Early Days

All of our favourite, well-weathered actors had to start somewhere. Although these movies weren't their first appearance, they show some young versions of now very familiar faces in Hollywood. 

1. Raising Arizona; Coen Brothers Click here to see trailer

Nicolas Cage plays the part of H.I - a young felon, and husband to policewoman, Ed (Holly Hunter). When Ed is so desperate for a baby, yet is unable to conceive, they instead conceive a devious plan to steal one. This is a classic Coen film, with the comedic twist on a dark situation. 

2. Holes; Andrew Davis Click here to see trailer

Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats was every tween girls crush in this classic mystery/adventure film. When Stanley gets in trouble with the law, he is sent to a detention camp for minors, but the camp is hiding some dark secrets and along with the help of his new friends he fights to discover the truth. 

3. Hide and Seek; John Polson Click here to see trailer

Dakota Fanning is a very creepy little girl, Emily, in this horror film. When her mum commits suicide, her dad (Robert De Niro) decides to move to the countryside for a fresh start. But, Emily seems to be haunted by an imaginary friend named Charlie who becomes increasingly violent. 

4. Thelma & Louise; Ridley Scott Click here to see trailer

Brad Pitt, although only in this film for a short while, made a huge impression as his part of Thelma's lover. When pair of friends Thelma and Louise (Geena Davis & Susan Sarandon) go on vacation, it quickly turns into a disaster when Louise kills a man. The pair flee to Mexico all while being chased by angry husbands and police. 

5. Panic Room; David Fincher Click here to see trailer

Kristen Stewart is young girl, Sarah, who has just moved into a new home with her mother (Jodie Foster). The house isn't just any ordinary home though, as it has a special room that is designed to be impenetrable in case of emergency. Very quickly, this room becomes valuable as they are held captive by robbers, including an also very young Jared Leto. 

 

6. The Doors; Oliver Stone Click here to see trailer

Meg Ryan plays the part of the infamous musician, Jim Morrison's (Val Kilmer) girlfriend in the biographical, drug fueled, music filled, film. Following the bands rise to fame and almost instant success in Los Angeles, the fame might be too much for Jim as he becomes involved in dangerous, illegal, and unusual activities. 

7. What's Eating Gilbert Grape; Lasse Hallstrom Click here to see trailer

Leonardo DiCaprio plays his part of Gilbert's (Johnny Depp) mentally impaired brother so well that audiences at the red carpet premiere were stunned to see that he wasn't impaired at all in real life. This sweet and sad film follows a small town family who struggles with daily life as their mother is so overweight she can't leave the house. Gilbert looks after the family, and puts his own happiness after theirs until he meets a sweet girl (Mary Steenburgen) who is travelling through the town. 

8. Murder by Numbers; Barbet Schroeder Click here to see trailer

Ryan Gosling before The Notebook can play a creepy murderer,  Richard, quite well. Friends Richard and Justin (Michael Pitt) think they are so clever that they can get away with murder and they set out to prove it. When the body of a young woman is found, a detective (Sandra Bullock) works night and day to prove the pair are the killers.