# Movie people whose oldest credit was a hit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749 "2009-03-25T15:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/21 "2009-03-25T17:40:12Z")
An interesting case is [Barbra Streisand](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000659/) whose first movie role in _Funny Girl_ in 1968 was preceded by many years of work on TV as a singer, not to mention her recording successes before she turned to acting. TV work is a gray area, as I see it. So many movie actors cut their teeth in TV roles, some over the course of years to decades, before making it to the big screen. Paul Newman and Robert Redford, to name just two, got over their bit parts and nowhere roles on TV before getting into movies. We could name dozens of TV show stars, Eastwood, McQueen, Vaughn, Garner, just for starters, who were already household names by the time they got big movie roles. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/22 "2009-03-25T17:41:25Z")
Dick Van Dyke in the Golden Globe nominated _Bye Bye Birdie_, reprising the Broadway role for which he had won a Tony and directly led to him being cast as Rob Petrie. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/23 "2009-03-25T17:57:29Z")
I think you’ll find a lot of child actors that fit the OP. For example, Tatum O’Neal won the Best Supporting Actress for her debut performance in _ **Paper Moon** _, which was probably enough of a hit to qualify. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/24 "2009-03-25T18:26:06Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I think you’ll find a lot of child actors that fit the OP. For example, Tatum O’Neal won the Best Supporting Actress for her debut performance in _ **Paper Moon** _, which was probably enough of a hit to qualify. 'Nother child actress…Anna Paquin, ‘best supporting actor’ oscar winner for **the Piano**. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/25 "2009-03-25T18:45:54Z")
Well, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint debuted in HP I. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/26 "2009-03-25T18:48:33Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > TV work is a gray area, as I see it. So many movie actors cut their teeth in TV roles, some over the course of years to decades, before making it to the big screen. Paul Newman and Robert Redford, to name just two, got over their bit parts and nowhere roles on TV before getting into movies. How about James Earl Jones? I see two TV guest roles, one episode each, before _Dr. Strangelove_. (I always thought Strangelove was his first credit, but looked it up just to be sure.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/27 "2009-03-25T18:54:30Z")
Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox both had their debuts in _Deliverance_. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/28 "2009-03-25T19:02:55Z")
Richard Attenborough had a key, uncredited, role in the Oscar nominated [In Which We Serve](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034891/). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/29 "2009-03-25T19:11:02Z")
Sofia Coppola in **The Godfather Part 2**. She was Baby Michael Jr., the kid getting baptized while Daddy’s goons were settling scores all over Vegas, Miami and Lake Tahoe. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/30 "2009-03-25T19:19:05Z")
[Olivia Thirlby](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1880888/) (Juno’s friend Leah in _Juno_ and current indie star): first credit was _United 93_. [John Malkovich](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000518/) had an uncredited appearance in a forgettable movie, did some forgettable TV work, then had his first credited film role in _Places in the Heart_. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/31 "2009-03-25T20:01:19Z")
Here’s one. Yun-jin Kim (who plays “Sun” on **Lost** ) had her first film appearance (at least according to the IMDb) in [**Shiri**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192657/), one of Korea’s biggest box-office hits of all time. It was a major part, too. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/32 "2009-03-25T20:16:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s a weird one. Most people think that John Houseman’s first role was in _The Paper Chase_ in 1975. And most people think that Joseph Cotton’s first role was in _Citizen Kane_ in 1941. But in fact they both debued in a comedy short called _Too Much Johnson_ in 1938. That couldn’t have been much of a debut. According to [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030881/), it was just a few transition scenes to be shown between acts of Mercury’s production of the play _Too Much Johnson_. The production was never staged. Nor, presumably, was the film screened. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/33 "2009-03-25T20:28:51Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > Do bit parts count? Jeff Goldblum’s first credit was like “Hoodlum #4” or something in **Death Wish**. Whether or not that film was a “hit,” one can’t argue that it was influential. > . It’s “Freak #1” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/34 "2009-03-25T20:29:22Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Sofia Coppola in **The Godfather Part 2**. She was Baby Michael Jr., the kid getting baptized while Daddy’s goons were settling scores all over Vegas, Miami and Lake Tahoe. That would be the first _Godfather_, not the second. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/35 "2009-03-26T02:29:52Z")
Another false one is Vivien Leigh. A lot of people think she was discovered for _Gone With The Wind_. In fact, it was literally the halfway point in her career. She only had twenty credits as an actress and that was her tenth one. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/36 "2009-03-26T02:48:30Z")
Hands down- [Max Pirkis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1263986/). His first role ever as Midshipman Lord Blakeney in _Master and Commander- The Far Side of the World_ was a stunner at age 14, and he followed it up with role #2, of the young Gaius Octavian on season one of HBO’s _Rome_. That’s it, by the way. He’s a kid, hanging out, going to school- no movies since, and none in the pipeline. He’s very talented but can’t be bothered, apparently. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bender44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@Bender44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bender44)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/37 "2009-03-26T03:59:42Z")
How bout Edward Norton in Primal Fear? First role and an Oscar nomination at that. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/38 "2009-03-26T04:21:56Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Drew Barrymore in **E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial**. Definitely a hit movie, and Drew had a definite role to play - she wasn’t just a walk-on or extra. ET was not Drew’s first credit according to [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000106/), ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/39 "2009-03-26T04:25:46Z")
[Burt Ward](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911431/)as Robin the Boywonder? ---
**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:** [March 26, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749/40 "2009-03-26T14:26:11Z")
John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr in [A Hard Day’s Night](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hard_Day's_Night_(film)). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-people-whose-oldest-credit-was-a-hit/490749.md?page=3)