Surprise! The Best Movie Cameos Ever

[Spartan Girl]

Thought I'd start a thread for the best surprise cameos in movies.  My favorites include:

 

Johnny Depp and his 21 Jump Street costar in 21 Jump Street

 

Bill Murray's cameos in Space Jam and Zombieland (if he doesn't make at least a cameo in the new Ghostbusters movie, I will be furious)

 

Billy Idol in The Wedding Singer

[DollEyes]

Nelson Mandela at the end of Malcolm X was a pleasant surprise.

[blixie]

It's a bit more than a cameo, but I had not idea Johnny Depp would be in Lucky Them and it was OLD SCHOOL Johnny Depp, not he of the ridiculous make up and 1001 scarves. Zero quirk. Bless.

 

I also adored Obi Wan's beyond the grave turn in one of my favorite Hitchcockian thrillers, Mute Witness.

[Luckylyn]

David Bowie in Zoolander.

[raezen]

Charlton Heston in Wayne's World 2. It was pretty unexpected.

[Schweedie]

Bill Murray in Zombieland is indeed awesome.

 

I burst out laughing at Jim Parson's brief cameo in The Muppets the first time I saw that. One of my absolute favourites - he's just so perfect. (Also, Dave Grohl in the same. Hee!)

 

Alanis Morissette in Dogma always makes me smile, too. "Boop!"

Edited June 23, 2015 by Schweedie

[Spartan Girl]

The Muppet movies always have great cameos.

I forgot to add Oscar the Grouch's cameo in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Hugh Jackman in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. I loved that he was willing to make fun of his Wolverine persona...and needless to say, I would love to see him do Camelot for real.

[methodwriter85]

Molly Ringwald in Not Another Teen Movie.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The whole movie is full of them, but I am partial to Silent Movie's with Paul Newman "racing" his wheelchair, and the Marcel Marceau bit.  

Edited June 24, 2015 by Lonesome Rhodes

[Bastet]

Myrna Loy in the final scene of William Powell's The Senator Was Indiscreet.

 

Loy and Powell were pretty much the screen team of the ‘30s and ‘40s, making thirteen films together, in which they always played a couple (either throughout the film or by the end).  Audiences adored them together (and many of us still do).

 

Senator came a year after their final collaboration (the sixth Thin Man film), and in it Powell’s character has a wife we never see – he’s on the phone with her, he talks about her, but she’s not seen.

 

At the end, we finally see him addressing his wife in person, and who turns around and delivers the closing line but Myrna Loy.  I can just imagine sitting in a 1948 movie theatre and experiencing that moment.

Edited June 24, 2015 by Bastet

[Sharpie66]

My favorite director cameo was when Hitchcock had the challenge of getting himself onto the screen in Lifeboat, which takes place just on the lifeboat and he is not one of the people on the boat. Turns out he had a picture of himself as the "before" image in a weight-loss ad in a newspaper on the boat!

[harrie]

John Hurt's cameo in Spaceballs is great, IMO.  Sunset Boulevard is loaded with cameos, of which I think my favorite is Buster Keaton (playing bridge).   

The Muppet movies always have great cameos.

 

In The Muppet Movie (the 1979 one) I couldn't believe Orson Welles agreed to do his cameo   I guess at the time I thought he was super-serious or whatever, but I really loved it. 

[magicdog]

David Soul & Paul Michael Glaser were the highlight in the dismal big screen version of "Starsky & Hutch".  They were the ones who sold the "new" Ford Grand Torino to the main characters, who had blown up their previous car.

 

Buster Keaton playing a blind man searching for his children in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum"

 

At the end, we finally see him addressing his wife in person, and who turns around and delivers the closing line but Myrna Loy.  I can just imagine sitting in a 1948 movie theatre and experiencing that moment.

 

 

Perfect!

 

Frankie Avalon did something similar for the film, "Pajama Party".  His usual romantic lead in the beach party flicks was Annette Funicello , but in this one, she was paired with Tommy Kirk, while Avalon reveals himself to the audience during the final scene.

 

Stan Lee has taken up Hitchcock's cameo mantle for every Marvel related project for the past 20+ years.

