# Movies that had multiple actors who eventually became famous **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 6, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488 "2021-04-06T15:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/21 "2021-04-06T17:23:32Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > Not a movie, but [Freaks and Geeks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freaks_and_Geeks) should get special mention. > Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps. With guest appearances by Steve Higgins, Rashida Jones. Bianca Kajlich, David Koechner, Leslie Mann. . . And a young Shia LaBeouf! ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/22 "2021-04-06T17:25:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I briefly mentioned Animal House before, it had: > Tom Hulce, John Belushi, Kevin Bacon, Karen Allen were the really big new names. > Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert and Bruce McGill had decent careers as well. > A guy named DeWayne Arthur Jesse has an ongoing gig as Otis Day, the singing character from the show. Wait til Otis sees us. He LOVES us! ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/23 "2021-04-06T18:14:16Z")
_M_A_S_H\* Donald Sutherland Eliott Gould Tom Skerritt Sally Kellerman Robert Duvall Rene Auberjonois Michael Murphy John Schuck Bud Cort All went on to be quite successful. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/24 "2021-04-06T20:29:01Z")
Dazed and Confused. [Jason London](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_London), [Ben Affleck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Affleck), [Milla Jovovich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milla_Jovovich), [Cole Hauser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole_Hauser), [Parker Posey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Posey), [Adam Goldberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Goldberg_(actor)), [Joey Lauren Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Lauren_Adams), [Matthew McConaughey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_McConaughey), [Nicky Katt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Katt), [Renee Zellweger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renee_Zellweger) and [Rory Cochrane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Cochrane). ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/25 "2021-04-06T23:26:37Z")
[Wet Hot American Summer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_Hot_American_Summer#Cast) had early roles for Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Amy Poelher and several others ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/26 "2021-04-07T09:53:35Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > In addition to Penn, Reinhold, Cates, and Leigh, the film marks early appearances by several actors who later became stars, including [Nicolas Cage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Cage), [Forest Whitaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Whitaker), [Eric Stoltz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Stoltz), and [Anthony Edwards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Edwards_(actor)). Penn, Cage, and Whitaker all later won the [Academy Award for Best Actor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Actor), with Penn winning twice. I got the impression that Fast Times At Ridgemont High was one of those with lots of famous actors in it, but when I watched it they barely registered. Pretty much everyone currently famous except Senn Penn (It is debateable is Judge Reinhold is currently famous not having a big role for 25 years) were bit parts, friends of the stoners. What is striking about this (and other such movies) is how many of the main stars went absolutely nowhere. Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Phoebe Capes from Fast Times. I suspect there is some revisionism on the likes of imdb as to who were the stars post fame. I’ve found this of a few pretty successful 80s movies, Porky’s/Porky’s Revenge, which has not stood the test of time, has only the likes of Kim Cattrall halfway down the bill on the first one. All the major players went nowhere. There’s another I’ve seen recently I can’t recall which was very similar. I’ll maybe post back when I remember. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/27 "2021-04-07T12:13:06Z")
IIRC Phoebe Cates had a fairly decent film career in the 80’s, then retired from acting to raise her kids after she married Kevin Kline. So I’m not sure it’s fair to say that her career went nowhere - at least compared to the other two you mention. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/28 "2021-04-07T12:24:11Z")
_The Big Chill_ - Tom Berenger - Glenn Close - Jeff Goldblum - William Hurt - Kevin Kline - Mary Kay Place - Meg Tilly - JoBeth Williams - Kevin Costner (who didn’t make the final cut) I hadn’t heard of any of them before I saw the movie (which, incidentally, was my first date with my now-husband.) Not to say that they were all unknowns in 1983, but they were unknown to me. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/29 "2021-04-07T14:43:49Z")
Most of the actors in _Citizen Kane_ were unknowns at the time of release. So much so that they introduced them all at the end. They included Orson Welles Joseph Cotten Agnes Moorhead Ruth Warrick Ray Collins (Lt. Tragg in _Perry Mason_) Erskine Sandford Everett Sloan Paul Stewart George Coulouris Philip Van Zant (249 credits on the IMDB) Most of these are not well known today, but all had long careers in Hollywood and TV, with _Kane_ being their first noticeable role (and in many cases, their first role on screen). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/30 "2021-04-07T14:50:33Z")
