We’ve had half a century’s worth of superhero films by this point. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, a few of the smaller publishers, they’ve all taken their more popular IPs and seen how well they would fare on the big screen. And, considering just how long 50 years is, and how many superhero movies have come out throughout that period, it’s only logical that there have been quite a few instances of soon-to-be-big names popping up for a moment. Those are the names we’re looking at today, those who were yet to be established or those who were established yet, in the particular mentioned project, have nothing more than a cameo. We’re going exclusively for actors. To that point, no Michael Bay, who had a cameo in Mystery Men, or Elon Musk, who was in a single scene of Iron Man 2, or Richard Branson, who played an engineer in Superman Returns.
Furthermore, we’re going for big, leading stars, so no fan favorites like Doug Jones, who also had a cameo in Mystery Men, four-time Jason Voorhees portrayer Kane Hodder, who cameos in Daredevil, or Stranger Things‘ Cara Buono, who plays Bruce Banner’s mother in Hulk. We also didn’t include Michelle Monaghan’s bit role in Constantine. Not because it was supposed to be a bigger role, but rather because it raises the question of really that’s really a superhero film. But these following actors? All of them were either early in their careers, well on their way towards hitting the A-list, or already in the A-list and putting in a cameo appearance. It’s fun to see their fresh faces, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting they were in the movie once the credits roll.
7) Sam Rockwell (& Skeet Ulrich) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
image courtesy of new line cinema
In the classic ’90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, when Shredder enlists a bunch of teenage thugs to serve as his army, said group of thugs needs a leader. And, as it so happens, the head thug is played by none other than future Iron Man 2 and Moon star Sam Rockwell. This was only his second movie role after the creepy slasher film Clownhouse.
Furthermore, in most of Rockwell’s few scenes you can also see Skeet Ulrich (pictured above behind Rockwell), six years shy of his breakout roles in The Craft and Scream. His time on the A-list didn’t last particularly long, but he seems to be in the midst of a comeback, which would be great.
6) Jon Favreau in Batman Forever
image courtesy of warner bros.
Jon Favreau is one of the most important directors in superhero movie history. After all, were his Iron Man not exactly what it is, it’s extremely likely that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would not exist today. And, while he served as an executive producer on quite a few installments, it’s his on-screen portrayal of Happy Hogan that has kept him involved in the MCU as recently as Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024.
But before that, the same year he directed Elf, he starred as Franklin ‘Foggy’ Nelson in Daredevil. And before that, he was involved in another superhero project, though not one under the Marvel banner. Specifically, he had a wordless bit role in Batman Forever as the assistant to Ed Begley Jr.’s Fred Stickley, appearing in the scene when Stickley tries to show Bruce Wayne everything his company has been up to while simultaneously trying to avoid Jim Carrey’s overzealous Edward Nygma. This was extremely early in Favreau’s career, one year after he played Eric the Clown in Seinfeld and one year before his breakout role in Swingers.
5) Jenna Ortega in Iron Man 3
image courtesy of walt disney studios motion pictures
Granted, because Jenna Ortega is such a mega star these days, this is a bit part many people have since recognized. But the fact remains, Ortega’s first part in a movie was an uncredited one as the Vice President’s daughter in Iron Man 3. That said, it was supposed to be a bit bigger. According to Ortega in an interview with Entertainment Tonight all of her lines were cut out.
Ortega also had a blind and you’ll miss it role in the same year’s Insidious: Chapter 2, but it wouldn’t be long until she got some meatier roles under her belt. The following year, 2014, she played one of the lead roles in The Little Rascals Save the Day and took on the part of young Jane Villanueva in Jane the Virgin. From there she joined the Mouse House family before becoming her generation’s top “Scream Queen” thanks to Wednesday, Scream, X, and more.
4) Patrick Wilson in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
image courtesy of warner bros.
Ever since HBO’s amazing Angels in America back in 2003, which amounted to his on-screen debut, Patrick Wilson has oscillated between leading man and scene-stealing supporting performer. No matter how much screentime he has, he’s one of the best parts of the movie, elevating The Conjuring and Insidious movies and impressive dramas like Little Children and Young Adult alike. But he’s also put a firm stamp on superhero cinema, debuting in the subgenre in a major way with his role of Nite Owl II in Watchmen.
And thanks to that role, he established a working relationship with DCEU overseer Zack Snyder who gave him a vocal cameo as the President of the United States in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Wilson then, of course, went on to star as Arthur Curry’s jealous, power-hungry brother Orm Marius in Aquaman and its sequel. You can also hear fellow Watchmen veteran Carla Gugino as the Kryptonian AI Kelor, which she also voiced in Man of Steel and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Batman v Superman was really one big Watchmen reunion, considering Billy Crudup and Jeffrey Dean Morgan also had small parts to play.
3) Ella Purnell in Kick-Ass 2
image courtesy of universal pictures
A big section of Kick-Ass 2 focuses on Chloë Grace Moretz’s Mindy Macready trying to acclimate to so-called normal high school life. She has a tough time doing so, thanks in no small part to her bully, Brooke.
Future Fallout star Ella Purnell, one year shy of playing the teenage version of Maleficent‘s title character, plays what amounts to the Amanda Seyfried to Brooke’s Rachel McAdams. MCU favorite Benedict Wong also pops up for a minute as Mr. Kim, a gangster who runs afoul of Kick-Ass, Colonel Stars and Stripes, and the other members of Justice Forever.
2) Octavia Spencer in Spider-Man
image courtesy of sony pictures releasing
Like with many great actors, Octavia Spencer was in the industry a shockingly long time before getting her big breakthrough role (in her case, The Help). This involved a lot of small parts meant to keep the narrative moving more than they were chances for her to show off her range.
Some of them were in bad movies, like What Planet Are You From? and Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. Other times, she popped up in excellent films, like Being John Malkovich, Bad Santa, and Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie. As for Spidey, she’s credited as “Check-In Girl,” and she’s the one Peter Parker first talks to before entering the wrestling match.
1) Jim Broadbent in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
image courtesy of warner bros.
Jim Broadbent, of Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Paddington, and Game of Thrones fame, had one of his earliest film roles in the regrettable Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. He plays Jean Pierre Dubois, a businessman trying to get on Lex Luthor’s good side.
Broadbent was paired with William Hootkins, who played Jek Porkins in Star Wars: A New Hope and had a much better DC role two years later when he played the ill-fated Lt. Eckhardt in Batman. Suffice to say, Broadbent also went on to bigger and better things after The Quest for Peace.
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