The 10 greatest movie cameos of all time
There are some forgotten arts in the world of cinema. With the rise of digital technology, arguably, the practice of animation has lost some magic, filmmakers certainly aren’t as used to working with practical effects, and the art of the cameo has also been seemingly lost. Once offering some of cinema’s funnest and most humorous moments, in recent years, cameos feel like the tacked-on work of corporate suits.
In popular franchises such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, cameos have recently been treated as cheap chances to shoe-horn in some nostalgic characters, with Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian making a stupid appearance in 2019’s Rise of Skywalker and Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood sprouting up during the conclusion of 2023’s Dial of Destiny, despite no fans asking for her presence.
Indeed, modern cinema has forgotten the art of the cameo, where actors show up in an appearance that lasts just one brief scene or as a minor supporting role for which they are far too overqualified to play. That’s why we’ve taken it upon ourselves to remind audiences of the greatness of the cameo, revisiting the ten best from the history of cinema.
Check out our list below, which includes movies from the likes of David Lynch, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Ben Stiller.
The best movie cameos:
10. Robert Patrick – Wayne’s World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992)
The Penelope Spheeris comedy Wayne’s World is a beloved piece of 1990s comedy, following the adventures of best friends Garth (Dana Carvey) and Wayne (Mike Myers) as they try and promote their public-access cable show. Very much tapped into the landscape of pop culture, the movie is stuffed full of references, winks and nods to the wider world of music and cinema.
Its greatest reference comes when Robert Patrick’s villain, the T-1000, from 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, approaches Wayne’s vehicle looking for the boy from James Cameron’s iconic sci-fi. It’s a hilarious and well-constructed moment.
9. Dan Aykroyd – Casper (Brad Silberling, 1995)
One of Dan Aykroyd’s best-known roles is Ray in 1984’s Ghostbusters. However, he delighted many fans when he appeared in 1995’s Casper, the live-action, family-friendly comedy starring Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. The movie is known for being the first to feature a CGI character as its lead.
In one scene, Cathy Moriarty’s Carrigan Crittenden attempts to rid the house of Casper the Friendly Ghost, enlisting the help of Aykroyd’s Ray, who fails to complete the job. Instead, he quips, “Who ya gonna call? Someone else,” in reference to his iconic line in the original movie.
8. David Bowie – Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001)
In Ben Stiller’s fashion industry parody Zoolander, it only made sense to have the extravagant, stylish musical icon David Bowie make an appearance. While there are other cameos from the likes of Donatella Versace and Victoria Beckham, Bowie’s presence is undoubtedly one of the film’s greatest moments. He plays himself, acting as a judge as Stiller’s Zoolander and Owen Wilson’s Hansel battle each other to be the superior model.
Speaking about getting the musician onboard, Wilson explained, “I think Ben and I were surprised that [Bowie] even agreed to do the movie! He was such a cool, lovely guy the day that we worked together. When I got the sad news of his death earlier this year, of course, I thought a lot about that day.”
7. Orson Welles – The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 1979)
The American director Orson Welles was responsible for creating Citizen Kane, a movie so revered that it has become synonymous with exceptional filmmaking. Yet, Welles was a massive fan of The Muppets and Sesame Street, once telling Dick Cavett, “Sesame Street is the greatest thing that ever happened to television”. Therefore, he was given the chance to star in The Muppets Movie in 1979.
He played a studio executive named Lew Lord, who was based on the real-life head of ATV, Sir Lew Grade. That same year, Welles also had some of the Muppets, alongside Frank Oz and Jim Henson, join him on his talk show, The Orson Welles Show.
6. Danny DeVito – Austin Powers in Goldmember (Jay Roach, 2002)
In many ways, the Austin Powers comedy series of the 1990s and early 2000s is rather underrated, with the Mike Myers-led series having a profound effect on the very James Bond series it was satirising. Whilst the entire series took the piss out of Bond, the satire reached its peak with the release of Goldmember in 2002, a film that directly spoofed the iconic Sean Connery spy flick Goldfinger from 1964.
The funniest part of the comedy may indeed come at the very start too, when director Jay Roach goes meta, and Tom Cruise plays Austin Powers in a small skit, joined by his evil adversary ‘Mini-Me’, hilariously played by Danny DeVito. Bravo.
5. Michael Cera – Twin Peaks: The Return (Mark Frost, David Lynch, 2017)
When David Lynch and Mark Frost’s television show Twin Peaks was released in 1990, it quickly became a hit, subsequently becoming one of the most popular series ever made. Its cult following spawned a prequel movie, Fire Walk With Me, and a third season set 25 years later. While it’s technically a television show, many people, including the likes of acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, consider Twin Peaks: The Return a (very long) movie.
In Part 4, Michael Cera makes a short but memorable appearance as Wally Brando, the oddball son of Andy and Lucy. Dressed as Marlon Brando from the 1953 film The Wild One, he briefly speaks to Sheriff Frank Truman, the brother of his godfather, Harry S. Truman, much to his confusion. He’s as strange as his parents, making for a humorously surreal moment that certainly pleased many fans.
4. Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008)
We’ve already mentioned Tom Cruise once before in this list, with the iconic Hollywood star lending his talents to the third movie in the Austin Powers series. But, it seems as though the actor is pretty fond of a cameo, stealing the show in the 2008 Ben Stiller movie Tropic Thunder, which, like the aforementioned Goldmember, is a satire that pokes fun at the very industry from which it originates.
Whilst Stiller shines as the sell-out star Tugg Speedman and Jack Black impresses as the pathetic Jeff Portnoy, it is Cruise as Les Grossman who shines the brightest, playing a furious movie producer who isn’t willing to negotiate with anybody.
3. Christopher Walken – Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
It’s crazy that Captain Koons, played by Christoper Walken, takes such a minor role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 Palme d’Or winner Pulp Fiction yet remains one of the movie’s most memorable characters. Delivering a bizarre speech where he discusses how he hid a golden watch up his rectum for two years during the Vietnam War, Walken’s speech is so magnificent and so curious that it remains highly memorable.
Some would say the flashback to the perspective of a young Butch is unnecessary, yet the small moment adds so much depth and complexity to his character, giving so much more meaning to the moment when he catches Vincent Vega looking at the watch and shoots him dead.
2. David Lynch – The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022)
In the Steven Spielberg coming-of-age tale The Fabelmans, primarily based on the director’s childhood, the filmmaker recreated the moment he met one of his cinematic idols, John Ford. When Spielberg met the legendary filmmaker as an adolescent, it shaped his perception of the medium, spurring him to become a successful director, which he certainly achieved.
He decided to approach surrealist master David Lynch to play the part, who was initially hesitant. As Spielberg stated, “[Lynch] said he was not an actor and had other projects, and John Ford was so great, what if he didn’t come up to those standards? He was just kind of shy about it.” Yet, he finally agreed, and the result is a cameo perfectly fitting for a movie dedicated to the joys of filmmaking.
1. Bill Murray – Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009)
No cameo is so surprising, so hilarious, and so genuinely triumphant as the moment when Bill Murray appears as himself in Ruben Fleischer’s comedy horror flick Zombieland. Indeed, the film, starring Jesse Eisenberg as a young student who gets caught up in the chaos of a zombie apocalypse, wouldn’t be anywhere near as memorable as it is without the involvement of Murray.
Appearing towards the end of the movie, when the main gang of characters go to his home under the assumption that he’s dead, Murray stumbles into the scene dressed up as a zombie. But, fear not, Murray was not overcome with the desire to eat brains; he was merely trying to scare the gang away, leading to a quintessentially Murray performance in a film that owes its legacy to the American icon.
