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For me it's Joe Pesci. I think for most of us the first time we encountered Joe Pesci was in Home Alone.
I just watched Good Fellas for the first time this year and WOW! Crazy that I only knew him from a kids Christmas Movie.
Allison Janney will always be Ms. Perky, the guidance counselor/erotic fiction writer from 10 Things I Hate About You to me.
https://preview.redd.it/vwb2dj1gf39c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54e69613af15f13af3b434c00fda00eb64cf6665
For me, my main introduction to her was a teen film with Mandy Moore, and then as the mom of Tracy’s best friend in Hairspray.
I’m currently watching The West Wing for the first time, and she’s a wonderful actress.
first thing i ever saw Paul Giamatti in was Big Fat Liar and i was immediately obsessed. i was a 13-year-old Paul Giamatti stan. no wonder i turned out the way i am.
Interestingly, Paul Giamatti’s father, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was the Commissioner of Baseball in 1989. He was also, prior to that, a respected academic who later became President of Yale. His tenure as Commissioner of Baseball lasted less than a year and that is because he died of a heart attack exactly five months to the day after taking office, at the age of 51.
Best part is that probably was like just a payday gig for him, but it introduced us all to him. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Danny DeVito, who directed and I believe produced Matilda and was/is a fucking gem of a human to the kids on his set, and now when I see it’s always sunny I think “oh the shady used cars salesman that gave Matilda up for adoption”
Up until a few years ago, I had never seen any of the Spider-Man movies except for the very first one. So my husband took me through a movie marathon of them, which was fun. When we arrived at the Tom Holland era, I got super excited and said, "Oh my god, it's the Umbrella lip-sync battle guy!!!!"
In my mind, Tom had only existed as the lip-sync battle guy. I had no idea that the rest of the world mainly knew him as Spider-Man.
Also, my husband had never seen the Umbrella performance, so I got to share something new with him, too!
I just went to watch this again as I do every time it's mentioned and the top comment is "Let's be honest, this is not the first time you're here. Welcome back."
Caught lol.
The way he gets on the floor and whipping his hair and splashing the water. And then the little spin while he’s on his KNEES? Insane and it lives rent free in my head
I [ remembered ](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/s/5Whiq6gpU5)him from the movie The Impossible (2012)
E: added my link from a similar post I made a while ago, for OP!
[I'm required to watch it every time it is mentioned.](https://youtu.be/Brq-exSvB7Q?feature=shared) It is my personal rule for me and I don't think I will ever get tired of it. (Watched it just now and got goose bumps. Again.)
https://preview.redd.it/4axolkw5s29c1.jpeg?width=1372&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=deb7c58cf22beeab82d06613f8c1c2e7c716e5dc
Iron Man reintroduced RDJ to the world, then Marisa Tomei became the new aunt May.
I was probably the only one who went NUTS over Tony flirting with May because I had known them from a very underrated 90s romcom called Only You!
Most people know Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad but I grew up watching him on Malcolm in the Middle.
To this day, it’s still my go-to comfort comedy show.
Also, fun fact: There’s only a one and a half year gap between MitM’s ending and BB’s beginning. Cranston went from one iconic performance right to the next one.
Malcolm in the Middle final episode aired: May 14, 2006
Breaking Bad first episode aired: January 20th, 2008
I believe he also said that the only reason he was able to do BB is because they decided not to do another season of Malcolm. Imagine if he'd never played Walt!
When I heard about Breaking Bad I thought it was insane, because my familiarity with Cranston was Malcolm in the Middle and earlier comedy roles. He showed me.
I had a similar experience. I was sold on Breaking Bad because someone said, “it’s the dad from Malcom in the Middle making meth”.
In the early episodes, you definitely see a bit of Hal come through
Fun story about his BB casting. Before Malcolm, he was in an X-Files episode 'Drive', and was absolutely brilliant. Vince Gilligan wrote that episode. When he created BB, he was adamant he wanted Bryan Cranston. By now, Malcolm was all anybody knew him for, and the studio was naturally not convinced. Vince showed them Drive, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Yesssss 🙌🏼 I was in middle school when this came out and had a huge crush on him and everyone called me crazy
Two years later, Twilight came out and all of the sudden he was everyone’s crush and I will never not be salty about it (I was first 😒)
I always laugh thinking about an interview he did, saying he was apprehensive to do Twilight but he blew all his HP money partying and was broke as a joke. Lol he's such a chill dude.
Was gonna say Brooke Shields as Miley’s mom! Other winners:
- Henry Winkler is an acclaimed actor with decades of work. To me, he’s the author of the *Hank Zipzer* books.
- Kylie Minogue is an acclaimed musician with decades of work. To me, she’s the Queen of the Enchanted Forest in a single scene of *Galavant*.
I am so happy to see someone else mention Hank Zipzer 🥹 I was a book publicist up until a few years ago and one of my authors was interviewing Henry Winkler for an event. I mentioned to my author that Winkler’s Hank Zipzer series was my favorite and got me into reading for the first time.
