# A-list actors in B-roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746 "2010-07-06T17:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/1 "2010-07-06T17:58:37Z")
This occurred to me while reading another thread in which Tom Cruise was mentioned. I don’t think that Cruise has ever been 2nd billed, even early in his career. But some actors, after having become major A-list stars, have played relative bit parts in movies that starred relative unknowns. _Happy, Texas_ starred Steve Zahn and Jeremy Northam, and while William H. Macy had a pretty big role, he was not the star of that movie. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty were the stars of _The Hurt Locker_. Guy Pierce and Ralph Fiennes had small roles. Will Wheaton and River Phoenix starred in _Stand By Me_. John Cusack was on screen for what, about 15 seconds? Who are Jason Scott Lee, Robert Joamie, and Anne Parillaud? Stars of _Map of the Human Heart_. Cusack was also in that, for one tiny scene. Who else? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/2 "2010-07-06T18:00:21Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > This occurred to me while reading another thread in which Tom Cruise was mentioned. I don’t think that Cruise has ever been 2nd billed, even early in his career. But some actors, after having become major A-list stars, have played relative bit parts in movies that starred relative unknowns. Wasn’t he 2nd billed to Newman in COLOR OF MONEY before getting 2nd billed to Hoffman in RAIN MAN? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/3 "2010-07-06T18:05:21Z")
He had a secondary role in Tropic Thunder. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/4 "2010-07-06T18:08:30Z")
Alec Guinness stuck out a bit in _Star Wars_. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/5 "2010-07-06T18:11:17Z")
baldwin stole the show in departed ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/6 "2010-07-06T18:14:09Z")
Cruise, after already being established as a top-of-the-bill STAR, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best _Supporting_ Actor in [Magnolia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175880/), an ensemble piece- he was definitely not the lead. More to the point of the O.P., how about pre-Stardom Samuel L. Jackson in [Coming to America](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094898/), or Laurence Fishburne in [Pee-Wee’s Playhouse](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090500/)? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/7 "2010-07-06T18:19:26Z")
Donald Sutherland had a bit part in _Animal House_. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/8 "2010-07-06T18:19:26Z")
Michael Caine in Jaws: The Revenge? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/9 "2010-07-06T18:21:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Wasn’t he 2nd billed to Newman in COLOR OF MONEY before getting 2nd billed to Hoffman in RAIN MAN? Ah, good point. But those were still Tom Cruise movies. He didn’t exactly have bit parts in those. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/10 "2010-07-06T18:23:14Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > More to the point of the O.P., how about pre-Stardom Samuel L. Jackson in [Coming to America](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094898/), or Laurence Fishburne in [Pee-Wee’s Playhouse](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090500/)? That’s actually the opposite of the point of the OP. I’m talking about already established stars taking bit parts in movies that star unknowns. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/11 "2010-07-06T18:23:34Z")
I’m not sure what you’re asking. Big name stars who had small roles before they became big name stars? Or big name stars who took small roles once they became big names? And do you want to know actors whose stars had faded and went into character work? ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/12 "2010-07-06T18:24:19Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Donald Sutherland had a bit part in _Animal House_. “Bit” part? If the bit part was “a bit” of his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/13 "2010-07-06T18:27:34Z")
Robert DeNiro in Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/14 "2010-07-06T18:30:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re asking. Big name stars who had small roles before they became big name stars? Or big name stars who took small roles once they became big names? And do you want to know actors whose stars had faded and went into character work? Seconded. Nearly every actor has a ton of all of these scenarios in their filmography. Look at this summer’s **The Expendables**. It stars Stallone and Jason Statham, but the big deal is that Bruce Willis and Arnold “The Governator” Scwarchenegger have bit parts in it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/15 "2010-07-06T18:30:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re asking. Big name stars who had small roles before they became big name stars? Or big name stars who took small roles once they became big names? And do you want to know actors whose stars had faded and went into character work? The second one. Like Guy Pearce, who had starring roles in several movies. An established Big Name. His role in _The Hurt Locker_ was limited to one scene. Jeremy Renner, a complete unknown, was the undisputed star of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/16 "2010-07-06T18:53:52Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > “Bit” part? > > If the bit part was “a bit” of his ass. Yeah, but then we got a peek at Karen Allen’s ass, and life was good again. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/17 "2010-07-06T19:28:14Z")
Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette in _Jackie Brown_ and _Out of Sight_ probably has to count, since he’d had multiple headlining roles by then. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/18 "2010-07-06T19:34:30Z")
Does Robin Williams in Dead Again count? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/19 "2010-07-06T19:35:58Z")
Samuel Jackson played the organist at The Bride’s wedding in Kill Bill. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746/20 "2010-07-06T20:45:44Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Yeah, but then we got a peek at Karen Allen’s ass, and life was good again. God Bless Oakminister!!! (I always thought Karen Allen was stunning, but I supposed that I must be the only one who felt that way) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-list-actors-in-b-roles/545746.md?page=2)