12 Famous People You Probably Didn’t Know Were In Star Wars

Star Wars has always been able to attract the great and the good. Even before the saga was a surefire hit, the first film managed to nab respected thespian Alec Guinness to play Obi-Wan Kenobi (despite the actor’s infamous indifference towards the material). This has only continued over the decades as more of Hollywood’s finest have become fans of the franchise and are now clambering to appear in it. This came to a head in The Force Awakens, which contains more celebrity cameos than you can shake a lightsaber at. Alternatively, the series has been lucky enough to cast some future stars before they got famous. The most commonly known example of this is Keira Knightley, who appeared in The Phantom Menace at the age of 12 as the decoy of Queen Amidala. There are plenty more where Keira came from, though, and here you'll find 12 other famous people that you probably never knew had travelled to a galaxy far far away to appear in a Star Wars film. 12) Lin-Manuel Miranda We're kind of cheating on this first entry, as Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't physically appear in any Star Wars films, but his voice is most definitely heard in The Force Awakens. The scene in question takes place in Maz Kanata's bar. If you listen closely enough, you'll notice that the song that's being played is sung by Miranda. It's not only him on vocal duties, though, as keen viewers may have realized that there's actually two voices bringing the song to life. What they might not have known though is that the second singer is actually none other than director J.J. Abrams, who performed the song with Miranda. The track even has a name - it's called "Jabba Flow." Like so many other entries on this list, this particular cameo was revealed before the film hit theatres, but we're guessing that there's a good portion of moviegoers out there who had no idea that they were listening to vocals from Abrams and Miranda. 11) Billie Lourd Even before The Force Awakens was released, we knew that Carrie Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, would have a role in it. However, it was such a minor part that if you weren't keeping your eyes peeled, you probably would have missed it. Even then, we're sure that the general public had no idea that she was in the movie and most likely failed to spot her cameo. In J.J. Abrams' film, Lourd plays Lieutenant Connix, who serves under General Organa. It's an extremely small and insignificant role that we don't blame you for missing. For those who caught it though, you no doubt noticed that Lourd was rocking a hair style that paid tribute to her mother's look in the original Star Wars, which was a welcome easter egg for fans of the franchise. Of course, Lourd is famous for more than just a quick cameo in The Force Awakens, as she's also been doing some solid work on television's Scream Queens. Not only that, but she's set to have a larger role in Star Wars: Episode VIII, if recent rumors are to be believed. We're not sure yet how they plan to expand on her character, but we're definitely eager to see more of the actress. 10) Daniel Craig If you're a big James Bond fan, you might have noticed the recognizable tones of 007 himself coming from beneath a Stormtrooper’s helmet. If you’re not, you will be surprised to learn that Daniel Craig was in The Force Awakens. He appears as the guard watching over Rey, once she has been captured and taken to Starkiller Base. In a great scene, Rey uses her burgeoning Jedi powers to influence Craig’s Stormtrooper to free her and let her escape. If you were keeping up to date with Star Wars news before it came out, you would have heard that Craig had a part in the film, as Simon Pegg accidentally let his cameo slip in an interview. For many people though, this definitely came as a nice little surprise. 9) Simon Pegg Yes, even if you didn’t know it, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg has appeared in Star Wars. He had already ticked off two other sci-fi franchises in Star Trek and Doctor Who, after all. In The Force Awakens, Pegg is hidden beneath mounds of rubber and a modulated voice as Unkar Plutt, a junk dealer on Jakku who trades scraps of metal for food. You might remember that he attempted to steal BB-8 from Rey, while he also claims that the Millennium Falcon is his. It may not be a major part, but it surely pleased the actor, who's been a lifelong Star Wars fan and told Empire the following about his time on the film: In May 25, 1977, some ten months before I would eventually see it myself, Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, then simply Star Wars, was released in just 42 theatres across the US. Exactly 37 years later, the day before I’m due on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, then simply Episode VII, I scare the bejesus out of J.J. Abrams by screeching dramatically at the fact that his suite, at the Abu Dhabi hotel complex we are staying in, is number 37. And now I am standing on the set of the Millennium Falcon (the entrance corridor with the smuggling compartments), holding Chewbacca’s bowcaster, quietly “pew-pewing” to myself, waiting for Han and Chewie to arrive on set and make that entrance. I’ve been on a number of film sets over the years, witnessed a number of cool moments, but I have never seen so many people gathered around the monitors as on that day. 8) Peter Serafinowicz Comedian and voice actor Peter Serafinowicz might not be a household name, but you’ve probably seen or heard him before. He’s a frequent collaborator of Simon Pegg’s for one, and he’s also in Guardians of the Galaxy, Spy and – oh yes – Star Wars. Serafinowicz lent his voice to super cool Sith warrior Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. Star Wars fans may be scratching their heads right about now, wondering when the usually silent character speaks. Well, FYI, he actually has three lines in the film, which are as follows: “Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, master.” “At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.” “Yes, my master.” 