# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/161 "2004-11-01T15:34:31Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > Are you sure about that? I know young is a relative term, but Footloose was made in 1984 and Hasselhoff was in his early 30s, a veteran of daytime TV and doing _Knight Rider_ at the time. Now that you mention it (and as I read further down), I may have the actor wrong. It could be a young Patrick Swayze, instead. I’m certain it’s one of the two. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/162 "2004-11-01T20:03:00Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Nope, it was indeed [Sarah Michelle.](http://www.cinema-stars.com/sarah/) OK then, but Elisabeth Shue also did commercials for [Burger King](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000223/otherworks) before she was famous. Look for Bruce Willis with a hilarious hairdo as one of the jurors in the Paul Newman movie **The Verdict**. No speaking lines. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/163 "2004-11-01T20:53:40Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] You’re way behind, **TwoTrouts**. As per usual. :rolleyes: Sheesh! You guys are fast! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/164 "2004-11-01T21:20:57Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > You can very briefly see a young Leonardo DiCaprio sitting near the back of the classroom in the “Roseanne” episode where Roseanne takes Darlene’s class on a field trip to the grocery store. > > Liam Neeson plays a crew member in “The Bounty”. So does Daniel Day-Lewis, but his isn’t a bit part as much as Neeson’s is. Also, DiCaprio was a cast member of _Growing Pains_ during the end of its run. And Neeson was, of course, _Darkman_. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/165 "2004-11-01T21:29:35Z")
_Cary Grant_ first appeared in a forgetable musical called \*\*Singapore Sue \*\* in an uncredited role as a sailor in a bar. Or has this one already been mentioned? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/166 "2004-11-01T22:07:17Z")
**Brad Pitt** was in an episode of _Growing Pains_, playing a guy who takes Carol to see a movie. He wanted to make out with her, but she wasn’t having it. Stupid girl. 😉 I’m ashamed of myself for knowing that. :o ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/167 "2004-11-01T22:20:13Z")
Ooh-ooh! I have one. Tommy Lee Jones was in Love Story. He played a friend or neighbor of Ryan O’Neal. I love this thread! ---
**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:** [November 1, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/168 "2004-11-01T22:31:07Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > **Brad Pitt** was in an episode of _Growing Pains_, playing a guy who takes Carol to see a movie. He wanted to make out with her, but she wasn’t having it. Stupid girl. 😉 > > I’m ashamed of myself for knowing that. :o What shames me is the fact that I remember Brad Pitt from “Dallas.” He played Ray Krebb’s nephew, though I don’t remember his name. He got run over by a drunken Sue-Ellen. One I just remembered is Meryl Streep in “Julia.” She appears in one single scene (well aside from appearing in the background of one large crowd scene) playing a ditzy socialite “acquaintance” of Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda). She says “Moscow! Of all places!” (Hellman travelled there and, en route, smuggled cash in to her old friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) and twirls out of the room. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/169 "2004-11-01T22:49:30Z")
Jim Carrey played a Vegas stand-up comedian in _Pink Cadillac_ He did a really goofy Elvis impersonation. Laurence Fishburne showed up in an episode of M_A_S\*H as a soldier whose commander was trying to get rid of all the black soldiers in his outfit. Joan van Ark also appears in an episode as a “here today, gone tomorrow” nurse. She gets hurt by a patient and Hawkeye lavishes attention on her till he sees that she wears a wedding ring. He later discovers that the ring is only for show. Kirsten Dunst makes an appearance in _High Strung_ as the little girl in Steve Oedekirk’s dream sequence. I couldn’t see her clearly and would not have known it was her if I hadn’t read the credits. I absofrigginlutely LOVE that movie, BTW!! Jim Carrey was also in this movie (as Death). ---
