I just finished Glass Onion and at the end credits it had all the actors who were in it but only Kate Hudson and Dave Batista had the prefix of “with” before their name. Is there a reason why only they get it?
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Usually someone well established crucial to the plotline while not having a major role but still needs proper billing attention. This is very common with veteran actors making a brief appearance in newer shows with younger, lesser known lead cast.
Another interesting bit of info is when you see two or more writers on the credits. “&” indicates a close collaboration on the script, while “and” indicates very little or no collaboration (for example, a rewrite by another author).
Side trivia: One amusing last billing was Julia Roberts’s “And Introducing” in Ocean’s 11. At one of the red carpets, George Clooney said something along the lines of “I’d like you to meet Julia,
She’s an up and coming star.” 😋
In short it’s an acknowledgment of status…
Usually, a huge/popular star who has and can lead in their own films… Performing in a small, supportive role that without a large and talented cast they would otherwise never consider.
Inaddition to what others have said. the actor nay be playing a character that wears a lot of makeup or the character is CGI. The actor isn’t recognizable they will be given last billing “with” to help with their visbility.
The most recent for example might be Guardians of the Galaxy movies with Groot and “Rocket” Racoon. They both get special standout in the opening credits since you cant recognize them in movie.
They are not the lead role to be casted first (honor) but they have too big name to be casted as the rest of the actors would if they had their role in the credits.
So the go last usually with a “with” to stand out.
Think Anthony Hopkins or Michael Douglas on MCU.
Not lead or big roles, but way too big in the industry to be on the same credits level with the rest.
When the Professor and Mary Ann were finally named individually in the Gilligan’s Island intro instead of being called “the rest” it was because of Bob Denver, who played Gilligan, demanding that if they were going to be “the rest” he wanted to be in the rest too. His contract said he could pick his billing, so the producers had to give in.
And the guy who played Lorelai’s dad in Gilmore Girls – a regular in the show but always “Special Appearance by”.
Last billing, as it’s called, is important in Hollywood. Traditionally, the order of credits is listed based on how big the role was. So top billing goes to the stars, and the minor roles get the bottom of the billing.
But then there’s “last billing.” Last billing usually signifies that the person had a cameo role, which is a role where you put a big name star in the movie for a short amount of time. You want to get this big name star in your movie, but they’re too busy and important to take the time out of their life to star in your movie. So they show up for a day, film the scene you want, and go home.
These cameo roles would be the smallest role in the movie. So the actor doing it would go to the very bottom of the credits reel. But they’re a huge star and you want them to stand out. So you’d add “with so-and-so” to break up the list of actors, to signify that the last billing was in fact a big star, and not just the person with a smaller role than Barista #3.
Well, as time has gone on, last billing became more and more prestigious. So now it doesn’t necessarily mean that the actor did a true cameo role anymore. Agents will fight tooth and nail to get their client bottom billing. Which is why now we have roles that will be like “with [actor] and [actress]” or “with [actor]. Also with [actress]” or however it gets negotiated. These two stars are now sharing the prestigious last billing slot.
Oftentimes last billing also goes to late-in-life actors who “earned” the spot throughout their careers.
Bonus fact about movie billing: “and” and “&” are different in movie credits. “Written by Bob & Tom” means that Bob and Tom worked together as a team to co-write the script. “Written by Bob and Tom” means that they didn’t work together. Perhaps Bob wrote most the script and then the studio gave it to Tom to finish it and do rewrites, but Bob did enough work that they can’t take his name off the project.
It has nothing to do with their “status” or role in the movie or show, and is a negotiated part of the contract they sign. (Mom is an entertainment attorney.)
Take Melrose Place as an incredibly dated example. Heather Locklear comes in season three. She’s a bigger name actor, but is not a lead. The producers can’t give her the top billing because the leads would walk off set. So she negotiated “with” at the end because it sets her apart and her name is on screen longer.
In the case of Spirited, for instance, Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are both big deal actors. So on the first page of credits, Will Ferrell’s name is on the bottom left and Ryan Reynolds’s name is top right. They’re huge stars who like each other so this makes everyone happy.
But it’s all negotiated in their contracts. Stars have walked away over this – that’s how important it is to them.
Even producers and writers negotiate their placement.
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