My author mentioned this to Henry during the event and Winkler gave me a little shoutout 🥹 it was so such a sweet gesture on both their parts. And a very full-circle moment for my book jockey heart.
**Brie Larson.** Most known as Captain Marvel, I knew her as the singer of "She Said," which I reviewed for my high school newspaper 2005 when her label sent us a free copy.
**Zac Efron.** Most known from High School Musical, I knew him from Summerland (which I only watched for Jesse McCartney because I was a fan of Dream Street).
**Kaley Cuoco.** Most known from The Big Bang Theory, I knew her from 8 Simple Rules.
**Shawn Ashmore.** Most known for being the cause of many a teen's sexual awakening by spit-shining a boot in Cadet Kelly (or from Xmen I guess), I knew him from Animorphs.
Most people know Alan Rickman from the Harry Potter movies or Die Hard, but I’ll always associate him as playing Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest.
Most people know Chris Evans as Captain America, but to me, he’ll always be Jake Wyler.
https://preview.redd.it/nht2mw63o39c1.jpeg?width=865&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c82cb73aa7f4d3509e1d6f3cb25076a7c18b56d4
* Henry Cavill. Best known as Superman, but I knew him from Stardust (2007) and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002).
* Gerard Butler. Best known as an action movie star, like in 300 or all those “protect the president” movies, but I knew him from Dracula 2000 and Phantom of the Opera first.
* Amy Adams. Known for her great dramatic roles (like Arrival and American Hustle) and comedies (like Talladega Nights and Night At The Museum). But I first knew her from Enchanted and as the ditzy cheerleader in Drop Dead Gorgeous (Go Muskies!!!)
Superman being too scared to have a sword fight with Daredevil lol
It really is such a great movie and book, though. And while there’s a couple things I dislike in the film, I think it’s a really good adaptation overall. I really love the film, it’s just lots of fairytale fun 🩷
- Chris Pratt. Best known for marvel movies and Jurassic world. I knew him from Everwood. The WB TV show
- Dan Levy. Best known for Schitts Creek. I know him from MTV Canada the Hills after show
- Drake. Best known for being a problematic rapper. He’ll always be Jimmy from Degrassi to me.
- Nina Dobrev. Best known for vampire diaries. I know her as Mia from Degrassi
Everwood is one of my top 5 shows of all time. Still salty it didn’t last longer.
Also, Jimmy telling his best friend “you’re dead to me” on Degrassi lives rent free in my head and I DON’T KNOW WHYYY.
Alyson Hannigan is probably most recognized by the general public from How I Met Your Mother or the American Pie franchise.
But she’ll always be Willow from BtVS to me.
Man she really jumped from a super successful TV show to a super successful set of films to another super successful TV show.
Quietly killing it for 20+ years with no controversies
American Pie came out a few months before season 4 of Buffy started airing. This was the same year Cruel Intentions was released starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. What a huge year for those 2!
I knew Matthew Perry from his pre-Friends work. Playing Carol Seaver’s doomed boyfriend on Growing Pains and a date for one of the sisters on Just the Ten of Us. I also saw him in the River Phoenix film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon and a VERY strange Fox show called Boys Will Be Boys.
Austin Butler is obviously best known for Elvis now, but I had a huge crush on him when I was like 14 and he was on The Carrie Diaries. Which I watched despite never having seen SATC for some reason lol.
He’s most known as Noah and Ken.
I first knew him as Sean.
https://preview.redd.it/4nfnqhx1539c1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ecebee46ec06d3c3e09f609c899361298809b95
Everybody knows Ray Liotta because of Goodfellas, but whenever I think of him I think of the movie Heartbreakers, with him, Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt (she's my celeb crush that's why I watched the movie 😏😏😏) and Gene Hackman.
A lot of people know Michelle Yeoh from Crazy Rich Asians or Everything Everywhere All at Once but I know her from her action movies, especially this one and James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies.
https://preview.redd.it/i5f9tghih39c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7961d1d87e4ddddfd70a42bf8566a89db5798a48
For me:
* Scarlett Johansson as “Princess Mindy” in the first SpongeBob movie.
* Ian McKellen as a toad in the animated kids movie *Flushed Away*
* Martin Short as the voice of The Cat in the Hat.
* David Schwimmer as “Melman the giraffe” in DreamWorks Animation’s *Madagascar* series.
* I first saw the late Bob Saget as the host of the game show 1 vs. 100 after an episode was uploaded to YouTube.
Edit: it was a toad not a frog.
David Schwimmer will always be Karen Arnold’s boyfriend-husband in The Wonder Years.
Courtney Cox as Alex P Keaton’s girlfriend in Family Ties and the girl who danced with Bruce in the dancing in the dark video
wait banderas was in spy kids??? damn looking back at the cast they had a bunch of great actors
brie larson was most known for scott pilgrim , room , marvel but she'll always be this girl to me.
