes in "Luke Cage" (2016)
--- Tizzy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (5/20/1960)
- Known for:
--- Carl Bruner in "Ghost" (1990)
--- Dean in "The Mechanic" (2011)
--- Colonel Bagley in "The Last Samurai" (2003)
- Born: Palo Alto, California (4/19/1978)
- Known for:
--- Tommy in "The Disaster Artist" (2017)
--- Aron Ralston in "127 Hours" (2010)
--- Alien in "Spring Breakers" (2012)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (4/17/1989)
- Known for:
--- Peter Jablonski in "Seven Seconds" (2018)
--- Knox in "Death Wish" (2018)
--- Jay in "Destroyer" (2018)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (8/26/1980)
- Known for:
--- Kirk in "Star Trek" (2009)
--- Steve Trevor in "Wonder Woman" (2017)
--- Captain James T. Kirk in "Star Trek Beyond" (2016)
You may also like: Best colleges in California
You may also like: Most popular diamond shapes in California
- Born: Los Angeles, California (12/20/1983)
- Known for:
--- Schmidt in "21 Jump Street" (2012)
--- Schmidt in "22 Jump Street" (2014)
--- Donnie Azoff in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013)
- Born: North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (3/5/1936)
- Died: 11/7/2021
- Known for:
--- Admiral Al Calavicci in "Quantum Leap" (1989-1993)
--- Tony 'The Tiger' Russo in "Married to the Mob" (1988)
--- Walt Henderson in "Paris, Texas" (1984)
- Born: San Bernardino, California (8/12/1991)
- Known for:
--- Cassius Green in "Sorry to Bother You" (2018)
--- Lieutenant Elliott in "Knives Out" (2019)
--- Marcus in "Short Term 12" (2013)
- Born: San Luis Obispo, California (10/18/1987)
- Known for:
--- Mike O'Donnell in "17 Again" (2009)
--- Troy Bolton in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" (2008)
--- Phillip Carlyle in "The Greatest Showman" (2017)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (12/31/1959)
- Known for:
--- Jim Morrison in "The Doors" (1991)
--- Simon Templar in "The Saint" (1997)
--- Gay Perry in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005)
You may also like: See how much of its wind energy potential California uses
You may also like: Biggest comeback wins in Los Angeles Chargers history
- Born: Daly City, California (11/5/1968)
- Known for:
--- Sam Bell in "Moon" (2009)
--- Dixon in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017)
--- Chuck Barris in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002)
- Born: Sacramento, California (8/9/1944)
- Known for:
--- Bobby in "A Star Is Born" (2018)
--- Wade Garrett in "Road House" (1989)
--- Lee Hayden in "The Hero" (2017)
- Born: Santa Barbara, California (6/1/1984)
- Known for:
--- Sonny in "Chasing Mavericks" (2012)
--- Dean in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" (2006)
--- Deputy Dixon Lamb in "Vegas" (2012-2013)
- Born: Sacramento, California (11/24/1977)
- Known for:
--- Preston in "King Kong" (2005)
--- Shaun Brumder in "Orange County" (2002)
--- Oliver in "The House Bunny" (2008)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (12/7/1966)
- Known for:
--- Ponyboy Curtis in "The Outsiders" (1983)
--- Jim Halsey in "The Hitcher" (1986)
--- Tyler in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
You may also like: Most popular baby names for boys in California
You may also like: Coldest Octobers in California since 1895
- Born: Panorama City, California (3/1/1974)
- Known for:
--- Peter Bash in "Franklin & Bash" (2011-2014)
--- Det. John Clark, Jr. in "NYPD Blue" (2001-2005)
--- Brad Wolgast in "The Passage" (2019)
- Born: Alameda County, California (7/18/1967)
- Known for:
--- Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
--- Producer in "Furious 7" (2015)
--- Dominic Toretto in "The Fast and the Furious" (2001)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (2/17/1981)
- Known for:
--- Arthur in "Inception" (2010)
--- Joe in "Looper" (2012)
--- Jon in "Don Jon" (2013)
- Born: Burbank, California (4/20/1959)
- Known for:
--- Ralakili in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018)
--- Sy Liebergot - EECOM White in "Apollo 13" (1995)
--- Eaglebauer in "Rock 'n' Roll High School" (1979)
- Born: Hermosa Beach, California (8/28/1969)
- Known for:
--- Dewey Finn in "School of Rock" (2003)
--- Barry Judd in "High Fidelity" (2000)
--- Nacho in "Nacho Libre" (2006)
You may also like: Most popular girl names in the 70s in California
You may also like: Hottest months in California since 1895
- Born: Culver City, California (7/24/1949)
- Known for:
--- Cosmo Kramer in "Seinfeld" (1989-1998)
--- Stanley Spadowski in "UHF" (1989)
--- Doug Beech in "Airheads" (1994)
- Born: San Francisco, California (2/9/1975)
- Known for:
--- Quiznos Guy in "Easy A" (2010)
--- Director in "Skyscraper" (2018)
--- Director in "Red Notice" (2021)
- Born: Santa Monica, California (6/19/1976)
- Known for:
--- Gerry Bertier in "Remember the Titans" (2000)
--- Lump Hudson in "The Ladykillers" (2004)
--- Sgt. Ernie Savage in "We Were Soldiers" (2002)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (6/11/1986)
- Known for:
--- James in "Honey Boy" (2019)
--- Tyler in "The Peanut Butter Falcon" (2019)
--- Boyd 'Bible' Swan in "Fury" (2014)
- Born: Los Angeles, California (8/28/1986)
- Known for:
--- Cameron Winklevoss in "The Social Network" (2010)
--- Oliver in "Call Me by Your Name" (2017)
--- John Reid (Lone Ranger) in "The Lone Ranger" (2013)
You may also like: Countries California exports the most goods to
You may also like: Best private colleges in California
- Born: Los Angeles, California (4/10/1988)
- Known for:
--- Cole Sear in "The Sixth Sense" (1999)
--- David in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001)
--- Trevor McKinney in "Pay It Forward" (2000)
- Born: Hollywood, California (3/7/1956)
- Known for:
--- Walter White in "Breaking Bad" (2008-2013)
--- Hal in "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000-2006)
--- Jack O'Donnell in "Argo" (2012)
- Born: Castro Valley, California (11/24/1964)
- Known for:
--- Armsby in "12 Years a Slave" (2013)
--- Francis Wolcott in "Deadwood" (2004-2005)
--- Wendell in "No Country for Old Men" (2007)
- Born: Victorville, California (11/4/1982)
- Known for:
--- Trent in "Friday the 13th" (2009)
--- Trent in "Transformers" (2007)
--- Sonio in "Meet the Spartans" (2008)