Jaleel White

Before auditioning for Steve Urkel on La vie de famille (1989), he was looking for the classic nerd glasses (black, thin, with tape around the center) but had no luck. His father, a dentist, tossed him the glasses that he used to keep particles out of his eyes. Jaleel just figured that he would find different glasses at another time. The crew loved the look, so he kept them.

The conventions of an almighty agency tapping you for greatness and signing you up and telling you this is going to be the next big thing; that has not been my career.