7) Michael Giacchino
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If you haven’t heard of Michael Giacchino, you should go and listen to his work right now, as he’s one of the best movie composers working in the business today. He’s often associated with Pixar, but also frequently scores the films and TV shows of J.J. Abrams.
His friendship with the director is no doubt what bought him a cameo role in The Force Awakens as Stormtrooper FN-3181, one of the people who attack Lor San Tekka’s village in search of Poe and BB8, who have the map to Luke Skywalker.
On a related note, another pal of Abrams who showed up in the film was Greg Grunberg, who worked with the director on Alias and stars as one of the more prominent Resistance fighters – Snap Wexley.