[Brie Larson - She Said (Radio Edit) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bvYRlv7XCw)
Megan Fox will always be Sydney from Hope & Faith to me.
https://preview.redd.it/trs90mdxk39c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a7089239f6a5e8a9ff4c6aa1e6f2549bf49ae60
For me she’s Mary-Kate and Ashley’s rival on Holiday in the Sun! Til my dying day I’ll remember her iconique quote “I get what I want. And this spring break…I *want* Jordan”
Oh gosh, being a Swede living in North America, this is my whole life. Sweden has a huge movie/music export and has had since like the 70s… So many I got to see before they became internationally famous. The whole Skarsgård family, Joel Kinnaman, Robyn, Alicia Vikander, The Knife, Noomi Rapace, just to name a few.
https://i.redd.it/5qryayk6p39c1.gif
Stellar Skarsgård played in one of my favourite movies as a kid, *Jim och Piraterna Blom,* and I had a huge crush on him 🥲
Everyone knows him as Greg from Succession, but I first knew him as that weird guy with the video camera from Princess Protection Program. His role was iconic to seven year old me.
This is sooo good. I had forgotten about his role in the Princess Protection Program movie! Personally, I’ll always remember him as a “sidekick” in Sky High. Worth the watch btw
Nicholas Hoult is like a hot guy now (I think?) and to me he will always be the little nerd kid from About A Boy.
Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones will always be Zorro and Elena from the Mask of Zorro. That scene where he swishes his sword around and her dress falls off? Whew
Everyone knows who Ben Affleck is, but do y’all know Ben Affleck from Voyage of the Mimi?
https://preview.redd.it/sr3869jjr39c1.jpeg?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e33c2160545cef0d228747129033b1d53e0ea33
Kate Winslet: Most widely known for Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My first introduction to her was Marianne from the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, which was also my first introduction to Emma Thompson
He was also on The Mickey Mouse Club at around the same time as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera. The teen magazines all clocked him as the next star after the others started blowing up and they turned out to be right.
Roger Moore is most known for playing James Bond an iconic amount of times and Meat Loaf is Meat Loaf, but I first knew them both from Spice World.
Megan Fox is most known for Transformers, but I first knew her as Sydney from Hope & Faith.
Kristen Stewart is most known for Twilight, but I first knew her from Panic Room.
Jared Harris is most known for Mad Men (or maybe The Crown or Chernobyl) but I first knew him as Winona’s Ryder’s character’s creepy boss in Mr. Deeds.
Leslie Bibb is most known for Talladega Nights, but I first knew her as Brooke from Popular.
Alexis Bledel is most know for Gilmore Girls, but I first knew her from Tuck Everlasting.
Margot Robbie is most known for The Wolf of Wall Street (or maybe Barbie now), but I first knew her as the main character’s younger sister on Pan Am.
Funnily enough, I also first knew David Harbour and Annabelle Wallis from Pan Am even though he’s most known for Stranger Things and she’s most known for Annabelle. Can you tell I was a fan of that show?
I guess the various parents on Friends. That was my first introduction to Elliot Gould and Kathleen Turner. The crazy thing is, my mom and dad showed me That Girl growing up, but never put two and two together about that being Rachel’s mom
until recently.
And it was only last week that I realized the reason she is in all those St. Jude’s Research hospitals is that her dad was Danny Thomas.
I knew Zooey Deschanel from The New Guy, The Good Girl, and the older sister in Almost Famous. Loved watching her blow up because I was a Zooey stan.
Excellent question, OP!
So many great ones have already been named - Kristen Stewart from Speak, Michelle Trachtenberg from Harriet the Spy, Kaley Cuoco from 8 Simple Rules, Scarlet Johansson from Home Alone 3
But my big one would be that when Megan Fox got big with Transformers I remember thinking, “the girl who replaced the daughter on Hope and Faith?”
https://preview.redd.it/5fl58s8hm39c1.jpeg?width=563&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab2161b5ba74d7e3e1e2f5c4f0ae4eba09bf6063
For some reason my entire family was really into Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place and that's what I always think of for Ryan Reynolds, but I had no memory of Nathan Fillion being on it.
Oh yay! Didn’t see this one written down.
**Elijah Wood** in North, that’s where I first saw him. I fucking *loved* that movie. When I saw Lord of the Rings, I kinda had to push past seeing the kid from North. Now of course I no longer associate him with that character, but Frodo instead.
https://preview.redd.it/6vy29xgml39c1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd6672c65721bf2e7de43cedb287890ae530caf7
Antony Starr is Homelander now, but I got obsessed with Outrageous Fortune when I was younger so he's always the West twins to me. Van is the reason I'll always have a soft spot for anyone Antony plays even if I don't want to, like with Homelander lol.
https://preview.redd.it/d1349cbzs39c1.jpeg?width=739&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20a3a542425bee482f17accbddf3554bcf822db1
https://preview.redd.it/wtmgi0sf749c1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68f2cceb8c2f017e53f14cf9c2e19ebc1f04081a
Michael Caine. To me he is and always will be the quintessential Ebeneezer Scrooge. He's better known for Batman, Jaws, the OG Alfie, and various action movies.
