A Single Role Made These Stars Super Famous!

There are some celebrities who have seemingly become famous overnight after getting cast in iconic movie roles! Whether they had been in the industry for a long time or happened to be fortunate newcomers, playing these characters catapulted them to instant success.

The Harry Potter franchise gave several young actors the big break of a lifetime, while some of today's biggest stars were relative unknowns before appearing in popular films. Click through the slides to find out about a bunch of actors and actresses who made it big thanks to one role!

Jennifer Grey famously starred as "Baby Houseman" in the 1985 rom-com Dirty Dancing. While she had appeared in various television shows and played "Jeanie Bueller" in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Baby" remains Grey's best known role to this day. 

Elijah Wood may have started out as a child actor, but he broke onto the scene in a major way when he played "Frodo Baggins" in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. This role instantly made Wood beloved among fantasy fans, and he reprised the character in the trilogy's subsequent films, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Macaulay Culkin got his breakout role when he was only 10 years! Culkin became famous for playing "Kevin McAllister" in the hit 1990 comedy Home Alone. While the actor has appeared in several films and television shows since, "Kevin" is undoubtedly the role the world knows him for.

Daniel Radcliffe is another star who became known when he was young, as he was only 11 years old when he played boy wizard "Harry Potter"! Unbeknownst to the actor, the role was the beginning of a franchise that would catapult him to global superstardom, with fans remembering Radcliffe as "Harry" to this day.

Emma Watson also became famous thanks to Harry Potter. Playing bright young witch "Hermione Granger" in the fantasy movies, her career instantly took off. While the actress has had many memorable roles after "Hermione," it's the role she's most known for today!

Rupert Grint joined Radcliffe and Watson in their Harry Potter fame as well, rounding out the trio as Harry's best friend "Ron Weasley"! All three actors even got stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to commemorate their iconic roles, including cement prints of their hands as well as their wands.

Mark Hamill is another actor who shot to international stardom thanks to one role in a genre franchise! After playing "Luke Skywalker" in the first Star Wars movie — 1977's A New Hope — he became an instant icon.

Carrie Fisher had her breakout role in Star Wars as well! While Fisher only had one film credit to her name before playing "Princess Leia," she instantly became an actress who captured hearts and imaginations worldwide.

Amanda Seyfried is known for films like Mamma Mia! and Jennifer's Body, but it was the cult classic comedy Mean Girls that put her on the radar. Playing the ditzy "Karen Smith" in the 2004 film allowed Seyfried's career to take off!