For as much time as I waste watching TV and movies on Netflix when I should be doing something wildly more productive, I'm honestly a little offended that there are still bits of trivia out there that I don't know. It's like finding out there's a whole 'nother House in Harry Potter that you weren't aware of, or not immediately recognizing a Mean Girls quote, or walking past Kristen Wiig on the street without throwing yourself at her feet and kissing her shoes. That level of embarrassing. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Mila Kunis played the younger version of Angelina Jolie in Gia , the 1998 film that marked one of Jolie's earliest roles.
Yes, that's right. A young Jolie was not played by some random child actor who faded into obscurity once the credits began to roll. Instead, the 11-year old version of the title role was played by a young Mila Kunis. Maybe you've heard of her? Now she has a baby and an Ashton Kutcher, but, back then, she was just a 15-year old who hadn't yet hit the big-time with her future role on That 70's Show. And, since I'm betting you would've gotten that question wrong if it had come up at your bar trivia night, I'm here to make sure you never have to experience the shame of not knowing which famous person played the younger version of another famous person before they got famous. (Say "famous" again.)
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence played the younger version of fellow Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette in a fourth-season episode of Medium , which aired in 2008 — before Lawrence had her big break in the 2010 film Winter's Bone.
Keira Knightley
In the 1998 TV Movie Coming Home, Keira Knightley played the younger version of Emily Mortimer's character Judith Dunbar, a year before she booked Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
Jessica Chastain
Just before Jessica Chastain's huge, breakout year in 2011 when she starred in Tree Of Life and The Help, she played a younger version of Helen Mirren in a 2010 movie called The Debt .
Kirsten Dunst
Hey, voices count too! In the 1997 animated movie Anastasia , the title role was voiced by Meg Ryan, with Kirsten Dunst providing voicing for Anastasia as a child!
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Now you know his face from roles in Love Actually and Game of Thrones, but, once upon a time, Thomas Brodie-Sangster was low-profile enough to play a young James Franco in Tristan + Isolde.
Shailene Woodley
I can't be the only person who remembers the show Crossing Jordan , right? And yet, even I forgot that Shailene Woodley played a younger version of Jill Hennessy's character, Jordan, in multiple episodes during the show's six year run, from 2001 to 2007.
Jennifer Connelly
They may be only nine years apart, but, in the 1984 movie Once Upon A Time In America , Jennifer Connelly played the younger version of Elizabeth McGovern, whom you probably recognize as Countess Cora Crawley from Downton Abbey.
Image: Getty Images (8)
