In 2001, director Robert Rodriguez dropped the first Spy Kids film, and for audiences that had fallen in love with his gritty revenge-driven Mexico Trilogy, or the horror films From Dusk till Dawn and The Faculty, Spy Kids came as something of a shock. Spy Kids, the first in a quartet of films released over the next 10 years, was a camp action-comedy family film that focused on Carmen and Juni Cortez, two kids who become involved in espionage after their parents, former spies, have been captured.
Spy Kids made minor stars out of its two leads, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara. The two actors are all grown up now, with singer spouses, but despite being the leads of the franchise, the two actors were often overshadowed by the extensive celebrity cast they worked alongside. The first film saw the likes of Teri Hatcher, Alan Cumming, and Cheech Marin star, as well as franchise staples Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as the titular kids' parents. And the stars didn't stop with the first film. All four entries have celebrities of the highest order involved, from Jessica Alba to Bill Paxton, Ricky Gervais, and Jeremy Piven. But why did so many respected actors join the low-budget, green-screen-based production in the first place?
According to Looper, "out of a combination of love of the medium and Rodriguez's own film history," many stars joined the franchise, especially for the third outing, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Rodriguez had built a film studio in his own home, allowing him to produce films so cheaply that a return at the box office was almost inevitable. As Rodriguez had made stars out of his cast from his earlier films, such as Salma Hayek and George Clooney in From Dusk till Dawn, they returned to help him out for Spy Kids, and, as Antonio Banderas put it, the films were a fun way to spend time on-set with his friend Robert Rodriguez. But not all of the cast were friends with Robert Rodriguez at the time. Read on to find out which celebrities you forgot had roles in Spy Kids 3-D!
9 Selena Gomez's First Film Role Was In 'Spy Kids 3-D'
In her very first film role, actor-singer-producer Selena Gomez was cast as Waterpark Girl in Spy Kids 3-D, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role that provided Gomez with just a handful of words to utter on screen. Waterpark Girl hired Juni to find out why the water in her water park "Agua Park" was missing.
8 Elijah Wood Reunited With Rodriguez Only A Few Years After Working On 'The Faculty' Together
2003 was a big year for Elijah Wood. Not only was he the lead in the film that would go on to tie for most wins at the Oscars in the Academy's 94 years, but he would also have a brief and tragic role in Spy Kids 3-D as The Guy. The Guy had "100 lives to spare" in the game but was killed less than a minute after showing up. Fans of Wood could catch more screen time of the actor in the 201-minutes-long The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King released the same year.
7 'Spy Kids' Launched A Spinoff Series For Danny Trejo
Frequent collaborator and second cousin to Rodriguez, Danny Trejo played the spy kids' uncle Isador "Machete" Cortez, and the films spawned pseudo a spinoff for Trejo: the Machete series. While the Machete films don't fit into the theme of the Spy Kids universe, Trejo has jokingly said the films showcase what the character gets up to when he is not minding the kids.
6 Emily Osment Could Fly In 'Spy Kids'
Before Emily Osment would find fame as Lilly Truscott, the best friend of Miley Stewart slash Hannah Montana in Disney's incomparable Hannah Montana, the young actress joined the Spy Kids universe as Gerti Giggles, equipped with spinning pigtails that helped her levitate. Osment joined the cast in Spy Kids 2: Island of Dreams, and reprised her role in the sequel.
5 Steve Buscemi Returns After His Existential Crisis In 'Spy Kids 2'
The perennially strange Steve Buscemi played Romero, the scientist behind Romero's Zoo, home to the genetically miniaturized animals. Romero lives on an invisible island, and like Osment, appeared in the second film before returning to help the family in Spy Kids 3-D.
4 Holland Taylor Played Juni And Carmen's Grandmother In 'Spy Kids 3-D'
Holland Taylor, best known for her work on Two and a Half Men, and, more recently, The Morning Show, played Juni and Carmen's grandmother in Spy Kids, but that didn't mean she had to miss out on all the action! These days, Taylor is in a loved up relationship with her American Horror Story star girlfriend Sarah Paulson.
3 Salma Hayek's Career Kicked Off Thanks To Robert Rodriguez
Salma Hayek had been toiling away in Mexican telenovelas for around seven years before landing her breakout role as Carolina in Robert Rodriguez's 1995 hit Desperado alongside Antonio Banderas. She would gain further recognition only one year later as Santanico Pandemonium in From Dusk till Dawn and would join Robert Rodriguez again just a few years later for Spy Kids 3-D. She played Gerti Giggles' mother Cesca and showed how pigtails run in the family.
2 Sylvester Stallone Joined 'Spy Kids 3-D' For His Own Kids
Rodriguez had first met Stallone in 1997 and was surprised how funny he found the action star to be. He decided to cast Stallone as the villainous Toymaker (in four different iterations) in Spy Kids 3-D, and for Stallone, accepting the job was easily done: his kids are big Spy Kids fans. "I had to do it," he says. "Otherwise, I'd be disowned by a 6-year-old."
1 George Clooney Played The President In 'Spy Kids 3-D'
Arguably one of the biggest names to grace Spy Kids with his presence, former ER star George Clooney had begun his transition from TV to film alongside Salma Hayek in Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn only a few years earlier. His surprising cameo in Spy Kids 3-D saw the star playing the President of the United States of America, only to transition and be revealed as the villainous Toymaker in disguise.
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