100 Big Screen Debuts
It's kind of fun to see where it all began for the big stars of the silver screen. So here's a list of 100 films which feature the first credited (for a part) appearance on the big screen of people who have come to world wide fame.
The films are in order of ratings on the site (at the time the list was made/last edited), highest rated first.
The films are in order of ratings on the site (at the time the list was made/last edited), highest rated first.
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100 titles
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsPeter O'TooleJodie WhittakerLeslie PhillipsLife for a pair of veteran actors gets turned upside down after they meet a brash teenager.Film debut of Jodie Whittaker (as Jessie)
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.Film debut of Kelly Macdonald (as Diane)
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.Film debut of Natalie Portman (as Mathilda)
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.Film debut of Alan Rickman (as Hans Gruber)
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.Film debut of two great British actors: Anthony Hopkins as Richard the Lionhearted, son to Peter O'Toole's Henry II and the Katharine Hepburn's Eleanor of Aquitaine. And future 007 star Timothy Dalton as the young King Philip of France.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Film debut of Sigourney Weaver (as Alvy's date outside the theater)
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Film debut of Daniel Day-Lewis (as Colin)
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Film debut of Gene Wilder (as Eugene Grizzard)
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.Film debut of Michael Fassbender (as Stelios)
- DirectorJohn MackenzieStarsBob HoskinsHelen MirrenPaul FreemanAn up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.Film debut of Pierce Brosnan (as 1st Irishman)
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyEdward NortonAn altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.Film debut of Edward Norton (as Aaron)
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.Film debut of Matthew McConaughey (as Wooderson)
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiKaren AllenTom HulceAt a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.Film debut of John Belushi (as John Blutarsky) and Kevin Bacon (as Chip Diller)
- DirectorTom DiCilloStarsSteve BuscemiCatherine KeenerDermot MulroneyThis ultimate tribute to all independent filmmakers takes place during one day on the set of a non-budget movie.Film debut of Peter Dinklage (as Tito)
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBarbra StreisandOmar SharifKay MedfordThe life of Fanny Brice, famed comedienne and entertainer of the early 1900s. We see her rise to fame as a Ziegfeld girl, subsequent career, and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Nick Arnstein.Film debut of Barbra Streisand (as Fanny Brice)
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.Film debut of Johnny Depp (as Glen Lantz)
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.Film debut of Reese Witherspoon (as Dani Trant)
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.Film debut of Kate Winslet (as Juliet Holme)
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.Film debut of Viggo Mortensen (as Moses Hochleitner)
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsMaggie SmithHelena Bonham CarterDenholm ElliottLucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?Film debut of Helena Bonham Carter (as Lucy Honeychurch)
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsJane FondaVanessa RedgraveJason RobardsAt the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.Film debut of Meryl Streep (as Anne Marie)
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsRichard HarrisJohn HurtSean BeanWhen a field (which has been farmed by the McCabe family for generations) goes up for auction, the patriarch of the McCabe family will stop at nothing to prevent a rich American from buying it.Film debut of Brendan Gleeson (as Quarryman)
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroLeonardo DiCaprioEllen BarkinThe story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.Film debut of Tobey Maguire (as Chuck Bolger)
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchBilly ConnollyGeoffrey PalmerWhen Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert dies, she finds solace in her trusted servant, Mr. John Brown, but their relationship also brings scandal and turmoil.Film debut of Gerard Butler (as Archie Brown)
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsSean PennJennifer Jason LeighJudge ReinholdA group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.Film debut of Nicolas Cage (as Brad's Bud)