Meme Encyclopedia
Media
Editorials
More

Popular right now

Barry wood meme large black man with tattoos sitting on a bed and looking at the camera.

Wood Sitting On a Bed

6 years ago

Dictator Mbappé meme image example.

Dictator Mbappé

Phillip Hamilton

Phillip Hamilton • 3 months ago

Slutty MacBook Selfie image example and tweet commenting on the term.

Slutty MacBook Selfie

Philipp Kachalin

Philipp Kachalin • about a year ago

Pirate Gaster image examples.

Pirate Gaster

7 days ago

Big Chungus meme depicting PlayStation 4 game cover parody fat Bugs Bunny by HELLO GAMES with special feature Dante from Devil May Cry.

Big Chungus

7 years ago

Know Your Meme is the property of Literally Media ©2024 Literally Media. All Rights Reserved.

Collections

24 Actors In Films And Shows We Never Knew They Were In

A movie scene.

76 views
Published July 07, 2026

Published July 07, 2026

Not many actors begin their acting careers in the role they end up being most well-known for. Most actors started off in small roles, and many even began in commercials or as filler characters in single TV episodes. This is an essential part of any aspiring actor's career as it launches them into the industry and gives them valuable experience for the future.

People have recognized many now-famous people in old scenes when rewatching films and episodes of shows from the past. It can be surprising to see these folks doing something that most people had no idea they did. From extras in the background to generic, unnamed people in movies or shows or as filler characters in films, these scenes capture the early days of celebrities.

Enjoy seeing some famous actors and actresses playing roles that no one really knew they played. It's interesting to see these iconic people in movies and shows you might not expect them in.

Evangeline Lilly as a background extra in Freddy Vs Jason (2003)

(Source: Reddit)

Hayden Christensen on Are You Afraid of the Dark (1999)

(Source: Reddit)

Zach Cherry in Spider-Man: Homecoming

(Source: Reddit)

Meryl Streep in her first TV role in The Deadliest Season (1977)

(Source: Reddit)

Scarlett Johansson in North (1994)

(Source: Reddit)

Glenn Howerton in Monday Night Mayhem (2002)

(Source: Reddit)

Christopher Walken in Hawaii Five O (1970)

(Source: Reddit)

Jake Gyllenhaal in his first acting gig, City Slickers (1991)

(Source: Reddit)

14-year-old Laurence Fishburne in Apocalypse Now! (1976)

(Source: Reddit)

John Ratzenberger in A Bridge Too Far (1977)

(Source: Reddit)

Jack Black in his uncredited role in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

(Source: Reddit)

Jim Carrey in Dirty Harry 5: The Dead Pool (1988)

(Source: Reddit)

Paul Rudd in a Super Nintendo commercial in 1991

(Source: Reddit)

Michael Madsen in Special Bulletin (1983)

(Source: Reddit)

Don Chedle in The Meteor Man (1993)

(Source: Reddit)

Pedro Pascal in NYPD Blue (2001)

(Source: Reddit)

Anthony Mackie’s first on-screen role in Eight Mile (2002)

(Source: Reddit)

Walton Goggins in Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

(Source: Reddit)

Chris Pratt in Wanted (2008)

(Source: Reddit)

Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel in Wayne's World 2 (1993)

(Source: Reddit)

Seth Rogen in his first feature film role, Donnie Darko (2001)

(Source: Reddit)

Harrison Ford in Apocalypse Now (filmed 1976, released 1979)

(Source: Reddit)

Kevin Conroy in Cheers (1989)

(Source: Reddit)

Nathan Lane in Addams Family Values (1993)

(Source: Reddit)

Tags: no small parts, actors, actresses, interesting, mildly interesting, movies, films,



Meme Encyclopedia
Media
Editorials
More