20 Cringeworthy Roles Played By Movie Stars Before They Were Famous

They Want Us To Forget, But We Won't

When you're a struggling actor, you don't exactly get to pick your roles. All of these Hollywood movie stars had to learn that lesson the hard way early in their careers. How many of these movies have you seen?

Actor: Nicole Kidman 

Nicole Kidman is one of the most acclaimed, prolific, and unique screen-performers in the world—and if her early work is anything to go off of, she's pretty gnarly behind the bars of a BMX, too.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Judy in BMX Bandits

Honestly, any actor would be lucky to have their debut role be as a BMX riding teen who ends up on the run from dangerous bank robbers.

Nilsen Premiere, BMX Bandits (1983)

Actor: Jason Statham

Jason Statham might be the toughest action star working today. But you'd never guess it based on his first on-screen appearance.

LG전자, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Oiled background dancer in a music videos by Shamen and Erasure

Before he was an actor, Jason Statham was a model, and that work eventually found him painted silver wearing a speedo in the background of the music video for "Comin' On" by the Shamen.

Propaganda, Run to the Sun (1994)

Actor: Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd has done it all. He's a comedy icon, a romantic lead, and an Avenger. He even married Phoebe on Friends! But even Rudd had to start somewhere—and it wasn't pretty.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Tommy Doyle in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

John Carpenter's 1978 classic Halloween spawned an ever-deteriorating series of sequels until it eventually arrived at 1995's Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers. 

Maybe the low point of the franchise, probably the only good thing to come out of it is Rudd's career.

Dimension, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Actor: Ryan Gosling 

Some fans will remember that before Barbie, La La Land, and The Notebook, Ryan Gosling was in the Mickey Mouse Club. He was also on a Canadian TV show about a school on a cruise ship called Breaker High. But the most embarrassing has to be his feature film debut.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Kenny in Frankenstein and Me

If it wasn't for Ryan Gosling's debut role as "Kenny," the only thing anyone would remember Frankenstein and Me for is being the absolute rock bottom low point of Burt Reynolds' career.

Melenny, Frankenstein and Me (1996)

Actor: Emma Stone 

With two Oscars under her belt, Emma Stone is quite literally on top of Hollywood right now—which is all the more impressive when you realize how low she started.

Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: The voice of a Pomeranian on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

In 2005, a 17-year-old Emily Stone voiced a Pomeranian named Ivana Tipton in an episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Believe it or not, that isn't what got her that first Oscar.

Walt Disney, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-2008)

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio 

There aren't many A-List movie stars on the same level as Leonardo DiCaprio anymore. He only picks big projects—but back in 1991 when he was getting his start, he didn't have that luxury...

Christopher William Adach, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Josh in Critters III

Gremlins spawned a lot of terrible spin-offs. Ghoulies. Spookies. Munchies. Hobgoblins. Elves. At least Critters had a little staying power, and by the time Critters III came around, it was a young Leo who got the starring role.

New Line, Critters 3 (1991)

Actor: Chris Hemsworth

Since getting cast as Thor, people seem pretty convinced that Chris Hemsworth actually is a god—he certainly looks like one, at least. He got his start in movies with a memorable role in 2009's Star Trek, but his start on camera was a lot earlier and a lot cringier.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: King Arthur in Guinevere Jones

Gwen Jones is a regular high school girl who just so happens to be the reincarnation of the Arthurian Guinevere, so she has to use her magic powers to fight evil while trying to keep up her good grades. In three episodes, she meets a scrawny twerp named King Arthur—and you can barely recognize Chris Hemsworth under that hair.

Crawford, Guinevere Jones (2002)

Actor: Patrick Swayze

People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991, Patrick Swayze eventually became an icon with movies like Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Point Break. But they can't all be winners...

Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Ace in Skatetown, U.S.A.

Skatetown, U.S.A was meant to cash-in on the roller skating fad that was sweeping America in the late 70s. Swayze starred as Ace Johnson, a hotshot roller skater aiming for the top prize in a local roller skating contest: $1,000 and a moped. 

This should have been...the most successful movie of all time? I don't know what happened.

Columbia, Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979)

Actor: Cate Blanchett 

Cate Blanchett is one of the most acclaimed actors working today. She's played Queen Elizabeth, Katherine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, Lydia Tar...and "American Cheerleader".

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: American Cheerleader in Kaboria

While travelling in Egypt, Blanchett was spotted and offered a role as an American cheerleader in the Egyptian boxing movie Kaboria. 

Blanchett allegedly needed the money, so she took the role—but she has been too embarrassed to ever watch it.

Al Imam, Kaboria (1990)

Actor: George Clooney

You might say that George Clooney's Batman is the most embarrassing role he's ever played—but it gets even worse when you got further back.

Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Ron in Grizzly II: The Concert

A fresh-faced George Clooney can be found alongside Laura Dern, Timothy Spall, and Charlie Sheen in the 1983 sequel to Grizzly. However, since the movie's main producer was jailed during production, Grizzly II didn't actually get an official release until 2020.

