# Bit parts when they were not so famous **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521 "2004-10-27T19:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/81 "2004-10-28T18:01:15Z")
Didn’t Brad Pitt have a small role on Saved by the Bell? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/82 "2004-10-28T18:09:36Z")
Speaking of Laurence Fishburn, Samuel L. Jackson, and _Pee wee’s Playhouse_ – Morgan Freeman was a regular on the PBS kids’ show _Electric Company_ back in the early '70s, with a recurring role as “Easy Reader” among other characters. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/83 "2004-10-28T18:11:01Z")
> [@cbawlmer](#): > > He only has one line, and it sounds like it was looped by someone else. John Leguziamo is one of the bad guy’s soldiers in Die Hard II. The character has one line which is very obviously not Leguziamo’s voice. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/84 "2004-10-28T18:13:35Z")
> [@LordVor](#): > > in “Mars Attacks” the "redneck brother… was played by none other than Jack Black. Black also played one of the teenage zealous fans of Bob Roberts in **Bob Roberts**. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/85 "2004-10-28T18:14:50Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > **Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman)** as a waiter in **The Blues Brothers** and as a hotel desk clerk in **Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie**. Reubens was also an arcade attendant in a cowboy uniform in **Midnight Madness**. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/86 "2004-10-28T18:34:29Z")
Joe Pantoliano, whom most folks know from _The Matrix_ and _Memento_ (and sadly, _Daredevil_), had a large role in _The Fugitive_ and was also featured in _Goonies_. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/87 "2004-10-28T18:49:20Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Joe Pantoliano, whom most folks know from _The Matrix_ and _Memento_ (and sadly, _Daredevil_), had a large role in _The Fugitive_ and was also featured in _Goonies_. He had a fairly large role as Guido the Killer Pimp in _Risky Business_, which predate both of those by a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/88 "2004-10-28T18:54:28Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Joe Pantoliano, whom most folks know from _The Matrix_ and _Memento_ (and sadly, _Daredevil_), had a large role in _The Fugitive_ and was also featured in _Goonies_. Yeah, but he was Guido the Killer Pimp in _Risky Business_, and played a lot of shady characters before and after. So does that count for this thread? He had enough cred by the time _The Fugitive_ came up to get a significant role. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/89 "2004-10-28T18:58:00Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Schwartzenegger played a “tough” in “The Long Goodbye” in 1973. > > I don’t think he says anything. Which is probably a good thing. He would have sounded like an Austrian Sylvester Stallone at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/90 "2004-10-28T19:14:28Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Gellar had a starring role in a Burger King commercial, one that really touched off the burger wars between Burger King and McDonald’s in the 1980s. I thought that was Elizabeth Shue. I forgot to mention in my earlier post about **Magnum Force** - the young motorcycle cops that were the killers all became famous: David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich. (The fourth guy, Kip Niven, went on to become a kinda famous character actor himself, but not in the league of the others). The crazy woman in **Play Misty For Me** is now the mother on **Arrested Development**. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/91 "2004-10-28T19:15:56Z")
Long before _Empire Strikes Back_, John Ratzenberger was a lieutenant in teh airborne in _A Bridge Too Far_. He takes a bullet between the eyes during the river crossing scene. Also, a VERY young Jack Webb of _Dragnet_ fame appears as Artie, the assistant director and SO of Bill Holden’s love interest in _Sunset Boulevard_. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/92 "2004-10-28T19:21:10Z")
> [@Winston Bongo](#): > > My favorite is the bit role played by a young Leonard Nimoy in the hilariously cheesy 1953 serial, \*Zombies of the Stratosphere \* (the last of the three “Rocketman” serials). Nimoy plays a Martian invader and wears a costume even sillier than his familiar Spock pajamas. It’s a hoot! Daaaaaammmmmnnnn yoooooouuuu! **I** was gonna list this! Oh well. Here’s a [LINK](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045352/), anyway. \ ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/93 "2004-10-28T19:28:05Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > I forgot to mention in my earlier post about **Magnum Force** - the young motorcycle cops that were the killers all became famous: David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich. (The fourth guy, Kip Niven, went on to become a kinda famous character actor himself, but not in the league of the others). Speaking of David Soul, he was in an episode of the original Star Trek (“The Apple”). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/94 "2004-10-28T19:37:36Z")
BTW–Nimoy was also an uncredited Telex Machine Operator in the sci-fi feature _THEM_ . ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/95 "2004-10-28T20:22:38Z")
I watched Rob Reiner’s _The Sure Thing_ recently for the first time in at least a dozen years, and was surprised to realize that Tim Robbins was the annoying show-tune-singing driver of the car that Gib(John Cusack) and Alison(Daphne Zuniga) get a cross-country ride in, and that Anthony Edwards was Gib’s best friend from high school who gets him to come out to California in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/96 "2004-10-28T20:31:51Z")
Well, I didn’t see this one anywhere, so… John Larroquette did the opening voice-over for **The Texas Chainsaw Massacre** , back in 1974. He reprised the voice-over role for the 2003 remake. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/97 "2004-10-28T20:42:59Z")
> [@cbawlmer](#): > > One day back in 1998 a friend and I popped in a tape of the _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ movie. One scene in the middle takes place during a high school basketball game. One of the players on Buffy’s team has been turned into a vampire and uses his fangyness to intimidate an opposing player, played by 19-year-old Ben Affleck. He only has one line, and it sounds like it was looped by someone else.\*. Another familiar face in the movie version of “Buffy” is Nicholas Brendon - Xander on the tv series. He appears as a face in the crowd in the bleechers during the final gymnasium scene. Brendon can also be seen in at least one episode of “Married with Children” as a member of a street gang that beats up Al Bundy (he has no lines in either part.) Another cameo with a looped voice is John Ratzenberger in “Gandhi.” He plays a US army soldier driving Candace Bergen’s character to meet the title character. His voice is obviously dubbed in by another actor. Farrah Fawcett (pre-‘Majors’ and pre-‘Charlie’s Angels’) has a part as an attendant in a plastic surgery salon in “Logan’s Run.” Kate Jackson, Marsha Mason & Conrad Bain (Mr. Drummond on “Diff’rent Strokes”) all appeared on the campy, lunatic 60s soap opera “Dark Shadows” in small roles. Not to mention, the major ‘good-girl’ heroine of this series, Alexandra Moltke-Isles, went on to infamy as a witness in Claus Von Bulow’s murder trial (she was his mistress, and it was speculated that Claus tried to kill Sunny in order to marry her.) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/98 "2004-10-28T21:13:35Z")
_Taps_ features Tom Cruise and Sean Penn as Timothy Hutton’s friends at the academy. While neither is exactly a “bit” role, it was the screen debut for both of them. Tom Cruise had a significantly smaller role in _The Outsiders_, as did Emilio Estevez and Patrick Swayze. And has nobody mentioned Charlie Sheen in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_?? Unknown actor, small role, but he definitely stole the scene… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/99 "2004-10-28T21:17:20Z")
I just thought of one that I haven’t seen mentioned yet: “the Big Chill” - all the angst-out yuppies are attending the funeral of Kevin Costner! Costner only appears for a split second as the body in the coffin. Supposedly, there were flashback scenes showing him alive, but those were cut out of the final edit. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/100 "2004-10-28T21:48:03Z")
Kevin Costner was also in the 1983 nuclear war movie _Testament_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=6)