Top 10 Film Cameos

Merriam-Webster defines a cameo role or appearance as “a small role in a movie, play, etc., that is performed by well known actor.”  Seeing stars pop up in movies unexpectedly can be surprisingly entertaining. A character Easter egg if you will. Sometimes cameos allow for unforgettable one-liners. Sometimes their role or appearance proves to be integral parts of the overall storyline. One moviegoer’s idea of a cameo may differ from another’s. The shorter the time on screen the better the cameo. To this movie fan, if an actor or actress appears in multiple scenes throughout a movie, then it does not qualify as a cameo. Here are ten memorable, and perhaps not so memorable, cameo appearances. By no means is this a complete list so feel free to agree or disagree with any of these and comment below. 

10. Sean Connery in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Honestly, who was expecting James Bond to show up as King Richard at the end of Kevin Costner’s version of this classic tale? It was equally unexpected as it was powerful. Not only is this cameo appearance a single scene, it is the last scene in the movie.  At the precise moment when the priest asks for objections to Robin Hood and Maid Marian’s marriage, the King himself objects. Connery nails his few lines in his classic Sean Connery Scottish accent.

9. Dan Aykroyd in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Bet you didn’t know Aykroyd was in Temple of Doom. If you blink at the beginning you’ll miss him. As Short Round and Indie escape the nightclub in the opening scene, Aykroyd’s Weber two-times our hero by putting him on a plane owned and operated by Lao Che, the very gangster chasing them. A quick internet search will dig up rumors that this cameo by Aykroyd was the result of a bet that was connected to Steven Spielberg appearing in The Blues Brothers.

8. Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore (1996)

One of the funniest “fight” scenes in any Adam Sandler movie, the then seventy-three year old Barker was well trained. IMDB’s Did You Know? explains that Barker studied martial arts under the one and only Chuck Norris. With that said, pretty sure at 90 Barker could still take Happy. 

7. Bob Hope in Spies Like Us (1985)

Bob Hope’s last appearance in a film is this cameo as a golfer playing through at the end of the “doctor, doctor” scene.  While all of the “doctoring” that goes on is hilarious in its own right, the cameo makes the scene when Hope comes through, add his doctors and then nails the punch line as only he can with, “Glad I’m not sick.” 

6. Pee-Wee Herman in Back to the Beach (1987)

Why in the world does Pee Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) show up at the beach of all places to sing a song with roughly a dozen words in it?  Who knows, but this cameo plays right into the cartoonish and silly fun that is found throughout this lost gem of a movie. Next time you feel the need to breakout in song at a bonfire at the beach, make sure to wear your suit and bowtie.

5. Carrie Fisher in Scream 3 (2000)

How about a cameo by an actress who plays a character who is mistaken for who she is in real life? Courtney Cox and Parker Posey think Carrie Fisher looks just like, well, Carrie Fisher. But credited as movie studio archives keeper Bianca, Fisher makes the most of this cameo with a stab at herself, saying she could’ve been Princess Leia had she slept with George Lucas like Carrie Fisher had. Is your head spinning yet?

4. Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

Left to believe that Captain Teague is the father of Captain Jack Sparrow, this cameo is played perfectly by Richards. No one is more perfect to play a pirate who has implicitly achieved immortality than a real life rock and roller who continues to defy the laws of aging himself.  Strumming a guitar as keeper of the pirate code, Richards’ cameo is a favorite as result of an actor showing us that less is more.

3. Drew Barrymore in Scream (1996)

When Scream opens with an A-list actress like Drew Barrymore, you’re not thinking cameo. She’s even on the movie poster.  But what at first appears to be the main storyline quickly turns to an unforgettable cameo as a potential star of the film is killed off in the first ten minutes of the movie!  This is the first of several surprises and twists that caused Scream to be the movie to reset the horror genre opening the door to the plethora of new-age slasher movies we have today.

2. Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers (2005)

“Mom! Make us some meatloaf!” We hear about the infamous Chaz throughout the movie as being the wedding crashing guru. When the one and only Chaz comes down the stairs to greet Owen Wilson, we are gladly rewarded with the one and only Ferrell.  While this cameo does appear in more than one scene, it is still considered a cameo due to his simplistic yet vital role to the story. Plus he’s just downright hilarious.

1.  Brett Favre in There’s Something About Marry (1998)

“What the hell is Brett Favre doing here?” Matt Dillon’s reaction to Brett Favre walking into the room is priceless, putting this cameo at number one. Despite having plenty of hints at Mary’s (Cameron Diaz) ex-boyfriend, it’s a safe bet that you weren’t guessing it was three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre either. To put the proverbial cherry on top, he explains his presence to everyone when he says, “I’m in town to play the Dolphins, dumbass.” He delivers the line as the knock out punch to one of the raunchiest and funnest movies of all time.