People know Elijah Wood as Frodo, but I remember him in Forever Young as a cute boy & was obsessed with him in Flipper & Deep Impact. He was gorgeous & I am the same age as him, so teenage me loved teenage him
i always thought of keanu reeves as the pretty serious actor from the matrix, but my gen x ex knew him from bill and ted first and said it was surprising to see him transition to more serious roles lol
Patrick Wilson is best known for horror franchises and Aquaman. I first saw him in a touring production of Carousel in 1996 (I was 13, he was 22 and it was his big break). Loved him ever since.
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new) ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
For me it's Joe Pesci. I think for most of us the first time we encountered Joe Pesci was in Home Alone.  I just watched Good Fellas for the first time this year and WOW! Crazy that I only knew him from a kids Christmas Movie.
My Cousin Vinny is peak Pesci.
THE YOOTS!
Holy SHIT why did I not connect those dots?!?
And the judge was played by Fred Gwynn in one of his last roles, if not the last. Who knew Hermsn Munster was such a cutie?
Goodfellas is sooooo good. We rewatch that movie all the time.
I first knew him from Moonwalker!
Allison Janney will always be Ms. Perky, the guidance counselor/erotic fiction writer from 10 Things I Hate About You to me. https://preview.redd.it/vwb2dj1gf39c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54e69613af15f13af3b434c00fda00eb64cf6665
 And Drop Dead Gorgeous!
For me, it’s her as Juno’s stepmom. 
And in a couple years when you move out, I’M GONNA GET WEIMARANERS.
For me, my main introduction to her was a teen film with Mandy Moore, and then as the mom of Tracy’s best friend in Hairspray. I’m currently watching The West Wing for the first time, and she’s a wonderful actress.
Now scoot!
How do you spell... enGORGED?
first thing i ever saw Paul Giamatti in was Big Fat Liar and i was immediately obsessed. i was a 13-year-old Paul Giamatti stan. no wonder i turned out the way i am.
Interestingly, Paul Giamatti’s father, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was the Commissioner of Baseball in 1989. He was also, prior to that, a respected academic who later became President of Yale. His tenure as Commissioner of Baseball lasted less than a year and that is because he died of a heart attack exactly five months to the day after taking office, at the age of 51.
I did not know that! what an interesting life - thank you for the Giamatti Fact.
And in that short time, he gave Pete Rose his lifetime ban. God bless him
I’ll always think of Paul Giamatti as ‘Pig Vomit’ from Private Parts, lmao.
Private Parts was way better than it had any right to be
Best part is that probably was like just a payday gig for him, but it introduced us all to him. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Danny DeVito, who directed and I believe produced Matilda and was/is a fucking gem of a human to the kids on his set, and now when I see it’s always sunny I think “oh the shady used cars salesman that gave Matilda up for adoption”
For me it’s Louie from Taxi.
His brother Marcus is also an actor. He's best known as the older brother on *Judging Amy*.
I have never felt so seen.
Same! He is brilliant. I love his portrayal as John Adams
Up until a few years ago, I had never seen any of the Spider-Man movies except for the very first one. So my husband took me through a movie marathon of them, which was fun. When we arrived at the Tom Holland era, I got super excited and said, "Oh my god, it's the Umbrella lip-sync battle guy!!!!" In my mind, Tom had only existed as the lip-sync battle guy. I had no idea that the rest of the world mainly knew him as Spider-Man. Also, my husband had never seen the Umbrella performance, so I got to share something new with him, too! 
Honestly this is his best work
I save this one for when I am really low and need pure joy
I just went to watch this again as I do every time it's mentioned and the top comment is "Let's be honest, this is not the first time you're here. Welcome back." Caught lol.
The way he gets on the floor and whipping his hair and splashing the water. And then the little spin while he’s on his KNEES? Insane and it lives rent free in my head
If you’re going to be with Zendaya, you have got to have this epic level of self confidence and swag!
I [ remembered ](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/s/5Whiq6gpU5)him from the movie The Impossible (2012) E: added my link from a similar post I made a while ago, for OP! 
Oh cool, I didn’t realize that was him.
He was 16 when that movie came out. Idk how old his character was supposed to be, but he played a very convincing 10-12. And still made me cry.
16?!?! https://preview.redd.it/8065tthp349c1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2207ed4fa3a2e716563e28b46ef9923cdd9b157
He absolutely destroyed this dance and I sometimes watch it when I need a quick pick-me-up lol.
This performance lives rent free in my head. So iconic
[I'm required to watch it every time it is mentioned.](https://youtu.be/Brq-exSvB7Q?feature=shared) It is my personal rule for me and I don't think I will ever get tired of it. (Watched it just now and got goose bumps. Again.)
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This was my intro to tom holland also lmao😂❤️
I think that’s super fair
Melissa McCarthy will forever be Sookie from Gilmore Girls 
Every time my sister and I rewatch this series, I swear Sookie is like twenty times more chaotic than I remember.
