Nicholas Sparks Movies Are Responsible for Making These Actors Bona Fide Stars

May 2024 · 5 minute read

Nicholas Sparks is a beloved author best known for his romance novels that many have been adapted into a film. Many of these films are adored by many fans of all generations and have fallen in love with the actors who played the leading roles as well as the supporting roles.

What some people do not realize is many of these actors that are well known and have big careers received their big break starting out starring in a Nicholas Sparks film. Today we are breaking down a list of actors who got their breakout role starring in his films.

6 The Notebook: Ryan Gosling

Starting off the list is Nicholas Spark's biggest romantic movie to date.Ryan Gosling got his big breakout moment playing Noah in the 2004 film The Notebook starring alongside Rachel McAdams.

Related: Who Was Paid More For 'The Notebook': Rachel McAdams Or Ryan Gosling?

After the success of The Notebook, Ryan went on to star in 2011’s comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. He also landed another leading man role in 2016’s La La Land with co-star Emma Stone.

5 Message In A Bottle: Hayden Panettiere

Second on the list is Hayden Panettiere, who may have played the Little Girl on the Sinking Boat in the 1999 film Message In A Bottle but since then she has starred in many more films and television shows. She played one of the main characters Britney Allen in the 2006 comedy film Bring It On: All Or Nothing. Hayden got another leading role played the title name Beth Cooper in the 2009 teenage romantic comedy film I Love You, Beth Cooper.

As for on television, you would have seen Hayden guest star in 4 episodes in the sitcom Malcolm In The Middle playing the role of Jessica. She played another leading role-playing Juliette Barnes, a "bubblegum country-pop singer" in the hit musical soap opera series Nashville.

4 The Lucky One: Taylor Schilling

Next, we have Taylor Schilling on the list. Taylor Schilling’s was cast as Beth Green in the 2012 film The Lucky One starring opposite Zac Efron. Since the film, Taylor went on to be cast playing one of the lead characters, Piper Chapman in the popular Netflix comedy series Orange Is the New Black from 2013-2019. She also went on to star as the main character Kate Stone in the 2018 comedy film Family.

3 A Walk to Remember: Mandy Moore, Shane West & Clayne Crawford

Next up is Mandy Moore, Shane West and Clayne Crawford all got their breakout start in the 2002 film A Walk to Remember. Mandy Moore starred as Jamie Sullivan whose love interest was Landon Carter played by Shane West. Clayne Crawford played Dean, Landon’s best friend until Landon decides to end their friendship due to being a bully to Landon and his girlfriend Jamie.

Mandy Moore has had tremendous success since starring in A Walk to Remember both as an actress and singer. She has put out four albums since starring in A Walk to Remember (excluding the two she put out prior to the film). Mandy has also guest-starred in multiple television shows; including the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, as well as animated shows The Simpsons and Family Guy. She also voiced Rapunzel in Disney’s 2010 animated film Tangled.

Since playing the heartthrob Landon Carter in A Walk to Remember, Shane West has gone to star in other movies such as the 2017 crime drama film Awakening the Zodiac and 2019’s drama film Gossamer Folds. He is also cast to star in upcoming films Escape the Field and The Chariot, which is currently being filmed. Shane has also been on the television screens playing the main character Dr Ray Barnett in the medical drama ER and guest-starred on the crime drama, Gotham.

Moving onto Clayne Crawford, since playing the bad boy Dean in A Walk to Remember, he has starred in quite a few movies and television shows. Clayne is well known for the role of Martin Riggs on Fox’s action-comedy television show Lethal Weapon, a show based on the films by the same name. He also starred in the 2020 American Drama film The Killing of Two Lovers.

2 Dear John: D. J. Cotrona

Moving on to the film Dear John, D. J. Cotrona may not have played a leading role in the film, he played the role of Noodles, one of Savannah’s (played by Amanda Seyfried) college friends who tried to save Savannah's bag before John (Channing Tatum) stepped in. However, since starring in Dear John, D.J. has gone to play bigger roles such as playing Super Hero Pedro in Shazam! In 2013, he reunited with his Dear John co-star Channing Tatum in the military science fiction G.I. Joe: Retaliation. He has also gone on to play the role of Seth Gecko in the horror television series From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. He also had a recurring role in the action-crime series L.A.'s Finest until it was canceled after two seasons.

1 The Last Song: Liam Hemsworth

The last person on the list is Liam Hemsworth’s breakout role in the movie The Last Song starring alongside his girlfriend at the Miley Cyrus back in 2010. After The Last Song, Liam Hemsworth was quick to land another leading man role in The Hunger Games trilogy playing Gale Hawthrone.

Related: The Cast Of 'The Hunger Games': Who Is The Richest Today?

Liam Hemsworth also starred in the American Science-Fiction film Independence Day: Resurgence in 2016. Before another leading man role in the 2019 romantic comedy Isn’t It Romantic, playing billionaire Blake. In 2021, Liam Hemsworth got the lead role as Dodge Maynard in the action television series Most Dangerous Game, which recently has been renewed for a second two on the Roku Channel.

Next: 'The Notebook' + Nicholas Sparks' Other Best Movies, Ranked According To IMDb

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