Top 20 Stars You Forgot Were on the Disney Channel

When skateboarding legend Tony Hawk shows up at the Tipton Hotel in an episode of “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” the title characters are stoked. Perhaps the boys go a bit too far with the snot comments. But the man who became the first to land a 900 is kind enough to invite them to go skateboarding with him. Good luck keeping up with Tony Hawk! The California native also brings some humor to the episode with his comment about Cody, who’s wearing a germ-protection bubble suit. They get one more joining the skateboarding fun as well. Let’s be real. Who’s gonna turn down that invitation?!

Albeit in animated form, Mariah Carey appears in “The Proud Family”’s third season premiere, and she leaves a mark like only she can. The famous singer voices herself, but she’s not alone. She arrives at Trudy's veterinary office in style, seeking help for François – her sick monkey. At first, she’s got the shades on and everything, but there’s no hiding who she is. The kids soon realize who they’re talking to. Throughout the episode, she treats her pet extremely well. Talk about a luxurious lifestyle! Watching these interactions, it appears that monkey will always be Carey’s baby!

Ahead of a basketball game, Zack gets a rude awakening when he realizes Mr. Moseby’s little half-brother isn’t so little after all. He’s NBA star Dwight Howard, who’s nearly 7 feet tall! At the time of this episode, Howard was known to be able to do superman-type things on a basketball court — including quite literally wearing a Superman cape during the 2008 NBA Dunk Contest. Good luck, kids. You’re not beating him, unless he lets you! Plus, it turns out he’s got a couple of other big-time pros with him as well.

In the “Art Breaker” episode of “That’s So Raven,” iconic singer Cyndi Lauper guest stars as a teacher. But she’s not a music teacher – she’s an art teacher. And let’s just say her character Ms. Petuto has some interesting taste, championing Chelsea’s talent. It culminates in an exhibit, where she’s oblivious to what she’s truly looking at. Ms. Petuto and her ex-boyfriend Arthur are experiencing some relationship issues while facing an apparent statue. But obviously that’s Raven. That’s so Raven. After holding back for a bit, the alleged art piece’s true colors are revealed. Arthur bears the brunt of the situation. Tough luck, pal.

Nickelodeon and Disney Channel are both on the Mount Rushmore of kids’ show channels. Victoria Justice is known for her time on the former, as Lola Martinez in “Zoey 101” and Tori Vega in “Victorious.” But, did you know that the famous actress and singer also appeared on Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”? That’s right, Justice appears in the second episode of the series, titled “The Fairest of Them All.” Her young character, Rebecca, competes in beauty pageants and shares her personal goals with another participant. But, wait a second – that’s not just anybody. That’s Cody disguised as a girl! That boy crushes on Justice’s character hard, and goes to some wild lengths as a result.

You might know her as Bonnie Bennett, an impressive witch in “The Vampire Diaries.” But before she rose to stardom in that part, Kat Graham appeared on “Hannah Montana.” She plays Jackson Stewart’s girlfriend, Allison. His dad Robby Ray ends up involved though, and an interesting dynamic forms, particularly after the older Mr. Stewart overhears her discussing breakup plans over the phone. The writing is on the wall—it’s just a matter of time. Sorry Jackson, that’s not the talk Allison had in mind. Of course, this is just a preview of Graham's acting prowess, which would fully come to the forefront in “TVD.”

Perhaps best known for her role as Santana Lopez in “Glee,” Naya Rivera had been in various series prior to her most popular character’s first appearance in 2009. During the 1990s, she starred in “The Royal Family” and was in sitcoms such as “Family Matters” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” One of her lesser known roles, however, came in 2002, on Disney’s “Even Stevens.” She’s Charlene, who is not happy with Shia LaBeouf’s character, Louis. It’s a relatively brief yet incredibly effective appearance, and it certainly lives on as part of the late actress’ amazing legacy.

A few years after the conclusion of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Ray Romano — who portrays the title character — guest-starred as himself on “Hannah Montana.” In “We’re All on This Date Together,” Hannah and others don’t recognize the famous actor at an auction event. And let’s just say Ray isn’t thrilled about it. Oliver’s measly $11 earns him a game of golf with Romano, but he doesn’t even get the guy’s name right! The audacity! The star feels even more disrespected after thousands of dollars are bid for a dinner with Hannah Montana. Hello! That man is famous too!?

It’s fitting that the “Jessie” episode Adam Sandler appears in involves a funny conversation with Cameron Boyce’s Luke. After all, the late Boyce played the son of Sandler’s character in the “Grown Ups” movies. In this Disney Channel appearance, the veteran has some fatherly advice of sorts. He has some tips for Jessie, too. Imagine being a kid at a school dance where Adam Sandler is chaperoning! How cool would that be? With that said, apparently the quality of his punch pales in comparison to the quality of his punch lines.

Shakira is not considered the “Queen of Latin Music” for a reason. That aspect of her career is well-documented, to say the least. But did you know that she once appeared on “Wizards of Waverly Place”? The episode is titled “Dude Looks Like Shakira,” and in it, the famous singer turns out to actually be the main characters’ uncle! Yeah, those two don’t look alike in the slightest! This is revealed after we get to see her in an awesome duet with Selena Gomez’s character, Alex. This is just one of many instances in the series where the use of magic results in some bizarrely delightful stuff.

