Top 20 Cameos That Are CRUCIAL To The Movie
Wait for it... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best film cameos that actually enhanced the movie. Major spoilers to come!
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00:00It's the Price is Right, Happy.
00:02Oh, yeah, sorry.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:05and today we're counting down our picks for the best film cameos that actually enhanced the movie.
00:09Major spoilers to come.
00:11You guys are Jump Street?
00:12Yeah.
00:13That's funny, because we were actually Jump Street.
00:16Number 20. All of them.
00:18Deadpool and Wolverine.
00:20I waited a long time for this team-up.
00:22In Sean Levy's mega-meta Deadpool and Wolverine,
00:25fan service reigns supreme.
00:27To say that the film is cameo-stuffed would be a wee bit of an understatement.
00:30After all, the movie doubles as a love letter to the Fox-era cast of super-characters.
00:34And, from Elektra,
00:36to Blade,
00:39to Johnny Storm,
00:40they all have their moments to shine.
00:42Now picture that,
00:44but everywhere.
00:45Heck, we even get cameos from superheroes that failed to get their films off the ground.
00:48Looking at you, Gambit.
00:49Look, I was a fan of Gambit since, like, I was a kid,
00:51so there's a lot of things that I've been looking forward to getting to do.
00:54One might argue that there were too many,
00:56but when it comes to Deadpool,
00:57excess is kind of the name of the game.
00:59Number 19. Paul Reubens.
01:01Batman Returns.
01:02Fans of Batman Returns may be surprised to learn
01:05that another Tim Burton collaborator had a brief cameo in the film.
01:08Paul Reubens, of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure fame,
01:10plays the Penguin's father opposite fellow Pee-Wee star Diane Salinger.
01:14Reubens' character, Tucker Cobblepot,
01:16heartlessly dumps his malformed newborn son in the sewer,
01:19who is then adopted by a family of penguins.
01:27Reubens' brief cameo is not just a meta reference.
01:30It is chillingly effective in setting up the penguins' dark and tragic backstory.
01:34And that's not the end of Cobblepot.
01:36Reubens would go on to reprise the role in the crime drama series Gotham,
01:39albeit for a much more tragic end.
01:41She never told me.
01:43Told you what?
01:46That I had a son.
01:48Number 18. Huey Lewis.
01:50Back to the Future.
01:52On a much lighter note,
01:53Huey Lewis' cameo in Back to the Future is a tuneful one.
01:56Director Robert Zemeckis asked singer Lewis to contribute two songs to the movie.
02:00One of them, The Power of Love,
02:02even hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100.
02:12But Lewis' involvement went beyond songwriting.
02:14He also appears in the movie as a judge in the Battle of the Bands scene,
02:17panning Marty McFly's playing of his own song as
02:21Fun and funny, but it also forces Marty to reflect on his rejection
02:25and makes him worry about ending up like his parents.
02:27He then meets up with Doc Brown, and the rest is cinema history,
02:30so thanks, Huey Lewis.
02:32Are you telling me that you built a time machine
02:36out of a DeLorean?
02:37Number 17. Bruce Springsteen.
02:39High Fidelity.
02:40It was inevitable that a movie all about music would feature at least one musical artist.
02:452000's High Fidelity rolled out the big guns, however,
02:48by having Bruce Springsteen himself make an appearance as himself.
02:52Record store employee Rob Gordon is unlucky with women,
02:55so he reaches out to his old partners to find out why his current relationship failed.
02:59Fortunately, Bruce Springsteen appears in his dreams to deliver some tuneful wisdom.
03:07Springsteen even references his own song, Bobby Jean,
03:10in encouraging Rob to seek closure and move on from his past lovers.
03:13This sets Rob on an emotional journey to reconcile with Laura
03:16and commit to her fully.
03:17Is there anything Bruce Springsteen can't do?
03:19Thanks, boss.
03:20Number 16. Kurt Vonnegut.
03:22Back to School.
