We’ve all experienced it: we’re sitting in the theater, watching a new release, and a famous actor or actress appears on the screen we weren’t expecting. Everyone in the theater gasps, screams, or gives the signature “woahhh!” The actor or actress drops a bunch of extraordinary lines or heavy monologues before disappearing and arriving at the end of the movie or not appearing again for the rest of the movie at all. They didn’t have an important role, yet they played one of the most important parts in the movie.
Updated May 11, 2023: If you enjoy and are fascinated by movie cameos, you’ll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional content.
Cameos happen in films all the time, but every once in a while, a star shows up in a movie briefly and then manages to walk off with the entire film, claiming the best scenes for themselves so that they are the first – and sometimes only – thing you remember when you look back on the film. Here is a list of movies where a star showed up for a single scene and ended up stealing the whole film.
13 Matt Damon in Thor: Ragnarok
Matt Damon is like the king of cameos. He has cameoed in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Eurotrip, and Deadpool 2, to name a few. Yet his funniest is, without a doubt, Thor: Ragnarok, where he plays an Asgardian actor in a play recounting the events of Thor: The Dark World. Damon’s character is cast in the Loki role, and the meta-joke of casting a big-name actor to play Loki in this play for Loki himself is in character.
Damon’s cameo was so popular that he reprised his role in Thor: Love and Thunder, again playing Loki in a New Asgardian play. It is good to know he survived the destruction of Asgard and Thanos’ assault at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. He might have only appeared in one scene, but audiences certainly were talking about Damon after Ragnarok was over.
12 Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction
A groundbreaking and unconventional masterpiece of modern cinema, Pulp Fiction masterfully intertwines diverse criminal tales. Quentin Tarantino directs the 1994 crime film, featuring a nonlinear narrative, razor-sharp dialogue, and unforgettable performances. In the film, Christopher Walken delivers a remarkable performance as Captain Koons.
Captain Koons, a Vietnam War veteran, visits young Butch Coolidge to return a gold watch – a precious family heirloom. Butch’s father, who died in action, entrusted the watch to Koons, who vowed to protect it and hand it over to Butch. His monologue in the film was mesmerizing for audiences at that time. With his unmistakable voice and distinctive delivery, he creates an indelible scene that is both funny and touching. Walken’s portrayal of Koons’ and the scene of the watch’s safe return has become iconic, demonstrating his exceptional talent for engaging audiences and elevating the film.
11 Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris
Romantic and whimsical, Midnight in Paris is a comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen, released in 2011. Gil Pender, the protagonist, time-travels to the 1920s while vacationing with his fiancée in Paris. Interacting with legendary artistic figures, Gil falls deeper in love with the past, creating tension in his present life. In Midnight in Paris, Adrien Brody’s charismatic performance as surrealist painter Salvador Dalí injects an eccentric flair.
Brody skillfully embodies the artist’s quirky mannerisms and flamboyance in a brief yet unforgettable scene. Sporting an iconic mustache and an exaggerated accent, Brody’s Dalí interpretation is both amusing and captivating, leaving audiences enthralled. His otherworldly dialogue with Gil about a “rhinoceros” epitomizes the essence of surrealism, showcasing Brody’s remarkable acting prowess.
10 Viola Davis in Doubt
We see Viola Davis in Doubt, a captivating drama film, which is directed by John Patrick Shanley and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Set in 1964, it focuses on St. Nicholas Catholic School in the Bronx. Delving into themes of faith, suspicion, and morality, the film revolves around a stern principal, Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), who suspects Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of having an inappropriate relationship with a young student, Donald Miller.
Mrs. Miller, played by Viola Davis, is the mother of Donald Miller, the student at the heart of the alleged scandal. A working-class woman, she grapples with ensuring her son’s well-being in the face of potentially damaging accusations. Despite limited screen time, her role propels the story forward and enhances the film’s intricate narrative.
In the movie, audiences get to witness an emotionally charged scene where a confrontation ensues between Mrs. Miller and Sister Aloysius. Desperate for understanding and leniency, Mrs. Miller pleads for her son. Davis’ heart-rending performance captures the anguish and desperation of a mother trapped in an unthinkable situation. In just a few minutes, she masterfully conveys the dilemma of a mother torn between protecting her son’s future and seeking justice for a possible transgression.
