Have you ever correctly predicted an actor would make it big?

Does being Tim O'Tay's fangirl #2 count?

Jude Law when I saw him in Wilde

Michael Fassbender in the movie Angel

I remember that movie. But, Ana de Armas sucks as an actress. I think Weinstein type figure has been helping her land roles and such.

My friend and I called that Octavia Spencer was going to be big one day after we saw her in “Being John Malkovich” in a very brief role.

We talked about her for years and when she finally was “discovered” and won an Oscar, we both felt vindicated.

The first time I saw Star Trek 2009, I though the guy who played Kirk's father was gorgeous.

He blew up right after, both literally and figuratively, and became Thor.

R4 she pops up in a LOT of things before she made it. She was PATIENT

Michael B. Jordan. I followed his career since his soap days on All My Children, which I watched with my grandma and aunts. . It was when he was on Friday Night Lights, when I knew he was going to have a big career.

Yes, as much as I dislike her, when I saw Julia Roberts in "Mystic Pizza" (which was kind of a small movie at the time it came out), I saw that quality in her. In spite of her pissy, bitchy, unlikable character--and I don't think she was really supposed to be like that; that's just Julia Roberts--she definitely had "it."

When I saw Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies in 1980, I told my mother he was going to be a big star. I said the same thing about Rosie O'Donnell when she was a VJ on VH1. Also the same thing about Jim Carrey when he was on In Living Color. I remember reading an article after Carrey became huge where the author basically wrote that he couldn't imagine anyone would have thought from the cast of In Living Color that Carrey would end up the biggest star. I remember thinking, "Well, I did."

I saw the IBM. It is the future.

I became the biggest star from In Living Color.

Rudolf Valentino.

Ana de Armas has a lot of screen charisma and she's demonstrated significant range as an actress as well. The camera loves her. I hope she chooses good projects, it would be sad to see someone with so much potential be quickly forgotten.

[quote] It's the shit Eli Roth movie with his then-wife, Keanu and Ana de Armas.

I read this at first to say that Keanu was once Eli Roth's wife and I was very confused.

Jessica Lange (Lang?) in the King Kong remake. Remember when they found her character passed out face down in a lifeboat? They rolled her over right into a close up abd boom, it hit me. I said that girl was going to be a big big star.

When I saw Vivien Leigh in Gone with the wind, I thought to myself....that kid is going places

Robin Williams on "Laugh-In", 1977. Also, Meg Ryan on "As the World Turns", 1982 (sort of, because I didn't think in terms of her making it big, just that she was incredible - only to start hating her as soon as I saw her on the big screen). The one star I never expected to make it was Julianne Moore, whom I went to theater school with and saw in many student productions.

R7 I think MBJ should have been the BP. The other actor was OK but I remember MBJ more.

Yes, Cary Elwes in "Another Country". I was in love.

That's very interesting, R17. I forgot about Meg Ryan, Marisa Tomei, and Julianne Moore on ATWT. The first two were indeed incredible--fresh and interesting. I remember Julianne Moore, but (to my shame, because I like her now) I thought she seemed a little phony and stuck-up and not that good an actress. Remember when she played twins? I saw her around that time in Fortnum and Mason, browsing. My estimation of her abilities has increased a lot, though I think she still has that lofty quality to her that she can't shed. It may be just the way she looks--specifically, her mouth, though.

Jonah Hill in 40 Year old Virgin. Something about the way he handled the goldfish shoes. Meghan Markle as the FedEx girl. There was something about her. Emily Blunt in Devil Wears Prada. She was so interesting. Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie and the whipped cream bikini he wore Scarlett Johansson in My Brother the Pig. I knew she was going to go far.

I saw Octavia Spencer on Ugly Betty and thought she should have her own show. Didn't have the foresight to see just how successful she would become.

This one's a huge "no shit," but Brad Pitt's role in Thelma and Louise was undeniably a first step to fame and fortune for him. As great as that movie was, everyone walked out of the theater talking about him as much as Geena Davis or Susan Sarandon.

No, I thought Jonathan Jackson from General Hospital (Lucky Spencer) was going to be Anakin Skywalker.

Even from the prelease clips of Darren Criss singing Teenage Dream, I knew it would be a game changer definitively for the series, if not making him a huge star.

When Julia Garner showed up for the first time in a small ancillary role on The Americans, I said that she would be a huge star.

R23 I also thought he would have had a bigger career. Same with Chad Brannon.

carey mulligan on doctor who.