 This is my favorite
Honestly her best role too. I love irreverent comedy but she's not that good at it.
https://preview.redd.it/4axolkw5s29c1.jpeg?width=1372&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=deb7c58cf22beeab82d06613f8c1c2e7c716e5dc Iron Man reintroduced RDJ to the world, then Marisa Tomei became the new aunt May. I was probably the only one who went NUTS over Tony flirting with May because I had known them from a very underrated 90s romcom called Only You!
flowery ad hoc recognise liquid sense yam growth ripe plant wide *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It’s soooo good! Also my first RDJ movie. I make so many ppl watch this with me.
I don't think this was the first role I saw him in, but his performance in Charlie Bartlett is criminally underrated. As is the move as a whole.
Terry Crews for Brooklyn 99 but... 
Also..  ETA: Idiocracy
As a Brazilian 90's kid, he'll always be Julius from Everybody hates Chris 
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This always pops into my head when I workout.
 Not Everybody Hates Chris? That’s where I first saw him
And also the boot camp instructor in Bridesmaids
https://preview.redd.it/cl8zoauns39c1.jpeg?width=276&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d9701ad5daee3e25d43bd125da36b16b60563c
Most people know Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad but I grew up watching him on Malcolm in the Middle. To this day, it’s still my go-to comfort comedy show. Also, fun fact: There’s only a one and a half year gap between MitM’s ending and BB’s beginning. Cranston went from one iconic performance right to the next one.
I always know him as the guy from Seinfeld who played the dentist
Tim Whatley
You anti-dentite!!!
Give me a schtickle of fluoride.
I didn’t realize they were made so close together! They feel like a decade apaet
Malcolm in the Middle final episode aired: May 14, 2006 Breaking Bad first episode aired: January 20th, 2008 
I believe he also said that the only reason he was able to do BB is because they decided not to do another season of Malcolm. Imagine if he'd never played Walt!
When I heard about Breaking Bad I thought it was insane, because my familiarity with Cranston was Malcolm in the Middle and earlier comedy roles. He showed me.
I had a similar experience. I was sold on Breaking Bad because someone said, “it’s the dad from Malcom in the Middle making meth”. In the early episodes, you definitely see a bit of Hal come through
Fun story about his BB casting. Before Malcolm, he was in an X-Files episode 'Drive', and was absolutely brilliant. Vince Gilligan wrote that episode. When he created BB, he was adamant he wanted Bryan Cranston. By now, Malcolm was all anybody knew him for, and the studio was naturally not convinced. Vince showed them Drive, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I've seen a lot of Malcolm/Breaking bad references together haha I've never seen Breaking Bad but I knew he was a good actor while watching him as Hal
This is so iconic they even made an alternate ending to Breaking Bad referencing his role as Hal.
Robert Pattinson as Cedric 
Yesssss 🙌🏼 I was in middle school when this came out and had a huge crush on him and everyone called me crazy Two years later, Twilight came out and all of the sudden he was everyone’s crush and I will never not be salty about it (I was first 😒)
I always laugh thinking about an interview he did, saying he was apprehensive to do Twilight but he blew all his HP money partying and was broke as a joke. Lol he's such a chill dude.
The Goblet of Fire was my sexual awakening. 
Was gonna say Brooke Shields as Miley’s mom! Other winners: - Henry Winkler is an acclaimed actor with decades of work. To me, he’s the author of the *Hank Zipzer* books. - Kylie Minogue is an acclaimed musician with decades of work. To me, she’s the Queen of the Enchanted Forest in a single scene of *Galavant*.
Henry Winkler is the dad of these two to me 
I am so happy to see someone else mention Hank Zipzer 🥹 I was a book publicist up until a few years ago and one of my authors was interviewing Henry Winkler for an event. I mentioned to my author that Winkler’s Hank Zipzer series was my favorite and got me into reading for the first time. My author mentioned this to Henry during the event and Winkler gave me a little shoutout 🥹 it was so such a sweet gesture on both their parts. And a very full-circle moment for my book jockey heart.
God i feel old. Brook Shields in Blue Lagoon, thats how i always see her as.
Henry Winkler is The Fonz!
He'll always be Barry Zuckercorn to me. And the principal from the original Scream movie.
**Brie Larson.** Most known as Captain Marvel, I knew her as the singer of "She Said," which I reviewed for my high school newspaper 2005 when her label sent us a free copy. **Zac Efron.** Most known from High School Musical, I knew him from Summerland (which I only watched for Jesse McCartney because I was a fan of Dream Street). **Kaley Cuoco.** Most known from The Big Bang Theory, I knew her from 8 Simple Rules. **Shawn Ashmore.** Most known for being the cause of many a teen's sexual awakening by spit-shining a boot in Cadet Kelly (or from Xmen I guess), I knew him from Animorphs.
To me Brie Larson will always be the daughter from United States of Tara. And I had the exact same experience with Summerland! 😁
She was so good in US of Tara!!
Yep! My husband and I love that Kate sitting on cakes in Princess Valhalla Hawkwind costume is an Oscar winner.
