Top 10 Stars You Forgot Appeared on Disney Channel Shows
#10: Tiffany Haddish on That's So Raven
Whether it’s her breakout role as the as the wild, unrestrained Dina in “Girls Trip”, or the unorthodox teacher Carrie in “Night School”, characters played by Tiffany Haddish go straight to business. And, even in one of her earliest onscreen roles, Tiffany carried her trademark attitude as a tour guide on That’s So Raven. When Raven’s best friend Chelsea visits a biodome, it’s Tiffany’s character on duty to show visitors around. While initially putting on the persona of a well-to-do tour guide who’s happy to help, she drops the act immediately when her shift is over, telling the visitors to beat it!
#9: Austin Butler on Hannah Montana
Before he was the hearthrob Sebastian on the Carrie Diaries, and a member of the Manson Family in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, one of Austin Butler’s first roles had been on Hannah Montana. He played Derek, a blind date set up by Miley’s best friend Lily. In this episode, Miley’s delight at having a handsome boy as her date becomes resentment toward Lily when Derek turns out to have a bit of a problem with scary movies. After coming close to panicking a few times, Derek finally loses his cool when Miley’s dad walks in . . . holding a chainsaw. Hey, at least it wasn’t as bad as what Brad Pitt did to him.
#8: Kate Flannery on Wizards of Waverly Place
Top 10 Times Kate McKinnon Broke the SNL Cast
Best known as Meredith Palmer in The Office, a character who regularly made colleagues uncomfortable with inappropriate remarks, Kate Flannery carried a similar awkward energy over to Wizards of Waverly Place. In this appearance, Kate played Harper’s mother Elaine Finkle, a vaudeville dancer who, along with her husband, embarrasses Harper with her over-the-top antics. The couple are convinced that they’re about to land a lucrative gig in Romania. Understandably, Harper isn’t too keen on leaving her “normal” life with the Russos to go on a vaudevillian act. It’s when Alex takes a liking toward the Finkles that the real competition begins. As we now know, Kate really does have some cool dance moves.
#7: Larry David on Hannah Montana
Top 10 Worst Things Larry David Has Done
Curb Your Enthusiasm is full of moments in which Larry David just can’t catch a break, and it appears his luck didn’t get any better when he showed up on Hannah Montana - where he got one-upped by Hannah herself. When Larry arrives with his daughters at the “coolest restaurant in town,” he’s made to wait in line for a table, while Hannah invokes her celebrity privileges to get one immediately. In true Larry David fashion, his attempts to gain sympathy go nowhere, even when pretending he’s there for his daughters’ birthdays. His plan blows up in his face when he’s made to face facts that he’s just not as “big” as Hannah Montana.
#6: Zachary Quinto on Lizzie McGuire
Before playing one of the scariest villains ever on Heroes, or stepping into the shoes of Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto appeared on the Disney Channel as an eccentric director who took his job a little too seriously. In this episode, Matt and Sam McGuire’s sports drink commercial doesn’t start well because of Sam’s obvious fear of heights. Ignoring this, the director launches a verbal tirade to humiliate Sam while the whole crew watches - provoking Matt’s wrath as he jumps to his father’s defense. Putting the director in his place, Matt manages to scare him almost speechless, earning applause from the crew!
#5: Ross Butler on K.C. Undercover
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After his role as obnoxious jock Reggie Mantle in Riverdale, Ross Butler followed up with his best known role, as a jock with a heart of gold in 13 Reasons Why. However, he also had an earlier role on K.C. Undercover as Brett, the titular character’s love interest. In this recurring part, Brett starts out as a spy working alongside K.C. as the two eventually admit their feelings for one another. Unfortunately, it turns out Brett is a double agent for the villainous organization the Other Side and becomes an enemy to K.C., going up against her in various spy missions. Eventually, he sees the error of his ways and has a heartfelt farewell before leaving the show.
#4: Alison Brie on Hannah Montana
If you’re a Community fan, it’s hard to imagine Alison Brie in any role other than Annie, although she’s followed that up with an empowering performance as Zoya the Destroyer in Netflix’s GLOW. However, Alison’s first venture on television came back when she appeared on Hannah Montana playing the character of Nina. In this episode, Rico pays Nina to pretend to be a beautician who pranks Jackson, by giving him the shiniest head anyone’s ever seen. Later on, though, Jackson gets his revenge by convincing Nina to play the same trick on Rico, and she ends up leaving both boys bald.
#3: Lucy Hale on Wizards of Waverly Place
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While she’s best known for playing the role of Aria on Pretty Little Liars, where she falls for her high school teacher Ezra, Lucy’s also been seen on Disney Channel, this time dating someone around her own age as Justin Russo’s girlfriend Miranda. Here, Miranda and Justin are seen on a movie date, where Justin tries to have his first kiss. Unfortunately, despite Alex turning back time each time it goes wrong, Justin just can’t seem to get it right . . . Miranda and Justin do eventually make it official after a lot of trial and error. At least it wasn’t as awkward as that time Aria’s mother walked in on her movie date with Ezra, right?
#2: Octavia Spencer on Wizards of Waverly Place
Top 10 Most Badass Octavia Moments on The 100
Before her career skyrocketed after her Oscar-winning performance in The Help, Octavia Spencer had guest spots in numerous sitcoms, including the part of Dr. Evilini. In this role, Octavia plays a professor at WizTech, a parody of Hogwarts which the Russo siblings attend for summer school. Although she initially appears to be a supportive teacher, Dr. Evilini stays true to her name by constantly slipping up with her sinister intentions, before it’s revealed that she’s an evil wizard out to drain Justin’s powers. She’s eventually being apprehended by the authorities. While that sounds bad, it still doesn’t reach the lengths Octavia’s character went to with the teenagers in Ma, does it? Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Emma Stone on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Justin Baldoni on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Ryan Gosling on Flash Forward Naya Rivera on Even Stevens Niecy Nash on That's So Raven
#1: The Rock on Hannah Montana & Wizards of Waverly Place
We’ve seen Dwayne Johnson play characters who can leap across impossible gaps and pull off feats of strength that would put Captain America to shame. And while his appearance on Hannah Montana isn’t as action packed as his rival John Cena’s had been, it certainly is memorable . . . just in a different way. In this episode, Miley and Lily work together to capture an embarrassing picture of the Rock in order to exchange it with a picture of Hannah’s from a magazine that exposes Miley’s real identity. Pretending to be professional stylists, the girls fool the Rock into a hilarious makeover he won’t ever forget. It didn’t get better on Wizards of Waverly Place either, when Alex refused to believe Johnson’s identity.
