Thought this might make an interesting topic. Obviously, all actors/movie stars have to start somewhere before they make it big. Ever spotted someone in a minor TV role or in a movie that they'd probably rather forget? Of course, with all the B-Movies I watch I get this a lot, but the one that inspired this topic was something I saw over the weekend. My kids had borrowed a DVD from the library of the "Goosebumps" TV series (episode: "Night of the Living Dummy, Part III") and one of the kids in the film looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him. Turns out it was Hayden Christiansen, who would go on to play the teenaged Anakin Skywalker/young Darth Vader in "Star Wars" Episodes II and III. He looked like he was maybe 12 years old at the time.

Some others just off the top of my head...

A pre-"Friends" Jennifer Aniston was in the first "Leprechaun" flick (1992)

Jim Carrey was one of the furry aliens in "Earth Girls Are Easy"

Sarah Jessica (Horse Face) Parker and Helen Hunt were both in a teenage dance flick called "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (which inexplicably still turns up on Comedy Central every so often)

Dana Carvey of "SNL" fame's first role was a minor part in "Halloween II" as a paramedic.
Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger both appeared in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" which sat on a shelf unreleased for several years until 1994, when both had already become stars.

George Clooney's early film roles included "Return to Horror High" and "Return of the Killer Tomatoes."

Jack Nicholson's first film appearance was as the dental patient in the original "Little Shop Of Horrors".

Clint Eastwood is uncredited as the random fighter pilot who drops napalm on the giant spider in "Tarantula".

And episodes from the original Twilight Zone are littered with dozens of pre-famous appearances by people like William Shatner, Robert Redford, Burgess Meredith, etc.

I just watched the Dirty Harry flick Sudden Impact and there's a scene early on in the film on an elevator. One of the passengers on it is a somewhat thinner Camryn Mannheim (with no lines).

Eastwood was also in one of the Creature from the Black Lagoon sequels (Revenge,I think).


Ted Knight (Mary Tyler Moore,Caddyshack) was a guard at the very end of Hitchcock's Psycho.

Of course, Kirsti Ally (before she became friends with Jenny Craig and before Cheers) was a Vulcan in Star Trek II.

Speaking of ol' horseface (Sarah Jessica Parker), she was in a short-lived TV show called "Square Pegs"

Arnold Schwarzenegger's first movie was a 1969 movie called Hercules in New York. Due to his long, uncommon name, he was credited as Arnold Strong at the time.

Every time I see that one I think to myself, why not just wander around town checking out all the optical shops until you find a lens that helps your sight.

Jeff Goldblum is one of the hoodlums that attacks Bronson's family in the original Death Wish.

Katherine Heigl played Steven Seagal's niece in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

I also saw Amy Adams in a small role on That 70's Show recently. (season 2)

Jim Carrey had an early featured role in the movie "Peggy Sue Got Married".

more later...

Laurence Fishburn play a hoodlum in Death Wish II

Johnny Depp does a role in A Nightmare on Elm Street, where he gets killed by/in his bed!

George Clooney stars alongside Gene Simmons in the little known Red Surf.

Way before he became Mr. Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt was in a cheap slasher movie called "Cutting Class." He's also got an episode of "Freddy's Nightmares" and an appearance on "Growing Pains" on his early resume.

Speaking of "Growing Pains," Leonardo DiCaprio was a regular on that show late in its run, as well as putting in an appearance in "Critters 3."

Scott Bakula of "Quantum Leap" fame was a stormtrooper in Star Wars.

Kevin Bacon was in the original Friday the 13th.
Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander was in the horror film The Burning.
John Travolta was in The Devil's Rain.

Horseface Parker was also in Flight Of The Navigator.

Chris Kattan before his stint in SNL and those cheesey comedies like Corky Romano had an appearance as a nameless employee of a photo store in Newsradio (where Beth had nude photos of her developed).

Brent Spiner before he became Data in Star Trek The Next Generation, was the patron of the pathetic Wheeler family on Night Court: