Getting their start somewhere! Before some major Disney Channel stars were known for their roles on the network, they were actually on Nickelodeon!

Laura Marano, for example, appeared on an episode of Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP before nabbing her starring role as Ally Dawson on Austin & Ally.

“I really began to grow my audience with Austin & Ally, both as an actress and as a musician,” she recalled to InBetween in March 2018. “A lot of doors began opening for me during that show.”

Now, Laura is known as an actress and songstress. “To be honest, making music just makes me so happy, and I define success by how happy my music makes everyone around me,” the Disney Channel alum told the site, reflecting on how her career has evolved.

She’s not the only one who appeared on a Nickelodeon show before her Disney Channel days. Before playing Maddie on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Sharpay in the High School Musical franchise, Ashley Tisdale appeared on The Amanda Show. While she’s since moved on from her days on the networks, the actress still looks back at the early days of her career fondly.

“I think it’s just not taking yourself too seriously. Which I think, obviously as we get older, we start to do,” Ashley told Paper magazine in November 2018 about looking back at her old self. “When you see that stuff, you just have to laugh and have fun with it because that’s so f–king awesome. I remember one of the first shots that someone had sent me from the red carpet back then of me. I was just like, ‘Oh my Dod. I have got to show Chris this, [my husband].’ I was so embarrassed. He actually really helped me realize that what I was doing then was awesome. I was like, ‘You know what? You’re right!’ I was so awesome! It’s really about loving yourself and loving the decisions you made whether they’re crazy. When you have that self-love, you’re not so critical on yourself.”

Scroll through our gallery to uncover all the other Disney Channel Stars who you had no clue were also on Nickelodeon.

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