9 Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross
A 1992 drama film, Glengarry Glen Ross, exposes the harsh realities of the cutthroat real estate business. The plot revolves around desperate real estate salesmen resorting to deception, betrayal, and manipulation to close deals and secure their jobs. Portraying Blake, Alec Baldwin embodies a high-powered sales executive tasked with motivating a struggling sales team.
In his fleeting appearance, Baldwin delivers an electrifying monologue that highlights the unforgiving nature of sales. His character is assertive, ruthless, and unsympathetic, sharply contrasting with the more vulnerable sales associates. Alec Baldwin’s impassioned monologue profoundly impacts the film. Although brief, Baldwin’s presence resonates, and his speech is frequently celebrated as a cinematic milestone. This pivotal scene intensifies the film’s tension and propels the desperate sales associates’ efforts. Baldwin’s masterful intensity influences later portrayals of sales executives and motivational speakers, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.
8 Mike Tyson in The Hangover
Mike Tyson playing himself in The Hangover was a brilliant casting choice, and he nearly walks off with the whole movie just by being himself. Oh, and owning a tiger. When the heroes wake up after an insane bachelor party the night before, one of the first things they discover is that there is a live tiger in the bathroom. Over the course of many detours, all taken to try to piece together what happened during the previous night, they discover that the tiger – which the heroes had managed to steal the night before – belongs to none other than Mike Tyson.
Eventually, Tyson tracks them down and ambushes them while listening to Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” and decks Zack Galifianakis with a right hook to the face. He then demands that they bring the tiger back to his mansion and leaves. When they arrive, Mike shows them security footage of them peeing in his pool and walking the tiger out on a leash to put it in a cop car they stole. The entire time, Tyson is holding a little white puppy, and the information they receive sets them on course to eventually find their missing friend, Dave. He doesn’t return for the rest of the movie.
7 Margot Robbie in The Big Short
The Big Short is an entertaining, biographical drama designed to educate the public on exactly how the housing crisis of 2007/2008 took place. When it comes time to explain how banks profited off of the subprime loan scheme that led to the crisis, the movie offers up Margot Robbie drinking champagne in a bubble bath to explain it.
“Basically, Lewis Ranieri’s mortgage bonds were amazingly profitable for the big banks. They made billions and billions on their 2% fee they got for selling into these bonds….” Robbie says in the film. Adam McKay has made a name for himself by writing movies that explain complex topics that he believes all Americans should understand, but might have a hard time coming to terms with. He accomplishes this by displaying these topics in ways we can all relate to and using imagery and familiar faces to draw us in, so we can actually pay attention and follow along. This short cameo might be the best example.
6 Bill Murray in Zombieland
Bill Murray all but redefined what a cameo could mean when he showed up in Zombieland. In this film, the world has ended due to a violent zombie apocalypse, leaving our quartet of main characters on a road trip west to an amusement park that may or may not exist. The foursome of heroes consists of Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
After several adventures, Tallahassee comes up with a brilliant idea: to set up a home in the mansion of a Hollywood icon, who is slowly revealed to be none other than Bill Murray. The crew makes their way to his house – which has a large, golden ‘BM’ on the gate – and immediately makes themselves at home. As it turns out, Bill Murray is still alive. At first, he appears to be zombified as he meanders down toward the group. However, by the time he comes down to meet Tallahassee and Wichita, we learn that he wears zombie makeup and prosthetics because it allows him to wander the streets to get groceries and leave the house.
In one scene, Murray dons his zombie makeup and shuffles down the aisle of the theater to prank Columbus and Little Rock, only to startle Columbus into shooting him with a shotgun. He gets in some wickedly clever last words, though, with “Do you have any regrets?” … “Maybe Garfield.”
5 Johnny Depp in 21 Jump Street
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Towards the end of 21 Jump Street, Jonah Hill, and Channing Tatum are pulled out of prom and taken to a drug deal with Dave Franco and the biker gang who supplies the drugs. Things go sideways, and guns are suddenly pointed at everyone in the room. But, out of the blue, one biker gang member rips off his blond wig and mustache to reveal none other than Johnny Depp reprising his role from the original 21 Jump Street series.
He declares that he’s been undercover investigating the drug ring and shifts to pointing his gun at the actual drug dealers, telling the new stars, “You’ve just ruined a five-year investigation.” Things seem to calm down for a moment as Tatum tells Depp that they’re all part of the Jump Street Division, and just as Johnny lets his guard down, he’s shot in the neck.