GBGB, Grizzly II: Revenge (1983)

Actor: Emilia Clarke

Emilia Clarke's performance as Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen made her a global superstar overnight. But just a few years before Game of Thrones premiered, Clarke was doing sliiightly less prestige work.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Savannah Roundtree in Triassic Attack

Emilia Clark appeared as Savannah Roundtree in Triassic Attack, a 2010 Syfy channel TV movie about a Native American curse that brings dinosaur skeletons to life after a local university announces plans to demolish a small town. 

Don't worry though, you can beat them with electricity, naturally.

UFO, Triassic Attack (2010)

Actor: Jennifer Aniston 

Jennifer Aniston is one of the wealthiest, most beautiful, and most successful actresses in Hollywood. She also has one of the most iconic film debuts in history—though that's not exactly a good thing...

Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Tory Redding in Leprechaun

Aniston was a total unknown before she was picked out of obscurity to play the lead in the horror-comedy Leprechaun. One critic called her a "Beverly Hills brat" who audiences will want to see get killed. Ouch.

Trimark, Leprechaun (1993)

Actor: Ben Affleck 

You can find a young Ben Affleck playing all kinds of dumb, teenage jocks in 90s movies, from Dazed and Confused to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he got his start much earlier than that—though he isn't exactly bragging about his early work.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: C.T. Granville in The Voyage of the Mimi

Ben Affleck actually had a long and successful career as a child actor on TV. His most notable work was on the show The Voyage of the Mimi, where he and his grandfather went on educational adventures on their ship, the Mimi.

PBS, The Voyage of the Mimi (1984)

Actor: Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is one of Hollywood's great "Self-Made Man" stories. After years struggling as an actor, he wrote and starred in Rocky, which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and made him an instant star. But about those "struggling" years...

nicolas genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: The Italian Stallion

Not long after moving to NYC to become an actor, Sly Stallone starred in a softcore film called The Party at Kitty and Stud's. Later, when Stallone became famous, the owners of the film tried to blackmail him with it. He refused, and they later re-released it under the name The Italian Stallion.

Epoch, The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)

Actor: Elijah Wood

After moving to Los Angeles when he was nine, Elijah Wood's career as a child actor got off to a flying start. He appeared in Back to the Future Part II and starred in Dinsey's The Adventures of Huck Finn. Then in 1994, he landed the title role in the next Rob Reiner movie. What could go wrong?

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: North in North

North was not the success Woods was hoping for.

I think Roger Ebert put it best: "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it."

Columbia, North (1994)

Actor: Jean Claude Van Damme

After starring in the martial arts movie Bloodsport, kickboxing champion Jean Claude Van Damme became, for a few years at least, one of the most bankable movie stars in the world. But it was a long road to getting a starring role...

Miguel Discart, Flickr 

Role: Enthusiastic spectator in Breakin'

Van Damme moved to the US to be an actor, but it wasn't easy. It was years before he ever appeared on camera—and then, it was only as an extra in Cannon Films' attempt to cash-in on the breakdancing fad: Breakin'.

MGM, Breakin' (1984)

Actor: Benicio Del Toro

Maybe it wasn't a hit, but Benicio Del Toro was the perfect choice to play the Wolfman in the 2010 attempted-reboot of the Universal Monster. Anyone who'd seen his first role knew that...

Mingle Media TV, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Duke in Big Top Pee-Wee

You have to look past the fake hair covering his face, but that's Benicio playing Duke in Big Top Pee-Wee.

Paramount, Big Top Pee-wee (1988)

Actor: Scarlett Johansson

The MCU isn't the only franchise Scarlett Johansson has starred in—though her early franchise work wasn't quite as successful.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Molly in Home Alone 3

Everyone remembers Home Alone. Everyone remembers Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Scarlett Johansson was probably hoping that even without Macauley Culkin, everyone would remember Home Alone 3, where she played Alex's (not Kevin) annoyed older sister. It didn't work out that way.

Twentieth Century, Home Alone 3 (1997)

Actor: Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer burst onto the scene in 1983's Scarface—and it's a good thing too, because just the year before, she thought she'd had her "big break" and it turned into a total disaster.

Towpilot, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Role: Stephanie Zinone in Grease 2

Getting the lead role in the sequel to Grease was no doubt exciting, but it didn't pan out the way Pfeiffer hoped. The movie was lambasted as a lazy retread of the original—but at least Pfeiffer herself got good reviews.

Paramount, Grease 2 (1982)

Actor: Courteney Cox

Long before Friends, Courteney Cox actually got her big break in the music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark". But making the leap to film wasn't easy, and her debut role...left a lot to be desired.

celebrityabc, Flickr

Role: Julie Winston in Masters of the Universe

Playing a Californian teenager in Masters of the Universe, opposite Dolph Lundgren's He-Man and Frank Langella's Skeletor, wasn't exactly a dream role for Courtney Cox, but at least it all worked out in the end.

Cannon, Masters of the Universe (1987)