With all the CGI, explosions (real or otherwise), and just the sheer amount of FX that goes into anyTransformersmovie, it should surprise nobody that one might forget that a certain actor was in one or some. After all, when we go and see these movies, are we going to see Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand? Or are we hoping to see Optimus Prime battle some nefarious bot that needs to be sent to the nether regions of the universe? So it stands to reason that amidst all that’s happening on the screen, we might not remember that these films feature impressive actors both on camera and voicing characters.
Update August 04, 2025: This article has been updated to include even more great actors you forgot were inTransformersfilms.
It is easy to remember lead actors like Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Mark Wahlberg, John Cena, and Hailee Steinfeld. Everyone knows Peter Cullen is the voice of Optimus Prime, and recent films have gotten high-profile actors like Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, and Michelle Yeoh to lend their voices to theTransformers. Yet over seven films, there are many actors who you may forget were in them. Either they were big stars at the time, or these films were some of their early work before they truly broke out. Here are 20 actors you forgot were in theTransformersfilms.
20Rizwan Manji
BeforeRizwan Manjigained fame for his role inSchitt’s Creekas real estate agent Ray Butani, he had a small role in the firstTransformersfilm in 2007. He played the role of Akram, the father of Mahfouz, a boy who helps guide Col. William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and his group of U.S. soldiers to his village in Qatar during a battle with a giant mechanical scorpion. Akram ends up giving Lennox his phone during the scorpion attack so that Lennox can call the Pentagon to alert them of the attack.
Along with his role inSchitt’s CreekandTransformers, Manji has also had roles inCharlie Wilson’s War,The Dictator, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Peacemaker, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development,and many others.
19Kelsey Grammer
When you’ve played the indelible TV personality Frasier Crane for 20 years, it seems like it would be extremely difficult for audiences to see you as anything else. The fact thatKelsey Grammeris a fantastic actor and can play any role is how he ended up inTransformers: Age of Extinction. In the role of Harold Attinger, Grammer plays a man who quite simply doesn’t seem to believe or accept that humans and Transformers can co-exist. As a result, his time in this film is spent trying to rid the world of what he considers to be its biggest threat.
Grammer is outstanding in this role, and, once again, it seems like all the set pieces and overall bigness of theTransformersmilieu completely steamrolled any memory of this fine actor’s work. It’s there, though, and when you see it, you know you are watching something special.
18Patrick Dempsey
With McDreamy in this movie, how could we ever forget thatPatrick Dempseywas in aTransformersfilm? After breaking very big in such seminal 80s films asCan’t Buy Me LoveandLoverboy, Dempsey didn’t become a major star but more of an ensemble player. Always right up there in billing and featured on the one-sheets, it would be his turn onGray’s Anatomythat would reintroduce him to the world for the star that he is. His profile in movies picked up, and it wasn’t long before he was playing Dylan inTransformers: Dark of the Moon.
At first, we think he’s just placed in the film to make Sam Witwicky jealous. Dylan is the boss of Sam’s girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), but it soon becomes clear that Dylan works for the Decepticons. His endgame is to help them move their Cybertron into the Solar System and then use Earth to help them reconstruct their planet. Dempsey is the film’s primary human villain, but sadly in all the explosions andTransformersmaterial, he is sadly overlooked.
17Leonard Nimoy
Okay, when Dr. Spock returns to anything sci-fi related, that is a big deal, so how do we not instantly think ofLeonard Nimoywhen we think ofTransformersfilms? This fine actor entered theTransformersuniverse withTransformers: Dark of the Moon. In the voice role of Sentinel Prime, Nimoy’s character was believed by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) to be the one force that could tip the scales in the Autobot’s war with the Decepticons. However, Sentinel betrays the Autobots and is the film’s primary villain.
Nimoy is a voice role, so it might be difficult to remember he was in the film. However, he earns a spot on this list for two reasons. One might forget he was also the voice of Galvatron inTransformers: The Movieall the way back in 1986. So Nimoy has been forgotten about in Transformers twice, it seems.
16Tony Todd
Yep, Candyman was in aTransformersfilm. Legendary actorTony Toddlent his incredible voice to the primary villain, The Fallen, inTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Described as the Transformers version of Lucifer, a fallen Prime who is the true leader of the Decepticons and Megatron’s master, Todd was a great pick to voice this character. The movie is not fondly remembered, and neither is Todd’s performance which is a shame because he is one of the few good things about it.
