Band of Brothers: Michael Fassbender & 9 Other Actors You Forgot Were In The HBO Miniseries

Band of Brothers is a 2001 HBO miniseries based on a 1992 non-fiction book by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. It chronicles the history of the “Easy” company battalion from their training to their series of campaigns in Germany that leads to the surrender of the Axis forces. It packs a huge ensemble cast to depict the numerous real-life units at war.

Likewise, there are some recognizable faces that some have forgotten were in this Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks production, whether they are in small roles or blink-and-miss cameos. For that, here are 10 actors that actually have parts in Band of Brothers.

10 Jason O’Mara

Irish actor Jason O’Mara is mostly known for his TV roles in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,In Justice, Life on Mars, Terra Nova, and Vegas. But, loyal DC fans associate him being the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in several direct-to-video animated adaptations of DC comic issues.

In the miniseries, he played 1st Lt Thomas Meehan III, who replaced Captain Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer) in Company E for the D-Day attacks. Sadly, he was killed in a plane crash by German anti-aircraft defense, along with the crew and all the paratroopers aboard.

9 Stephen Graham

Stephen Graham made a name for himself in the This Is England films, and he typically appeared in supporting roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Dead Man Tell No Tales, The Irishman, and, recently, Greyhound with star and screenwriter Tom Hanks.

For Band of Brothers, he took on the role of Sergeant Myron Ranney, a paratrooper who was disgraced in the Easy Company for refusing to follow Captain Sobel’s order. He regained his honor during D-Day and the skirmish at Brecourt, earning him the Bronze Star.

8 Colin Hanks

Like his father, Colin Hanks is a professional actor who had his humble start on small TV roles. He has also an expansive filmography, coincidentally collaborating with Jack Black, on movies like Orange County, the 2005 King Kong, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, and the two Jumanji sequels.

In terms of the HBO miniseries, Hanks appeared as Lt. Henry Jones, who participated in the 101st Airborne, joined with Private David Webster (Eion Bailey) for “The Last Patrol” and succeeded in their Haguenau siege, though this element is fictionalized.

7 Dominic Cooper

Nowadays, Dominic Cooper is known for his role as the titular gruff preacher Jesse Custer in the AMC supernatural dramedy Preacher. Yet, he took part in the Mamma Mia! movies and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the younger version of Tony Stark’s father, Howard.

But, little did audiences know that Cooper had a blink-and-miss cameo in Band of Brothers. In the first episode “Currahee,” Cooper appeared as one of the soldiers, credited as “Allington,” who was picking up spaghetti for lunch—he is on the leftmost side. Really incredible.

6 Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott is one of those British actors who can play protagonist and antagonist roles seamlessly. He became known for playing the villainous Jim Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock and the insecure priest in the Amazon comedy Fleabag. In terms of war-themed projects, he had appearances in both Saving Private Ryan and 1917.

For Band of Brothers, Scott helmed the role of PFC John “Cowboy” Hall, a paratrooper from the Able Company who participated in D-Day, converged with the Easy Company, and led an attack on Brecourt Manor.

5 Jimmy Fallon

Yes, late-night mogul Jimmy Fallon had a cameo in Band of Brothers. He appeared in the fifth episode, “Crossroads,” where he played second Lt. George Rice, who drove an Army jeep and sent supplies to the East Company of the 101^st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne.

This is one of the many projects that Fallon got involved in during and after his tenure on Saturday Night Live. Apart from comedies like Taxi and Fever Pitch, he also had a small part in the acclaimed Almost Famous.

4 Simon Pegg

Speaking of unexpected parts, Spaced breakout star Simon Pegg appeared in the miniseries as Officer Williams Evans. Evans enlisted to spare his brothers from recruitment, volunteered for the Airborne, and was assigned to Captain Herbert Sobel (Schwimmer) as first sergeant. However, he perished on the same Allied plane Lt. Thomas Meehan was.

This is somehow the first Spielberg production that Pegg got involved in. The next ones include The Adventures of Tintin and Ready Player One. Schwimmer also directed Pegg on the 2008 comedy Run Fatboy Run.

3 Tom Hardy

Before his breakout 2010’s decade, Tom Hardy had a productive 2001 by being featured in two war-themed projects: Black Hawk Down and the HBO miniseries as Private First Class John Janovec. Featured in the last two episodes, Javonec was brought in to fill in for the Easy Company, but he was not much in combat.

After that year, Hardy played Reman Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis and slowly climbed to prominence in several television projects and indie films. His latest WWII-themed project was the Christopher Nolan war thriller Dunkirk.

2 James McAvoy

James McAvoy seems poised to take any genre of film and blend into their parts. For Band of Brothers, McAvoy played Private James W. Miller, a “replacement” in Sgt. Denver Randlemen’s unit. In the episode “Replacements,” he was one of the men from the Easy Company that took part in Operation Market Garden.

After then, McAvoy turned up in excellent parts, including the romantic war film Atonement, co-starring Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan. Sooner, he became known for playing young Charles Xavier in the X-Men prequel series.

1 Michael Fassbender

Finally, speaking of X-Men, McAvoy’s co-star Michael Fassbender had a strong role in Band of Brothers as Technical Sergeant Burton P. Christenson. Christenson served as a machine gunner in the Easy Company. He served in the Normandy D-Day battles via Winters’ plane and joined with two other men, including featured character Staff Sgt. Bull Randleman, in assembling to their company.

Off all the actors in the list, Fassbender had the most appearances in the HBO miniseries, which may have led him to take many television roles in Britain until his film debut in 300 as Stelios.

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