This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Silent Hunter: The CSI:NY episode "Open and Shut" is a perfect example of this trope. The assistant to the model is played by Lindy Booth- and she turned out to have done it. I didn't recognise her until the denouement though. However, it should be pointed out that she was wearing sunglasses until the vital piece of evidence was revealed.
There was an episode of John Doe where the first victim of the new villain was Doug Hutchison from The Green Mile. Slightly too famous to be playing Victim no.1, and of course he turns out to be the actual villain who knew he could trick his way into John Doe's confidence by playing the victim.
- Semi-subverted when the crowd of convict extras who are about to fire-fight included...the lead from Burn Notice. Of course, this was before he was famous, but this troper still knew he was more than just an extra. The subversion comes in that he didn't commit the crime from The Teaser, but still ended up being the Big Bad of that episode and the next.
So, not famous, and not the murderer. ...how is this an example?
- A case of a movie subverting this is Alien. While this has changed since, when the movie first came out, it was Sigourney Weaver's first major role in a movie.
Not a subversion so much as not having anything at all to do with the trope.
Grev: Seems like these days, it's not so much one guy to recognize who did it as to figure out which one guy did it...