Neil Patrick Harris on Doogie Howser, M.D.

R26, I remember thinking she was really good in Northanger Abbey

R26 Agreed. Blink is so good it even works as a stand-alone episode. You could watch and admire Blink without having ever seen another episode of DW.

If Ana double d is in the film, it's a dud. Including Bladerunner and Knives Out.

Alfre Woodward as a rape victim on LA Law , in the 80's.

Cate Blanchett in Paradise Road

[quote]When Julia Garner showed up for the first time in a small ancillary role on The Americans, I said that she would be a huge star.

Years ago I saw her in an indie horror called We Are Who We Are and my friend and I were both taken with her.

I knows he’s hated here but Chalamet in a film called Miss Stevens with Lily Rabe.

I remember being impressed with Viola Davis when I watched her for the first time on the Jesse Stone series. Who knew she’d become so pompous and unlikeable.

I thought Greg Kinnear would become something more when I saw him hosting Talk Soup.

I liked Viola in Far From Heaven

I liked Viola AND Matt Bomer in the short-lived show Traveler

[quote]Who knew she’d become so pompous and unlikeable.

Anyone who watched her on the Jesse Stone series.

Clive Owen, when I saw him in Croupier. I mean, he was the lead but he was virtually unknown in the US.

I was impressed with Winona Ryder's performance in Lucas, and I hoped I'd see her again in bigger movies.

Edward Norton, in Primal Fear.

R38, liked him when I saw him in a TV version of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. Thought he was talented and sexy in a brooding way

Saw Kristen Johnson onstage in LA in a dark comedy about a closeted politician. She was in a supporting role but stole the show with her line readings and incredible timing. Not long later, she ended up with a long-running lead gig on “Third Rock from the Sun.”

Dark comedy about a closeted politician.....The Lindsey Graham Story?!!!

“Long later” = “long after.”

Richard Gere in Days of Heaven

Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously

Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise

I'm not sure what movies any of them made prior those listed, but those were my first encounters with each of them way back in those antediluvian days.

Mathew McBongo in Dazed and Confused.

Dazshed and Confushzed.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Scent of a Woman. I knew he had something and was pleasantly surprised when he made it big.

RIP

Jennifer Hudson on American Idol- she had a special it-factor that virtually none of the other contestants in the history of the show have had, and I knew she would make it beyond being just a recording artist.

R38, I didn’t predict he’d be a star, but seeing Clive Owen on the DVD cover made me watch the film. He was striking.

Keanu Reeves in Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush" video.

Not me, but I had a friend from Texas who went to school with Matthew McConaughey. He said he was not yet an actor and was unbelievably gorgeous. very nice and was "smarter than he looked". He was not surprised that about 4 years later he was already getting famous.

Even though his career hasn’t quite reached the heights it should, I correctly predicted Glenn Powell would be the breakout star from “Everybody Wants Some.” I even came on DL and predicted he’d get a Best Supporting Actor…but even that didn’t happen, he’s had a good run and managed to stand out in Top Gun: Maverick (and his role was one most young actors would kill for).

Ryan Phillippe in OLTL as Billy Douglas. I did not correctly predict, however, the size of his penis.

When I saw Marisa Tomei on ATWT, it was the one time I just knew she had a good career ahead of her. She had this little supporting role on the soap, and ran with it. Even though her character (mentally unstable Marcy Thompson) accused Pillar of the Community Doctor Bob Hughes of rape , you still sympathised with her .

Brad Pitt in "Thelma and Louise". When he blazed across the screen, I knew a star was born. He was so handsome and sexy, and he oozed charisma.

One person I NEVER would have suspected would become a star is Meryl Streep after seeing her in The Deer Hunter (one of my favorite films) for the first time. I thought she was rigid, totally lacking charisma and spoke in an emotionless monotone. I was pretty shocked when she started showing up in leading roles shortly thereafter.

Judith Light in One Life to Live was an eye-opener for me.

Anne Heche on Another World. Also , Stanley Tucci. I was in high school when he was in some awful movie with Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid, but I was like…he’s gonna be one of those in demand star/character actors in a few years. Also, Shannen Doherty in Heathers.

And sometimes I get it wrong. I thought Penelope Ann Miller was gonna be a huge star. And when I saw Calista Flockhart in The Birdcage I was shocked she would go on to anything significant.

Lady Gaga. Her music video for Beautiful Dirty Rich was available for free on iTunes because the song was featured in a tv show on ABC that was soon canceled. This was way before Just Dance and Poker Face let alone the release of her debut album. When she did a back attitude on the piano, I knew I had just witnessed the arrival of the new Madonna.

Julianne Moore, seriously.

If you had said "As The World Turns" or "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" then maybe I would've been impressed.

The Fame was such a good album. A whopping seven well-funded music videos as well. No wonder Christina was scared of her.

Yes, R60! Such a small role but she is as memorable as Ford.

Not actors, but pop artists. As others have mentioned, Gaga was making waves in the underground club scene before her big hit, but it was clear she was going places.

[quote]Anne Heche on Another World.

+1. I also thought Danny Markel (Sam #2) was going to be big, but he packed it in after his second P&G soap.

Paul Rudd in Clueless. He had this nerdy hotness that I really miked.

Streisand when I saw her playing Cleopatra in her senior high school play.

Liked

Admit it, R68, you milked it too.

Anne Hathaway was on a Fox series called "Get Real" before she hit it big. I remember thinking "I absolutely can't stand this character, but there's something about the girl playing her that makes her incredibly watchable."

Emma Stone was on a reality competition show called "In Search of the Partridge Family" that served as casting for an updated Partridge Family series. Stone won the role of Laurie. Watching the pilot (which wasn't picked up to series) I remember thinking "this girl is *really* good."

I had a big crush on Paul Rudd in Clueless

Adam Driver.

Still find it funny that the breakout star of a show called Girls ended up being a man.

AnnE, R70.

mulligan was someone's daughter on who a couple of years before blink. i knew then, but it is not on her imdb.

[quote]As others have mentioned, Gaga was making waves in the underground club scene before her big hit, but it was clear she was going places.

Oh god. I first saw Gaga on Logo's New Now Next awards and remembered thinking "this woman will NEVER be famous". I couldn't have been more wrong.

Zachary Levi in Less than Perfect. He stole the show.

r75, I thought the same thing about Rihanna when I saw the Pon de Replay video. Oops!

I thought the other guy, not Ryan Reynolds, in Two Guys, A Girl, and A Pizza Place would be a star.

Oscar Isaac in Drive.

Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man Bruce Willis In Moonlighting Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy

I remember my mother correctly predicting Streisand would be big after seeing her on talk shows in the early days and that Pacino would be a star after seeing The Godfather

The first five minutes of Michelle Williams in Dawson's Creek and I just knew it.

Chrissy Metz. I knew she'd just blow up the minute I laid eyes on her!

I thought Jennifer Lawrence was good in Winters Bone, but this was before we knew how she got there.

Despite acne scars and bad fashion, Tommy Lee Jones when he played Dr. Mark Toland on daytime soap, "One Life to Live."

I was a huge Julianne Moore fan when she was on ATWT..so much so that my friends teased me about it (they thought she sucked!), but I knew she would become a major star.

The 1998 movie Playing by Heart was terrible, but it was my first time seeing Angelina Jolie, and she was stellar in a small part. I knew she would be huge..and then she won the Oscar a year or two later. I now can’t stand her.

Cillian Murphy in Red Eye. It was a shitty thiller but he was great in it. I'm not surprised he went on to much bigger things.

Evan Rachel Wood in Once and Again. I also thought Julia Whelan would go places, but hadn’t heard about her in a long while until I read on DL she is a sought-after audiobook narrator.

Tom Hanks had a great small supporting role in ELVIS, and I know he's going on to much bigger things.

I watched "Another World" in the early 70's and predicted that Ray Lotta would become a big star. -- and he did, and my claim to fame has always been "I predicted that RL would become a big star!" and I was right! Haha! RIP sweet boy, Joey

R85 me too. I saw Angelina in Gia & was blown away, both by her performance & by her looks, & knew she’d win an Oscar someday.

Unused to watch the prank show Girls Behaving Badly, & just knew Chelsea Handler would be a breakout star. The show itself was pretty low-rent.

I’ve gotten it stupendously wrong too. I saw Octavia Spencer on Ugly Betty & said out loud, this woman will never win an Oscar! She seemed so buffoonish, & I actually pitied her. Who’s laughing now…

I will say that I knew Laura Linney from the Chongo movie! And thought she seemed a cold, u pleasant bitch. What a surprise to see she's a truly gifted and so supple an actress, ever since You Can Count on Me.

If you lived in Australia, Nicole Kidman was a popular teen actress for several years.

Before BMX Bandits, she was a teen model who did small parts in kids' TV shows. I saw those shows as a kid, how natural and engaging she was and knew straight away she was someone I was going to be seeing much more of in the future.

