You might remember Lara Jill Miller as tomboy—and later boy-crazy—Samantha Kanisky on the 1980s hit sitcom Gimme a Break. But did you know Miller has gone on to make a name for herself as a prominent voice-over actor? After a brief career as a lawyer (really), she returned to Hollywood as both a live-action and animation actor. Her voice credits include the starring role of Kari on the hit animated series and feature film Digimon, Widget in Nickelodeon’s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, Allie on PBS’s popular Curious George, the title role in the PBS series Clifford’s Puppy Days, the title role in Cartoon Network’s The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, and Izzie in the Emmy Award-winning PBS series SciGirls.

It’s perhaps the only day in the year when we’re actually psyched to watch commercials instead of fast-forwarding through them. And given the historical significance (and the mega price tags), it’s no wonder: For better or worse, Super Bowl ads make an impact. This year there’s already been a lot of buzz about an ad scheduled to run featuring the return of Ferris Bueller, with Matthew Broderick reprising the role that made him famous 26 years ago. Herewith, some of the stars who appeared in Super Bowl ads before we knew their names…

The cast of Wes Craven’s Scream was full of virtual unknowns when the horror film slashed onto movie screens in 1996, but thanks to the film reinventing the genre, none of their careers were D.O.A. In some circles they may still be best known for Scream, but each and every cast member has seen their career go above and beyond the franchise that released its fourth film earlier this year. They may not all have survived the film, but surviving Hollywood is a much bigger feat!