Random Times Movie Stars Took Surprise Supporting Roles And Stole The Show (15 items)

• 

  (#7) Matt Damon

  • 52

  Audiences were stunned when Matt Damon turned up in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. He plays Dr. Mann, a marooned astronaut so desperate to save himself that he's willing to sabotage the mission of the film's hero, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey). A star of Damon's magnitude would usually be a focal point, but he was uncredited, not featured in trailers, and absent from the publicity tour. 

  As for why this occurred, the intent was to mislead audiences. Damon had firmly established a reputation for heroic or good guy roles. In Interstellar, his character is not necessarily malevolent, but he's panicked enough to do self-serving and even homicidal things. Nolan knew viewers wouldn't expect that, so Mann's actions would register with an extra dose of drama. The director said, "I really love the idea for an audience to go when they see him, 'Oh, it's Matt Damon. It's going to be okay.'"
• 

  (#13) Robert De Niro

  • 80

  American Hustle boasted about bringing together four major stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams. There was, however, a fifth big star whose brief appearance in the film was kept on the down-low. Robert De Niro plays Victor Tellegio, a mobster who knows how to speak Arabic.

  Of course, the actor had very successfully played wiseguys before, but this part was different. According to director David O. Russell, "He loved the fact that this man spoke Arabic - which happens to be one of the true things in the story. Truth is crazier than fiction, but there was a mobster who spoke Arabic. [Tellegio] was based on a collection of gangsters. [De Niro] was really into meticulously constructing this guy. He wanted to do something he'd never done before.” 

  Keeping De Niro's role a secret preserved the ability for viewers to organically see him take a familiar type of character and approach it in a whole new way. 
• 

  (#1) Gary Oldman

  • 65

  There are many gruesome elements in Hannibal, but one of the biggest is the face of the villain. Or, should we say, the lack of a face. Mason Verger is the only surviving target of the notorious psychopath Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Although Verger survived, the encounter left his face horribly disfigured, as well as paralyzed. As a result, he's out for revenge.

  When we finally get a look at Verger, it's difficult to tell who's playing him. Buried under that makeup is none other than Gary Oldman. While he may not be entirely recognizable, the actor's trademark intensity - not to mention his penchant for playing distinctly unusual characters - is right there. In his hands, this bitter man is absolutely chilling.

  When asked by IGN why he chose to go uncredited, Oldman explained, "We thought that as I'm unofficially the man of many faces - you know, of Lee Harvey Oswald, Dracula, and Sid Vicious, and Beethoven - we thought that I would be... I'm playing the man with no face. So we just had a bit of fun with it. We thought it would be great. The man with no face and no name, and sort of do it anonymously."
• 

  (#11) Edward Norton

  • 54

  In Ridley Scott's epic Kingdom of Heaven, Edward Norton plays King Baldwin, the leprosy-afflicted ruler of Jerusalem. Because his ailment has left him facially disfigured, King Baldwin wears a mask. Although having his name on the credits would have helped draw audiences, particularly as such a fascinating character, Norton opted to keep it off.

  His reason was that keeping his role secret would add an important element of mystery to the story. He explained, "I didn't want to be billed because Orlando Bloom's character keeps hearing about him. There's this anticipation, this big mystery about him. It's the whole point." 

  Norton's instincts were correct. Knowing the actor played King Baldwin in advance would have cued people in on what to expect. Without that knowledge, we're left wondering what this much-talked-about figure will be like when he finally see - and, crucially, hear - the mysterious monarch.
• 

  (#5) Henry Winkler

  • 77

  Although primarily known for television work, Henry Winkler has always dabbled in film too. Wes Craven's original Scream found him in horror movie territory, a place no one ever expected to find him. Winkler plays Principal Himbry, who gets sliced up in his office by the masked slayer known as Ghostface.

  Aside from the shock of seeing "the Fonz" in a slasher flick, the actor's appearance took audiences by storm because it isn't simply the corny pop culture cameo it initially seems to be. Winkler isn't there to pass the baton to a new generation of teen stars; he's there to become one of Ghostface's first marks. Himbry's bloody demise packs a wallop because no one in their right mind anticipates seeing Henry Winkler in a part like that. The moment has subsequently gone on to become one of the most iconic "kills" in the entire Scream franchise. 

  Winkler agreed to forgo an onscreen credit when the producers wanted to focus on the younger cast members instead.
• 

  (#6) Bill Murray

  • 73

  Bill Murray toplined a string of major hits in the early '90s, including Groundhog Day and What About Bob? It was therefore surprising when he took a small role in Kingpin, a 1996 bowling comedy directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly of Dumb & Dumber fame. He plays Ernie McCracken, a pro bowler who causes main character Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) to lose a hand in a hustle gone bad.

  Murray was mentioned in advertising yet not highlighted, largely because the bulk of Kingpin is about Munson and an Amish prodigy (Randy Quaid) that he mentors. After the first few minutes, Murray's character disappears, only to reemerge in the last act, when Munson enters a championship match and has to square off against his old nemesis.  

  The Caddyshack star apparently took the role on a whim. The Farrelly Brothers thought getting him to play the supporting role was a longshot, but Quaid had worked with him on Quick Change and offered to reach out. Sure enough, Murray arrived on set three weeks later, hilariously improvised all his lines, and had viewers howling with laughter over McCracken's bad combover.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking