Top 10 Celebrities Who Used To Be Roommates

When you look this much alike, you’re probably going to be gunning for the same roles, and that’s exactly how this pair met as young starlets trying toget their footing in L.A. Salma was the first and only friend to Penelope when she touched down in Hollywood. For a couple years, this duo of gorgeous Latinas were like peas in a pod: sharing rent, bills, and occasionally even a bed – though this was presumably on a strictly platonic basis. They even made up cute nicknames for each other; “huevos” –meaning eggs, in reference to the fact that they were “lazy” since neither of them had babies yet. Aww... that's... That’s weird.

Jonah Hill built his career around that messy-bro style that we love him for, but you wouldn’t think it’d make for the best roommate material. This celebrity duo had a lot of friction, with the pair fighting, as Justin describes it, “like an old married couple,” since Jonah wouldn’t pull his weight with the housework and left messes in the bathroom. Jonah also apparently didn’t quite grasp the concept of recycling, leaving banana peels and shards of glass in the recycling bin. Luckily, the friendship was saved and their careers took off when they parted ways and got their own places.

These two young and broke future stars had the great luck of making it to New York in the golden days, when rent was cheap and the creative scene was buzzing. They were a tight-knit group along with Gene Hackman, who introduced the two and set them up to get their own apartment. Dustin was broke at the time, but they managed to find an $80/per month apartment in Manhattan. Whoa. They entertained themselves by doing character impersonations of people on the street, along with some other crazier antics. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hoffman recalled a moment when he was showering with a date from the previous night, and Duvall jumped into the shower stark naked, to introduce himself to the girl. Where's that movie?

Ah, the quintessential Hollywood bromance. Their friendship goes all the way back to when they were ten years old, living just a few blocks from each other. They went to the same grade school, had the same drama teacher, and even moved in together when they made their big move to L.A. The time these two spent together as roommates was put to use writing “Good Will Hunting,” ultimately awarding them both their first Oscars for Best Original Screenplay. The pair have been inseparable ever since, living as neighbors for years after their big win.

This is a particularly interesting pairing: stout funnyman DeVito, mixed with the strict business sensibilities of Michael Douglas is sure to make for some bizarre living arrangements. But these two weren’t always the characters we know them for. Douglas changed his mind at the last minute before heading off to an Ivy League school in a move he describes as his “hippy days.” DeVito, on the other hand, was a graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and was performing in a variety of plays when the two got an apartment together. As odd couples, go these two are odder than most. 

Much like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Law and McGregor were fast friends. Their friendship started when a (genius) director gave them both 30 bucks to go out and get drunk together to see if they’d get along… and the rest is history. Though they’ve been a little tight-lipped about the specifics, the 90s had to be crazy time for them as both of their careers took off; the two of them even cofounded a production company together called Natural Nylon. They’ve stayed close friends since, even through Ewan's Jedi period.

It might seem strange to have the surfer-dude style of Owen Wilson appearing in most of Wes Anderson’s signature quirky films, but he was actually a central figure in Anderson’s success. In fact, the two met in a playwriting class while they were studying at the University of Texas at Austin. Owen Wilson co-wrote and starred in Anderson’s directing debut “Bottle Rocket,” which also happened to be the acting debut of Wilson. Unfortunately, the movie bombed, but their following collaborations, “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” were successes for both former roommates.

After meeting on a photoshoot, these two former child stars decided to get a room, so to speak. Lindsay allegedly wasn't around much as she was out partying a lot of the time, with Raven estimating Lohan only visited the apartment three times. Girl has to keep her wardrobe somewhere! The two are still friends, with Raven even defending her former roommate on “The View” when the need arose. LiLo may not have been great at the whole “hanging out and doing chores” thing, but she at least paid her half of the rent, which sometimes is all you can ask for. 

The man who played Superman and the man who played Mrs. Doubtfire became fast friends at Julliard where they were roomed together for several years. Like many people on this list, their careers took off around the same time, and they both enjoyed resounding success until Christopher Reeve’s rise to fame was cut short by a tragic horseback riding accident. After an invasive and dangerous surgery to reattach his skull to his spine, Reeve was left completely paralyzed and suicidal. Williams was reportedly the first person to make Reeve’s laugh after the surgery, when he arrived dressed as a Russian doctor in a yellow lab coat coming to give Reeve a rectal exam.

 Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

 Tommy Lee Jones & Al Gore

 John Cusack & Jeremy Piven

 Mel Gibson & Geoffrey Rush

 Stanley Tucci & Ving Rhames

 Peaches & Feist

Before RDJ and Kiefer Sutherland’s fame, they were notorious for being a couple of Hollywood bad-boys. Both actors had similar backgrounds, growing up with showbiz parents and moving around after their respective parents divorced. They ended up living together for three years, when Robert and Kiefer decided on returning to cement themselves in Hollywood. Given both actors’ chequered pasts and run-ins with the law, one can only imagine what life was like at the Sutherland-Downey homestead– but it was likely anything but boring.


Do you agree with our list? What other celeb living situation did you find the most surprising? For more roomy top tens, subscribe to Watchmojo.com.