7) Michael Giacchino If you haven’t heard of Michael Giacchino, you should go and listen to his work right now, as he’s one of the best movie composers working in the business today. He's often associated with Pixar, but also frequently scores the films and TV shows of J.J. Abrams. His friendship with the director is no doubt what bought him a cameo role in The Force Awakens as Stormtrooper FN-3181, one of the people who attack Lor San Tekka’s village in search of Poe and BB8, who have the map to Luke Skywalker. On a related note, another pal of Abrams who showed up in the film was Greg Grunberg, who worked with the director on Alias and stars as one of the more prominent Resistance fighters – Snap Wexley. 6) Kevin Smith Yet another famous person hidden away as a Stormtrooper in The Force Awakens is director Kevin Smith, of Clerks fame. Known for being a complete comic book and sci-fi nerd and just generally a fanboy of all trades, it isn’t really a shock that he's in the film. Smith voices a Stormtrooper who is present in the siege on Maz Kanata’s castle. When the Resistance send in back-up, he can be heard saying, “We have incoming 28.6! Move!” How Smith got the role is a funny story as well. On podcast Hollywood Babble-on, Smith joked that he wished Abrams would cast him as "a fat Stormtrooper." The next day, the direct emailed him saying he would take him up on the offer. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.... 5) Joel Edgerton You might know Australian actor Joel Edgerton from his roles in the likes of Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby and Black Mass. However, you might not know that before he became a regular face in Hollywood, he appeared in the prequel trilogy. Edgerton played the younger iteration of Owen Lars, Luke’s future guardian, in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He also recently revealed that he would love to play the role again in the touted Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff film - so who knows, we may see him pop up in the franchise once more. For what it's worth, here's what the actor said while chatting with Coming Soon about showing up in a galaxy far, far, away again: Okay, we’re gonna talk about this. This is a necessary addition to my film cannon, it gives me another chance to do something more than just rub my hands on a rag and shake Anakin’s hand." We definitely agree with you there Joel. 4) John Ratzenberger Cheers star John Ratzenberger is nowadays most known for his many voice roles for Pixar – those guys love him so much that Ratzenberger has had at least a cameo part in every single one of their films (most notably as the voice of Hamm in the Toy Story trilogy). Another franchise the actor has cameoed in though, in case you haven’t guessed yet, is Star Wars. Before his later fame, Ratzenberger appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as Major Bren Derlin – a member of the Rebel Alliance based on Hoth. He hasn’t appeared in any other film, but the character has been extensively embellished in the expanded universe. Although, who knows, maybe he’s appeared in every other Star Wars movie as well and we just haven’t noticed yet? 3) Bill Hader And Ben Schwartz Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader and Park & Recreations' Ben Schwartz can’t be seen in The Force Awakens, but they actually had a hugely important role in the film: they provided the voice of the loveable, rollable droid BB-8. According to Hader – who you might know from his many supporting roles in comedy movies or for voicing the lead character of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – they originally tried to give BB-8 an actual voice, but the idea was abandoned after it was decided that it made the character “too human.” Unlike a lot of the people on this list, Hader and Schwartz' role in the franchise will surely only continue to grow as it goes on. After replacing R2-D2 as everyone’s favourite Star Wars robot, BB-8 won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. 2) Sofia Coppola Best known for directing the likes of Lost in Translation and for some atrocious acting in The Godfather III, Sofia Coppola also appeared in The Phantom Menace. You can glimpse her in the film as one of Padme’s entourage. She doesn’t have any lines, but she is credited as Sache. The reason her role is so small is that she wasn’t planning on being in the film. Coppola visited the set one day when George Lucas – a good friend of her father, acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola – asked if she would like to appear in a cameo part. “I’m at the back with a hood on and you can’t really see me. I don’t even remember what my character was called,” she later admitted. 1) George Lucas That’s right, the man often found behind the camera on a Star Wars film also stepped in front of it on one occasion – although you would be hard-pressed to notice him. Perhaps knowing it would be the final time he worked on a Star Wars movie, Lucas appeared in Revenge of the Sith as Baron Papanoida, the ruler of the planet Pantora. You would be forgiven for not noticing him though, as it's a tiny walk-on part. Plus, he’s covered in blue face make-up. The character later reappeared on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, though he was voiced on that occasion by Corey Burton. Maybe one day Papanoida could come back and appear in one of the new films, as played by Lucas, just to show there are no hard feelings between Disney and the Star Wars creator.