If you tend to watch a lot of TV and movies, and are good with faces and names, you begin noticing familiar faces throughout the years. It is then, by chance, that you suddenly discover that you have in fact been finding bright new talents… or hidden talents. You know their faces, you know where you’ve seen them, but you can’t quite get their names until you research, and never will it happen again.
I’ve been an avid procrastinator for the past 12 years of my life, ha! I’ve watched a lot of TV and movies (more in recent years), and I’ve found myself saying “Well, he/she looks awfully familiar. Haven’t I seen him/her somewhere before?” Yes, yes I have. And that gives me a fuzzy feeling… a fuzzy special something that makes me think I’ve got this tiny little treasure, and I saw it… sort of first.
I am sure that there are thousands of other people that have felt the same, and then they go online and find each other~ Such a nice thing the internet is, that’s where you’re sure to find someone that finds this person you’ve seen, as fascinating as you do. It is hard for me to often find people that get as excited about a new talent as I do, but thanks to the internet… I’ve got a few contacts I can rely on. ^^
As one of the most recent examples of wows is Marion Cotillard, who not long ago won the Oscar for Best Actress. It’s obvious she has a very extensive CV beginning with many French films, and small parts in projects in English, so I’m not gonna say I saw her first, but I was one of the first ones to notice her from my circle of friends. Having no chance to watch anything French, until just a few years ago – I mean, I can safely say one of the first French films I saw was Amelie… lol’ – Anyway, as I was saying, the first time I saw Cotillard on screen was in a brief part in Tim Burton’s Big Fish. I am one of those people that sits through the credits, and tries to find the names there. Just a few months after that, I got the chance to watch Jeux d’enfants (Love Me If You Dare), and I was awestruck… it was her! I knew her! And she was awesome…
Ever since the day I got hold of the DVD, I have been getting my friends to watch it… but apparently, it didn’t make an impact on them because I was one of the few wanting to watch A Good Year just to see Cotillard on the screen once again, while most people went “wha? who’s that?” Afterwards, of course… I got to see A Very Long Engagement, and she was there too! And then came La Vie en Rose… and many a-film, and then came Oscar history! All of a sudden, friends claimed to be fans… but you knew. It made you feel special. xD
As an average teenager, I saw er… a bunch of films and shows that teenagers are supposed to watch. A few of these films were… Soul Survivors, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Go! – Soul Survivors starred Casey Affleck, who is now an Oscar nominee… lol’ looking back on it, it’s amazing because he was great on Jesse James and on Gone Baby Gone. 10 Things, starred Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger… who also became an Oscar nominee. And Go starred Katie Holmes, who at the time was the teen ‘it’ girl, and Sarah Polley… who happens to have a very prolific CV from (I’m guessing) Canada. She’s now an Oscar nominee as well… and I thought she was brilliant in My Life Without Me. *wink wink*
And the list goes on with some Canadian shows for kids like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps and The Adventures of Shirley Holmes – lol’ Ryan Gosling was in them. This realization, however, was after watching The Notebook, and having re-watched the shows… and bam! OMG, it is him! Now, another Oscar nominee!! xD That’s the thing about re-watching reruns, I guess… you get to see what you hadn’t quite realized yet. Like while re-watching Charmed and Buffy, I knew nurse Brenda from Catch Me If You Can. But of course! It was Amy Adams! She was cousin Beth, lol. And I adored her on Junebug, and wow! She’s also on Talladega Nights? And for sure, now everyone knows her as Giselle~ So she’s now quite famous… and also an Oscar nominee!
However, not everyone needs to be an Oscar nominee… you know? It’s just the fact that you see them in films, and then re-watch films or shows, and realize! Man, that was him! Wow, she was in this! Or just watching this thing, and keep on thinking… I’ve seen this face before, when you finally can’t scratch the itch and find out online to finally say “I knew it!” Like Joanna Garcia, from Reba, who I recognized from Are You Afraid of the Dark… or Dominic Zamprogna, who I have seen on Battlestar and The L Word (from AYAotD as well)… or Vanessa Lengies. who I’ve seen on Popular Mechanics for Kids (with fellow actors Elisha Cuthbert, and Jake Baruchel) and AYAotD … and don’t forget about Neve Campbell!
Another bunch a many people from another show like Goosebumps, Hayden Christensen… Brendan Fletcher, Dov Tiefenbach, and Meredith Henderson. Or how about those people that you can’t quite figure out who they are, but you are sure you’ve seen them before… like Judy Greer. She is EVERYWHERE! lol’ First time I saw her was in What Women Want, because she certainly made an impression when I referred to her as the girl from WWW when I watched The Village. I mean, she’s been in 13 Going on 30, Elizabethtown, and many other films… AND SHOWS, like My Name is Earl, or Two and a Half Men – and I swear I totally thought she was on Sweeney Todd, ha!
Clea DuVall is another actress who’s been EVERYWHERE. She’s been on Buffy, Popular, CSI and Heroes… she’s done Can’t Hardly Wait, The Faculty, Girl Interrupted, Identity, 21 Grams, The Grudge… you can, for sure, never forget her face. And as I said, this list could go on and on for me… I’m always on the look out for Have-I-seen-faces.
