Movie Stars Who Turned to TV

Halle, Kerry and more A-listers who jumped to television.

Halle Berry in Extant - This decade has been called the Golden Age of television, with more people tuning in than buying tickets at movie theaters. So it's no surprise that some of the biggest names from the big screen are crossing over. Halle Berry is known around the world for films like Monster's Ball (for which she won an Oscar) and Die Another Day, but this fall the actress and new mom is taking a hiatus from the globetrotting lifestyle of a movie star to take the lead in Extant, a network drama executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Berry will play an astronaut returned from a one-year voyage to outer space trying to reintegrate herself into society and her family. "When you see material this strong, it compels me to run toward it, no matter what the medium," Berry justified. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors)

1 / 9

Halle Berry in Extant - This decade has been called the Golden Age of television, with more people tuning in than buying tickets at movie theaters. So it's no surprise that some of the biggest names from the big screen are crossing over. Halle Berry is known around the world for films like Monster's Ball (for which she won an Oscar) and Die Another Day, but this fall the actress and new mom is taking a hiatus from the globetrotting lifestyle of a movie star to take the lead in Extant, a network drama executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Berry will play an astronaut returned from a one-year voyage to outer space trying to reintegrate herself into society and her family. "When you see material this strong, it compels me to run toward it, no matter what the medium," Berry justified. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors)

Kerry Washington in Scandal - While Halle Berry was the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress, Washington was the first in forty years to headline a network series. The actress, who became a Hollywood darling with roles in Ray and The Last King of Scotland, saw her star shoot up when she joined Shonda Rhimes' addictive drama about a political fixer having an illicit affair with the President. Hopefully next year she'll set a new milestone and become the first Black woman to win a Best Actress Emmy in her category. (Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

2 / 9

Kerry Washington in Scandal - While Halle Berry was the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress, Washington was the first in forty years to headline a network series. The actress, who became a Hollywood darling with roles in Ray and The Last King of Scotland, saw her star shoot up when she joined Shonda Rhimes' addictive drama about a political fixer having an illicit affair with the President. Hopefully next year she'll set a new milestone and become the first Black woman to win a Best Actress Emmy in her category. (Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

Gabrielle Union in Being Mary Jane - With films like Bring It On, Cadillac Records and Think Like a Man on her resume, Union had plenty of roles to keep her busy on the big screen. But the actress opted to take on this BET original series because "it shows the audience I can do more than one thing. It was an opportunity to grow." And audiences love seeing Union as a successful TV anchor trying to balance her professional and personal lives. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/BET/Getty Images for BET)

3 / 9

Gabrielle Union in Being Mary Jane - With films like Bring It On, Cadillac Records and Think Like a Man on her resume, Union had plenty of roles to keep her busy on the big screen. But the actress opted to take on this BET original series because "it shows the audience I can do more than one thing. It was an opportunity to grow." And audiences love seeing Union as a successful TV anchor trying to balance her professional and personal lives. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/BET/Getty Images for BET)

Blair Underwood: August 25 - The Dirty Sexy Money actor makes 50 look amazing. (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival)

4 / 9

Blair Underwood in Ironside - A mainstay in Black rom-coms, Underwood has been the object of many female fantasies over the years. The actor jumped to the small screen to shake things up a little, playing a paraplegic detective in Ironside. The reboot of the popular 1960s procedural didn't exactly fare well in the ratings, however, we may see Underwood back to his suave self on the big screen soon enough.  (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival)

Photo By Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival

Jada Pinkett Smith: September 18 - The actress, producer, activist and wife of Will Smith looks amazing at 42. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

5 / 9

Jada Pinkett-Smith in HawthoRNe - Smith is undeniably a part of Hollywood royalty, but she got a chance to step out on her own when she starred as a nurse at a Virginia hospital in the TNT drama HawthoRNe for three seasons. The show was canceled earlier this year, but Pinkett-Smith promises there is "more to come." Hopefully, that means more of her on television. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

ADVERTISEMENT
Benjamin Bratt in The Cleaner - Julia Roberts' ex and Miss Congeniality star Bratt earned accolades for his role as a reformed drug dealer who provides "extreme intervention" services for those hitting rock bottom. He segued directly from that series, which was canceled in 2009, to a long arc on Shonda Rhimes' Private Practice. (Photo: Michael Buckner/WireImage)

6 / 9

Benjamin Bratt in The Cleaner - Julia Roberts' ex and Miss Congeniality star Bratt earned accolades for his role as a reformed drug dealer who provides "extreme intervention" services for those hitting rock bottom. He segued directly from that series, which was canceled in 2009, to a long arc on Shonda Rhimes' Private Practice. (Photo: Michael Buckner/WireImage)

Charlie Sheen: September 3 - The controversial actor is still a Hollywood great at 49.(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

7 / 9

Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men - The film industry's most notorious bad boy (known for his collaborations with Oliver Stone in Platoon and Wall Street) didn't let a regular TV gig slow him down one bit. The wild and crazy actor quickly became the highest-paid star in television with the sitcom Two and a Half Men, but blew up his contract when he publicly dissed show creator Lorne Michaels.  (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Whoopi Goldberg - Arguably one of the biggest female comedians to ever pick up a mic, Goldberg is still going strong after thirty years in the business. The comedian, Oscar-winning actress and host of The View has had an incredible run and broke a lot of ground along the way for the other ladies on this list. Decades ago, she auditioned for SNL but didn't land the gig — she has since said it was the best thing that happened to her.   (Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

8 / 9

Whoopi Goldberg on The View - The Oscar-winning actress and comedian has always had strong opinions, but she started getting paid big bucks to voice them in 2005, when she was hand-selected by Barbara Walters to co-host The View. Goldberg's television credits also include stints on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hollywood Squares and her own sitcom Whoopi. (Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Photo By Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Diahann Carroll on why she dropped out of the upcoming production of A Raisin in the Sun:  - "The pace of filming movies and TV projects is quite different than the extensive amount of time preparing and appearing live on Broadway eight times a week.”  (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards)

9 / 9

Diahann Carroll in Dynasty - Carroll was already a groundbreaking actress with her Oscar nominated role in Claudine but she joined the cast of long-running soap opera Dynasty in 1984. She is one of the rare actors who has been nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and several Emmy awards. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards)