Star Wars: 10 Obscure Movie Secrets That Took Years To Discover
4. Richard Armitage In The Phantom Menace
More than ten years after the release of The Phantom Menace, Richard Armitage got his big break in the Hobbit trilogy, starring as the disinherited dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield. It was around this time that people started noticing a certain background extra from the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
When The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, no one would have thought to notice the nondescript Naboo fighter-pilot in the background of a scene - after all, this was Armitage's first ever feature role. Even the actor himself had trouble spotting himself in the movie, after apparently having his only line cut, and his part reduced significantly.
Ironically for a guy who made his name playing a dwarf, Armitage claimed he was hired only because he was "tall and lanky".
After the actor become something of a household name, he revealed he'd briefly appeared in Star Wars, and eagle-eyed fans began scouring the movie for him. He's distinctive dwarfish features can be spotted peering over the the shoulder of Handmaiden Sabé (Keira Knightley), during the Naboo/Gungan alliance talks.