YardBarker
20 actors from your favorite childhood movies you didn’t know were superstars
By Acacia Deadrick
November 7, 2024
It is wild that these icons acted in children’s movies.
1 of 20
Joe Pesci, ‘Home Alone’
20th Century Fox
If you grew up watching Home Alone every Christmas, it’s pretty possible you came to know Joe Pesci through that film rather than Raging Bull or Goodfellas. To ‘90s kids, Pesci is just one of the Wet Bandits.
2 of 20
Debbie Reynolds, ‘Halloweentown’
Singer-White Entertainment
Debbie Reynolds agreed to star in Halloweentown because she wanted to try television, but it’s still confounding that a star like herself would do a series of made-for-TV Disney movies late in her career. Little did ‘90s and ‘00s kids know that the grandma from Halloweentown is a literal icon.
3 of 20
James Caan, ‘Elf’
New Line Cinema
If you watched Elf before watching Misery or The Godfather, you probably watched the Oscar winners and thought, “Hey, it’s the dad from Elf.” Cinephiles would scold you for such a thought, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
4 of 20
Dustin Hoffman, ‘Hook’
Amblin Entertainment
Hook’s cast is stacked with talent. If you knew that Dustin Hoffman was a mega-star while watching it as a kid, you might not have known about Robin Williams, Maggie Smith, Phil Collins, or Julia Roberts.
5 of 20
Glenn Close, ‘101 Dalmatians’
Walt Disney Pictures
Unless you snuck into the living room while your parents were watching Fatal Attraction or Dangerous Liaisons, you probably had no idea who Glenn Close was when watching 101 Dalmatians. As it turns out, Cruella de Vil was played by one of the greatest actresses of all time.
6 of 20
Antonio Banderas, ‘Spy Kids’
Troublemaker Studios
Almost all of the adults in Spy Kids are superstars. It’s crazy that Antonio Banderas, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub, Teri Hatcher, and Danny Trejo all signed on to be in the same children’s movie.
7 of 20
James Earl Jones, ‘The Sandlot’
Island World
Once James Earl Jones’ career got going, he didn’t have trouble finding work. He didn’t need to play a supporting role in a movie for kids. But he chose to be part of The Sandlot, so an entire generation of kids was introduced to an icon.
8 of 20
Danny Glover, ‘Angels in the Outfield’
Walt Disney Pictures
If you’ve rewatched Angels in the Outfield recently, there’s a high chance you were caught off guard by all the famous faces in the cast. Danny Glover, Brenda Fricker, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey, and Dermot Mulroney are all in the film. Granted not all were superstars when it was made, but it’s still a crazy assemblage of talent.
9 of 20′
Jim Carrey, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’
Nickelodeon Movies
The adults in A Series of Unfortunate Events are another crazy assemblage of talent. Once you get past Jim Carrey playing the lead, you find Meryl Streep, Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jude Law in this children’s movie.
10 of 20
Sigourney Weaver, ‘Holes’
Walt Disney Pictures
Adults will star in a children’s movie if it’s an adaptation of a respected book, as evidenced by Holes . The award-winning children’s book got Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Henry Winkler, Patricia Arquette, and freaking Eartha Kitt to co-star in the same film.
11 of 20
Geena Davis, ‘Stuart Little’
Columbia Pictures
If you watched Stuart Little as a kid, you probably had no idea that the mother in the film was played by Oscar-winner Geena Davis of A League of Their Own and Thelma & Louise fame. The film also featured a pre-House Hugh Laurie and a post-Back to the Future Michael J. Fox as the voice of the titular mouse.
12 of 20
Michael Caine, ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’
Walt Disney Pictures
Any reasonable person would wonder why two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine would want to star in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Was he short on work? Did he think it would be his only chance to play such an iconic character? Caine is a fan of the muppets and wants to do something his daughter would like.
13 of 20
Danny DeVito, ‘Matilda’
TriStar Pictures
Remember what was said about adult actors and screen adaptations of famous children’s books? Being such an iconic book, Matilda made Danny DeVito want to star in and direct the beloved film adaptation.
14 of 20
Jamie Lee Curtis, ‘Freaky Friday’
Walt Disney Pictures
If you watched Freaky Friday as a kid, you were probably far more familiar with Lindsay Lohan and Chad Michael Murray than with Jamie Lee Curtis. But no shame. Murray and Lohan are icons of the early ‘00s.
15 of 20
Eddie Murphy, ‘The Haunted Mansion’
Walt Disney Pictures
The Haunted Mansion was probably the first introduction of many kids to Eddie Murphy, and all of them were likely just interested in watching a Halloween movie. Murphy has done plenty of children’s movies since then, but this was one of his first big ones.
16 of 20
Frances McDormand, ‘Madeline’
TriStar Pictures
Frances McDormand has four Oscars. There’s no way anyone who watched Madeline as a child was aware of the greatness on their screen at the time.
17 of 20
Arnold Schwarzenegger, ‘Kindergarten Cop’
Imagine Entertainment
Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for his roles in dazzling action films. But as it turns out, his favorite role of all time was in Kindergarten Cop. The Terminator said he loved working with the children in the cast.
18 of 20
Robin Williams, ‘Jumanji’
TriStar Pictures
There are loads of films that ‘90s and ‘00s kids grew up on that starred Robin Williams. He was in Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, and Aladdin — and none of the kids knew that they were bearing witness to a master at work.
19 of 20
Bette Midler, ‘Hocus Pocus’
Walt Disney Pictures
When watching Hocus Pocus as an adult, it’s plain to see that icons Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker are two of the three Sanderson sisters. Still, if you watched it as a kid, you had no idea that one of the stars of Beaches and (depending on when you first saw it) Carrie Bradshaw were on your TV screen.
20 of 20
Julie Andrews, ‘The Princess Diaries’
Walt Disney Pictures
For kids, Julie Andrews was just the queen from The Princess Diaries. But for their parents, that was Maria from The Sound of Music. It was Mary Poppins. It was the living legend, Julie Andrews.