I was glad to see her evolve into an adult actress, and knew she was going places but never thought of her as becoming a global sensation.

I’m in the US & fell in love with Billie Piper as a singer back in ‘98, to the point of near-obsession, but she didn’t really break out here. I’m beyond pleased to see how her acting career has flourished, but I still wish she’d record another album one of these days, as she only did two.

You should check out I Hate Suzie if you haven't seen it yet, r93

When I saw Brad Pitt out of focus in No Way Out, I knew one day he would be in focus.

Rami Malek back in 2015 in the first seven minutes of the first episode of Mr Robot. Especially when he said "I'm very different too," and instantly manifested the character's psychosis. I was like: who the fuck is this kid, he's incredible. Yet he was 35 at the time!

[quote] the Chongo movie!

Oh, dear!

[quote]I thought the other guy, not Ryan Reynolds, in Two Guys, A Girl, and A Pizza Place would be a star.

You bet on the wrong horse. He does porn now.

When I saw Thelma and Louise, I suspected that Brad Pitt was destined for greatness.

David Selby in Dark Shadows.

[Quote] Even though his career hasn’t quite reached the heights it should, I correctly predicted Glenn Powell would be the breakout star from “Everybody Wants Some.”

I remember Glen getting all the praise from reviewers when EWS came out.

[Quote] Paul Rudd in Clueless. He had this nerdy hotness that I really miked.

Well he is kind of a Baldwin.

[Quote] I’m in the US & fell in love with Billie Piper as a singer back in ‘98, to the point of near-obsession, but she didn’t really break out here. I’m beyond pleased to see how her acting career has flourished, but I still wish she’d record another album one of these days, as she only did two.

I still listen to Day & Night.

[QUOTE] Evan Rachel Wood in Once and Again. I also thought Julia Whelan would go places, but hadn’t heard about her in a long while until I read on DL she is a sought-after audiobook narrator.

I’m good friends with Julia and want to show her this! She’ll get a kick out of it. She is probably one of the best in the business of audiobook narrators. She narrated “Gone Girl” which went on to become one of the best-selling audiobooks of all time. She is also a wonderful author - her latest novel is called “Thank You for Listening” (which she, of course, also narrates).

Bronson Pinchot in Beverly Hills Cop

Zendaya. I watched her on Shake It Up and saw her talent and knew she’d go places. Meanwhile, many others were hyping up Bella Thorne (typical of people to overlook the talented actress of color over the average white).

Not an actor but I remember driving down the Southwest Freeway in Houston in 1982, hearing Hungry Like the Wolf for the first time, and thinking that whatever band it was would be huge.

That’s my only contribution.

R102, that is cool you know Julia! She is a GREAT audiobook narrator!! I’m also jealous that she got to work with My Future Husband Billy Campbell.

Goop in "Moonlight & Valentino." She played Elizabeth Perkins' younger sister.

I knew Helen Hunt would be an Academy Award winner someday after seeing Quarterback Princess in 1983.

Ray Liotta on Another World. I was a little kid but I loved him

i was in Los Angeles auditioning for a year or two. I had no formal training but had good luck getting called back again and again. One day I found myself next to a guy whose face was just as quirky-seeming and intelligent-projecting as mine, but was also very very handsome with remarkable cheekbones. We were in a group call back and his acting blew me away. He got the part and shortly thereafter I stopped trying to be an actor, realizing that without the look and without the years of acting training, I was going nowhere, unlike my erstwhile competitor, who I knew was going to be a star. That man? Zachary Quinto.

Yes. In the ninties I predicted James Woods would become a big asshole. And I was right.

Yes, Jessie Plemons. I thought he'd be a great actor, and he is.

I went to a performing arts HS, and every single one of my classmates who I thought would make it if they pursued the arts professionally already has in some capacity (except myself), and we’re all in our early 30s!

R110, cool story!

Hugh Grant in Maurice

On the other end of the spectrum, I would have never predicted that of all the Brat Packers (not counting BP adjacent, like RDJ), Rob Lowe would have gone on to have the longest, most successful and certainly most lucrative (after Demi’s crashed and burned) career.

He was also the first to “really come back” from a scandal.

Considering he’s not the worlds greatest talent, I have no idea how he did it.

