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

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  (#4) Kevin Spacey

  • 64

  David Fincher's Seven follows two detectives - Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) - as they pursue a serial killer who models his elaborate acts after the Seven Deadly Sins. It's a shock for both of them and the audience when a bloodied Kevin Spacey walks into a police station and announces himself as the culprit, "John Doe." 

  Unlike many movies dealing with psychopaths, Seven doesn't introduce us to the villain in advance. As with Somerset and Mills, we have no clue who, exactly, they're looking for. Having Spacey's participation revealed in any of the marketing materials or the film's opening credits would have tipped off audiences, who would be waiting and expecting him to show up. Keeping him out of all that allowed viewers to experience the detectives' surprise vicariously. 

  Spacey himself put it best, telling Total Film, "I'd just done Swimming with Sharks, The Usual Suspects, and Outbreak, a big Warner Bros movie. I knew that if any of those movies did well, my profile would be... different. How would that affect my billing in Seven? If I'm the third-billed actor in a movie where the top two billings are trying to find somebody and they don't find that somebody until the last reel, then it's obvious who that somebody is."
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  (#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.'"
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  (#8) Emma Watson

  • 33

  This Is the End is an intentionally self-referential comedy about a bunch of comedians facing the literal end of the world. It stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel, and Danny McBride. A slew of other famous faces have cameos in the beginning, only to get wiped out in hilariously twisted ways once the apocalypse comes.

  Partway through the film, the guys discover they aren't the only survivors; Harry Potter's Emma Watson has managed to make it too. The actress then becomes a key supporting player in the previously male-centric story, giving Rogen and crew an unlikely element to interact with. Although not known for comedy, Watson more than holds her own against her funny co-stars, tossing off a number of witty lines and verbal jabs like it's second nature. The role showed her in a whole new light while simultaneously allowing her to poke fun at the squeaky-clean image she earned playing Hermione Granger for so many years.
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  (#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. 
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  (#3) Sigourney Weaver

  • 73

  The main characters in The Cabin in the Woods discover they're all sacrifices in a sick experiment in which horror creatures of every sort are out to get them. They're like fish in a barrel. The movie ends with two of them breaking free of the game and penetrating the underground command center where everything is being orchestrated. This is where they meet "The Director," the person in charge of the entire demented affair.

  Finding the right person to assume this role was important. It had to be an actor of a certain caliber yet with an iconic connection to the horror genre. Director Drew Goddard found just the right person in Sigourney Weaver. Having played Ellen Ripley in the four original Alien pictures, she's revered by horror fans. At the same time, she's got the acting prowess to effectively make The Director someone we immediately recognize as a serious force to be reckoned with. Weaver brings deep authority to the surprise role, helping ensure that The Cabin in the Woods' big finale carries the necessary weight.
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  (#15) Chevy Chase

  • 79

  Stephen Frears' 1992 satire Hero is about a louse (Dustin Hoffman) who saves a bunch of plane crash survivors, the guy (Andy Garcia) who wrongly takes credit for the heroic act, and a TV reporter (Geena Davis) looking to uncover the truth. Comedian Chevy Chase has a supporting role as Davis's boss, Deke, a suspender-wearing J. Jonah Jameson type who's constantly yelling at people. 

  At the time, Chase was famous for broad physical comedies like Fletch and the Vacation series. He told biographer Rena Fruchter that he took the small part because he wanted to try a different acting style. He even altered his appearance, slicking back his hair because "I didn't want to look like Chevy Chase." The actor requested to go uncredited so as not to set his fans up for the disappointment of thinking Hero was going to be the kind of comedy for which he was known.

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