10+ Major Hollywood Celebrities That You Probably Didn't Notice Were In Star Wars Films

It doesn't need to be May the Fourth for these trivia fun facts to get you excited.

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• March 26, 2022

Star Wars has cemented itself as one of the most iconic film series of our time. It has shaped the cultural landscape of science fiction films for this generation and the generations to come.

In case you wanted to feel old, the first Star Wars movie was released on May 25, 1977. Nearly 45 years later, it is still relevant and we are still talking about them.

When Revenge of the Sith was theatrically released in 2005, fans worldwide queued on the streets thinking it was the end of the saga. More than a decade later, George Lucas has proven everyone wrong.

We have new films, new series, animated and live-action, and even Lego Star Wars video games. One thing is for sure, actors who starred in the films have become household names.

The movies have made them Hollywood A-listers who are in a league of their own. Actors like Mark Hamill, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Carrie Fisher, Ewan McGregor, Harrison Ford, and James Earl Jones will forever be associated with these generation-defining films.

However, there are some actors that were in the Star Wars films that we didn't know or really noticed. If you've seen the movies multiple times then you probably know that these actors were there but in case you haven't seen them, then this list will be helpful.

We swear there's no Jedi mind trick in this intriguing list. These actors were really in the movies, we just haven't noticed them because they were either wearing stormtrooper gear or heavily buried under prosthetic makeup.

1. Keira Knightley (Sabé)

Keira Knightley played Queen Padmé Amidala's decoy in Episode 1: Phantom Menace. Although she was only 12 years old during the filming, the young actress looked eerily like Natalie Portman who played the real Queen Amidala.

They looked so much alike that their own mothers couldn't distinguish who was who when they donned the full regalia. Knightley's voice was dubbed over during post-production to complete the transformation.

2. Daniel Craig (stormtrooper)

The Force Awakens and Specter (A James Bond movie) were filming in the same studio and Daniel Craig wasted no time trying to score a cameo. He was very successful but no one really noticed that 007 was under one of those gears.

After learning that England's most powerful weapon played a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens, fans lovingly gave him the stormtrooper number JB-007. Only Daniel Craig can be a spy and a space soldier in one day.

3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Slowen Lo)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt played (voiced) the character known as Slowen Lo in The Last Jedi. He warned Rose and Finn not to leave their ship on the beach because if they do, he will call the authorities.

He nabbed the cameo since he has worked with director Rian Johnson before in Looper and Brick. This was not Joseph Gordon-Levitt's first time playing a Star Wars character; he had attended the premiere of The Force Awakens dressed as Yoda.

4. Rose Byrne (Dormé)

The actress was well-known in Australia when she got the role of Dormé in Attack of The Clones. Despite playing Padmé Amidala’s maid, the actress admits that she is not a fan of the franchise.

5. Simon Pegg (Unkar Plutt)

The Shaun of the Dead actor played one of the newer characters introduced in The Force Awakens. He played Unkar Plutt, a junk trader, who leads a group of thugs and independent contractors.

He is a huge Star Wars fan who cheekily admitted that he used his knowledge of the franchise to make some script changes to director J.J. Abrams. Pegg also voiced C-3PO in a special Phineas and Ferb episode.

6. Jon Favreau (Rio Durant)

Jon Favreau is more than just Spiderman's babysitter. The multitalented actor, writer, and director also voiced Pre Vizsla in the animated Clone Wars.

In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Favreau also voiced the 4-handed pilot. More than that, he is also producing and writing The Mandalorian for Disney+.

7. Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars)

The Great Gatsby actor got his first acting job in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. He played Owen Lars, Luke Skywalker's uncle, who raised him in Tatooine.

8. Peter Serafinowicz (Darth Maul)

Before he was in the Guardians of The Galaxy, Peter Serafinowicz played the character of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. He had the difficult task of playing the antagonist in the prequel movies.

9. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Thanisson)

Thomas Brodie-Sangster did more than help Bran look for the Three-eyed Raven north of The Wall in Game of Thrones. The forever young-looking actor played an officer of the First Order named Thanisson in The Force Awakens.

10. Justin Theroux (Maestro Descifrador)

Justin Theroux played a short-lived cameo on The Last Jedi. Finn and Rose briefly made contact with him when they were looking for a Master Codebreaker to save the Resistance fleet before getting arrested.

11. Sally Hawkins (extra)

The Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress played one of the hundreds of villagers towards the end of The Phantom Menace. Despite being a part of cinematic history, the actress admits she has never seen the film.

12. Julian Glover (Maximilian Veers)

Julian Glover has been playing shady characters long before he was known to us as Grand Master Pycelle in Game of Thrones. He was also a general who worked for Darth Vader named Maximilian Veers.

13. Dominic West (Jerusalem Jannick)

The Wire actor's illustrious career got a jump start from playing a guard in The Phantom Menace. He played Jerusalem Jannick, a guard in the palace of Naboo.

14. Treat Williams (rebel soldier)

Treat Williams was visiting his friend, Carrie Fisher, on the set of The Empire Strikes Back in London. He decided it would be fun to be an extra for the movie if he was permitted to do so.

His request got approved and Williams played an alliance soldier in one of the scenes alongside Carrie Fisher. You can't easily spot him on screen but there are photos of him in an alliance soldier uniform that Carrie Fisher treasured.

15. Prince William and Prince Harry of the United Kingdom (Stormtroopers)

In a deleted scene, the British royalties donned the stormtrooper uniforms in The Las Jedi. The scenes were deleted and were only included in the DVD and Blu-ray versions.

If there was a film franchise you should bet on that will boost your career, it's definitely Star Wars. Only a handful of A-list Hollywood celebs can boast that they once visited a galaxy from far, far away.

On your next viewing of the film series, challenge yourself and try to spot these disguised characters. As always, may the force be with you.

Chelsi