You have to start somewhere, right? We're so used to seeing our favorite Hollywood actors in major blockbuster films that it's often easy to forget where they came from. Before Michael Fassbender was wreaking havoc as young Magneto, he was showing off his rippling muscles in 300. Before Jared Leto snagged an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, he was axed to death by Christian Bale in American Psycho. And before Johnny Depp became Jack Sparrow and all his other crazy characters, Freddy Krueger was haunting his dreams. Wondering who else was in a popular movie without you even realizing it? Keep scrolling, and prepare to have your mind blown. Source: Lionsgate, Warner Bros.
If you can pull your eyes away from his abs for just a second, you'll see it's totally him.
Justin Long and Britney Spears totally shared a bed. Definitely something you'd never expect to say.
Ian Somerhalder was only 22. He hadn't quite mastered the smolder he now uses in The Vampire Diaries.
The original came out in 1985! Raise your hand if you remember how good Johnny Depp looked in that half shirt.
What's that, you say? One more for the road?
You're welcome.
That's right. In the 2002 Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire, Manganiello played Flash, and he had just as much wolf rage as he does on True Blood.
It's a far cry from his Academy Award-winning performance as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.
Truth be told, Andrew Garfield pulls off ye olde English garb almost as well as he pulls off the Spider-Man suit.
It might have only been a cameo, but it was still absolutely epic. There are no words.
And, of course, he had a hot shirtless scene. You know who else was in Angels in the Outfield? Adrien Brody.
There he is!
Yep, before he was stripping down in Magic Mike, Matt Bomer was a flight attendant in Flightplan.
But that's not all. You know who else was in Zoolander for like, one second?
Oh, yes. That's James Marsden.
This movie came out just one year before Arrested Development first premiered.
Trying to figure out what else he's from? Diego was Mike Faber, Brody's best friend on Homeland. He's also one of the stars of Blacklist.
The same year The Office premiered, John Krasinski was rockin' a crew cut and glasses.
It may seem obvious, but with so many famous faces in the film, it's easy to forget that Tom Hiddleston was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Even more shocking: Corey Stoll was Ernest Hemingway.
Maybe you're like, "I don't even know who that is." Well, if you take away his hair, you'd realize he plays Peter Russo on House of Cards.
Boom. Source: Netflix
Before he invented Facebook in The Social Network, he was trapped in an M. Night Shyamalan movie.
Those baby blues were just as mesmerizing when he was a kid.
Everyone remembers Thelma & Louise so intensely that they often skim right over stoner Brad.
It's a whole new side of Captain America. And let's not forget Not Another Teen Movie also features How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor.
There he is as the tour guide!
Seth Rogen is almost unrecognizable as one of the bullies who terrorizes Donnie Darko. Source: New Market Films
Bonus: did you recognize Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, aka Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones, on the right?
Everyone's so caught up in Matthew McConaughey and his iconic "alright, alright, alright" that they totally forget about Ben — with a paddle.
That's not the only weird Justin Theroux role we've suddenly remembered, either.
We've all spent so much time wondering which character we are that we totally missed Jason Segel.
Yep, before Benedict Cumberbatch's sexiness was blowing us away, he was sporting a creepy mustache in Atonement.
Can you believe this is the same man who would later play Superman?
With hair like that, we're totally starting to see why he was Gossip Girl.
Yep, before The Daily Show, Jon Stewart was acting alongside Adam Sandler.
Like, he basically plays the same character as he does in The Big Bang Theory.
After Doogie Howser, M.D. but before How I Met Your Mother, there was this.
It's hard to believe this came out only two years before Thor.
This came out in 1989, which means Joaquin Phoenix has been making movies for 25 years!
You never would have guessed he'd later be nominated for two Oscars.
The year was 1989, and Elijah Wood was 8 years old. Just look at him, and try not to melt.
Back in 2000, Aaron Paul was causing mischief as Floyd.
Paul Rudd in Clueless is totally duh, but we bet you forgot he was an astronaut in Romeo + Juliet.