 Starring: Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
Director: Cameron Crowe
Year Of Release: 2000
Plot: 15-year-old William Miller is about to graduate high school (he was skipped ahead two years) and his mother is very keen for him to become a lawyer. However William loves rock ‘n’ roll and manages to get a commission from Rolling Stone to follow the up and coming band Stillwater on the road and write a feature about them. Coming face-to-face with the world of rock is both better and worse than William expected, as he forges an uneasy friendship with guitarist Russell and falls for ‘band aid’ Penny Lane. |
Director Cameron Crowe seems to have an impressive ability to spot up and coming stars long before they break out into the public consciousness. I hadn’t watched Almost Famous for a few years until I put it in the DVD player in preparation for this feature, and while I remembered most of the main actors, it was a bit of a surprise to see how many of the supporting cast, who were barely known when the film came out in 2000, are now much bigger names.
Obviously the film was Kate Hudson’s big break and the best thing she’s ever done, but it’s not just her who whose star has risen since the movie came out. In the first five minutes, a pre-teen Michael Angarano (The Forbidden Kingdom, Gentlemen Broncos) shows up playing a young version of William Miller. His sister is played by (500) Days Of Summer star Zooey Dechanel in only her second film role (her first was in Lawrence Kasdan’s underrated Mumford). It’s a theme that runs through the entire film, as the movie also features Jason Lee (who’d also been in Mumford), who up until that point was purely known for appearing in a few of Kevin Smith’s films, but is now a bona fide star.
You can also count Choke and Hostel: Part II star Bijou Phillips, The Office’s Rainn Wilson, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder’s Jay Baruchel and NCIS actress Pauley Perrette, all of whom made one of their very first screen appearances in the movie. Oh, and don’t forget Philip Seymour Hoffman, who’s star was rising, but certainly wasn’t as well known then as he is now. In fact the only person who’s career isn’t much bigger know than it was back than is the main star Patrick Fugit, although he’s still plugging away and will be seen soon in Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.
However it’s not just Almost Famous that shows Cameron Crowe’s impressive ability to spot stars of the future. His first movie, Say Anything..., not only features a young John Cusack (who was admittedly already on the road to stardom by them), but was also one of Entourage star Jeremy Piven’s very first movie roles. Incidentally Dan ‘Homer Simpson’ Castellaneta get an uncredited part in the film, which was only the second movie he’d ever appeared in, although he’s already started voicing Homer on The Tracey Ullman Show by that point.
Crowe’s next movie, Singles, features Malcolm In The Middle Star Christopher Masterson in his second screen role, as well as a pre-fame Paul Giammatti in a part so small it’s only credited as ‘Kissing Man’. Jerry Maguire, of course, is the film that brought Renee Zellweger to stardom, while there’s also a blink and you’ll miss it roles for a pre-Ally McBeal Lucy Liu and a pre-CSI: Miami Emily Procter.
Even Vanilla Sky has Michael Shannon long before he was Oscar nominated for Revolutionary Road. It’s an immensely impressive track record in finding immensely talented actors before they become famous, and there are very few directors where nearly every movie they’ve ever made have featured some of the very first screen roles of numerous people who would go on to have much bigger screen and TV careers. In fact, it suggests if you want to become a star, the best thing to do is send your CV to Cameron Crowe now.
TIM ISAAC
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