Wait, He Was in What?! Bet You Forgot These Actors Were in These Movies

You have to start somewhere, right? We're so used to seeing our favorite Hollywood actors in major blockbuster films that it's often easy to forget where they came from. Before Michael Fassbender was wreaking havoc as young Magneto, he was showing off his rippling muscles in 300. Before Jared Leto snagged an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, he was axed to death by Christian Bale in American Psycho. And before Johnny Depp became Jack Sparrow and all his other crazy characters, Freddy Krueger was haunting his dreams. Wondering who else was in a popular movie without you even realizing it? Keep scrolling, and prepare to have your mind blown. Source: Lionsgate, Warner Bros.

01
Michael Fassbender, 300
Warner Bros.

Michael Fassbender, 300

If you can pull your eyes away from his abs for just a second, you'll see it's totally him.

02
Justin Long, Crossroads
Paramount Pictures

Justin Long, Crossroads

Justin Long and Britney Spears totally shared a bed. Definitely something you'd never expect to say.

03
Ian Somerhalder, Life as a House
New Line Cinema

Ian Somerhalder, Life as a House

Ian Somerhalder was only 22. He hadn't quite mastered the smolder he now uses in The Vampire Diaries.

04
Johnny Depp, Nightmare on Elm Street
New Line Cinema

Johnny Depp, Nightmare on Elm Street

The original came out in 1985! Raise your hand if you remember how good Johnny Depp looked in that half shirt.

05
Ryan Gosling, Remember the Titans
Disney

Ryan Gosling, Remember the Titans

Just look at those dance moves.

06
Disney

What's that, you say? One more for the road?

08
Joe Manganiello, Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures

Joe Manganiello, Spider-Man

That's right. In the 2002 Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire, Manganiello played Flash, and he had just as much wolf rage as he does on True Blood.

09
Jared Leto, American Psycho
Lionsgate

Jared Leto, American Psycho

It's a far cry from his Academy Award-winning performance as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.

10
Andrew Garfield, The Other Boleyn Girl
Columbia Pictures

Andrew Garfield, The Other Boleyn Girl

Truth be told, Andrew Garfield pulls off ye olde English garb almost as well as he pulls off the Spider-Man suit.

11
Matt Damon, Eurotrip
Dreamworks

Matt Damon, Eurotrip

It might have only been a cameo, but it was still absolutely epic. There are no words.

12
Matthew McConaughey, Angels in the Outfield
Disney

Matthew McConaughey, Angels in the Outfield

And, of course, he had a hot shirtless scene. You know who else was in Angels in the Outfield? Adrien Brody.

13
Disney

There he is!

15
Matt Bomer, Flightplan
Disney

Matt Bomer, Flightplan

Yep, before he was stripping down in Magic Mike, Matt Bomer was a flight attendant in Flightplan.

16
Jimmy Fallon, Almost Famous
Columbia Pictures

Jimmy Fallon, Almost Famous

He was the manager!

17
Alexander Skarsgard, Zoolander
Paramount Pictures

Alexander Skarsgard, Zoolander

Three words: Orange Mocha Frappuccinos!

18
Paramount Pictures

But that's not all. You know who else was in Zoolander for like, one second?

19
Paramount Pictures

Oh, yes. That's James Marsden.

20
Jason Bateman, The Sweetest Thing
Columbia Pictures

Jason Bateman, The Sweetest Thing

This movie came out just one year before Arrested Development first premiered.

22
Diego Klattenhoff, Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures

Diego Klattenhoff, Mean Girls

Trying to figure out what else he's from? Diego was Mike Faber, Brody's best friend on Homeland. He's also one of the stars of Blacklist.

23
John Krasinski, Jarhead
Universal Pictures

John Krasinski, Jarhead

The same year The Office premiered, John Krasinski was rockin' a crew cut and glasses.

24
Tom Hiddleston, Midnight in Paris
Sony Pictures Classics

Tom Hiddleston, Midnight in Paris

It may seem obvious, but with so many famous faces in the film, it's easy to forget that Tom Hiddleston was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Even more shocking: Corey Stoll was Ernest Hemingway.

25
Sony Pictures Classics

Maybe you're like, "I don't even know who that is." Well, if you take away his hair, you'd realize he plays Peter Russo on House of Cards.

