Everyone has to get their start somewhere, especially celebrities. Whether it's through small gigs like commercials, it's important to get your foot in the door. For many of our favorite actors these days, they've gotten their start as playing extras in movies and on television. We might not realize it until years later, as many of these roles go uncredited.
Some of the biggest names like Leonardo DiCaprio and Sylvester Stallone started off as uncredited extras and they've gone on to have extremely successful careers. Despite not getting credit, it's a way for them to get their start and their foot in the door. Not to mention, it's really fun to look back on and see our favorite stars before they were famous.
10 Jeff Goldblum - 'Annie Hall'
Jeff Goldblum is a huge name in the acting world, and he got his start in a Woody Allen film. You can see him appear in the 1977 movie Annie Hall as an extra. During a scene at a party, we can see him speaking to someone on the phone. Jeff is a step above normal extras as he has an actual line — "I forgot my mantra." He's credited as a party guest. We know from there on our he would go on to have a very successful career, and it's all thanks to a small role in a Woody Allen film.
9 Cuba Gooding Jr. - 'Coming To America'
Cuba Gooding Jr. also got his start as an extra. In fact, it was his very first acting role. You can see him in the 1988 movie, Coming To America. We can see Cuba as a little boy getting a haircut. In the barbershop, he's getting a cut from one of Eddie Murphy's personas. According to Cuba, this small role was actually bigger, however, the cut down his scene. Nevertheless, being an extra in the movie definitely helped kickstart his career, as he went on to become an Oscar winner.
8 Sylvester Stallone - 'Bananas'
Just like Jeff Goldblum, Sylvester Stallone also got his start in a Woody Allen movie as an extra. You can see Sylvester in the 1971 movie, Bananas. He played the role of a subway thug and the role went uncredited. In the beginning, Woody Allen didn't think that Sylvester didn't look tough enough.
As a result, he didn't want him in the movie as he didn't think that he fit the role. However, Sylvester literally begged and pleaded to be in the movie, and eventually, Wooden Allen changed his mind and Sylvester got to appear in the movie after all.
7 Heath Ledger - 'Clowning Around'
Heath Ledger was arguably one of the greatest actors in recent decades, and when he tragically passed away in 2008, fans and the rest of the world were obviously devastated by his sudden passing. Before he played his most iconic roles like The Joker in The Dark Knight, he was once an extra. Heath made his big-screen movie debut in 1992 in the movie Clowning Around. He didn't have much of a role in the film as he was just an extra — in fact he wasn't even credited.
6 Renee Zellweger - 'Dazed And Confused'
Renee Zellweger had quite a few roles as an extra before her career started to take off. It wasn't until she had her role as an extra in Dazed and Confused that she got her big break. She played Nesi White, and you can see her in the back of a pickup truck holding a beer funnel. After that, things started to pick up from there. She would go on to appear in Jerry McGuire, Cold Mountain, Bridger Jones' Diary, and eventually Judy where she would win the academy award.
5 Adam Brody - 'American Pie 2'
We all know Adam Brody from when he starred as Seth Cohen on The O.C. Before that, though, he had to struggle like every other actor trying to get their foot in the door. As a result, you can see him as an extra in American Pie 2. Thankfully for Adam, his role as an extra was credited and he was known as "High School Guy." After that, he would go on to score his role in The O.C. in addition to becoming a writer, musician, as well as a producer.
4 Channing Tatum - 'War Of The Worlds'
Before we got to know Channing Tatum from the Step Up franchise as well as Magic Mike, he also had to get his start somewhere by taking on small roles as an extra to get his foot in the door. We might not take Channing as a sci-fi guy, but he did have a small role as an extra in the Steven Spielberg film, War of the Worlds.
Originally, his part was a little bigger as he has a few lines of dialogue. Unfortunately, all of his lines were cut out of the final product and now we only see Channing running around in the background. His part is so fast that you might even miss it if you blink!
3 Megan Fox - 'Bad Boys 2'
Before Megan Fox made it big in movies like Transformers and Jennifer's Body, she was once an extra in another Michael Bay film, Bad Boys 2. Her appearance in the movie is a bit controversial as she was an extra dancing in a bikini underneath a waterfall in a club. What makes that controversial? She was only 15 years old at the time. According to Megan, since she was so underage she couldn't be seen at the bar or holding any alcohol, so they had to settle for her dancing under the waterfall. Regardless of the age controversy, it was definitely a step for Megan to kick off her career.
2 Leonardo DiCaprio - 'Roseanne'
Leonardo DiCaprio is another famous face that was an extra before he made it big. Unlike some of the other big names on this list, Leo was an extra on the small screen. In fact, he appeared in an episode of Roseanne. The episode, titled "Home-Ec" aired in February of 1991. Leo played Darlene's classmate, and Roseanne visits the class to tell them what it's like to be a stay-at-home mom. Unfortunately, Leo doesn't have any lines in the episode, but you can see him sitting at one of the desks in the classroom.
1 Jackie Chan - 'Big And Little Wong Tin Bar'
Before Jackie Chan become the big actor and martial arts star that we know and love today, he had to get his start somewhere too. For Jackie, that was being an extra in the 1962 movie, Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Jackie was just a child when he appeared in the movie, learning along with other children how to become a Kung Fu warrior. For a while, we didn't have much footage of his big-screen debut, but a mysterious video popped up online showing a little Jackie Chan.
