Five!!

Roles That Time Forgot

!!Spoiler Warning!!

Do you do it as often as I do? you sit down to watch a movie you haven't even thought about in years (let alone how long it's been since it actually came out) only to see a familiar face that you either completely forgot was in the movie, or that you didn't know by name the first time you saw it? If so this Five!! is for you!

Now, as often happens with these list, I thought of this topic and too many choices flooded into my head. So I had to narrow it down. I did so by looking at my list through this line of thought: They had to be in a re-occurring role in the movie; no cameos. They had to be relatively unknown then, only to go on to make a pretty big name for themselves later. And it can't be their "breakthrough role", which is to say it can't be the role that got their name known.

Here's what I came up with!

Actor: Joeseph Gordon-Levitt

Movie: Angels in the Outfield

If only because these are two names I love to drop! Angels in the Outfield because everybody knows the name but nobody thinks about it. And Joeseph Gordon-Levitt because he maybe one of the most under rated working actors of the day. Truthfully my first thought for him was A River Runs Through It, his first leading role in a feature film, but as that's one of my favorite movies of all time and synonymous with his name for me- I figured I would go with something more "Obviously Obscure".

Actor: Vincent D'Onofrio

Movie: Adventures in Babysitting

It's not often a role as the Nordic god of thunder gets forgotten, but I didn't even realize it was him until I was in my twenties. Which is a big statement as I've seen this movie quite a few times. I'd say he's easy to mistake as he's young, blond, stoic, and ripped (not quite the desciptors one might use for Edgar, or Private Pyle) but make no mistake- that's him.

Actor: Bill Paxton

Movie: Weird Science

Before he was chasing tornadoes or blasting xenomorph's, he was the annoying older brother Chet -and that weird...toad...thing- in John Hughes sci-fi romp. This is really one of those movies for me. I forget about it for years only to remember and laugh uncontrollably at the thought of it. Also in that category- Teen Wolf.

Actress: Scarlett Johansson

Movie: The Horse Whisperer

I don't think there's any coincidence in the fact that Scarlett Johansson's many roles seem lost to time until she shows up -fully developed- in Lost in Translation. I chose this movie for a few reasons. 1.) Because it was based off a best selling book but flopped. 2.) Because it was chalk full of star-power, but still nobody seems to remember it. And 3.) Because this firebrand who's made a career of smoldering on screen- plays the bratty teenage daughter. Priceless.

Actor: Joaquin Phoenix

Movie: SpaceCamp

Oh SpaceCamp... Yup, he may be 12 and billed as "Leaf" instead of Joaquin, but that's him as the Star Wars loving nerd Max. Really this movie could work for a lot of it's main cast members: Kelly Preston, Tate Donovan, Lea Thompson. It's a veritable cornucopia of roles none of the players want to remember. Wait... is that Tom Skerrit?!

And you know what, I'm gonna throw a bonus in here because I can't resist!

Actor: Sam Rockwell

Movie: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I couldn't even remember what his character was called in this movie so I looked it up on IMDB.

He's billed as "Head Thug". Delicious! Can't remember him? He's the teenage boy at the Foot hangout that offers kids full boxes of cigarettes while giving them the tour. Check it out! It's no "Ninja Rap", but it's still pretty entertaining.

Ohhhh, there are so many more. I wish I had more space, and more time! Let me know what roles your thinking of! Thanks for reading!

Where I got the image: www.merujo.com/2008_08_01_archive.html