10 Actors Who Still Haven't Outdone Their Debut Performances

3. Patrick Fugit - Almost Famous

Patrick Fugit was only a teenager when he was asked to star in Cameron Crowe's most autobiographical project, Almost Famous. This was huge. After all, Crowe hadn't disappointed us with Elizabethtown and We Bought a Zoo yet, and the idea of him recounting his own teenage experiences as a traveling reporter for Rolling Stones was intriguing. But the real trick in this kind of project is finding a young actor who can be surrounding by a troupe of larger than life characters and not fade too much into the background. Fugit nails it. With a combination of curiosity, trepidation, and frustration, he manages to avoid being a spectator, even though his job in the film is to be a spectator. He quietly observes the circus, with all the rock stars and the groupies (sorry, Band Aids), but we can't take our eyes off him. That is a major achievement for a 17-year-old kid in his first real film role, especially considering that he's appearing alongside the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Crudup, and Frances McDormand, who can act circles around other actors even on their worst days.