There is a special kind of fun in rewatching an old movie or TV episode and suddenly recognizing someone who absolutely did not seem important the first time around. Before the Oscars, superhero franchises, and giant leading roles, plenty of major actors were standing in the background, showing up for one episode, or delivering a line or two before disappearing. Sometimes they barely even had a character name. In hindsight, spotting them feels like finding an accidental celebrity cameo that nobody involved knew was a celebrity cameo yet. The role may have been tiny, but the face eventually became impossible to miss. Here are 15 massive actors you saw before you knew who they were.

Matt Damon in Mystic Pizza

Damon’s 1988 film debut in Mystic Pizza lasts just one dinner scene, where he gets a single line. Nine years later, Good Will Hunting changed everything.

Jack Black in The X-Files

Before School of Rock, Black showed up in a 1995 episode of The X-Files as Zero, the arcade-working friend of a teenager with some very unusual electrical abilities.

Octavia Spencer in A Time to Kill

Spencer was working behind the scenes when director Joel Schumacher gave her a tiny role as a nurse in A Time to Kill. It became her film debut.

Scarlett Johansson in Home Alone 3

Years before anyone associated her with superheroes, Johansson played Molly Pruitt, the older sister of the movie’s young hero, in 1997’s Home Alone 3.

Keira Knightley in The Phantom Menace

Knightley was only 12 when she played Sabé in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, serving as Queen Amidala’s handmaiden and extremely convincing decoy.

Michael B. Jordan in The Sopranos

Long before Creed and Black Panther, Jordan briefly appeared on The Sopranos as a character credited simply as “Rideland Kid”.

Bradley Cooper in Sex and the City

Cooper appeared in a 1999 episode of Sex and the City as Jake, a guy Carrie meets during a night out. He was still years away from becoming a leading man.

Pedro Pascal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Pascal popped up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Eddie, a nervous college freshman who befriends Buffy. His time at Sunnydale was, unsurprisingly, extremely short-lived.

Jeremy Renner in Angel

Before Hawkeye, Renner played Penn in a 2000 episode of Angel. Instead of saving people, he was a vampire from Angel’s past causing some very serious problems.

Rami Malek in Gilmore Girls

Malek’s first onscreen role was a one-episode appearance on Gilmore Girls in 2004. He played Andy, one of Lane’s classmates at her Seventh-Day Adventist college.

Brie Larson in 13 Going on 30

Look closely at the mean-girl clique in 13 Going on 30 and one of the “Six Chicks” is future Oscar winner Brie Larson.

Jessica Chastain in Veronica Mars

Chastain spent her pre-movie-star years taking small television jobs, including a 2004 appearance on Veronica Mars as Sarah Williams.

Jennifer Lawrence in Monk

Lawrence appeared on Monk in 2006 as a high school mascot. She later joked that she had told everyone she landed a big role before discovering she would be wearing the costume.

Henry Cavill in Stardust

Before Superman made the cape permanent, Cavill appeared in Stardust as Humphrey, the smug romantic rival standing between Tristan and Victoria.

Chris Hemsworth in Star Trek

Two years before Thor, Hemsworth appeared in the opening minutes of 2009’s Star Trek as George Kirk, James T. Kirk’s father. Small role, extremely memorable exit.

The post 15 Massive Actors You Saw Before You Knew Who They Were appeared first on Den of Geek.