I've had that happen several times with Gary Cole. He's quite a good actor, and he also can do a decent job playing bad ass characters, such as one he played on an ep. of Karen Sisco and an upcoming TNT drama.

In terms of not recognizing them at the time, I didn't realize until after The Sopranos that James Gandolfini had appeared in many movies that I had seen, particularly Crimson Tide and True Romance.

I just recently noticed that Jack Black played Sean Penn's younger brother in Dead Man Walking.

I just now realized that President Whitmore's (Bill Pullman's) daughter in Independence Day is the same girl that plays Ann Veal (Mae Whitman), AKA Egg, George Michael's girlfriend on Arrested Developement. Never would have guessed that one.

Well, I'll go with Jared Leto, specifically Fight Club and Panic Room.

It's only later on that I heard he has a fetish for self mutiliation in his films

James Karen in Poltergeist. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it. For years, until the movie came out, I had known him as the commercial pitchman for Pathmark Supermarkets. (He looks a lot friendlier when he wears those horn-rimmed glasses.)

sean penn in carlito's way

Mischa Barton as the "girl getting poisoned" in The Sixth Sense. I hadn't seen the movie since it came out, but watched most of it on T.V. the other night and recognized her on my second viewing of the film.

Yeah, I remember him in that too....its funny cause a few years ago, when it was being replayed here on a local channel, the commercials were advertising it as a clint eastwood/jim carrey movie, thought jim's part is very, very small.

Mel Gibson in the movie version of "The Singing Detective". I knew he was in the movie too, but it didn't come to me when his character first appeared.

I watched that entire film without realizing that Jack Nicholson was also playing the part of the Vegas cowboy.

this sounds like pure genius. i'm thinking cops and robbersons meets the wild west.

I was watching road trip last night and realized that the girl that was blind is the same girl that plays Clhoe on 24.

When watching Season 2 of Buck Rogers months back I noticed Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer on 24) was on the bridge crew of the Explorer.

Here's another Dennis Haysbert one for me -- I didn't realize until very recently that he was Pedro Cerrano ("Curveball, bats are afraid") from "Major League".

Heather Graham playing the Drew Barrymore part near the beginning on Scream 2

I can't believe nobody spotted - or mentioned - Meryl Streep as a very old rabbi in the opening scene of the TV mini-series Angels in America.

I just recently watched a few episodes of Roseanne and lo and behold...
Melora Walters as Debbie one of the hairdressers when Ro worked in the beauty parlor.

Victor Garber

Kick ass spy daddy Jack Bristow on "Alias"

and

Gentlemen that went down with the ship in "Titanic"

and

Jesus in "Godspell"

So I guess that means we get a kick ass gentlemanly Jesus.......

speaking of alias, i just watched JFK recently and noticed that the guy who plays sloan has a 5 second part as a witness.

Ron Rifkin was also in an old scifi film called Silent Running.

Wasn't he Leaf Phoenix back then though.

I was watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer(the movie) and noticed Ben Affleck as one of the Basketball players.
David Boreanaz was Kelly's boyfriend in the episode where the family takes her to the movies on her birthday.

The bad Russian Cop dude from the Bourne Supremacy, he is the same dude from the Lord of the Rings, Eomer, and the same dude in Riddick... That dude looked very different in all 3 movies. DUDE!

Dude Alert!

Maybe someone already said it, but...

Warren in "Theres something about Mary" was Dan in "Deadwood".

In honor of Brock Peters passing, Brock Peters in Star Trek 4. Just found out.