Check Out These 19 Stars Who Began Their Careers As Extras

This post originally appeared at Mental_Floss.

Although it isn’t a written rule, an “extra”—a background player in a movie or TV show—usually has no spoken lines. If a line, or a few lines, are spoken, the person is often referred to as a “bit player” instead of an extra. (If a major star or a “known” actor is an extra in a movie, their non-speaking appearance is called a “cameo.”)

The famous people listed below all made one or more appearances as movie extras before they went on to bigger and better things.

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1. Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone was an extra in Woody Allen’s 1971 film Bananas as a subway mugger. He was also an extra in Jane Fonda’s 1971 psychological thriller, Klute, as a disco patron (uncredited).

2. Brad Pitt

In 1987′s Less Than Zero, Brad Pitt was an extra billed as “Partygoer / Preppie Guy at Fight.”

3. Clint Eastwood

In the 1950s, Clint Eastwood was actually an eager member of Central Casting. He was an uncredited extra in several films before breaking into leading man roles.

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See Also:

• This Year's Oscar Trend: Great Actors In Bad Movies
• Ten Actors Who Hated Their Own Films
• These Are The 10 Roles That Made George Clooney's Career