26

Boom. Source: Netflix

27
Vince Vaughn, Rudy
Sony Pictures

Vince Vaughn, Rudy

How cute is young Vince Vaughn, by the way?

29
Jake Gyllenhaal, City Slickers
Columbia Pictures

Jake Gyllenhaal, City Slickers

Those baby blues were just as mesmerizing when he was a kid.

30
Brad Pitt, True Romance
Warner Bros.

Brad Pitt, True Romance

Everyone remembers Thelma & Louise so intensely that they often skim right over stoner Brad.

31
Chris Evans, Not Another Teen Movie
Columbia Pictures

Chris Evans, Not Another Teen Movie

It's a whole new side of Captain America. And let's not forget Not Another Teen Movie also features How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor.

32
Columbia Pictures

There he is as the tour guide!

33
Seth Rogen, Donnie Darko

Seth Rogen, Donnie Darko

Seth Rogen is almost unrecognizable as one of the bullies who terrorizes Donnie Darko. Source: New Market Films

34
James McAvoy, Wimbledon
Universal Pictures

James McAvoy, Wimbledon

Bonus: did you recognize Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, aka Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones, on the right?

35
Ben Affleck, Dazed and Confused
Universal Pictures

Ben Affleck, Dazed and Confused

Everyone's so caught up in Matthew McConaughey and his iconic "alright, alright, alright" that they totally forget about Ben — with a paddle.

36
Jon Hamm, Space Cowboys
Warner Bros.

Jon Hamm, Space Cowboys

This guy is a far cry from Mad Men's Don Draper.

37
Justin Theroux, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Disney

Justin Theroux, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

That's not the only weird Justin Theroux role we've suddenly remembered, either.

38
Jason Segel, Can't Hardly Wait
Columbia Pictures

Jason Segel, Can't Hardly Wait

We've all spent so much time wondering which character we are that we totally missed Jason Segel.

39
Benedict Cumberbatch, Atonement
Universal Pictures

Benedict Cumberbatch, Atonement

Yep, before Benedict Cumberbatch's sexiness was blowing us away, he was sporting a creepy mustache in Atonement.

40
Henry Cavill, Count of Monte Cristo
Disney

Henry Cavill, Count of Monte Cristo

Can you believe this is the same man who would later play Superman?

41
Penn Badgley, John Tucker Must Die
20th Century Studios

Penn Badgley, John Tucker Must Die

With hair like that, we're totally starting to see why he was Gossip Girl.

43
Jim Parsons, Garden State
Searchlight Pictures

Jim Parsons, Garden State

Like, he basically plays the same character as he does in The Big Bang Theory.

44
Chris Messina, You've Got Mail
Warner Bros.

Chris Messina, You've Got Mail

With the hilarious credit of "Fox Salesperson."

45
Neil Patrick Harris, Undercover Brother
Universal Pictures

Neil Patrick Harris, Undercover Brother

After Doogie Howser, M.D. but before How I Met Your Mother, there was this.

46
James Franco, Never Been Kissed
Fox

James Franco, Never Been Kissed

James Franco was only 21 in this!

47
Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek
Paramount Pictures

Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek

It's hard to believe this came out only two years before Thor.

48
Joaquin Phoenix, Parenthood
Universal Pictures

Joaquin Phoenix, Parenthood

This came out in 1989, which means Joaquin Phoenix has been making movies for 25 years!

50
Robert Downey Jr., Weird Science
Universal Pictures

Robert Downey Jr., Weird Science

Iron Man got his start in science back in 1985.

51
Elijah Wood, Back to the Future II
Universal Pictures

Elijah Wood, Back to the Future II

The year was 1989, and Elijah Wood was 8 years old. Just look at him, and try not to melt.

52
Aaron Paul, Whatever It Takes
Columbia Pictures

Aaron Paul, Whatever It Takes

Back in 2000, Aaron Paul was causing mischief as Floyd.

53
Paul Rudd, Romeo + Juliet
20th Century Studios

Paul Rudd, Romeo + Juliet

Paul Rudd in Clueless is totally duh, but we bet you forgot he was an astronaut in Romeo + Juliet.