Nicolas Cage

Born Nicolas Coppola (nephew of Francis Ford), Cage landed his first gig in the classic comedy 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (1982), but most of his scenes were axed. The next year, however, he became leading man in 'Valley Girl,' the most punk-rock prom movie of all time. Read on to see how more stars began.

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Scarlett Johansson

After small roles in 'North' and 'Just Cause,' Johansson got more notice in the 1996 romantic comedy 'If Lucy Fell.' She plays a tween Cupid who tries to fix up Sarah Jessica Parker with Ben Stiller, despite his horrible Caucasian dreadlocks.

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John Travolta

Only months before bowing in 'Welcome Back, Kotter,' Travolta made his on-screen debut in the 1975 horror flick 'Devil's Rain.' Despite the fact that "high-tech" prosthetics render him unrecognizable, seeing the actor melt during the film's finale is more than worth the rental fee.

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Jake Gyllenhaal

Born to a screenwriter mother and director father, Gyllenhaal made his first movie at 11, playing Billy Crystal's son in the hit comedy 'City Slickers.' "So 'Brokeback Mountain' wasn't your first gay cowboy movie," Jon Stewart recently teased the star about his debut.

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Elijah Wood

Considering his early-'90s success as child actor, it would be no surprise if Wood were now in rehab, jail or reality TV. The youngster hadn't even reached double digits when he landed his first major role, in Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical 'Avalon.'

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Catherine Zeta-Jones

The Welsh-born actress became popular in the U.K. thanks to the TV series 'The Darling Buds of May.' But she wouldn't land on American shores until 1992 in 'Christopher Columbus,' playing Beatriz, a beauty the explorer leaves to go on some crazy exploration.

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Matt Damon

Though then-It-boys Brendan Fraser and Chris O'Donnell were billed as leads, Matt AND Ben had roles in 1992's 'School Ties,' Damon's second film after a bit part in 'Mystic Pizza.' Damon's antagonist plans to attend Harvard ... we can see him more as a janitor there.

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Adam Sandler

A struggling comedian in the late '80s, Sandler didn't have to stretch far for his film debut -- he plays a wanna-be comic aboard a cruise ship in 'Going Overboard,' a film that makes 'Little Nicky' look like a masterpiece by comparison.

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Uma Thurman

Before a breakout role in 1988's 'Dangerous Liaisons,' a young Thurman starred alongside the already-an-old-pro Anthony Michael Hall in 'Johnny Be Good.' She's Georgia, loyal sweetheart to Johnny, a highly recruited, surprisingly faithful high school quarterback.

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George Clooney

Appearing in the sitcom 'E/R' a decade before the star-making drama 'ER,' Clooney could've used some medical attention after meeting a grisly fate in the 1987 slasher flick 'Return to Horror High.' Or a year later, in the more organic fare, 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes!'

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Halle Berry

After making her film debut as a trick-turning crackhead in Spike Lee's 'Jungle Fever,' the former beauty queen and future Oscar winner graduated to bigger and better things: like playing a stripper forced to call on the services of Bruce Willis' PI in 1991's 'The Last Boy Scout.'

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Naomi Watts

Five years after making her film debut in the Aussie romance 'For Love Alone,' Watts co-starred with best friend Nicole Kidman in the Down Under import 'Flirting.' Though Kidman found fame the next year in 'Far and Away,' Watts would only flirt with it for the next decade.

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Vince Vaughn

If it not for 'Rudy,' there may have been no 'Swingers.' After a bit part in 'For the Boys,' Vaughn got his first significant role as a grumpy tailback who hates on Sean Astin's little man in the 1993 football flick. Vaughn and co-star Jon Favreau hit it off, and the rest is history, baby.

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Val Kilmer

In his 1984 debut 'Top Secret!,' Kilmer played an Elvis-like teen idol caught up in spy games overseas in a World War II-espionage spoof from the Zucker brothers ('Naked Gun'). OK, so he's no Frank Drebin, but his lip-synching skills would make most pop stars envious.

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Sarah Jessica Parker

A child actor since 8 who survived a decade of bad hair, the 'Square Pegs' TV star's first major film role came with bootie socks, tractor chicken and a side of Bacon in the '80s rage-against-the-machine classic 'Footloose.' Tell us you don't see Carrie Bradshaw in training here.

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Plus: BIG Summer Movies

Matt Damon's come a long away since prep school. The actor stars in two blockbuster sequels this summer, 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Ocean's 13.' We count down these and 18 other biggies we anxiously await.
See big summer movies

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