[harrie]

David Soul & Paul Michael Glaser were the highlight in the dismal big screen version of "Starsky & Hutch".  They were the ones who sold the "new" Ford Grand Torino to the main characters, who had blown up their previous car.

 

 

That scene sounds fun - I may have to watch Starsky & Hutch now.  How much worse could the movie be than the show?

 

And in that vein, just about the whole cast of the original 21 Jump Street -- at least, Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise and Holly Robinson (Peete now) -- showed up in the movie (which was much better than I had anticipated).  

[magicdog]

I may have to watch Starsky & Hutch now.  How much worse could the movie be than the show?

 

 

The show at least was not  intentional comedy.  The movie version (with Ben Stiller as Starsky) was meant to be funny -but it wasn't IMO.  Snoop Dogg plays Huggy Bear.  Perhaps the best thing to do is fast forward towards the last 15 minutes of the movie.

[Shannon L.]

I loved Davy Jones in The Brady Bunch movie. He looked like he was having fun turning his cute pop song into a grunge song.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Shannon L.

[methodwriter85]

I loved Davy Jones in The Brady Bunch movie. He looked like he was having fun turning his cute pop song into a grunge song.

 

I loved the fantastic touch that all the middle-aged teachers were suddenly turned into 12-year old school girls again, while the current teenagers had no clue who he was. After watching that reality show about New Kids on the Block, that behavior is actually true to life.

[Shannon L.]

 

I loved the fantastic touch that all the middle-aged teachers were suddenly turned into 12-year old school girls again, while the current teenagers had no clue who he was.

That made the scene perfect :)

[Spartan Girl]

Sam Jones aka Flash Gordon in Ted. Although I have to admit it was a bit disheartening how time has not been kind to him....

But still, it made the movie.

[harrie]

Sam Jones aka Flash Gordon in Ted. Although I have to admit it was a bit disheartening how time has not been kind to him....

But still, it made the movie.

 

Yeah, but he seemed to have a great sense of humor about the whole thing.  I have to love him for that .

[Spartan Girl]

Yes, I do love him for that too. I also love him for putting on the Flash costume just for Mark Wahlberg's dream sequence of the two of them on the hover jet, LOL.

[AimingforYoko]

Odd political cameo: Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy in The Dark Knight (he appears at around 1:00):

Edited June 27, 2015 by AimingforYoko

[harrie]

Odd political cameo: Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy in The Dark Knight (he appears at around 1:00):

 

 

Which reminds me of Senator Paul Simon noting that the (fake) President's budget plan was much like his own proposal in Dave.  I also liked Oliver Stone as Oliver Stone remarking that the President looked different, and that he thought there might be some conspiracy at hand.  

Edited June 27, 2015 by harrie

[Shannon L.]

I loved Charlie Sheen's cameo in Ferris Buellar's Day Off. It makes me laugh every time.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Shannon L.

[GreekGeek]

Robin Williams as the down and out psychiatrist in Dead Again.

[Princess Sparkle]

Odd political cameo: Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy in The Dark Knight (he appears at around 1:00):

Apparently, he's a huge Batman fan, and that's why he's in the movie.

 

I like the entire random cameos in the beginning of Goldmember, but I'm giving a special shoutout to Danny Devito, because "HEY ASSHOLES!  I'm Mini-me!" cracks me up every time I think about it.  

[cpcathy]

Not to mention Gwyneth Paltrow in Goldmember, as Dixie Normous.

[Princess Sparkle]

I even find it hilarious that Tom Cruise is supposed to be Austin Powers, yet doesn't bother to do a British accent.  The first 5 minutes of that movie might be the funniest thing about it.

 

I meant to mention this in my other post, but forgot: I also love the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck cameos in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.  

"I don't like the sound of them apples Will!  What are we gonna do?"

"Chuckie?"

"Yeah?"

"It's hunting season"

"Applesauce bitch!"

[DollEyes]

 From Jurassic World,

Jimmy Fallon's cameo in the safety video in the gyro-sphere was cute

.

[Shannon L.]

