A couple of posts went out over the weekend as it was Valentines Day about it being 25 years to the day that Silence of the Lambs was released.
A film I remember most for seeing Jodie Foster, for the first time. I am sure when I was younger, I would have seen her in Bugsy Malone or Freaky Friday but none had the effect on me as she did as her role of agent Clarice Starling.
She deservedly won the Oscar for her performance and I rushed out to see other films she had starred in, from the obvious ones such as The Accused and Taxi Driver, but some of her others such as The Hotel New Hampshire; Five Corners; Catchfire and Foxes (it would be fair to say I developed a bit of a crush on her)
But it got me thinking about the first time we saw stars in roles. Here are a few of my memories:
Jake Gyllenhaal, who found fame after Donnie Darko, I first saw in the Billy Crystal film City Slickers as one of the school kids.
Johnny Depp I first saw as a victim of evil Freddy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street
I always forget that Jack Black I first saw in Mars Attacks and The Cable Guy, long before he found fame in School of Rock & Shallow Hal.
Many movie stars of today, I first saw on TV in Miami Vice, for example; Bruce Willis, Ben Stiller and Julia Roberts. (Mental Floss compiled a list of 27 stars here:
Ryan Reynolds, riding high in Deadpool I first saw in an episode of The X-Files
Bradley Cooper maybe a big star now but he was just a recurring guest star when I first saw him in TV’s Alias
Ben Affleck I first saw as a basketball player in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.
I even saw George Clooney in an episode of the Motor Bike version of Knight Rider that was Street Hawk
My personal favourite though is seeing our current fav Jennifer Lawrence as a football team cougar mascot on TV’s Monk
A star’s career path is easier to find thanks to IMDB the internet movie database, where a title will list all the cast and clicking on them can list you to their career history.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be on screen, I first saw Scooby Doo & Confessions of a Shopaholic star Isla Fisher on stage in an adaptation of Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday
Possible more obscure as not even top billed, I saw Dracula Unborn and Fast & Furious 7 star Luke Evans as part of the ensemble in puppet musical, Avenue Q
It’s great to know that our favourite stars of today all had to start somewhere, even if it is a film you may watch out of curiosity but never want to see again!
How about you? Where did you first see your favourite movie star, we would love to hear from you here at Barking Mad about Films
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