Related:Tony Todd’s Best Performances, Ranked
In recent years, Todd has lent his voice to a number of superhero properties. He voiced Zoom on the CW series,The Flash, and is set to voice Venom in the upcoming Playstation 5 game,Spider-Man 2. He also reprised his role as Candyman in the 2021 film.
15Rachael Taylor
Inhabiting the role of Maggie Madsen inTransformers,Rachael Taylorplays an analyst working for the NSA. She is good at her job and doesn’t have any problem telling the people around her that they’re wrong. Her role is central to the plot because it sometimes takes convincing to make people believe that things like Transformers exist. So how can she be in this movie but not be remembered for it? Well, she was in the firstTransformersfilm back in 2007. That was nearly 15 years ago!
As you know, that is an eternity in the world of movies, and given everything that’s happened with the story since then (there’s pretty much a completely different human cast from her time in the films), it makes sense that people might not recall her as much as they should. This isn’t to say that Taylor completely disappeared afterTransformerscame out. To the contrary, she has done projects likeBottle ShockandJessica Jones,among other things.
14Ken Jeong
It is quite fair to say thatKen Jeongis one of the great comedians of the last 15 years. He has had roles inThe Hangoverfranchise,Community, Step Brothers, The Office,Glee, Dr. Ken, and a bunch more. He plays the role of Jerry Wang inTransformers: Dark of the Moon. Wang is a former NASA employee who left to work at Accuretta Systems after being blackmailed by Laserbeak.
Wang realizes who Witwicky is and tries to give him information regarding the Autobot spacecraft known as the “Ark” which is hidden on the dark side of the Moon. Laserbeakends up throwing Wang out of the building window after realizing that his usefulness has run its course. Again, Jeong finds a way to still be funny, even in a role that gets a little crazy and chaotic.
13Rainn Wilson
Forgetting thatRainn Wilsonin theTransformersfilm series might be the most “egregious forget” on this list whole list. How can an actor as good and as memorable in everything he does be forgotten inTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen? As you can imagine, given his bookish look, Wilson plays the part of Professor Colan. He is a brilliant astronomer who knows much about the galaxy and the world around him. His primary role in this film is to provide a bit of comic relief.
Rainn Wilson isn’t one of the major players, but he’s Rainn Wilson for crying out loud! His characters are unforgettable, which makes him turning up on this list a bit of a head-scratcher. Alas, here he is, and let me ask you this, when you think ofTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen,is he the first person (or even the second or third) that comes to mind? He might not be, but that doesn’t mean that we should forget his performance.
12Isabela Merced
Isabela Mercedis best known for her roles in films likeDora and the Lost City,Sicario: Day of the Soldado, orRosaline. Yet her breakout role in live-action was inTransformers: The Last Knight,where she plays Izabella, a street-wise kid who lives on her own after her family died in the battle of Chicago inTransformers: Dark of the Moon.Merced is set to star in the upcomingAlienfilmand will play Hawkgirl in the new DCU, so she is about to become a bigger star, but many will likely not remember her fromTransformers: Age of Extinction.
11John Goodman
One of America’s favorite TV dads lends his considerable voice talents (he was Sulley inMonsters, Inc. andMonsters University,after all) to the role of Hound in bothTransformers: Age of ExtinctionandTransformers: The Last Knight. Honestly, givenJohn Goodman’s role as Charlie Meadows inBarton Fink, I don’t know that there is a better role for him to play than Hound. This Autobot packs a lot of firepowers, he’s got a major screen presence, and he doesn’t do any mission half-assed.
So why don’t we remember that John Goodman was in TWO of these movies? Like some of the other actors on this list, a voice role in a film splashed to every corner with CGI might make it hard to stop and say, “Wow, John Goodman was fantastic in this.” Now, films likeTransformersare a major group effort. Every character, and by proxy every actor, is but one small part of a much larger machine. As a result of this, great performances (and actors) go unnoticed when they shouldn’t. It’s just the way things turn out sometimes, and it is in no way a slam on the actor, their work, or the films that they have contributed to.
