10 Actors You Forgot Were In HUGE Movies

Quite how Vin Diesel convinced Universal to cough up $120 million for this sequel to his modesty successful sci-fi cult classic Pitch Black is anyone's guess, but it sure did allow the film to secure the talents of some terrific actors.

Beyond Diesel returning, the supporting cast included Karl Urban, Thandie Newton, and Judi Dench.

You heard that right - seven-time Oscar nominee, one-time winner, and all-around gem of the film industry Judi Dench took the role of Air Elemental Aereon in the big-budget sci-fi actioner, reportedly at the request of Diesel himself, who "wooed" the actress by sending her a huge bouquet of flowers.

Nobody will argue that this was anything but a paycheck role for Dench, and given the film's stonkingly bloated budget, it's fair to assume she was paid handsomely in order to bring some prestige to the blockbuster.

Beyond that, she's pretty much just here to drop exposition in her unmistakable plummy twang.

Dench almost immediately went back to the Bond films and period dramas after this, so her involvement in Riddick felt more like a glitch in The Matrix than anything. Until Artemis Fowl, anyway.