Can celebrities enhance their careers away from their profession?

When you live life in the spotlight, it's easy to become known as a one trick pony. Take the guy who plays Captain Birdseye for example. He does a great job of it, and we're sure he's a great actor with the potential of playing maybe Santa Claus too, but if he were to suddenly announce that he's going on Celebrity Big Brother, then things could end up going South. Some celebrities get so hung up on not just being known for one thing, and many will actively pursue other activities, or gain exposure in other ways, to try and further their career (or make some quick cash).

Some celebrities lead secret lives, often becoming very successful in their particular extra-curricular cause, activity, or hobby, changing the world for the better or creating a useful product. For example, actress Jamie Lee Curtis invented a disposable nappythat had a pocket for a wet wipe, and Steve McQueen famously came up with the racing car bucket seat. Even boxer George Foreman increased his status massively by endorsing the most successful grill ever to have been created, and some celebs even become synonymous with the thing they're advertising (What would Walkers crisps be without Gary Lineker?)

Staying in the limelight is an important part of the celebrity mantra, and being well-known and easily recognised can often mean more work and more earning potential. As well as slapping names on products or endorsing a service, many celebs will lean towards philanthropy. Personalities like Lenny Henry, Bob Geldof and Joanna Lumley are known almost as well for their charity work almost as much (or even more so) than their day job, and devoting time to a good cause can be a quick fix for celebrities who have had a rocky past. Robert Downey Junior for example, a former bad boy who was pretty much kicked out of Hollywood, now gives up a lot of time to working with children in need, often in full character as Tony Stark.

We've even got a Governor and serving US President who both went from television sets to serve in office. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave up acting to run successfully for office in California, whereas Donald Trump used his exposure as a TV personality to ride a wave to presidency. Of course, he isn't the first actor to become President, with Ronald Reagan swapping the screen for the White House back in the 80s.

Going for a career change, or expanding a repertoire can be double-edged sword however. Everyone will remember 90s classic Malcolm in the Middle, but they may have forgotten about Malcolm himself Frankie Muniz. The actor was tipped for stardom and had plenty of offers from Hollywood, but gave it all up to pursue his dream of becoming a racing driver. Unfortunately, he wasn't particularly good at it, and the child star has all but disappeared from existence. More surprisingly however, are acting and music stars Kevin Costner and Willie Nelson. The Dances with Wolves once spent more time running his company, OceanTherapy, which provided (questionable) machinery that allegedly separated oil from water to big oil companies, whereas country, rock and folk legend Nelson has his own range of environmentally-friendly biofuels. Who said anything about being pigeon-holed when you become famous?

Alongside the philanthropists and business founders, there are some celebrities who take their hobby to their next level during the breaks between movies, albums, or TV seasons. Some, like James Cameron, will spend millions of their own fortune on expensive hobbies, with the Titanic and Avatar director famous for his passion of deep sea exploration and setting new records for depths achieved in his own custom-built submersible.

Some celebrities don't set out to spend their money on their pastimes however, and have even made extra cash in the process. Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are all big poker players away from the big screen, with the latter pair having appeared at the World Series of Poker. Damon is of course the star of cult poker film Rounders, and appeared in Las Vegas homage Oceans 11. All three of them were portrayed in the movie Molly's Gamein the amalgamated caricature that is Player X, but the over-the-top portrayal is actually not far from what the trio actually got up to playing underground poker back in the 90s. They're certainly not the only celeb poker players out there, but they are definitely the most (in)famous thanks to a reputation for playing hard, being demanding, and generally acting like brats when it doesn't go their way. It doesn't need to be all about playing high stakes games though, and celebs can just as easily indulge in a game whilst supporting a good cause, thanks to the huge variety of charity poker events that take place each year.

Former Superman actor Dean Cain has become something of a charity poker player of the years, and frequently pops up at fundraisers, having first appeared on Celebrity Poker Showdown back in the 2000s. Although now defunct, the show featured a huge range of celebs, from Coolio to Carrie Fisher, and saw high-stakes games played all in the name of charity. Poker nights are now a common way to raise money for good causes, with Mark Wahlberg's youth foundation one of the biggest to host a benefit night at the back end of last year.

Alongside the successful celebs who branch out from acting, media, or music to try something different or raise some cash for a good cause (one of our personal favourite's is Paul Newman's range of BBQ sauces, with a healthy chunk of the proceeds given to charity . . . ), but there's also the sad story of celebs who had it all, but then moved on either out of choice, or because the fickle world of fame spat them out. Child stars are particularly susceptible. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie inCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, gave up acting to pursue a career as a veterinarian, whereas Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in the Goonies, is now a lawyer. On a sadder note, Chris Owen, the guy who played the Sherminator in American Pie, ended up working as a waiter after falling from Hollywood grace. Thankfully, he's now back in the frame after appearing in Sharknadoand is currently working on several new acting projects.

Diverting attention from the day job can be a double-edged sword for celebs. Sometimes it's a necessity, for example Kerry Katona becoming the face of Iceland when it became clear that her career as a singer with Atomic Kitten was over, but often it can just be a crazy idea that doesn't end well. Like when Katie Price tried several times to become a singer, despite being potentially the worst singer in history.

With a bit of thought, planning, and a lot of money spent on advisors and contingency planning experts, celebs can indeed branch out, but the risk will always be there. Just ask the guy who thought it was a good idea for murdering psychopath / innocent victim OJ Simpson to swap American Football for acting . . .