Brie Larson had the coolest job before she got her big break

From spinning vinyls to an Oscar win, yes, really...

Words by Megan C. Hills

Before snagging their breakout Hollywood role, some actors spend their time waiting tables, others dress up in a chicken suit and dance around around for el Pollo Loco (we're looking at you, Brad Pitt). In the case of Brie Larson, well, she opted for something a little bit cooler, revealing that she used to DJ to make ends meet. In a #flashbackfriday Instagram post, the Oscar-winning actress celebrated her part time job which supported her between auditions.

Spinning vinyls of Ye-Ye Girls, soul tracks, foreign covers of Beatles songs and a dash of Elvis Costello, Larson manned the decks at fashion and magazine parties even while she filmed the Oscar-nominated film Short Term 12.

It wasn’t always glamorous though, with drunken partygoers making her job difficult. In a 2015 interview with GQ, she recounted a Coachella party where someone interrupted her set with the question ‘Are you gonna play anything that’s good?’. However she also remembered the better times in her post, saying, ‘I was hustling, but I got people dancing and hung with my other DJ friends.’

Mixed experiences aside, she praised the job that helped her achieve her dreams (and her Oscar) in an inspirational message to those with big ambitions, ‘I’m grateful for where I am now, but want to give a toast to the life I lived before. To all the dreamers with day jobs, I see you, don’t give up. There is beauty in your journey.’