Whether it’s her breakout role as the wild, unrestrained Dina in “Girls Trip”, or the unorthodox teacher Carrie in “Night School”, characters played by Tiffany Haddish go straight to business. And, even in one of her earliest onscreen roles, Tiffany carried her trademark attitude as a tour guide on “That’s So Raven.” When Raven’s best friend Chelsea visits a biodome, it’s Tiffany’s character on duty to show visitors around. While initially putting on the persona of a well-to-do tour guide who’s happy to help, she drops the act immediately when her shift is over, telling the visitors to beat it!

Before he was the hearthrob Sebastian on “The Carrie Diaries,” and a member of the Manson Family in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” one of Austin Butler’s first roles had been on “Hannah Montana.” He played Derek, a blind date set up by Miley’s best friend Lily. In this episode, Miley’s delight at having a handsome boy as her date becomes resentment toward Lily when Derek turns out to have a bit of a problem with scary movies. After coming close to panicking a few times, Derek finally loses his cool when Miley’s dad walks in . . . holding a chainsaw. Hey, at least it wasn’t as bad as what Brad Pitt did to him.

Best known as Meredith Palmer in “The Office,” a character who regularly made colleagues uncomfortable with inappropriate remarks, Kate Flannery carried a similar awkward energy over to “Wizards of Waverly Place.” In this appearance, Kate played Harper’s mother Elaine Finkle, a vaudeville dancer who, along with her husband, embarrasses Harper with her over-the-top antics. The couple are convinced that they’re about to land a lucrative gig in Romania. Understandably, Harper isn’t too keen on leaving her “normal” life with the Russos to go on a vaudevillian act. It’s when Alex takes a liking toward the Finkles that the real competition begins. As we now know, Kate really does have some cool dance moves.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is full of moments in which Larry David just can’t catch a break, and it appears his luck didn’t get any better when he showed up on “Hannah Montana” - where he got one-upped by Hannah herself. When Larry arrives with his daughters at the “coolest restaurant in town,” he’s made to wait in line for a table, while Hannah invokes her celebrity privileges to get one immediately. In true Larry David fashion, his attempts to gain sympathy go nowhere, even when pretending he’s there for his daughters’ birthdays. His plan blows up in his face when he’s made to face facts that he’s just not as “big” as Hannah Montana.

Before playing one of the scariest villains ever on “Heroes,” or stepping into the shoes of Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto appeared on the Disney Channel as an eccentric director who took his job a little too seriously. In this episode, Matt and Sam McGuire’s sports drink commercial doesn’t start well because of Sam’s obvious fear of heights. Ignoring this, the director launches a verbal tirade to humiliate Sam while the whole crew watches - provoking Matt’s wrath as he jumps to his father’s defense. Putting the director in his place, Matt manages to scare him almost speechless, earning applause from the crew!

After his role as obnoxious jock Reggie Mantle in “Riverdale,” Ross Butler followed up with his best known role, as a jock with a heart of gold in “13 Reasons Why.” However, he also had an earlier role on “K.C. Undercover” as Brett, the titular character’s love interest. In this recurring part, Brett starts out as a spy working alongside K.C. as the two eventually admit their feelings for one another. Unfortunately, it turns out Brett is a double agent for the villainous organization the Other Side and becomes an enemy to K.C., going up against her in various spy missions. Eventually, he sees the error of his ways and has a heartfelt farewell before leaving the show.

If you’re a “Community” fan, it’s hard to imagine Alison Brie in any role other than Annie, although she’s followed that up with an empowering performance as Zoya the Destroyer in Netflix’s “GLOW.” However, Alison’s first venture on television came back when she appeared on “Hannah Montana” playing the character of Nina. In this episode, Rico pays Nina to pretend to be a beautician who pranks Jackson, by giving him the shiniest head anyone’s ever seen. Later on, though, Jackson gets his revenge by convincing Nina to play the same trick on Rico, and she ends up leaving both boys bald.

While she’s best known for playing the role of Aria on “Pretty Little Liars,” where she falls for her high school teacher Ezra, Lucy’s also been seen on Disney Channel, this time dating someone around her own age as Justin Russo’s girlfriend Miranda. Here, Miranda and Justin are seen on a movie date, where Justin tries to have his first kiss. Unfortunately, despite Alex turning back time each time it goes wrong, Justin just can’t seem to get it right . . . Miranda and Justin do eventually make it official after a lot of trial and error. At least it wasn’t as awkward as that time Aria’s mother walked in on her movie date with Ezra, right?

Before her career skyrocketed after her Oscar-winning performance in “The Help,” Octavia Spencer had guest spots in numerous sitcoms, including the part of Dr. Evilini. In this role, Octavia plays a professor at WizTech, a parody of Hogwarts which the Russo siblings attend for summer school. Although she initially appears to be a supportive teacher, Dr. Evilini stays true to her name by constantly slipping up with her sinister intentions, before it’s revealed that she’s an evil wizard out to drain Justin’s powers. She’s eventually being apprehended by the authorities. While that sounds bad, it still doesn’t reach the lengths Octavia’s character went to with the teenagers in “Ma,” does it?

We’ve seen Dwayne Johnson play characters who can leap across impossible gaps and pull off feats of strength that would put Captain America to shame. And while his appearance on “Hannah Montana” isn’t as action packed as his rival John Cena’s had been, it certainly is memorable . . . just in a different way. In this episode, Miley and Lily work together to capture an embarrassing picture of the Rock in order to exchange it with a picture of Hannah’s from a magazine that exposes Miley’s real identity. Pretending to be professional stylists, the girls fool the Rock into a hilarious makeover he won’t ever forget. It didn’t get better on “Wizards of Waverly Place” either, when Alex refused to believe Johnson’s identity.