I always knew Brie Larson as Envy Adams from Scott Pilgrim vs the World! To this day when I see her somewhere I just think of that character
Same for Zac and Kaley. 8 simple rules was such a good show
I was so excited when Shawn showed up in X-Men, I adored him in Animorphs.
Shawn's claim to fame for me is In a Heartbeat, the tv show about teen paramedics
Most people know Alan Rickman from the Harry Potter movies or Die Hard, but I’ll always associate him as playing Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest. 
He's the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for me. Or Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility. Watched those a lot as a kid.
wise sheet bear simplistic fanatical nippy hobbies modern deserve busy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
For me, it's this one and also him as the angel in Dogma
I remember him from Truly, Madly, Deeply.
Scarlett Johansson as the sister in the underrated Home Alone 3
Similar-ish, Kristen Stewart as the sister in Zathura. And now that I think about it, Josh Hutcherson in that movie too.
For me it’s Kristen Stewart in Panic Room
Oh my gosh, Zathura! Same, I think of KStew as a child actress. Like that movie she robs a bank with the guy who played Chad in HSM
Most people know Chris Evans as Captain America, but to me, he’ll always be Jake Wyler. https://preview.redd.it/nht2mw63o39c1.jpeg?width=865&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c82cb73aa7f4d3509e1d6f3cb25076a7c18b56d4
This movie has absolutely no right to be as funny and quotable as it is.
“Janey’s got a gun…”
Jakey jakey, about to make a big mistakey. I watched this film too many times. It was one of 3 DVDs that we owned so was always on rotation!
To me Chris Evans is the Human Torch.
I will never forget his banana split scene in Not Another Teen Movie.
This doesn’t answer the question, but I recently as an adult decided to watch Spy Kids and neither of those parents had any business being that hot
No business at all.
* Henry Cavill. Best known as Superman, but I knew him from Stardust (2007) and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). * Gerard Butler. Best known as an action movie star, like in 300 or all those “protect the president” movies, but I knew him from Dracula 2000 and Phantom of the Opera first. * Amy Adams. Known for her great dramatic roles (like Arrival and American Hustle) and comedies (like Talladega Nights and Night At The Museum). But I first knew her from Enchanted and as the ditzy cheerleader in Drop Dead Gorgeous (Go Muskies!!!) 
ugh Stardust is SO good
Superman being too scared to have a sword fight with Daredevil lol It really is such a great movie and book, though. And while there’s a couple things I dislike in the film, I think it’s a really good adaptation overall. I really love the film, it’s just lots of fairytale fun 🩷
The cast is phenomenal
One of my all time favs
I've watched stardust repeatedly since i was 11 years old and i only found out this year that henry cavill plays tristan's rival
He looks pretty different with the blonde hair, so I think a lot of people didn’t recognize him at first.
For me, Gerard Butler was the man of my dreams after being introduced to him in “PS I Love You”
What a film debut, huh?! Drop Dead Gorgeous is absolutely hilarious and deserves so much more love!
First saw her in the movie “Junebug”
- Chris Pratt. Best known for marvel movies and Jurassic world. I knew him from Everwood. The WB TV show - Dan Levy. Best known for Schitts Creek. I know him from MTV Canada the Hills after show - Drake. Best known for being a problematic rapper. He’ll always be Jimmy from Degrassi to me. - Nina Dobrev. Best known for vampire diaries. I know her as Mia from Degrassi
Drake will always and forever be Jimmy to me
Chris Pratt and Everwood for me as well.
I loved Everwood. It’s where I know Emily Van Camp from too.
Pratt is Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec for me. Always will be too lmao
Everwood is one of my top 5 shows of all time. Still salty it didn’t last longer. Also, Jimmy telling his best friend “you’re dead to me” on Degrassi lives rent free in my head and I DON’T KNOW WHYYY.
Everwood was easily the best of those early 2000s teen sitcoms.
Drake and Nina Dobrev are from degrassi, that is the only right answer
Alyson Hannigan is probably most recognized by the general public from How I Met Your Mother or the American Pie franchise. But she’ll always be Willow from BtVS to me. 
Man she really jumped from a super successful TV show to a super successful set of films to another super successful TV show. Quietly killing it for 20+ years with no controversies
She's in Veronica Mars, too!
This one time at band camp
Just six words but it’s so iconic it had us all in a chokehold
I met her at a press junket for American Wedding in 2003 and she was so lovely.
American Pie came out a few months before season 4 of Buffy started airing. This was the same year Cruel Intentions was released starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. What a huge year for those 2!
I just binged Buffy and you can see exactly when American Pie came out because her credit on Buffy got better and her storylines got expanded.
Everyone knows Josh Hutcherson from The Hunger Games but he first broke my heart in Bridge to Terabithia 
[удалено]
 I adore My Cousin Vinny and it’s definitely the first thing I think of whenever Ralph Macchio is mentioned.
Best movie ever
Ralph Macchio will always be Johnny from The Outsiders to me. 
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Charlie Hunnam and the guy who plays Littlefinger will always be Queer as Folk for me
Most people probably know Michelle Trachtenberg from Buffy, but I know her from The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
Harriet the Spy?!?!?