03:23Hi, I'm Kurt Vonnegut. I'm looking for Thornton Mellon.
03:26Literature lovers were thrilled to encounter a cameo
03:29from this famous author in the 80s comedy Back to School.
03:31Wealthy but largely uneducated businessman, Thornton Mellon,
03:35decides to return to school and encourage his own unmotivated son, Jason,
03:38to continue in his studies.
03:40It isn't long before Thornton falls for English literature professor Dr. Diane Turner
03:44and decides to impress her with a paper on Kurt Vonnegut.
03:47And who better to write it than Vonnegut himself?
03:49Hilariously enough, this backfires as Diane sees through the deception.
03:53What's more, she believes the one who really wrote the paper
03:56doesn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut.
03:59Lesson learned. Do not rely on authors to understand their own works.
04:02Next time, I'll call Robert Ludlum.
04:04Number 15. David Hasselhoff.
04:06The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
04:08How will we ever get back to Bikini Bottom now?
04:11I can take you there.
04:13Admittedly, this cameo is one of the most random ones you'll ever see.
04:16Parents watching this with their kids might have been tempted to ask,
04:19what do David Hasselhoff and SpongeBob SquarePants have to do with each other?
04:22In the movie's climax, SpongeBob and Patrick are stranded at the beach
04:26when David Hasselhoff appears and offers to give them a ride.
04:29They literally ride on his back while Hasselhoff glides across the water like a speedboat.
04:33Hitman Dennis tries to knock them off,
04:35but gets knocked down himself when Hasselhoff passes underneath another boat.
04:39All in all, it's a fun-if-random cameo turned into a chase scene.
04:42David Hasselhoff, everybody!
04:44You done good, Hasselhoff.
04:46Number 14. Orson Welles.
04:48The Muppet Movie.
04:49Please, sir, my name is Kermit the Frog,
04:51and we read your ad, and, well, we've come to be rich and famous.
04:55Now, this cameo was nothing less than an honor.
04:58For Orson Welles, of course.
04:59Meshing together two legends is always a treat.
05:02Encouraged by a talent scout, Kermit the Frog embarks on a journey to L.A.,
05:06meeting all the other Muppets,
05:07as well as a slew of humans and guest stars along the way.
05:10Among the heavyweights is Orson Welles of Citizen Kane fame,
05:13a big fan of the Muppets.
05:15He plays Lou Lord,
05:17the cigar-chewing head of Worldwide Studios who meets with Kermit et al.
05:20A few words from Kermit, however, is all that Lord needs to make his decision.
05:24Welles' facial expressions and screen presence
05:26help elevate this brief cameo into an iconic one.
05:30Tracy, prepare the standard rich and famous contract
05:35for Kermit the Frog and company.
05:38Number 13, Sigourney Weaver, The Cabin in the Woods.
05:41As long as they accept our sacrifice, they remain below.
05:45But the other rituals have all failed.
05:47This meta sci-fi satire wouldn't be complete without cameos.
05:51In this film, American college students stay in a cabin in the woods,
05:54unaware that a group of lab scientists control the building remotely,
05:57releasing mind-altering drugs
05:59and manipulating events to decimate the group.
06:01The last survivors, Dana and Marty,
06:03soon discover the truth behind these grisly occurrences.
06:06Played by Sigourney Weaver, the director explains
06:08the deaths have all been part of an arcane ritual
06:10demanding the sacrifice of typical horror movie archetypes.
06:13But even Weaver's sci-fi gravitas can't prevent Dana and Marty
06:16from electing not to kill each other arbitrarily and instead kill her.
06:20Gosh, they're both so enticing.
06:22Number 12, Gene Hackman, Young Frankenstein.
06:25A visitor is all I ask.
06:28A temporary companion to help me
06:30pass a few short hours in my lonely life.
06:35Speaking of horror film satire,
06:37this classic parody has its own very effective cameo.
06:40In the movie, Gene Wilder plays Frederick Frankenstein,
06:43sorry, Frankenstein,
06:45who travels to his family's estate in Transylvania.
