The “Star Wars” films are full of secret cameos, soon-to-be-famous actors in small bit parts, and well-known faces behind alien masks…
The “Star Wars” films are full of secret cameos, soon-to-be-famous actors in small bit parts, and well-known faces behind alien masks and makeups. Here are 23 big names hidden throughout the franchise you might not have known about.
For more features and deep dives into the world of “Star Wars” and the culture surrounding it, be sure to check out IMDb’s “Star Wars” hub.
Daniel Craig (“The Force Awakens”)
It was something of a news item at the time, but James Bond slipped in a secret cameo in the first “Star Wars” film in a decade — as a stormtrooper. He’s the guard that Rei manages to Jedi mind trick into releasing her.
Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz (“The Force Awakens”)
You’d think the last thing a droid like BB-8 would require is a voice, given that he’s a robot and speaks in bleeps and bloops. But to get the sound and personality just right, director J. Abrams enlisted comedians Bill Hader (formerly of “SNL”) and Ben Schwartz (well-known for playing Jean-Ralphio on “Parks and Rec”).
Thomas Brodie-Sangster (“The Force Awakens”)
“Game of Thrones” might have noticed a familiar First Order officer during shots of the bridge of the Starkiller Base. It was Jojen Reed, Bran Stark’s loyal friend, who also plays Newt in the “Maze Runner” franchise..
Rose Byrne (“Attack of the Clones”)
Before she was a mainstay of the “Insidious” movies alongside Patrick Wilson or had joined the “X-Men” franchise as CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert, Rose Byrne was one of the handmaidens serving Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) in the “Star Wars” prequels. Specifically, she was Dormé, who accompanied Padmé to Coruscant to do government things.
Keira Knightley (“The Phantom Menace”)
Knightley wasn’t just any handmaiden in “The Phantom Menace” — she was the handmaiden. Serving as the decoy for the real queen, Knightley was the actress people thought was Amidala for half the movie, before Natalie Portman’s Padmé revealed her true identity.
Sofia Coppola (“The Phantom Menace”)
There really were a mess of these handmaidens. Before she was a full-time director, Sofia Coppola picked up a few small acting gigs, including the handmaiden Saché in “The Phantom Menace.” Just a few years after the 1999 movie, in 2003, Coppola would pick up a Best Director Academy Award nomination for “Lost in Translation.”
Joel Edgerton (“Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith”)
Luke’s moisture-farming, humorless uncle Owen Lars was young once, but he was never not a guy who stood around a crappy homestead on Tatooine. In the prequel movies, the role was picked up by Joel Edgerton of “Loving” and “The Great Gatsby.”
Billie Lourd (“The Force Awakens”)
Billie Lourd sneaked into Lucasfilm’s revival of “Star Wars” as Lt. Connix, one of the Resistance fighters running tactical machinery in the base of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Known for her hilarious turn as Chanel No. 3 on the horror-comedy series “Scream Queens,” she’s also Fisher’s daughter.
John Ratzenberger (“The Empire Strikes Back”)
Ratzenberger is best remembered as know-it-all postman Cliff Clavin from “Cheers,” or maybe his numerous voice roles in Pixar movies. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Ratzenberger is one of the Rebel officers hanging around Echo Base on Hoth with Princess Leia and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).
Tony Cox (“Return of the Jedi”)
In an Ewok suit, you’d never know Tony Cox appeared in “Return of the Jedi.” He wouldn’t really show off his acting chops until comedies like “Bad Santa,” where he was Billy Bob Thornton’s much-smarter mall-robbing accomplice and Christmas elf, and “Me, Myself and Irene.”
Dominic West (“The Phantom Menace”)
The prequel trilogy was filled with actors who would go on to do great things, but who were mostly filling small or background roles in the “Star Wars” universe. Dominic West ‘s character in “The Phantom Menace” was an otherwise nondescript member of Queen Amidala’s palace guard — nothing so interesting as his later turn as Jimmy McNulty on HBO’s “The Wire.”
Julian Glover (“The Empire Strikes Back”) Julian Glover ‘s General Veers is probably the most competent officer available to Darth Vader as wanders the galaxy looking for the Rebels and Luke Skywalker. He’d be decidedly less competent as Grand Maester Pycelle on “Game of Thrones,” but decidedly more evil as Nazi collaborator Walter Donovan in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Richard Armitage (“The Phantom Menace”)
Blink and you’d miss Richard Armitage ‘s small background role among the guards on Naboo. Although, it’s tough to recognize him without the lustrous locks Armitage sported in “The Hobbit” as Thorin Oakenshield, or the creepy teeth from his turn as killer Francis Dolarhyde in “Hannibal” Season 3 on NBC.
Deep Roy (“Return of the Jedi”)
It’s easiest to remember Deep Roy in the Johnny Depp-starring “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” since Roy played every orange oompa-loompa in that movie. In “Return of the Jedi,” he was both an Ewok and the puffy alien band member Droopy McCool in Jabba’s Palace. Deep Roy also worked on “The Empire Strikes Back,” acting as a stand-in for the muppet Yoda.
Simon Pegg (“The Force Awakens”)
Another secret cameo, Simon Pegg is covered in alien costume work as the junk dealer Unkar Plutt on Jakku. He’s the guy who gives Rei less than what her salvage is probably worth.
Bai Ling (“Revenge of the Sith”)
Bai Ling actually doesn’t appear in “Revenge of the Sith,” but she was supposed to. Her scene as Senator Bana Breemu was cut from the film. But there are things you definitely have seen her in, including “Crank: High Voltage,” “The Crow” and “Entourage.”
Peter Serafinowicz (“The Phantom Menace”)
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will recognize Peter Seafinowicz for his turn as untrusting Nova Corps officer Garthan Saal in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” He didn’t appear in “The Phantom Menace,” but provided the gravely, frightening voice of Darth Maul (the rest of whom was played by Ray Park), as well as for a gungan warrior and a battle droid.
Harriet Walter (“The Force Awakens”)
Playing a Resistance medic who helps out Chewbacca, “Downton Abbey” alumna Harriet Walter gets a short but sweet cameo in “The Force Awakens.” She actually has one of the movie’s funnier moments as she talks to Chewie about how scary his ordeal must have been.
Treat Williams (“The Empire Strikes Back”)
When you’re Treat Williams, you can wander onto the set of “The Empire Strikes Back” and find yourself in the movie. Williams reportedly dropped by England’s Elstree Studios set, where the movie was being filmed, to visit Carrie Fisher.