I enjoyed the cameo's in Wayne's World--especially Alice Cooper"s!

[Ceindreadh]

Martin Sheen's cameo in Hot Shots (think it was in Part deux) with his and Charlie Sheen's boats passing each other on the river and both characters shouting "I loved you in Wall Street!"

[galax-arena]

Drew Barrymore's cameo in Scream, made all the better because everyone thought she was playing the lead. Oops.

[blugirlami21]

Matt Damon in Eurotrip is the best.

[Shannon L.]

I thought Eminem in The Interview was the only good part of that movie. 

[Babalu]

I was only in the room for a bit while my husband watched A Million Ways to Die in the West, but did catch Christopher Lloyd's cameo, which was very clever.

[Spartan Girl]

The Backstreet Boys in This Is The End. Best version of Heaven ever!!!

[Luckylyn]

Bill Murray in  Lttle Shop of Horrors as the patient who loves the sadist dentist(Steve Martin) work too much.

[Rick Kitchen]

Bill Murray in  Lttle Shop of Horrors as the patient who loves the sadist dentist(Steve Martin) work too much.

 

It was Jack Nicholson in the original, but it doesn't really count as a cameo since it was one of his earliest roles.

[magicdog]

Allen Kent's appearance in Princess Diaries 2.  Everyone in the theatre laughed out loud when he appeared and repeated the exact line from Pretty Woman - the one in which he catches a snail that goes flying through the air in a restaurant and mentions how it, "Happens all the time!".

[methodwriter85]

It was great to see Ansel Elgort in Paper Towns. I kind of hope it becomes a thing for stars of the previous John Green movie to show up in the next film as a cameo.

[DollEyes]

 Vin Diesel's cameo in The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift was one of the few good things about it.

[PrincessEnnui]

Franco Nero appearing in Django Unchained.

 

FN unnamed character: "What's your name?"

 

Django: "Django."

 

FN gruffly: "Spell it."

 

Django: "D-J-A-N-G-O." Pause. "The D is silent."

 

I have never seen the original Django, just a Japanese remake (which Quentin Tarantino also cameos in and probably got the idea in his head for his own verision) and Unchained. Franco Nero absolutely smolders in that scene in spite of the disturbing nature of the scene. Yes, I am ashamed.

[DollEyes]

Marvel movies have some great cameos, whether it's Wolverine and the adult Mystique in X-Men: First Class, Rogue, Cyclops & Jean Grey in X- Men: Days of Future Past, Bruce Banner in Iron Man 3, Captain America in Thor: The Dark World, Howard the Duck in Guardians Of the Galaxy  or those in Ant-Man

which are Captain America, Falcon & the Winter Soldier

. 

 

Of course, the king of Marvel cameos is Marvel founder Stan Lee, who has appeared in virtually every Marvel movie ever made for the past several years  and Disney's Big Hero 6. 

Edited July 30, 2015 by DollEyes

[DollEyes]

From Star Wars: The Force Awakens,

Daniel Craig did a great cameo as the Stormtrooper whom Rey used her newly-discovered Force powers on to help her escape from the First Order's captivity. The Stormtrooper's name: "JB-007"

. 

Edited January 3, 2016 by DollEyes

[cpcathy]

I was trying to pick  him out, and couldn't do it! Great scene!

[Zola]

Alec Baldwin's 8 minutes of vitriolic awesomeness in the rather excellent "Glengarry Glen Ross" 

(warning - lots and lots of f-bombs!)

Edited September 6, 2017 by Zola

[GreekGeek]

On 7/12/2015 at 11:44 AM, blugirlami21 said:

Matt Damon in Eurotrip is the best.

It came as a surprise to see him in Interstellar also, though I think his role was a bit too big to be a "cameo."

[vb68]

Jack Nicholson in Broadcast News was one of my favorites.

Bette Midler in Get Shorty.

[Spartan Girl]

[magicdog]

There's Jerry Lewis doing a cameo of sorts as himself in the movie, "The Bellboy" (credited as "Joseph Levitch" - his real name), and shortly thereafter, Milton Berle appears both as himself and as a look a like bell hop at the hotel.