The list of famous actors who have appeared in DC movies is pretty long. DC has been churning out feature-length movies since the 1950s, enlisting the likes of Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, and David Corenswet as Superman, plus Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson as Batman. With iconic villains like Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor and Heath Ledger’s Joker in addition to its iconic heroes, DC has established itself in film history. Some of their stars however only became famous after their roles in the superhero franchise
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In 2025, DC enters a new era with the launch of James Gunn’s DC Universe. Before Superman officially commences the franchise’s interconnected story on the big screen, it’s a great time to look back at all of the soon-to-be-stars whose small roles in DC films are often overlooked. These seven actors are well recognized by movie and TV fans today, though most people aren’t aware that they got their start in DC.
1) Glen Powell in The Dark Knight Rises
Glen Powell has risen to immense stardom in recent years with prominent roles in Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man, Anyone But You, and Twisters. One of Powell’s earlier, less-known roles can be found in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, in which he plays a trader at the stock exchange assaulted by Bane (Tom Hardy). Powell’s character is getting his shoes shined at the beginning of the sequence and soon finds himself in the middle of the villain’s operation to take over the place. Powell’s involvement in The Dark Knight Rises is easy to forget so many years later, but it’s a cool surprise when rewatching the movie.
Back in 2024, Powell revealed to Vanity Fair that he “auditioned several times” for the small part in The Dark Knight Rises and that he was grateful for the opportunity to feature in Christopher Nolan’s film.
“I was getting to work with the greatest director on the planet, Christopher Nolan. And you’re sitting there and all of a sudden Tom Hardy walks in as Bane. It’s electric. It’s sort of out-of-body,” he said. “That was one of those movies when nothing was going on in my life. I was just fighting for every inch. And when Christopher Nolan casts you in his movie, it’s a validation that’s hard to explain.”
2) Emily Carey in Wonder Woman
Before Emily Carey starred as young Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon, they took on a brief, yet important, part in the DCEU. Carey appears as a 12-year-old version of Diana Prince in 2017’s Wonder Woman. In a short scene toward the start of the movie, Carey’s Diana engages in sword-fighting practice with Antiope (Robin Wright) in Themyscira. Carey doesn’t have much screen time in Wonder Woman, however, it’s easy for viewers to notice the young performer’s talent. Evidently, Carey has a knack for playing iconic characters, as they went on to portray young Lara Croft in 2018’s Tomb Raider and subsequently join the Game of Thrones universe.
3) Taika Waititi in Green Lantern
Best known for directing Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder while voicing the character Korg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Taika Waititi surprisingly worked with DC before joining Marvel. He shows up in 2011’s Green Lantern as Tom Kalmaku — an aviation engineer at Ferris Aircraft. In the film, Tom works with Hal Jordan/Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds) while testing jets. Waititi’s career was yet to take off at the time of his Green Lantern appearance, and the movie served as a great precursor to his elevated roles in the MCU.
4) David Dastmalchian in The Dark Knight
David Dastmalchian made his feature film debut in 2008’s The Dark Knight, playing the role of the Joker’s (Heath Ledger) henchman Thomas Schiff. Dastmalchian’s character poses as a guard during the attack at Commissioner Loeb’s (Colin McFarlane) funeral and is abducted by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) after being wounded. Dastmalchian’s involvement in The Dark Knight is limited, though the actor delivers an impressive performance as his mentally unstable character.
With a devilish laugh and unnerving demeanor, Dastmalchian stands out in a movie packed with top-tier stars. Featuring in such a profile movie at the start of his career likely propelled Dastmalchian to his future roles in Oppenheimer, Late Night with the Devil, Dune: Part One, and the MCU’s Ant-Man films. Dastmalchian also returned to DC to play Polka-Dot Man in 2021’s The Suicide Squad.
5) Jack Gleeson in Batman Begins
Game of Thrones fans will never forget Jack Gleeson’s portrayal of the malicious King Joffrey Baratheon. Six years before the actor’s career-defining role, he took on a gig as a nameless little boy in 2005’s Batman Begins. In his first feature-length movie, Gleeson performs opposite Christian Bale as Batman saves the boy’s life. Even though Gleeson doesn’t appear much in Batman Begins, his character is at the center of a heartwarming moment in which he expresses awe at seeing Batman in the flesh. As a result, the caped vigilante’s rescue of the boy carries a bit more emotion.
6) Joey King in The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises features Joey King in one of her first major film roles. The star portrays a young Talia al Ghul, who was imprisoned as a child before taking up her father Ra’s al Ghul’s (Liam Neeson) mission to destroy Gotham City. The adult version of Talia is played by Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises. Viewers don’t see King on screen much, but her short scene is a memorable moment near the end of the movie. Moreover, King’s involvement in The Dark Knight Rises serves as a reminder that her success in Hollywood started at a young age.
Soon after, King took on supporting roles in The Conjuring and White House Down, and more recently, she starred in The Kissing Booth franchise, and Bullet Train.
7) Jon Favreau in Batman Forever
Today, most people recognize Jon Favreau for directing Iron Man and Iron Man 2, as well as playing Happy Hogan, in the MCU. Additionally, his filmmaking roles in the Star Wars franchise have made Favreau a prominent face in Hollywood. But, what’s unknown to many is that Favreau’s career began in DC. He briefly appears in 1995’s Batman Forever as an associate of Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer) while visiting Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey). Favreau can only be seen in the background of Batman Forever for a few seconds, so it’s easy to forget that he was in the movie. Still, it’s fascinating to realize that he has worked in three of the most popular entertainment franchises of all time.
Did you know these actors were in DC movies? Let us know in the comments!
