Sam Rockwell Stole the Scene in This Blink-and-You'll-Miss-It Superhero Movie Cameo

Sam Rockwell is one of those actors who always manages to draw attention, no matter the size of his role. He made Confessions of a Dangerous Mind shine with his performance as a game host who may or may not be a former CIA agent. Though Iron Man 2 is often considered to be one of the weakest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rockwell's flashy performance as amoral weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer makes sure it isn't a slog. One of Rockwell's first roles was actually in a comic book adaptation, as he plays a minor thug in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

While Rockwell never crosses paths with the Heroes in a Half-Shell, he does play a fairly major role since he's credited as the "head thug" of the Foot Clan, which is led by the sinister Shredder (James Saito). The Foot have launched a crime wave, recruiting teenagers into their ranks; while reporting on this crime wave, reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) crosses paths with the Turtles and the Foot. Rockwell has a pair of scenes in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and he easily steals both of them.

Sam Rockwell Is a Standout in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'

Rockwell's first scene is speaking to Danny Pennington (Michael Turney), the delinquent son of April's boss at Channel 3 News. He takes Danny to a warehouse full of stolen video games and comic books, a massive indoor skate park, and teenage vices such as drinking and smoking. When one potential recruit asks if they have cigarettes, Rockwell replies without missing a beat: "Regular or menthol?" The effortless, yet powerful charisma that would fuel Rockwell's later roles is on full display during this scene, and shows how he can often elevate a film with his mere presence.

Rockwell also appears toward the tail end of the film, while he's being questioned by police about where the Foot Clan keeps their stolen goods. He tells the police chief to "go check out the east warehouse over at Lairdman Island"; while that might be a simple direction, it also pays homage to the creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. While Laird declined to make a cameo, Eastman has a brief appearance in the film as a trash collector who drives the truck that crushes Shredder in the final battle, proving that Stan Lee isn't the only comic book creator who can make an appearance in his characters' films.

Sam Rockwell Formed a Lifelong Friendship on the Set of 'Teenage Muant Ninja Turtles'

Looking back at his time on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sam Rockwell had nothing but love for the role, calling it "a great time." He also revealed to Polygon that he ended up forming a lifelong friendship with Lief Tilden, who was the suit actor for Donatello. Tilden would recall how he met and struck a fast friendship with Rockwell:

"I was resting in between scenes. I had a little time off and I was just relaxing on the back lot, half-dressed as a turtle. I was watching all these crazy stunt guys who were playing the bad guys in the movie...Then Sam walks up and he's like, 'Are you Leif?' We had the same agent, Ruthanne Secunda, and she told us we should meet each other. I said, 'Yeah, you must be Sam.’ Fast forward to a few hours later, we got some pizza and some beer...We've been friends ever since. Sam and I have even lived together several times."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would launch two sequels; neither of them featured Rockwell, or had the critical and commercial success of the first entry. But in what was only his second role at the time, Rockwell proved that he could be just as big of a draw as four pizza-eating, weapon-wielding mutant reptiles. In a career full of weird, unconventional roles, that's saying something.