06:48While there, he ends up creating the monster,
06:50who later escapes and crosses paths with a priest.
06:53Played by Gene Hackman in a rare comic role,
06:55all the lonely priest wants is a companion,
06:57and he immediately bonds with the monster.
06:59As the priest is blind, he hilariously pours soup down the monster's lap
07:02and lights his thumb on fire.
07:04Unfortunately, the monster storms out after this,
07:06missing out on the chance to have espresso.
07:08Hackman's foray into comedy is definitely a scene-stealer.
07:11Where are you going?
07:13I was gonna make espresso.
07:15Number 11, David Bowie, Zoolander.
07:18If nobody has any objections,
07:21I believe I might be of service.
07:23Of course the fabulous David Bowie would be in this movie.
07:26The plot follows male model Derek Zoolander,
07:28who is brainwashed into assassinating the prime minister
07:31by evil fashion mogul Mogatu.
07:33As Derek hits the runway in the walk-off
07:35against a preening Hansel,
07:37David Bowie himself volunteers to be the judge
07:39and lays out the rules. Makes sense to us.
07:41But walk-offs are very serious business,
07:43and Derek cannot keep up with a dexterous Hansel.
07:46Bowie immediately gives his harsh verdict, disqualified.
07:49Bowie's somber, straight-faced attitude
07:51towards the walk-off shenanigans
07:53makes this already funny scene comedy gold.
07:55Disqualified.
07:57Number 10, Billy Idol, The Wedding Singer.
07:59Who better to make an appearance in a musical rom-com
08:01than Billy Idol?
08:03The Wedding Singer follows Robbie Hart,
08:05the titular character who falls in love with a waitress named Julia.
08:07Unfortunately, Julia is set to marry her long-time fiancé,
08:10the boorish Glenn Guglia.
08:12After breaking up with his own fiancé,
08:14Robbie catches a plane to stop Julia's wedding to Glenn,
08:17regaling his tale of woe to Billy Idol and the other passengers.
08:20Glenn doesn't deserve her.
08:22All he cares about are possessions.
08:24Fancy cars,
08:26CD players.
08:28Even women are possessions to him.
08:30Idol is totally on team Robbie and Julia
08:32and gets in on a plan to help and woo Julia back
08:34by announcing Robbie's song on the speaker.
08:36He and the other passengers then give Glenn his comeuppance.
08:39Idol's obvious enthusiasm for the role
08:41elevates the already heartwarming climax.
08:43Mind if I give her a kiss first?
08:45Oh, yeah. Do it. You gotta do it.
08:47Number 9, Neil Patrick Harris.
08:49Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.
08:51Excuse me, are you Neil Patrick Harris?
08:53Yep.
08:54In this stoner comedy,
08:55friends Harold and Kumar embark on an odyssey
08:57to fast-food restaurant White Castle,
08:59but not before they pick up a most unexpected hitchhiker,
09:02Neil Patrick Harris.
09:03Shocked but pleased,
09:04Harold and Kumar soon discover that Harris is intoxicated
09:07and keen to derail their plans even more.
09:09Things then take a wild turn with a hilarious sequence
09:12where Harris steals the friends' car,
09:14leaving them stranded at a convenience store.
09:16Harold and Kumar finally arrive at White Castle,
09:18only to discover their money is gone.
09:20Harris appears once again like a mischievous trickster
09:23to apologize and compensate them for their trouble.
09:25It's a pitch-perfect cameo that fits seamlessly into the movie.
09:28What happened to my car?
09:29I made some love stains in the back seat.
09:32You'll see.
09:33Number 8, Bruce Willis, Split.
09:35This psychological thriller would not be the same
09:38without this Bruce Willis tie-in.
09:40Split follows Dennis,
09:41a man living with dissociative identity disorder,
09:43who kidnaps three girls and imprisons them beneath a zoo.
09:46He manages to kill two of the girls, but one escapes.
