10 Huge Actors You Didn't Notice As Extras In Movies

Being an actor is hard work, and making a big dent on the movie industry takes years of heavy grafting and sacrifice.

Few movie stars are able to land a perfect role right out the gate, and even those who seem to have appeared from nowhere to universal acclaim have most likely travelled a long and difficult road to get where they wanted to be.

For many of our favourite actors, the best way to get into the cinematic big leagues is by taking small but important jobs around set, such as helping with props, sound production, set design and so on.

But perhaps the most common window into the Hollywood machine is through working as an extra - typically silent background actors who fill-out densely populated scenes within films, TV shows and stage productions.

Film extras are a vital part of all modern movies, and many great stars can be found early in their careers, briefly appearing in big projects before making a proper name for themselves.

With that in mind, here are 10 huge actors you didn't notice as extras in movies.

Beloved martial artist and actor Jackie Chan only briefly appears in the Bruce Lee action classic Enter the Dragon, and his appearance is both memorable but easy to miss.

Credited only as "Thug in Prison", Chan turns up partway through the movie when Bruce Lee's vengeful protagonist is set-upon by an onslaught of nameless goons under the employ of the film's vile villain Mr Han.

Appearing for a split second to get Lee into a bear hug before being effortlessly overpowered and losing his life to a swift neck snap, Chan's screentime is fleeting, but serves as a great reminder of where the megastar got his start.

Much of Chan's early career output found him working as a fight scene extra (he also appeared in another Lee classic, Fists of Fury), and choreographer, with the vast majority of his characters meeting quick and brutal deaths.