You probably remember the 2002 Steven Spielberg-directed biopic, Catch Me If You Can, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as notorious real-life con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr.. After all these years, I’ve noticed an amusing trend about the film. Throughout the course of the story, Frank Abagnale, Jr. seduces a lot of female characters, but it seems like virtually all of them were played by then-unknown actresses who went on to much bigger things. For starters, Amy Adams (who only had credits like Cruel Intentions 2 under her belt at the time) played the key role of Brenda Strong, the naive Southern nurse who is romanced by Frank. Spielberg publicly stated that this role was gonna launch Adams’ career, but she still wound up languishing in obscurity for a few more years before she became a five-time Oscar nominees. The other roles played by future stars weren’t so large. Here’s Elizabeth Banks as a bank teller…
Ellen Pompeo as a flight attendant…
And, hell, you can even count Jennifer Garner, who had a small role as a call girl, in this group. Even though Garner was already on Alias at this point, she would still become a much bigger star after Catch Me If You Can came out. This movie seemed to be the ultimate rabbit’s foot for aspiring your actresses.