They may be big stars now, but once upon a time, they were toiling in obscurity just like the rest of us. Here’s a roundup of some of today’s big-deal actors in their surprisingly small-time first roles. Subscribe: http://goo.gl/9AGRm

Do you remember seeing these stars in any of these early films? Any other (not) notable first performances from famous actors you’d like to point out? What other aspects of movie history would you like to see us take on next?

THE LIST

George Clooney appeared as an extra at age 18 in TV miniseries “Centennial.” And when we say “extra,” we mean EXTRA.

Elijah Wood started acting at age 8, appearing first in a Paula Abdul video, then as a kid playing a video game in Back to the Future II.

Johnny Depp added to the body count in “Nightmare on Elm Street”

Owen Wilson first appeared in the short film version of “Bottle Rocket” which he co-wrote with Wes Anderson – and their careers have been linked ever since.

Ben Affleck was acting long before Good Will Hunting. He played a young boy on a whale research ship in a PBS educational series entitled “Voyage of the Mimi.”

Tom Hanks’ first role was in “He Knows You’re Alone” a low-budget slasher film. His character MAY have survived the film simply because Tom Hanks was the nicest guy ever.

Matthew McConaughey – had a couple of cameos in “Unsolved Mysteries” before landing a role as the burnout stuck in high school in “Dazed and Confused.”

Jean Claude Van Damme’s first role was credited as “Gay Karate Man” ‘Nuff said.

Jack Black wasn’t always… y’know Jack Black. He was the kid in the commercial for 8-bit video game commercial “Pitfall”

One of Morgan Freeman’s early roles was using his epic epic voice to help kids sound out words as “Easy Reader” on children’s show “The Electric Company.”

Our friends over at IndieWire put together some seriously inspired MOVIE LISTS: http://bit.ly/12x0UpF and CineFix is bringing ’em to life!