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'Manifest' star Josh Dallas on his surprising first job: It was 'just the worst'

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What actor Josh Dallas learned about money from his job on a farm
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What actor Josh Dallas learned about money from his job on a farm

Actor Josh Dallas has had some pretty great gigs — he currently stars as Ben Stone on NBC's new show "Manifest" and played Prince Charming on ABC's "Once Upon a Time." But his first job was much less glamorous.

When Dallas was about 13, he worked as a farmhand on a cow and pig farm, making $5 an hour.

"A pig farm in the summer is not a place you want to be..." Dallas tells CNBC Make It. "It was feeding the cows, feeding the pigs, castrating them at a certain time of year, cleaning out pig pens, which is just the worst. But it builds character.

"It's hard work," Dallas says. "It's manual labor and there's something really satisfying about that at the end of the day."

Dallas, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky, has since swapped pig pens for red carpets. He's starred in hit movies like "Thor," and his personal life is pretty cool too; he's married to actress Ginnifer Goodwin (with whom he shared a 2015 nomination for the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Duo in "Once Upon a Time").

But Dallas is not the only famous person who held a unique job before breaking into show business. "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pharrell Williams and Jay Leno all worked at McDonald's and Gwen Stefani worked at Dairy Queen.

Queen Latifah worked at Burger King, where, like Dallas on the farm, she learned the value of hard work.

"I cleaned the bathrooms, like my own…you would have wanted to use that bathroom after I [cleaned it]," Queen Latifah said. "It's a work ethic thing. I didn't want to do it."

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'This Is Us' star Chris Sullivan used coupons for free burritos when he started acting
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'This Is Us' star Chris Sullivan used coupons for free burritos when he started acting

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