09:48However, there is more to this tale of split personalities
09:51than meets the eye.
09:52Rejoice!
10:00The broken are the more evolved.
10:10Rejoice.
10:12In the ending cameo, Bruce Willis appears as David Dunn,
10:15confirming that Split is set in the same universe
10:17as 2000's Unbreakable.
10:19M. Night Shyamalan had conceived of the Dennis character
10:21during Unbreakable,
10:22but had to cut him due to length constraints.
10:24Willis' crucial cameo makes Split a rare example
10:27of a standalone sequel that ties into another universe.
10:30They gave him a funny name, too.
10:33What was it?
10:35Mr. Glass.
10:37Number 7, Mike Tyson, The Hangover.
10:40This hit comedy about a bachelor party turned epic journey
10:43undoubtedly delivers an excellent cameo.
10:45Facing memory loss from their drunken debauchery
10:47the previous night,
10:48friends Phil, Stu, and Alan
10:50must find Doug and get him to his wedding.
10:52After getting arrested for stealing a police cruiser,
10:54the trio find themselves face-to-face
10:56with none other than Mike Tyson,
10:58rocking out to In the Air Tonight.
11:00This is my favorite part coming up right now.
11:07He then punches Alan and demands that they return his Bengal tiger.
11:10What follows is a hilarious sequence
11:12of them sedating the tiger
11:14and taking it back to Tyson's mansion,
11:16where they discover that Doug had been with them
11:18during their initial visit.
11:19Tyson's performance turns what would have been
11:21a forgettable cameo into great comedy.
11:23Nice!
11:24Nice, guys!
11:26Number 6, Will Ferrell, Wedding Crashers.
11:29This popular rom-com features divorce mediators
11:32John and Jeremy,
11:33who crash weddings in the hopes of meeting women.
11:35John falls for Claire, the maid of honor,
11:37while Jeremy gets entangled with an overly clingy Gloria.
11:40When their real identities are revealed,
11:42Claire rejects John, causing him to spiral into depression.
11:45Fortunately, Will Ferrell comes to the rescue.
11:47Ferrell's Chez Reinhold, a former wedding crasher,
11:50invites John to crash a funeral with him.
11:52A funeral?
11:53Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac.
11:57Here, John has an epiphany about the nature of love.
12:00He rushes to Jeremy's and Gloria's wedding,
12:02reunites with Claire,
12:03and the two couples live happily ever after,
12:05all thanks to Will Ferrell and the meatloaf.
12:07Hey, Mom!
12:09The meatloaf!
12:10Number 5, Bob Barker, Happy Gilmore.
12:13Beloved game show host Bob Barker
12:15makes a smashing impression
12:16in this hockey-turned-golf pro sports comedy.
12:19Adam Sandler plays the titular character,
12:21and in this scene, he's paired with THE Bob Barker
12:24in a celebrity golf tournament.
12:25When a heckling spectator causes Happy to mess up his swing,
12:28it sparks an argument with Barker.
12:30Frustrated, Happy punches Barker,
12:32setting off a nasty brawl between the two
12:34that sends them careening down the course.
12:36All right, let's go.
12:38This fight leads Commissioner Doug Thompson
12:41to suspend Happy for a whole month
12:43and slap him with a $25,000 fine.
12:45Fighting with Bob Barker has serious consequences,
12:48but the most important lesson here?
12:49You don't mess with the prices right.
12:51I think you've had enough.
12:54No?
12:58Now you've had enough.
12:59Number 4, Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder.
13:02Who here is a key grip?
13:04You.
13:05You.
13:06You.
13:08Hit that director in the face.
13:10What would this movie even be
13:12without Tom Cruise's excellently outrageous Les Grossman?
13:15In the satirical action flick,
13:17a group of actors and their hapless director
13:19shoot a movie in the middle of a jungle,
13:21only to be met with a fierce gang that causes them trouble.
13:23What makes them take this disastrous decision?
13:25An ultimatum by studio executive Les Grossman,
13:28played by none other than Tom Cruise,
13:30to shape up or get out.