Scott Pilgrim vs the World: Michael Cera Kieran Culkin Anna Kendrick Alison Pill Aubrey Plaza Mary Elizabeth Winstead Jason Schwartzman Brie Larson Brandon Routh ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/31 "2021-04-07T21:23:39Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Scott Pilgrim vs the World > Michael Cera > Kieran Culkin > Anna Kendrick > Alison Pill > Aubrey Plaza > Mary Elizabeth Winstead > Jason Schwartzman > Brie Larson > Brandon Routh Was coming here to post this. Also add a pre-_Captain America_ [Chris Evans](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/21/96/54/219654466d56f6091ce7beaa77dacb5c.jpg) and a pre-_Good Girls_ [Mae Whitman.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/79/5d/0d/795d0d50dc8d4beba9aa3999f885fe88.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/32 "2021-04-07T21:24:56Z")
Ahhh I forgot Chris Evens! I was thinking of him when I remembered Scott Pilgrim! LOL Mae Whitman…the “bi-furious” ex hilarious ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/33 "2021-04-07T21:42:46Z")
The 2009 _Star Trek_ reboot had several actors who were already fairly well-known (Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, etc.), but it was the first major role for two actors who became much bigger and better-known afterwards: Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana. It also was one of the first U.S. roles for Chris Hemsworth (who played Kirk’s father in the film’s first scene). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/34 "2021-04-07T22:49:44Z")
The 1981 Milos Forman film [Ragtime](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082970/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) had a _very_ eclectic cast of future stars, including Mandy Patinkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Mary Steenburgen, Fran Drescher, Debbie Allen, John Ratzenberger and in their film debuts, both Jeff Daniels and Samuel L. Jackson. It also featured the final film performance of James Cagney and an appearance by Norman Mailer in a key role. A very odd movie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/35 "2021-04-08T12:38:54Z")
I’m not really sure that Star Wars counts, because Fisher and Hamill are mostly just famous for their work in the Star Wars movies (yes, Hamill has had a successful career in voice work, but it’s not what he’s famous for). Nobody would ever say “Hey, did you know that before they were famous, both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were in Star Wars together?”. Heck, even Harrison Ford is really only famous for two roles (of which Han Solo was one). ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/36 "2021-04-08T13:54:15Z")
Another British star-heavy entry - 2006’s university-set Starter for Ten had a young cast including James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, James Corden, Rebecca Hall, and Dominic Cooper all of whom would go on to have good-to-astonishing careers. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/37 "2021-04-08T16:28:40Z")
In the late 60s, the BBC did a series of Shakespeare adaptations with casts of future big names. _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ had David Warner, Michael Jayston (the Valeyard in _Doctor Who_), Helen Mirren, Clive Swift, Ian Richardson, Judi Dench, and Ian Holm. Diana Rigg was also in the cast, but she was already well known for _The Avenger_. An earlier version from 1959 included Roy Dotrice, Albert Finney, Julian Glover, Robert Hardy, Ian Hom, Vanessa Redgrave, and a pre-_Avengers_ Diana Rigg. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/38 "2021-04-08T19:19:46Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > [Wet Hot American Summer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_Hot_American_Summer#Cast) had early roles for Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Amy Poelher and several others Wow! This must be the worst movie ever! Even the trailer can’t put ninety entertaining seconds together. If that is what they featured the rest must be some kind of awful dreck; a remarkable waste of some very talented people. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/39 "2021-04-08T21:26:00Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > This must be the worst movie ever! And yet it’s spawned a prequel and a sequel series… > **[Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_Hot_American_Summer:_First_Day_of_Camp)** > > Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is an American satirical comedy television miniseries written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. First Day of Camp is the second installment in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise. The eight-episode Netflix series is a prequel to Wain's 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer, a parody of teen sex comedies which has since developed a cult following. Although many of the original film's ensemble cast have gone on to high-profile wor Af... > **[Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_Hot_American_Summer:_Ten_Years_Later)** > > Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later is an American satirical comedy television miniseries set in 1991 in a summer camp and New York City. > Created by David Wain and Michael Showalter and directed by Wain, the Netflix series is part of the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, following Wain's 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer and the 2015 prequel television series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. The series consists of eight episodes, and was released on August 4, 2017. > Showalter ci... ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488/40 "2021-04-08T21:37:06Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Scott Pilgrim vs the World: > Michael Cera > Kieran Culkin > Anna Kendrick > Alison Pill > Aubrey Plaza > Mary Elizabeth Winstead > Jason Schwartzman > Brie Larson > Brandon Routh Chris Evans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-had-multiple-actors-who-eventually-became-famous/939488.md?page=3)