The mighty producer/director/writer/all around awesome guy Judd Apatow knows a thing or two about making us laugh. But he’s also incredibly gifted when it comes to spotting raw talent and giving it the right platform to bloom. It’s hard to imagine another contemporary producer, who’d be responsible for more successful career launches. And with his new Netflix show Love premiering today (February 19), we decided to go down memory lane and remember the ambitious newcomers Apatow transformed into proper stars.

Lena Dunham

Discovered in... Girls

Lena Dunham got the opportunity to expose the lives and the bodies of Brooklyn-based twentysomethings on her own HBO show after Apatow saw her 2010’s feature Tiny Furniture and got impressed by Dunham’s talents. That led to their collaboration named Girls that was aimed to fill the void in the portrayal of real women on TV. And while Dunham got the chance to show there’s more to girls than Gossip Girl, Apatow finally put a successful TV project to his resume. No wonder he invited Lena to make a cameo in his 2014’s movie This Is 40.

Seth Rogen

Discovered in... Freaks and Geeks

It’s safe to label Seth Rogen an Apatow muse, as this bearded comedian has been Judd’s lucky charm ever since he showed up on the small screen as witty beer fan Ken Miller in Freaks and Geeks. The role secured Rogen a place in Apatow’s own superheroes alliance known as ‘Frat pack.’ Several hysterical supporting roles later, Rogen finally picked his golden ticket—the lead role in Knocked Up that propelled him to the highest echelon of Hollywood’s comedian elite. He may have been popular before, but after Apatow-produced Pineapple Express he got smoking hot. (See what we did there?)

Leslie Mann

Discovered in... The Cable Guy

Some auditions get you the role, others, a ring. Well, Leslie Mann was lucky enough to get both when she auditioned for Apatow-produced The Cable Guy back in 1996. Soon after her first big screen role, Mann married Apatow and the couple continues sharing their comedic chemistry on and off screen to this day. Mann was by Judd’s side when he was directing his first movie, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and later starred in Funny People and This Is 40. Both helped to cement her status as one of the funnies ladies in Hollywood. We always knew a good joke or two meant happier marriage!

James Franco

Discovered in... Freaks and Geeks

We’re pretty sure that a multi-talented person like James Franco would find his way to the big screen one way or another. But he happened to be discovered by Apatow, who casted the young actor as the troublemaking ringleader of the freaks named Daniel Desario in Freaks and Geeks. And although the show only lasted for 18 episodes, it was more than enough to put Franco on Hollywood scouts’ radars. Eight years later, now-famous Franco returned to his weed-related habits as one of the leads in Pineapple Express.

Steve Carell

Discovered in... Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy

Although it feels like Steve Carell has been around for a long time, he was only known amongst TV fans before scoring work with Apatow. It all changed in 2004 when Judd casted Carell as a hilariously kooky weatherman Brick Tamland in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. A year later he was ready for his proper Hollywood launch and a big screen benefit performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Carell was 43 at the time with two children, so we can officially inform you that he was not a virgin. Still, that role basically kicked off a stellar career.

Jay Baruchel

Discovered in... Undeclared

Sure, it was a short role in Almost Famous that put Jay’s name on the map, but it was Apatow’s short-lived Undeclared series that put him front and center back in 2001. Once the show was cancelled, Baruchel had no problem exploring his comedic talents in numerous movies before re-teaming with Apatow in 2007 when he played one of the hardworking employees of nude celebrities website in Knocked Up.

Jonah Hill

Discovered in... The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Johan Hill is an overall friendly guy: First he made friends with Dustin Hoffman’s children and ended up in 2004’s I Heart Huckabees. But his friendship with mister Apatow turned out to be even more fruitful—the role of an eBay costumer in The 40-Year-Old Virgin was followed by bigger parts in Knocked Up and Funny People and his first co-starring role in the Apatow-produced Superbad. Then finally in 2010 Jonah’s face was on the poster for the Russell Brand starrer Get Him to the Greek.

Jason Segel

Discovered in... Freaks and Geeks

Apparently the best way to befriend Judd Apatow is to share a joint with him as proven by Jason Segel marijuana-heavy debut role on Freaks and Geeks. After finishing this joint, Segel migrated to another Apatow’s show, Undeclared. Segel’s commitment to How I Met Your Mother didn’t hurt his bond with Apatow a single bit: Jason starred in four Apatow-produced flicks, most notably going full-frontal in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. If only that image was as easy to forget!