Have You Ever...

...been watching a movie you haven't watched in a while, and noticed that a particular actor is in the movie that you didn't realize was in it?   This realization usually happens years after the movies come out, and you rewatch them and realize that you know that actor from somewhere.  Usually it's before the actor became well known, at least to you, so they just kind of fade into the background, and so you don't remember them.  This realization happened to me like three times yesterday, oddly enough all of which in some way related to Grey's Anatomy, while I was flipping through the channels.

1. I had no idea that Elizabeth Reaser, who played Jane Doe/Eva on Grey's Anatomy, was in the movie Family Stone.  I guess it was easy to forget her, since there are way more famous people in the movie, Luke Wilson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Clare Danes, etc., but she was one of the main characters, even though I even forgot her character was even in the movie to begin with.  I was watching the movie going, "who is that character?  I totally don't remember her at all."  This was followed by, "hey don't I know that actress from somewhere?"  Then it donned on me that she was Jane Doe from Grey's, which was followed by a quick imdb search to verify my suspicions, which it did.

2. I had no Brooke Smith, who plays Dr. Hahn on Grey's, was in the movie In Her Shoes.  Ok, so granted the first time I watch In Her Shoes, it was at a swimming party so I wasn't really paying all that much attention to the movie, but I wouldn't have known who she was anyway.  So I'm just watching the movie, and there she is, and in my head I go, "hey look it Dr. Hahn, cool."

3. I came to the realization a while ago, but last night reminded me of it.  Justin Chambers, yes Alex Karev on Grey's, was in the movie The Wedding Planner, as Jennifer Lopez's like old friend from Italy or something, basically they guy she almost marries before deciding it's a good idea to get with Matthew McConaughey.

Other ones I've noticed:

4. One night, late at night, I was flipping through the channels, and State and Main is on, and it's toward the end of the movie, when they are standing outside the makeshift courtroom, when out walks John Krasinski.  This was literally my train of thought, "hey is that John Krasinski.  I think it is. But it doesn't say he's in this movie on imdb.  I wonder if it was him.  It totally looked like him.  I bet it was."  It then happened again,  I was flipping, and it was the same exact part, and out he comes, and again I have that internal debate.  I now know it was him, and they have since added it to his imdb page.

5. I was watching the Italian Job on TV, and it gets to the part where Charlize Theron is going under cover as a cable fixer person, and when she gets up to the security guard, who is it but Oscar Nunez, Oscar from The Office.

6. In the movie You've Got Mail, when Meg Ryan's character is avoiding Tom Hanks' character at the grocery store, and she gets in the wrong line, the line that doesn't take credit cards, the person working the register, Sara Ramirez, or Callie from Grey's.

This does not only deal with movies, but TV shows as well:

7. The other day, I was watching Arrested Development on DVD, it was some random episode, and it was in the conference room, and I swear to god I saw Phyllis Smith, who plays Phyllis on The Office, in the room with them.  She didn't have any lines or anything, but I totally saw her.

8.  Another Arrested Development/Office connection, in the episode where Tobias goes to the studio to talk up the name Fünke, the security guard is totally Craig Robinson who is totally Darryl on The Office.

9. Almost any episode of The West Wing...

The list goes on.  So who knows what kind of actors we might know in the future and then look back and be like, "hey I totally know that person!"