Entertainment
17 Stars You Forgot Were In Your Favorite Films
Every actor and actress gets their start somewhere, and sometimes it's easy to forget that the famous faces of today were also the background actors of yesteryear. After all, it's hard to imagine major players like Ryan Gosling or James Franco as having forgettable parts in anything. And yet, there are a ton of films out there that you simply forgot your favorite celebrities starred in — even when it comes to films that are fan favorites. Check out the 17 actors and actresses who you completely forgot were in your favorite films of the early '00s.
Matthew Davis
You love him as the (back from the dead!) Alaric on The Vampire Diaries, but you may not remember hating him as Harvard dirtbag Warner Huntington III in 2001’s Legally Blonde.
Image: MGM
Ian Somerhalder
He makes out with former girlfriend Nina Dobrev on The Vampire Diaries, but back in 2002 the only person he had eyes for was James van der Beek… onscreen, anyway. He portrayed Paul, a co-ed in love with van der Beek’s Sean Bateman in the Bret Easton Ellis adaption The Rules of Attraction.
Image: Lions Gate Films
Chris Evans
He’s Captain America now and a permanent member of the Avengers, but he was just a high school student trying to win a bet in the 2001 parody film Not Another Teen Movie.
Image: Columbia Pictures
Allison Janney
She just scored an Emmy for her role on Mom, but she was making us laugh back in 1999 when she played the guidance counselor/erotic novelist in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Andrew Lincoln
The Walking Dead star wasn’t always taking down zombies. In 2003 he played a guy in love with his best friend’s girl in the ensemble flick Love, Actually. “To me, you are perfect,” Andrew Lincoln.
Image: Universal Pictures
Ryan Gosling
Never forget the time that Ryan Gosling did this dance in the iconic football film Remember The Titans.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Rachel McAdams
Two years before playing Regina George in Mean Girls, McAdams played another high school Queen Bee. She starred alongside Rob Schneider in the 2002 body-switching movie The Hot Chick.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Matthew Lawrence
Speaking of The Hot Chick, this Boy Meets World star also starred in the film — as McAdams’ onscreen love interest. (Oh, and since it’s a body-switching movie, that’s Rob Schneider-as-his-love-interest giving him that smooch.)
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Justin Long
Long played Britney Spears’ character’s prom date in 2002’s Crossroads.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Matt Damon
Damon had a cameo in the 2004 comedy EuroTrip as the lead singer of a rock band that steals the main character, Scotty’s, girlfriend. Though he isn’t the one actually singing in the film (the voice is the lead singer of Lustra) he gives a very, very memorable performance. Image: DreamWorks Pictures
Jesse Eisenberg
Eisenberg was cast in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2004 “watch it for the twist ending” film The Village. Also in the film that you may have forgotten about? Adrien Brody and Joaquin Phoenix.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Seth Rogen
Just after his TV series Freaks and Geeks ended, Rogen scored a minor part in the 2001 film Donnie Darko as the bully who torments the titular character.
Image: Flower Films
Paul Rudd
Rogen’s Knocked Up co-star, Paul Rudd, played “Dave Paris” in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet. He also played Tommy Doyle in the 1995 horror flick Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.
Image: 20th Century Fox
Jessica Alba
Alba played popular girl Kirsten (she’s the one in the insanely 90s orange jacket) in the 1999 romcom Never Been Kissed, alongside…
Image: 20th Century Fox
Octavia Spencer
Yep, the Red Band Society star was also in the high school-set comedy, as was…
Image: 20th Century Fox
James Franco
That’s Franco making his signature face in the bottom right corner. Though it wasn’t his first film, it was the last film he did before breaking out on Freaks and Geeks in 1999.
Image: 20th Century Fox
James Marsden
Marsden has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the 2001 comedy Zoolander as John Wilkes Booth.
Image: Paramount Pictures