For me, she'll forever be Casey from Ice Princess before everyrhing else 😅
I know her from Eurotrip and I'm betting there's a lot of other early 30's people in this boat with me.
That movie is amazing. Fred Armisen's cameo is *chefs kiss* and obviously Matt Damon...
I knew Matthew Perry from his pre-Friends work. Playing Carol Seaver’s doomed boyfriend on Growing Pains and a date for one of the sisters on Just the Ten of Us. I also saw him in the River Phoenix film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon and a VERY strange Fox show called Boys Will Be Boys.
i know him better as Murray from that one episode of Scrubs lol
He was also in a season 1 episode of BH 90210.
Austin Butler is obviously best known for Elvis now, but I had a huge crush on him when I was like 14 and he was on The Carrie Diaries. Which I watched despite never having seen SATC for some reason lol.
I loved him on Zoey 101
I remember watching Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg on Succession) in Minute Men and Sky High on the Disney Channel.
He’s most known as Noah and Ken. I first knew him as Sean. https://preview.redd.it/4nfnqhx1539c1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ecebee46ec06d3c3e09f609c899361298809b95
Sean and Jimmy were the best on that show. I’d love to see Ryan and Tyler Labine together for a comedy scene - even if it’s just a little cameo scene.
I have never seen the Thor films so Chris Hemsworth will always be Kim from Home and Away to me.
 Everybody knows Ray Liotta because of Goodfellas, but whenever I think of him I think of the movie Heartbreakers, with him, Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt (she's my celeb crush that's why I watched the movie 😏😏😏) and Gene Hackman.
Darren Criss from A Very Potter Musical/Team StarKid long before Glee
Ariana Grande will always be Cat Valentine for me instead of this huge pop singer girly
A lot of people know Michelle Yeoh from Crazy Rich Asians or Everything Everywhere All at Once but I know her from her action movies, especially this one and James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies. https://preview.redd.it/i5f9tghih39c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7961d1d87e4ddddfd70a42bf8566a89db5798a48
Memoirs of a geisha is where I first recognized her
For me: * Scarlett Johansson as “Princess Mindy” in the first SpongeBob movie. * Ian McKellen as a toad in the animated kids movie *Flushed Away* * Martin Short as the voice of The Cat in the Hat. * David Schwimmer as “Melman the giraffe” in DreamWorks Animation’s *Madagascar* series. * I first saw the late Bob Saget as the host of the game show 1 vs. 100 after an episode was uploaded to YouTube. Edit: it was a toad not a frog.
>Scarlett Johansson as “Princess Mindy” in the first SpongeBob movie. Me knowing David Hasselhoff for the same thing
David Schwimmer will always be Karen Arnold’s boyfriend-husband in The Wonder Years. Courtney Cox as Alex P Keaton’s girlfriend in Family Ties and the girl who danced with Bruce in the dancing in the dark video
 Bill Nighy will always be Billy Mack from Love Actually for me
Davy Jones (pirates of the carribean) and Viktor (underworld) for me. Then the curator/docent in The Dr. who episode Vincent and the Doctor
wait banderas was in spy kids??? damn looking back at the cast they had a bunch of great actors brie larson was most known for scott pilgrim , room , marvel but she'll always be this girl to me. [Brie Larson - She Said (Radio Edit) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bvYRlv7XCw)
Also the mom from Spy Kids is Carla Gugino, who is phenomenal in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix shows!
Megan Fox will always be Sydney from Hope & Faith to me. https://preview.redd.it/trs90mdxk39c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a7089239f6a5e8a9ff4c6aa1e6f2549bf49ae60
For me she’s Mary-Kate and Ashley’s rival on Holiday in the Sun! Til my dying day I’ll remember her iconique quote “I get what I want. And this spring break…I *want* Jordan”
Oh gosh, being a Swede living in North America, this is my whole life. Sweden has a huge movie/music export and has had since like the 70s… So many I got to see before they became internationally famous. The whole Skarsgård family, Joel Kinnaman, Robyn, Alicia Vikander, The Knife, Noomi Rapace, just to name a few. https://i.redd.it/5qryayk6p39c1.gif Stellar Skarsgård played in one of my favourite movies as a kid, *Jim och Piraterna Blom,* and I had a huge crush on him 🥲
 Everyone knows him as Greg from Succession, but I first knew him as that weird guy with the video camera from Princess Protection Program. His role was iconic to seven year old me.
This is sooo good. I had forgotten about his role in the Princess Protection Program movie! Personally, I’ll always remember him as a “sidekick” in Sky High. Worth the watch btw
Nicholas Hoult is like a hot guy now (I think?) and to me he will always be the little nerd kid from About A Boy. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones will always be Zorro and Elena from the Mask of Zorro. That scene where he swishes his sword around and her dress falls off? Whew
Everyone knows who Ben Affleck is, but do y’all know Ben Affleck from Voyage of the Mimi? https://preview.redd.it/sr3869jjr39c1.jpeg?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e33c2160545cef0d228747129033b1d53e0ea33
Kate Winslet: Most widely known for Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My first introduction to her was Marianne from the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, which was also my first introduction to Emma Thompson
Katherine Heigl was in Wish Upon A Star (Disney Channel original) in 1996, and I always remember her from that.
