Have you ever been watching a movie or TV show and suddenly realize that you know one of the actors from somewhere? Or the opposite; watching a random old movie and realize that a famous actor was in it before they were famous? Most actors start out as the little guy, appearing in commercials or taking on small parts with very few scenes and little dialogue.
Some started out as guest stars on popular TV shows or soap operas or appeared in made-for-TV movies. Sometimes they are easy to recognize, sometimes it takes a bit of squinting and maybe even a bit of Googling. Here is a list of 10 actors who you may be surprised to see and hear that they starred in Lifetime network movies before, in between, or after you first became familiar with their faces. Some of these movies you may have even seen already and didn’t recognize or remember that these actors were in them.
1) Reese Witherspoon: Wildflower
Before she was Legally Blonde, the lead in romantic comedy after romantic comedy, or singing her heart out alongside Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, Reese Witherspoon appeared in this 1991 Lifetime movie as Ellie, a young girl, who along with her brother, end up discovering and befriending a young, abused, partly deaf girl who is hiding from her stepfather in a cabin deep in the woods near their house.
2) Zac Efron- Miracle Run
Before he became a Disney-branded household name and later a mega heartthrob for women young and old alike, in 2004 Zac Efron starred in Miracle Run as Stephen, one half of a pair of autistic twin boys whose mother made it her mission to continuously fight and advocate for equality and understanding for her sons and autism as a disease. The movie is also high ranked as one of the best lifetime movies streaming on Netflix.
3) Maya Rudolph- The Devil’s Child
Before she was keeping everyone in stitches as a lead on Saturday Night Live and putting the bride in Bridesmaids, Maya Rudolph had a bit part in this 1997 movie as Holly, a young college student having an affair with her professor, who also happens to be the devil.
4)Keri Russell- The Babysitter’s Seduction
Before she was the ultimate girl next door with those gorgeous curly locks on Felicity and then later the ultimate femme fatale on The Americans, Keri Russell appeared in this 1996 Lifetime movie as Michelle, the teen-aged babysitter who ends up not only being seduced by her much older male employer, but also implicated in the murder of his wife.
5) Mark Ruffalo- On the Second Day of Christmas
Before he turned green and you realized that you wouldn’t like him when he is angry as the Incredible Hulk, Ruffalo played Bert in this 1997 movie, a department store security guard who takes responsibility for a woman and her niece who are caught trying to steal from the store.
6)Kristen Bell- Gracie’s Choice
Before she was private investigating as Veronica Mars or got herself Frozen, Kristen Bell starred in this 2004 movie as Gracie, a young girl who takes on the role of raising her sister and three younger brothers after her drug and alcohol-addled mother proves that she cannot do it herself.
7) Terry O’Quinn- My Stepson, My Lover
Before he got Lost or Blacklist-ed, Terry O’Quinn starred in this 1997 movie as Richard Cory, a newly married, yet inattentive and harsh man whose new wife strikes up a relationship with a younger man, who just so happens to be his son.
8)Paul Dano- Too Young to Be a Dad
Before he was Little Miss Sunshine’s brother or the lead in War & Peace, Paul Dano starred in this 2002 movie as Matt Freeman, a fifteen-year-old boy who finds himself faced with the difficult decision of figuring out whether or not he wants to take care of the child he and a classmate are about to have or give it up for adoption.
9) Sarah Paulson- A Christmas Wedding
Before she was portraying lead prosecutor Marcia Clark during the O.J. Simpson trial or starring in almost every season of American Horror Story, Sarah Paulson played Emily in this 2006 movie, a bride-to-be whose busy work schedule does not allow her time to plan her wedding; instead she must depend on her fiancé to put together the perfect Christmas wedding; that is, if the weather doesn’t stand in the way.
10)Fred Savage: No One Would Tell
Fresh off his stint as good guy Kevin Arnold on the Wonder Years, in 1996, Fred Savage went on to play Bobby, a high school jock and not very good guy at all who physically and emotionally abuses his girlfriend. This one is a double whammy as the girlfriend in this movie is played by Candace Cameron, who was fresh off her stint on Full House.
These are just a few of the many actors who have appeared in Lifetime movies during the course of their careers. There are many, many more to be spotted and probably a lot of future ones who are just having their debuts now. You just have to be able to spot them.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/62810/15-celebrities-who-have-starred-lifetime-movies
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/g5628/famous-actors-in-lifetime-movies/
