Whose first big break came in the movie "Tootsie"?

Geena Davis’s first big break came in the movie “Tootsie.” The 1982 comedy was also her film debut and her first acting job, won after her first-ever audition.

Davis was working as a model when director Sydney Pollack noticed her and cast her as April, a young actress and roommate in the film’s soap-opera world. Her role opposite Dustin Hoffman was small, but it gave her an entry point into Hollywood.

“ Tootsie” was not yet the role that made Davis a major star. That wider breakthrough followed with films including “The Fly” (1986), “Beetlejuice” (1988), and “The Accidental Tourist” (1988), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

A common mix-up is to identify “The Fly” or “Beetlejuice” as Davis’s first major movie success. Those films raised her profile, but “Tootsie” came first and is accurately described as her big break.