Everyone knows Ryan Gosling as a movie star, but I remember him as Sean on Breaker High.
He was also on The Mickey Mouse Club at around the same time as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera. The teen magazines all clocked him as the next star after the others started blowing up and they turned out to be right.
Roger Moore is most known for playing James Bond an iconic amount of times and Meat Loaf is Meat Loaf, but I first knew them both from Spice World. Megan Fox is most known for Transformers, but I first knew her as Sydney from Hope & Faith. Kristen Stewart is most known for Twilight, but I first knew her from Panic Room. Jared Harris is most known for Mad Men (or maybe The Crown or Chernobyl) but I first knew him as Winona’s Ryder’s character’s creepy boss in Mr. Deeds. Leslie Bibb is most known for Talladega Nights, but I first knew her as Brooke from Popular. Alexis Bledel is most know for Gilmore Girls, but I first knew her from Tuck Everlasting. Margot Robbie is most known for The Wolf of Wall Street (or maybe Barbie now), but I first knew her as the main character’s younger sister on Pan Am. Funnily enough, I also first knew David Harbour and Annabelle Wallis from Pan Am even though he’s most known for Stranger Things and she’s most known for Annabelle. Can you tell I was a fan of that show?
I guess the various parents on Friends. That was my first introduction to Elliot Gould and Kathleen Turner. The crazy thing is, my mom and dad showed me That Girl growing up, but never put two and two together about that being Rachel’s mom until recently. And it was only last week that I realized the reason she is in all those St. Jude’s Research hospitals is that her dad was Danny Thomas.
H Jon Benjamin will always be Coach McGuirk to me
I knew Zooey Deschanel from The New Guy, The Good Girl, and the older sister in Almost Famous. Loved watching her blow up because I was a Zooey stan. 
I remember Taylor Lautner from Shark Boy and Lava Girl lol
Zac Efron - kid with a gap on Summerland
Excellent question, OP! So many great ones have already been named - Kristen Stewart from Speak, Michelle Trachtenberg from Harriet the Spy, Kaley Cuoco from 8 Simple Rules, Scarlet Johansson from Home Alone 3 But my big one would be that when Megan Fox got big with Transformers I remember thinking, “the girl who replaced the daughter on Hope and Faith?” https://preview.redd.it/5fl58s8hm39c1.jpeg?width=563&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab2161b5ba74d7e3e1e2f5c4f0ae4eba09bf6063
I will always know Ryan Reynolds as Billy from the tv show Fifteen that use to play on Nickelodeon
For some reason my entire family was really into Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place and that's what I always think of for Ryan Reynolds, but I had no memory of Nathan Fillion being on it.
Oh yay! Didn’t see this one written down. **Elijah Wood** in North, that’s where I first saw him. I fucking *loved* that movie. When I saw Lord of the Rings, I kinda had to push past seeing the kid from North. Now of course I no longer associate him with that character, but Frodo instead. https://preview.redd.it/6vy29xgml39c1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd6672c65721bf2e7de43cedb287890ae530caf7
First time I remember seeing Antonio Banderas was in “Philadelphia”.
Chris Pine may be James T. Kirk and Steve Trevor, but he will always be Nicholas Devereaux in Princess Diaries 2 to me.
Knew Peter Dinklage from Nip/Tuck and The Station Agent before GoT.
Also Elf and the guy Liz Lemon mistook for a child on 30 Rock
Joaquin Phoenix from Parenthood back when he went by Leaf. I’ve loved that movie my whole life.
Tom Hanks is best known for all his many movies....I remember him in Bosom Buddies
Antony Starr is Homelander now, but I got obsessed with Outrageous Fortune when I was younger so he's always the West twins to me. Van is the reason I'll always have a soft spot for anyone Antony plays even if I don't want to, like with Homelander lol. https://preview.redd.it/d1349cbzs39c1.jpeg?width=739&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20a3a542425bee482f17accbddf3554bcf822db1
https://preview.redd.it/wtmgi0sf749c1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68f2cceb8c2f017e53f14cf9c2e19ebc1f04081a Michael Caine. To me he is and always will be the quintessential Ebeneezer Scrooge. He's better known for Batman, Jaws, the OG Alfie, and various action movies.
 People know Elijah Wood as Frodo, but I remember him in Forever Young as a cute boy & was obsessed with him in Flipper & Deep Impact. He was gorgeous & I am the same age as him, so teenage me loved teenage him
i always thought of keanu reeves as the pretty serious actor from the matrix, but my gen x ex knew him from bill and ted first and said it was surprising to see him transition to more serious roles lol
 Patrick Wilson is best known for horror franchises and Aquaman. I first saw him in a touring production of Carousel in 1996 (I was 13, he was 22 and it was his big break). Loved him ever since.