Inauspicious roles early in their careers...

Cafe Society
1

It’s been a good while since I last saw Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) so you may well imagine how surprised I was to see somebody in that cast list who is now at the peak of his professional career with a small part in it. You can look for yourself, and maybe you’ll see others.

But the point to this thread is to locate other instances of now-famous and well-paid performers in the early days of their struggles to become well-enough known to be considered for big parts.

I’ll give this a few posts before I reveal my big shocker from AWotM, if it hasn’t been spotted by then.

2

Not film but music. In 1968 Debbie Harrysang back-up vocals for The Wind In the Willows. The band made one album and broke up.

3

Think I figured out who it is.

Tom Cruise (no, that’s not who) had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role in The Outsiders (1983).

4

Before making it big on “Rawhide,” Clint Eastwood’s first screen appearance was an uncredited bit part in Revenge of the Creature in 1955.

5

Just take a look at all the shit Bryan Cranston was in in his early years! Paid his dues, I’m saying.

6

Mary Tyler Moore was a pair of legs(and the voice of Sam) in the intro to Richard Diamond, Private Detective.

7

Jack Nicholson getting some dental work in Little Shop of Horrors

8

Jon Voigt in Fearless Frank.. A movie so bad I don’t even think it was ever MSTed.

9

Was this before or after he was the fighter pilot in Tarantula? :dubious: :confused:

10

Lots of 'em

Sylvester Stallone as a subway thug in Woody Allen’s Bananas

Jack Nicholson (again) in The Raven and The Terror, two other Roger Corman gems

Leonard Nimoy as aliens in The Brain Eaters and Zombies of the Stratosphere

11

She was also Happy Hotpoint and had a walk-on as a “Puerto Rican girl” on Steve Canyon

12

Steve Guttenberg? Andrew Dice Clay? Rip Taylor?

13

Neither Once Bitten (Jim Carrey) nor See No Evil, Hear No Evil (Kevin Spacey) was a particularly great role for a budding talent.

I have a feeling like I saw some forgettable movie not too long ago that had 4-5 big name actors as extras, but I can’t think of what it was…

14

Revenge of the Creature was released in March 1955 and Tarantula was released in December 1955 so that would make Revenge Eastwood’s onscreen debut.

15

A year later, he was Carol Channing’s love interest in The First Traveling Saleslady.

16

Bill Maher?

17

Mrs. Cretin and I were watching one of those old Hopalong Cassidy films from 1942 and were amazed to see young Robert Mitchum appear in a supporting role. Turns out it was his very first movie.

18

If I remember correctly, in his biography Eastwood talks about ROTC being his first part.

19

Ayn Rand was an extra in DeMille’s King of Kings.

20

I’m betting Mandy Patinkin dies a little inside whenever someone mentions Alien Nation.