**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:** [November 1, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/170 "2004-11-01T23:04:16Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@John Corrado](#): > > > > “Foreign Affairs” Episode #11.3: > > Reddish - Jeffrey Tambor > > I recognize all of those but that one. What was the plot? IIRC, he was the Army PR Officer who was trying to get a downed North Korean pilot to go back to the States with him. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/171 "2004-11-02T01:57:59Z")
Oh yeah, Liam Neeson. Even before **Darkman** and **The Bounty** , he played one of the nigh-faceless barbarian warriors/escaped criminals in the sci-fi/fantasy movie **Krull**. It was really weird to see him in the background, supporting the up-front cast. Although now that I think about it, his death scene was oddly similar to the Qui-Gon death scene in **The Phantom Menace** : he gets struck down, gives a little “my quest ends here” speech while his buddy holds him… ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/172 "2004-11-05T03:00:32Z")
Not quite a bit part, but did you ever notice in _Revenge of the Nerds_ that mean, conniving coach was played by **John Goodman**? **Ted McGinley** was the alpha jock. But being a nerd wasn’t **Timothy Busfield** ’s first role - he had a tiny bit in _Stripes_ playing the artilleryman who shot down Warren Oates. **P.J. Soles** , _Stripes_ MP, was the bitchy sorority girl in _Breaking Away_ who called that mean frat boy, resulting in **Daniel Stern** getting into fisticuffs. Which of course he survived, going on to make _Diner_ with **Kevin Bacon**. Which game was this? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/173 "2004-11-05T05:18:14Z")
While we’re talking about _Stripes_, **fessie** , Sean young was one of the female MPs. Years before she went nuts and tried to become Catwoman. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/174 "2004-11-05T07:04:25Z")
**Ed Harris** and **Isaac Hayes** both guest starred on a couple of episodes of **The Rockford Files**. Harris, a virtual unknown, played a uniform cop gone bad, while Hayes played **Gandalf Fitch** : an ass-kickin’ former-con buddy of Jim’s. Of course, there’s no way to call the voice of _Superfly_ “not so famous”. Great episodes for both of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/175 "2004-11-05T08:28:53Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > Oh yeah, Liam Neeson. Even before **Darkman** and **The Bounty** , he played one of the nigh-faceless barbarian warriors/escaped criminals in the sci-fi/fantasy movie **Krull**. It was really weird to see him in the background, supporting the up-front cast. Although now that I think about it, his death scene was oddly similar to the Qui-Gon death scene in **The Phantom Menace** : he gets struck down, gives a little “my quest ends here” speech while his buddy holds him… That was his second role; he was in Excalibur before that. A young Robbie Coltrane was also in Krull, sporting a porn-star moustache. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/176 "2004-11-05T11:08:27Z")
> [@coven](#): > > … while Hayes played Gandalf Fitch: an ass-kickin’ former-con buddy of Jim’s. I don’t know if I’d call him a buddy, he couldn’t even get Rockford’s name right. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/177 "2004-11-05T12:49:15Z")
[OT]The fuss McDonald’s made over Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Burger King commercial was significant because McDonald’s actually sued _her_, a 5 year old girl, as well as Burger King and the ad production company. The problem? In the commercial, Sarah’s character notes that McDonald’s burgers are smaller than Burger King’s. They used the McDonald’s name without permission. Apparently, the case led to a lot of the disclaimering and “major brand” talkaround on commercials today. [/OT] Renee Zellweger has a brief spot in _Reality Bites_. She’s Tami, one of the “philosopher groupies” that Troy hooks up with. We see him kissing her goodbye and then walking down the stairs away from her, tossing aside the paper she wrote her phone number on. (Ouch!) Hillary Swank was one of the Buffyettes in the movie version of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/178 "2004-11-05T13:34:53Z")
Matthew Perry played Carol Seaver’s boyfriend “Sandy” on three episodes of “Growing Pains.” He was killed off. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/179 "2004-11-05T13:55:15Z")
**David Schwimmer** was Olivia d’Abo’s boyfriend in early episodes of _Wonder Years_ (for which Daniel Stern did the voice-over). ---
**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:** [November 5, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/180 "2004-11-05T15:43:21Z")
Has anyone mentioned Gabriel Byrne as Uthor Pendragon in Excaliber? His first big role I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=10)