4 Stan Lee in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Before his death, Marvel legend Stan Lee made a cameo in almost every Marvel movie, going all the way back to 2000s X-Men. Typically, he plays as an extra character for a clip of just a few seconds or less: a bus driver, a mental ward patient, or a security guard, usually letting out a clever one-liner before disappearing again. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, however, his cameo is a bit more involved.
When he appears in the film, Lee is on a planetoid in deep space, surrounded by members of the Watchers, the ancient race who observe everything happening in the universe and who occasionally meddle in it despite a strict non-interference policy. The Watchers have played multiple roles in the comics, namely one named Uatu, who debuted the race in the comics back in 1963. Compared to the many other Stan Lee cameos, this one seems to imply more than just a creator appearing in the movie form of his creations. Is Stan Lee a Watcher? Is he really gone? Or has he just taken a more hands-off approach – watching from a distance instead of being easily located here on Earth?
3 Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe
Always Be My Maybe, featuring Ali Wong as Sasha and Randall Park as Marcus, is a romantic comedy about two childhood friends who reconnect later in life but haven’t realized how deep their feelings towards each other go. The chemistry between them returns immediately and thus begins a hilarious dance around the possibility of them being more than friends, despite several roadblocks.
One of the most significant (not to mention hilarious) roadblocks appears during a double date between Marcus, his girlfriend, Sasha, and – you guessed it – Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays himself as the pretentious artist but maintains some of his legendary zen-like charm, and the entire dinner scene with him is legendary, as Marcus’ date remarks that Reeves is her favorite star. Keanu responds, “The only stars that matter are the ones you look at when you dream.” The best part of his appearance comes just a few minutes later, as he wears restaurant-provided headphones and weeps as he listens to the screams of the animal he’s consuming. The way Keanu plays up this pretentious actor persona is gut-bustlingly hilarious. When he disappears later in the film, he takes the whole movie with him.
2 Brad Pitt in Deadpool 2
In Deadpool 2, Ryan Reynolds’ titular anti-hero assembles the X-Force in an attempt to stop Cable (Josh Brolin). This crew includes Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgård), a regular mustachioed human named Peter (Rob Delaney), and Vanisher – who, for most of his screen time, is completely invisible.
Unfortunately, most of the X-Force die almost immediately, minus Domino. Bedlam crashes onto a bus, Shatterstar is killed when he lands on the spinning blades of a helicopter, Zeitgeist lands on a wood chipper, and when regular old Peter tries to help him, he gets acid vomit all over him, killing him. Vanisher has similar luck, as he crashes onto the cables of a streetlamp and is immediately electrocuted. However, the electrocution allowed viewers to finally glimpse his face, and it turned out to be none other than Brad Pitt. It’s an incredibly brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, which makes it all the more impressive that it’s there.
The shock of seeing an invisible character that half of the cast is convinced isn’t even really there and having him, at last, appear as such a big star was such a quick delight – one very suitable to the Deadpool methodology. Reynolds returned the favor as he cameoed in the Brad Pitt-led film Bullet Train, which was directed by Deadpool 2 director David Leitch.
1 Michael Cera in This Is The End
This Is The End is about hell cracking all the way through the Earth to Hollywood, and many favorite comedic celebrities play themselves in it. It’s a bold concept, as each of the celebrities is playing exaggerated versions of themselves in the most unlikeable way. Although not one of the main characters and only appears in scenes lasting less than ten minutes, Michael Cera is simultaneously bizarre and fitting.
According to Seth Rogen, “We thought it would be funny to kill someone you don’t expect to die, and it needed to be someone who was despicable so when they do die really graphically, you’re entertained by it, not wrapped up in the fact that this person you like just died.” He described it as the “perfect storm” to have Cera appear as a drugged monster, but apparently Cera’s comedic instincts took over and took this cameo to a whole other level, and he’s portrayed as a rude, arrogant, and horrible person.
In his big scene, all the party-goers eventually run outside to find L.A. on fire; Michael stops the group to ask who took his cell phone, demonstrating his lack of care for anyone other than himself. Meanwhile, a crack in the Earth begins to form beneath him, dislodging a nearby streetlight that promptly falls and impales him, then lifts him back off the ground. Hanging in the air, covered in blood, with a streetlight protruding from his stomach, he finds his cell phone in his pocket and says, “Well, this is embarrassing,” before he and the streetlight are dragged into the Earth through a flaming crack, never to be seen again.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
