Have you ever found yourself watching a TV show or movie, and seeing a big-name actor you recognize in an unassuming role? But it can’t be … no, you checked IMDB, and it is who you thought it is! This just goes to show you that even big actors still take minor roles. In some cases, it’s some small bit role that you overlooked because it was early in their career, and in other cases, it’s somebody at the top of their game taking on a minor role for fun, or because they were asked to take part in one of their favorite shows, and they couldn’t turn down the role.
That’s the purpose of this list; to show you some big names playing smaller parts. However, a big personality often steals the show, as you will surely see! That’s what makes some actors so great; they don’t always gun for top billing. Sometimes they want to keep their chops sharp for the smaller roles, and we’re here for it! Without further ado, here are 11 of our most favorite times we’ve seen big names play smaller parts.
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11 Bryan Cranston - Seinfeld
Before Walter White, heck, even before Hal Wilkerson, Bryan Cranston was a regularly occurring ancillary character on Seinfeld. That’s right, Tim Whatley was Jerry and Kramer’s dentist, who often acted in unorthodox ways, like hitting the nitrous-oxide canister before doing dental work on Jerry. He was also romantically interested in Elaine, though that relationship never truly developed. In the case of Bryan Cranston, he was on his way up to bigger and better roles, but looking back at one of his earlier well known smaller roles in hindsight shows us that Cranston always commits to his character. Though, it’s safe to say we’d never allow him to perform a root canal on us!
10 Al Pacino - Gigli
Gigli is a little bit mafia, a lot rom-com, and seeing Al Pacino get some screen time in this flick took us by surprise. He only has a few minutes of screen time, but he is the antagonist that we hear about throughout the movie. Though the film was generally considered a massive box office flop, only earning $7.2 million against its budget of $75.6 million, the film did have a roster that was jam-packed with Oscar-winning actors, including Ben Affleck, Christopher Walken, and of course, Al Pacino.
9 Seth Macfarlane - Gilmore Girls
Though many of us know Seth Macfarlane from Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and A Million Ways to Die in the West, he did take on small acting roles in shows such as Zach in Gilmore Girls. When Lorelai graduated from community business college, Macfarlane portrayed her loudmouthed classmate, whose voice had a striking resemblance to Brian Griffin. He had a couple of choice words to say about the helicopter mother who hired a photographer for the occasion, saying that he thought people born into a privileged life made him sick. Little did he know, he was making fun of Lorelai’s mother, though it doesn’t seem like he felt any shame for hurling insults, which is par for the course if you’re familiar with his sense of humor. This wasn’t the only time he played a small bit role in Gilmore Girls. In fact, he also played Emily Gilmore’s lawyer, Bob, in a season three episode.
8 Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder was one of those rare action/comedy parody films that come but once in a lifetime, and Tom Cruise stole the show with his minor role portraying Les Grossman, a hotheaded and foul-mouthed producer. Though it’s a minor role played by Cruise, he totally nails his part, and doesn’t look half bad with a bald cap and glasses! It only makes sense to have one of the best action stars of all time wanting to take part in one of the greatest action parodies of all time, though the only stunts Cruise did on his own was downing Diet co*ke and yelling at Matthew McConaughey.
7 Seth Rogen - Donnie Darko
Before Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Seth Rogen cut his teeth on shows like Freaks and Geeks, and took on minor film roles while he was getting established in Hollywood. If it’s been a while since you’ve given Donnie Darko a look, you can see Rogan sitting in the back of the class, delivering dialogue in the form of making fun of Gretchen Ross because her dad was in jail for stabbing her mom. He was immediately sent to the principal’s office after this exchange, and that’s pretty much all you see of Rogan in this film.
6 Jared Leto - Fight Club
By now we know that Jared Leto is a talented method actor, and often takes on iconic roles like The Joker in Suicide Squad, and Michael Morbius from Morbius, but he also gets the life beaten out of him by Edward Norton’s unnamed character in Fight Club. Though Leto didn’t get top billing for the film, he did play an instrumental role in getting Project Mayhem lifted. Even though he’s more or less unrecognizable after getting brutally beaten, Leto delivered a powerhouse performance in the David Fincher film.
5 Dane Cook - Waiting…
Waiting... is very much a Ryan Reynolds and Justin Long movie that lives in the day of the life of restaurant employees grinding out dishes at Shenanigan’s. Though Dane Cook was in the middle of his meteoric rise in the stand-up comedy world, he was also taking on major film roles like Employee of the Month, and Good Luck Chuck. It was during this time, Dane Cook played a minor role in Waiting... as the foul-mouthed line cook who violated the plates of unruly customers when told to by the serving staff. Sure, it wasn’t a huge role in the film, but it did deliver an important message: don’t screw with the people who make your food!
4 Robin Williams - Law and Order: SVU
Leave it to the one and only Robin Williams to earn an Emmy nomination for his appearance in . It’s funny to see Williams on network television given that at this point in his career he was more or less a household name for his work on the silver screen, but he delivered the goods with this television appearance. His portrayal of Merrit Rook reminds us of his performance in Insomnia with Al Pacino, in which he plays a menacing villain who gets a kick out of teasing and manipulating law enforcement before ultimately getting caught.
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3 Drew Barrymore - Scream
A little-known fact about Drew Barrymore was that she was originally supposed to play Sidney Prescott in Scream. The unfortunate reality is that the scheduling didn’t work out, but she still wanted to be a part of the film. Casey Becker (Barrymore) is killed off in the first 12 minutes of the film, and to this day it’s one of the most iconic opening horror sequences we can think of. If only she was better at movie trivia, she may have lived to see another day.
2 Jack Black - The Cable Guy
Jack Black has an uncharacteristic role in The Cable Guy, in the sense that he’s the voice of reason. It’s Rick (Jack Black) who reveals to Steven that Chip Douglas was fired from the cable company for stalking customers, and engaging in criminal activity. Though it’s not a major role, it does unfold a major plot point to carry the film into the third act, and for that, we salute him!
1 Bill Murray, Zombieland
The third act of Zombieland brings us many surprises, but the biggest surprise of all is Bill Murray’s cameo, in which he portrays himself. In a misguided attempt to prank Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), he dresses like a zombie, but he dresses a little too convincingly because it gets him killed. Remember, folks… if you’re going to mess with people who are in a heightened state of anxiety during a zombie apocalypse, make sure they aren’t armed!