13:32A radical departure from his usual action hero roles,
13:35Cruise plays Grossman with no-nonsense,
13:37obscenities-filled panache.
13:39Even the Flaming Dragon Gang cannot hold their own
13:41against this high-powered executive with a filthy mouth.
13:43Oh, and he dances, too.
13:45Because why not?
13:48Heads up!
13:51Number 3, Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise, 21 Jump Street.
13:55You know what's better than two undercover agents?
13:57Four undercover agents.
13:59In this seminal buddy-cop comedy,
14:01agents Schmidt and Jenko become high school students
14:03to find and arrest a drug supplier.
14:05When they finally meet the motorcycle gang,
14:07it looks to be the end of them.
14:09Fortunately, two former 21 Jump Street members,
14:11played by Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise,
14:13reveal themselves and turn the guns on the gang.
14:15Little dweebs just ran a five-year investigation.
14:17We had no idea, and you're like an amazing actor, man.
14:20This portrayal doesn't end well for the two, however,
14:22and they are unceremoniously killed.
14:24The best part of it all is that Depp and DeLuise
14:26were the former stars of the original TV series
14:28of the same name, making this cameo a fantastic send-off.
14:31The only approval...
14:33that I ever needed...
14:37was my best friend.
14:39Thanks, man.
14:40Number 2.
14:41Patrick Stewart, John Krasinski,
14:43Hayley Atwell, Lashana Lynch,
14:45and Anson Mount.
14:46Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness.
14:48We were at war.
14:50While the rest of us banded together
14:52to try to stop Thanos,
14:54Stephen, as always,
14:56chose to go it alone.
14:58The Marvel Cinematic Universe never wears us out
15:00with its significant cameos.
15:02In this film, Doctor Strange must protect
15:04teen America Chavez,
15:06who has the power to travel between universes
15:08from the Scarlet Witch.
15:09Amid all the universe-jumping,
15:11Strange and Chavez find themselves in Earth-838,
15:14where they are taken and brought before the Illuminati.
15:16The Illuminati comprises Charles Xavier,
15:18Reed Richards, Peggy Carter,
15:20Captain Marvel, and Blackagar Boldagon,
15:23played by Stewart, Krasinski, Atwell, Lynch,
15:26and Mount, respectively.
15:27They explain that the Doctor Strange
15:29nearly destroyed their world
15:30while trying to defeat Thanos.
15:32Thanks to their appearance,
15:33Strange manages to confront his counterpart
15:35and destroy him.
15:36Talk about a universe-saving cameo.
15:38You ever had that dream where you're falling
15:40as if you've been pushed off a tall building?
15:47That was probably me.
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16:11Who would have thought
16:12that the best Bill Murray tribute
16:13would be in a zombie film?
16:15After a zombie pandemic,
16:16Columbus and fellow survivors
16:18end up at Bill Murray's mansion.
16:19As Columbus educates Little Rock on Ghostbusters,
16:22the man himself shows up to Tallahassee
16:24and Wichita as a zombie.
16:25Well, disguised as one.
16:26It turns out zombies don't mess with other zombies,
16:29so Murray came up with this clever disguise
16:31as a survival tactic.
16:32A buddy of mine, makeup guy,
16:33showed me how to do this.
16:34Cornstarch.
16:35You know, some berries,
16:36a little licorice for the ladies.
16:38It suits my lifestyle.
16:39You know, I like to get out and do stuff.
16:41Unfortunately, it backfires on him
16:43when, in an attempt at a practical joke,
16:45Columbus shoots him instead.
16:46At least Murray only had Garfield
16:48as his last regret.
16:49RIP, King.
16:50So do you have any regrets?
16:53Garfield, maybe.
16:56Which other celebrity cameos
16:57do you feel really took it to the next level
16:59and made a great film even better?
17:01Let us know in the comments down below.
17:03Where are you going?
17:05Wherever God takes me.
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17:23Bye!