Celebrity cameos are when famous people make generally quick, random appearances in movies or television, typically for a laugh. The best cameos, I think, are the ones that are so completely random you have to do a double-take before realizing what’s going on and then laugh. This list is made up of 10 different celebrities, obviously, and the movies they have made cameos in. The movies on this list might not all be the best movies in the world, but most uber-awesome movies don’t usually have random celebrity cameos, now, do they? So without further ado…
10. David Hasselhoff
There were three movies that came to mind when I thought of David Hasselhoff: The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, EuroTrip, and The New Guy. Spongebob’s was probably the weirdest, EuroTrip’s the funniest, and The New Guy’s was the most confusing. I can’t really narrow this one down to which one would be the most random or the best, as they were all relatively random and funny in their own way. That’s why The Hoff is number 10 on the list. If I had to choose, it would be a tie between EuroTrip and The New Guy, and maybe EuroTrip coming out on top (mostly because The New Guy’s cameo was almost too random).
9. Tom Cruise
This one was difficult, because the beginning of Austin Powers in GoldMember was full of cameos, from Kevin Spacey to Steven Spielberg to Britney Spears. But it was Tom Cruise as Austin Powers that I think caught me off guard the most (with a quick second to Kevin Spacey). Love him or hate him, just seeing Tom in the outfit and saying “yeah baby!” and “Shall we shag now or shag later?” was great.
8. David Bowie
His appearance in Zoolander seemed less random than it actually was. I suppose because Zoolander is a completely random movie to begin with that it was basically expected. But anyway, seeing the man refereeing a ‘walk-off’ between Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson might not have been the funniest cameo, but it was just random enough to be great.
7. Vin Diesel
Speaking of great yet unfunny cameos, Vin’s appearance at the end of Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift was a nice callback to the first movie. Because Vin couldn’t appear in the second movie, they had him pop in right before the credits of the third for a surprise ending. It put a smile on my face, anyway, even though I knew it was coming before I saw it.
6. David Spade
In a scene that suddenly made most straight men question their sexuality, David Spade pops up in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in a most interesting fashion (no pun intended). The camera zooms in on a nice butt in a bunny costume, leading you to believe it is Jessica Biel. But as Adam Sandler closes in, the bunny suit person turns around and reveals that it is none other than David Spade. He also appears again later in another random outfit. And no worries, gentlemen, that actually was Jessica Biel’s butt when they close in, and they pull a switch right before the reveal.
5. Stan Lee
Stan Lee is probably the king of cameos in movies and television. From any movie based off his comics to the TV hit “Heroes,” Stan Lee’s appearances are nothing less than awesome. But it was his cameo in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats that makes this list. Brodie (Jason Lee) is a comic book nerd going through the mall with his good friend when he suddenly sees a huge line outside his favorite comic shop. What are they waiting in line for? To see none other than Stan Lee himself. But when Brodie makes a scene and gets thrown out, he loses all chances of meeting The Man himself… until his good pal sets up his own private meeting for him. The conversation about superhero sex is a classic.
4. John Turturro
There are two cameos in The Big Lebowski that make this list, and the first is John Turturro as Jesus. I don’t mean the son of God, here, but a random bowler and pedophile who really only has two scenes in the entire movie and really no purpose whatsoever… except hilarity. That’s why he makes the list.
3. David Thewlis
This is the second cameo from Lebowski. I don’t know if it’s just because I knew him as Professor Lupin prior to seeing this movie, but his random cameo appearance in this movie was one of the funniest scenes in the entire film. He plays the hyper (assumingly) gay friend of Maude Lebowski with a really annoying laugh. Again, like Jesus, there was no real point to his appearance except that it was hilarious. And while Jesus was the more memorable character, I think David Thewlis’ character was funnier, which is why he got one spot higher on the list.
2. Bill Murray
Originally played by a very young Jack Nicholson (in one of his first roles), the pain-loving dentist patient in the remake of Little Shop of Horrors is classic. Bill Murray’s portrayal of Arthur Denton (Wilbur Force in the original) is hands down the funniest scene in the entire movie, and Bill Murray basically improvised the entire thing, with Steve Martin playing off of him. Never again can I think of the dentist without the additional scream of “Candy bar! Candy bar! Ohh, I’m gonna get a candy bar!”
1. Matt Damon
His cameo is EuroTrip is so random, and his appearance is so different than how he normally looks, that I didn’t even recognize him until halfway through the scene. In fact, I know some people who went the entire movie and didn’t even realize it was Matt Damon at all. He plays a rocker at the beginning who first (fake) sings the movie’s infamous Scotty Doesn’t Know. He’s bald and tattooed and pierced up and makes out with Kristin Kreuk. Because of causing the double take and being responsible for the most memorable song from the movie, Matt Damon in EuroTrip makes the top of this list.
Runners-Up
The first four runners-up didn’t make the list because you basically expected them in the movie from the beginning. The last just barely missed making the list.
1) Bruce Campbell in the Spider-Man movies… especially after the first one, you knew he was going to be in each one.
2) Keith Richards in Pirates of the
3) Ben Stiller in School for Scoundrels… love or hate the movie, his appearance was funny and very different from normal Stiller. But I think he was even advertised to be in the movie beforehand, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise, even for the small role.
4) Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers… it was a funny cameo, but too expected due to the fact that those guys are always in each other’s movies and will appear at some point some how.
5) Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore… the fight scene between him and Adam Sandler was great, but the set-up didn’t feel random enough, as I really could imagine Sandler and Barker going out to hit a few balls together at a country club or something.
I have to disagree with some of your selections, if only because I don't think they qualify as "cameos."
ReplyDeleteBowie in Zoolander - that's a cameo. Cruise in Goldmember - that's a cameo. Steve Buscemi in Pulp Fiction (or Billy Madison) - that's a cameo.
But Thewlis in The Big Lebowski? No way that's a cameo - that's a little known (at least to American audiences) British actor taking a bit part.
And Turturro has much too large a role (and also isn't that big a star) to be considered a cameo in Lebowski. Way too much screen time to qualify, if you ask me.
Good call on Stan Lee. For all of his numerous cameos, his Mallrats one is easily the best.
Just found your page through a link on imdb.com. Good stuff, keep it up. Whe I saw the top ten cameos list I was praying that you would have Damon at the top, it is myfavorite cameo and often goes unrecognized.
ReplyDeleteI alsowanted to point out that I agree with fletch that Thewlis in The Big Lebowski probably doesnt qualify as a cameo, in 1998 when the movie came out, Thewlis was not well known enough for is appearanceto qualify.