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The Shield - main character police detective
Sons of Anarchy - smaller recurring part played Venus Van Dam a transgender prostitute

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This is funny. Det Shane Vendrell's (aka Goggins) alias was Cletus Van Damme. (The Shield is one of my all time favorites....haven't seen SOA).

Pee Wee Herman as the waiter in the Blues Brothers.
Chris Rock as a UFO enthusiast on Miami Vice.
Leo DeCaprio on Growing Pains.
Tom Selleck as a soldier in Midway.

Brad Pitt was in Growing Pains too.

My wife started a rewatch of Downton Abbey, and I noticed Charlie Cox for the first time in S1E1. I think that was 5 years before the Daredevil series.

Maybe not per OP's specs but William Shatner shows up in the Twilight Zone episode featuring the monster on the airplane wing. 2-3 years before Star Trek. I am unaware if Shatner was a known name at the time. This was later remade with John Lithgow in the 1983 theatrical movie.

Duffel Pud said:

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Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler in 1974's "The Lords of Flatbush".

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Stallone also had a part as an extra on an episode of Mash.

Trajan88 said:

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Liam Neeson in Krull

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I loved this movie, watched it dozens of times.

Ready Player One movie there's a quick scene showing the spinning glaive knife from Krull

AgfromHOU said:

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Lin Manuel Miranda in How I Met Your Mother

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Wasn't he also in an episode of Modern Family?

DG-Ag said:

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AgfromHOU said:

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Lin Manuel Miranda in How I Met Your Mother

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Wasn't he also in an episode of Modern Family?

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I believe so!

My personal favorite:

Jack Black as Augie in the 1993's Airborne. Maybe the last of the "win a race to save the day" genre. This time with rollerblades!

Bruce Almighty said:

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et98 said:

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This thread has turned from "unknown roles" into "very well-known roles in famous movies made before 1990"

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That happened by the 5th post.

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Not sure it took that long but I'd give you that.

Movies like the outsiders that was a coming out party for the entire cast doesn't seem to fit.

Bill Paxton in the Terminator seems spot on. e.g., it dawns on you the 5th time you watch the movie.

Personally, I enjoy the well-known actor who has a bit part in a newer movie and you don't realize that is who that was until like the 5th time you watch it.

Even better if you watched one two weeks ago with the wife and can't remember it now. Like me.

In the mid 80's pbs made an educational series called "The Voyage of the Mimi". I watched it in the mid 90's in elementary science class. Something random made me think of it a while back and upon googling I learned that one of the characters is played by a very young Ben Affleck.

bonfarr said:

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Harrison Ford's first acting role

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I remember watching American Graffiti for high school film class and thinking, oh look, it's Indiana Jones.

Hank the Grifter said:

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Emma Roberts plays Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz's daughter in "Blow".

Jennifer Connelly was in Duran Duran's video for "Union of the Snake"

Robert Duvall is Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird". I suspect most knew this one already.

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Went back and rewatched that video for the first time in decades. Its as weird as I remembered it.

A young Angelina Jolie is in the Meatloaf video for, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through".

Michael Fassbender in 300 as one of the 1 liner Spartans

There's a scene in the movie Lone Star where there's a plush aTm Reveille dog ... I cannot find a clip of that scene though.

Trajan88 said:

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There's a scene in the movie Lone Star where there's a plush aTm Reveille dog ... I cannot find a clip of that scene though.

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Crazy Ex-Wife/Football fan scene? Serious question.

Trajan88 said:

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Liam Neeson in Krull

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Robbie Coltrane as well. Hagrid looks almost unrecognizable when he is young and slim. Robbie's voice gives it away. Him and Liam sharing the screen in this movie is great. There is another British actor in their same group that is very recognizable but I don't know his name.

In "Mission: Impossible", Emilio Estevez dies in the first scene in a uncredited role.

RIP GH

C1NRB said:

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In "Mission: Impossible", Emilio Estevez dies in the first scene in a uncredited role.

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Returning the favor of Tom Cruise being in Young Guns, uncredited.

Tom Selleck had a small part in the original Midway as a soldier on Midway Island. I had no idea he is now 80 years old.

What about Chalamet's role in A Complete Uknown?

Ag87H2O said:

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Tom Selleck had a small part in the original Midway as a soldier on Midway Island. I had no idea he is now 80 years old.

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Yep. Pretty sure I knew that about that movie (it was one of my favorites growing up), but not because I recognized Tom Selleck in it. More because I always watch the credits, particularly to movies with great scores by John Williams.

Dana Carvey as the mime waiter in "This is Spinal Tap"

I'm now convinced that they based the character of Sheldon Cooper on this Hugh Laurie role.

The mannerisms, head tilts, pauses… everything is just uncanny.

Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire