Your favorite actors didn’t start out being awesome. They had to work into it just like anyone else and they had to go through the harder roles to get to where they’re at now. But sometimes their debut roles were the kind of thing that you can’t help but remember since they were that good. It’s the type of performance that many actors go their whole lives without replicating even if they get to be one of the most noted actors in the world. That initial debut is sometimes so powerful that you can’t help thinking that there’s no way they can top this. It’s a little sad really say such a thing, but it’s that one shining moment that can’t be taken away from any actor no matter how good they get.
Here are some debut performances that were just awesome.
5. Vince Vaughn – Rudy
A lot of people don’t even seem to remember that Vince Vaughn was in this movie but he was. He played the role of Jamie and he couldn’t stand the titular character at first. When he lost his spot because of getting in a fight with Rudy he REALLY couldn’t stand him. And yet, near the end of the movie he finally found respect for Rudy and accepted him as a teammate.
4. Haley Joel Osment – Forrest Gump
He has one of the youngest debuts imaginable since he was just a small child when he played the part of Forrest Gump Jr.. It was a shock to his onscreen father that he had a child but the two of them were obviously able to sync up in such a way that you could have believed that Osment really was the product of Forrest and Jenny. Unfortunately as he grew up that cuteness kind of faded.
3. Jason Schwartzman – Rushmore
Schwartzman was so easy to dislike when he played in Rushmore that it was believed by some that his career might not go any further than this single movie. But thankfully his part was so well played that he went on to become a well known name and a respected actor. He’s continued to act throughout the years and while he’s not technically a megastar he is someone of note.
2. Natalie Portman – Leon: The Professional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_MO9ZWnNZA
Almost no one knew of her until this film. She was one of those kids that just knew how to act and absolutely killed it onscreen. Watching this film you could see that for a lot of it she just appeared to be having fun. One has to wonder how much chemistry there was between her and her onscreen guardian, Leon. Whatever it was these two were great as teacher and student. Or orphan and protector, you pick which.
1. Mark Hamill – Star Wars
The great part about this debut is that we got Luke Skywalker. The bad part is that Hamill didn’t really do much after these films. He did some voice-overs for Batman games and cartoons but his acting career never really went anywhere and he kind of had to ride the fame of this role for a long time until now. Now of course everyone is aching for him to come back as this same character.
Sometimes the debut’s of certain actors are better than their careers, and sometimes they’re still that special moment that can’t be topped.
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