Would also never have guessed that of everyone on Cheers, woody harrelson would be the one with the most career longevity either (I can’t say most lucrative, bc Frasier, but the most consistently lucrative anyway)

R116 the other thing is - both those examples I used are actors who are tight with Lorne (and that whole crew - including Jimmy Kimmel) and I think anyone tight with that group in general - it’s like being backed by the mafia.

There are a few women who are part of that crew also.

I knew Cynthia Nixon would be a big deal after I saw her in Little Darlings, which was further confirmed after she appeared in a bit part in Amadeus.

I saw BMX Bandits on HBO years before Dead Calm even and I thought Nicole Kidman was ugly as fuck. She ended up in a movie with Tom Cruise, Days of Thunder, and she was shit in it. After a while it was clear she wasn't leaving America.

Will Smith. Just seeing him do interviews ca. Fresh Prince, he exuded charm.

Michael Fassbender in A Bear Called Winnie

Romola Garai in I Capture The Castle

Angelina Jolie in Playing By Heart (after having previously seen and dismissed her in Hackers)

Octavia Spencer in Ugly Betty

Jennifer Lawrence in The Burning Plain

Michael B. Jordan and Idris Elba in The Wire, respectively heartbreaking and sensual

Oscar Isaac in Balibo, I thought where did they find this guy?

Sally Hawkins in Fingersmith, energetic and ferocious lesbian

Andrea Riseborough and Andrew Buchanan (not a star, but never unemployed) in Party Animals (but I missed Matt Smith whom I also hated on stage in That Face!)

Keira Knightley in Coming Home, not a great actress but she had IT. She was incredibly poised .

Emily Blunt in My Summer Of Love. She’s been scared to play such an unrelenting bitch since.

Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt on episodes of Poirot

R120 that ain’t charm , it’s a massive ego.

Leonardo DiCaprio as the Cousin Oliver of Growing Pains.

Emily Blunt played a whiny thing in an episode of Foyle's War. She was terrible. Lawrence Fox was also in it and I knew he was a really good actor.

Probably not much of a guess but Russell Crowe was great in LA Confidential before he was famous in the US.

I've seen a lot of English actors/actresses in their very early work usually on TV and though not megastars you could see who would become "big" in the acting world.

Scott Speedman in Felicity. When he was in that Speedo I knew he was something different. No wonder Felicity threw her life away by followed him cross country like a stalker.

In 1991, I went to a screening of a movie called The Man in the Moon. Generally, I hate child actors, but it starred a 13-yr old Reese Witherspoon. When my companion and I walked out, I said to him "that girl is gonna grow up and win an Oscar someday".

I followed her career from then on, and even after seeing Freeway, I was still convinced and reminded my friend.

I was right!

Julianne Moore in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

^^Me again. I know DL loves to trash her, but I saw Winter's Bone because of Jennifer Lawrence's nomination. I told that same friend she wouldn't win for that, but she was gonna win someday. I predicted within the next 5 years.

Ironically, yes, she did win for Silver Linings Playbook, (two years later?). The irony being, I liked her, but I didn't think she should have won for that. Oh well. :)

Oh - and to the poster upthread who listed Jesse Plemons.

I see Jesse Plemons as the heir apparent to Phillip Seymour Hoffman And just like PSH, he'll win an Oscar someday!

Love Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemmons looks exactly like my doctor, who’s actually Vietnamese.

Charlize Theron. She had a small part in "Celebrity", one of Woody's worst, but it's clear she was a force to be reckoned with.

Jesse Plemmons is a butterball.

Kevin Costner in SILVERADO. Brad Pitt in THELMA AND LOUISE

When I was visiting in Florida I saw Elvira on a local station. I figured if she didn't make it big her agent should be horsewhipped,

Pedro Pascal in GOT

Don Cheadle in DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS

Halle Berry in JUNGLE FEVER

Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies, Meg Ryan in ATWT, Charlize Theron in That Thing You Do. I also thought Tom Everett Scott from the same movie would have a bigger career too. Three out of 4 ain't bad.

R70, I thought Eric Christian Olson would become famous. He did become TV famous in NCIS: LA, but I thought more along the lines of Brad Pitt or Paul Rudd.

I think Lilli Kay from Your Honor and Yellowstone is going to be big.

Denzel Washington on St Elsewhere

George Clooney on er

Meg Ryan on ATWT always seemed so basic to me.

Tom Cruise in Endless Love. Tiny role but he stole the scene with his twitchy energy.

r138 I noticed Berry in Jungle Fever because she was gorgeous and people were talking about her in the role, but I thought her acting was just terrible. Queen Latifah stood out, too, and she was more natural.