The art of the celebrity movie walk-on has become somewhat overused of late. A Cameo used to be a clever, ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-them’ device, artfully employed to leave a lasting memory on the audience.
These days it’s an almost unwritten rule that any blockbuster or reboot will have to have at least one original cast member shuffling into frame for one of the scenes as an in-joke. For Marvel, it’s either the obligatory ‘Stan The Man’ cameo, or Lou Ferrigno. All these serve to do is remind you that there’s a good reason Ferrigno never had many lines in the TV series. Far cleverer than that, is when you catch Ed Norton’s Bruce Banner sat in Brazil, watching Bill Bixby on television. Now that’s a clever cameo.
The other issue with today’s cameos is the media. I can’t really lambast them that much, what with me working for a film and TV site, but it’s a miracle if any production can keep a cameo under wraps any more. Between the onset photos and IMDB entries, it’s no surprise that studios choose to advertise the walk-ons well in advance, and we’re already more than aware of exactly which Ghostbusters original cast members will be showing up in the forthcoming reboot.
So here are 11 truly creative and clever film cameos:
11. Hot Fuzz (2007)
Everybody loves a bargain, so we’ll kick the list off with a ‘2 for 1’. Edgar Wright essentially utilised Hot Fuzz as a an excuse to employ several generations of British television and film talent. Hidden in amongst the more overt castings, and joining future Hobbit Martin Freeman, are two more cleverly concealed LOTR cameos.
The flashback containing the deranged Santa that stabs Nicholas Angel in the hand? Kiwi Director Peter Jackson. And the female SOCO officer playing Angel’s ex-girlfriend? Aussie actress Cate Blanchett…..
10. Cuban Fury (2014)
Speaking of Hot Fuzz, that film’s key strength was a nerdy bromance between its two lead stars, which has been replicated in a number of other hit comedies. Both of the leads would go on to headline their own solo projects, and one of Nick Frost’s most recent offerings was the quirky Cuban Fury. In that, the tensions between him and Chris O’Dowd’s sleazebag colleague eventually culminate in a hilarious salsa dance-off in a multi-storey car park. At the height of this, the action pauses as the camera cuts to a bemused looking driver, who happens to be passing by, and looks kinda’ familiar…
9. Maverick (1994)
And it’s the theme of bromance that brings us to Maverick. The most obvious cameo here would be the fact that the original Brett Maverick, James Garner, is starring alongside Mel Gibson’a new incarnation.
When Mel’s character finds himself rather unfortunately detained during a bank robbery, the instantly recognisable theme from his Lethal Weapon films starts playing, giving a clue as to the forthcoming identity of one of his captors.
8. Loaded Weapon (1993)
Sticking with Mel and Lethal Weapon, the series was hilariously parodied by National Lampoon in Loaded Weapon 1 (with the imaginative tag line – See it, before they make the sequel!)
This was chock full of humorous casting nods for a whole host of 80’s and 90’s action movies, my favorite being Bill Shatner as main antagonist, ‘General Mortars’.
When Mortars orders a brutal helicopter attack on the familiar-looking beach trailer that Emilio Estevez is living in, the results are suitably apocalyptic. Alas, would you believe it, they’ve gone and blown up the wrong one, and are forced to apologize to another notable Hero Cop, who just happens to live round the corner.
7. Spaceballs (1987)
One of the most famous franchise -mocking films came courtesy of Mel Brooks, with the irreverent ‘Spaceballs’, which served to ridicule the core components of the Star Wars universe.
The Jedi weren’t the only folk to be lampooned in Brooks’ offering, with a number of other sci-fi greats ridiculed, including the Planet of the Apes.
It’s the inclusion of a character from ‘Alien’ that grabs our attention here, as one of the genre’s most shocking and gory moments is replayed, with slightly different results from the original.
http://youtu.be/RrxlbLVcpqI
6. A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014)
A more recent genre-parody that was far less well relieved by audiences was Seth Macfarlane’s homage to all things Western. This film also contains a casting choice that is deliberately tipping its hat to a legendary movie franchise.
In it, Macfarlane’s lead character happens across an eerily familiar eccentric scientist, trying to conceal a ‘weather experiment’ he’s working on under a sheet in his barn.
5. Wayne’s World (1992)
Continuing with the idea of an actor recreating their defining film role in an unconnected comedic universe, we pop back to the pre-Austin Powers offering of a young Mike Myers.
Whilst driving along the highway at breakneck speed, Wayne is unsurprisingly pulled over by a motorbike cop. Whilst this in itself isn’t unusual, the cop’s missing person enquiry proves more than Wayne’s tiny mind can handle.
4. Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves (1991)
If a film’s an enjoyable enough romp, you can forgive the odd historical inaccuracy. Like the ability to set off from Dover and reach Nottingham before nightfall, for example…
Or indeed, the regional dialect of King Richard the Lionheart (apparently born in Oxford) who pops up at right the end of the film. Complete with broad Scottish accent. It’s a right Royal performance that Sir Sean has employed for any number of roles. Russian Sub Commander… Irish beat cop…. Spanish Royal physician….
3. Chris Evans in Thor 2 (2013)
A cameo that works on two levels here, as it not only draws on the talents of Tom Hiddlestone in working to make the character of Loki such a fan favourite, but also demonstrates Chris Evans’s commitment to making the overall franchise a success. And let’s be fair, he makes quite a good Loki. The scene is already appropriately light-hearted prior to Evans appearing onscreen, he’s just the icing on the cake.
2. Bruce Campbell in the Spidey series (2002-2007)
A chin as big as Bruce’s can’t be confined to a mere singular cameo, and instead has to be spread across an entire trilogy of films. Sam Raimi’s leading man from the Evil Dead films crops up in all three of the original trilogy, meaning he’s officially appeared in more of Spider-Man movies than Andrew Garfield.
The first sees him as a wrestling announcer, and the man who actually comes up with Spidey’s superhero name. Number 2 finds him as a no-nonsense theatre usher, preventing Peter from going to see MJ’s play, an act that is reversed with his cameo as a helpful French maitre d’ in the third movie, trying to help Peter propose.
1. Hugh Jackman in X-Men 1st Class (2011)
The most utterly inspired of our cameos. An appropriate nod to the popularity of Hugh Jackman’s version of the character, and also an acknowledgement of the importance of Wolverine in the source material.
It’s set up wonderfully, with the carefully rehearsed speech stopped mid-sentence by a completely disinterested Logan. Apparently Jackman only agreed to the cameo if he was allowed to swear onscreen. Legend.
Honorable Mention:
Stan Lee
You didn’t think we’d leave the man out of this list – did you?
(And finally, one not so clever cameo:)
I’ll bet the writers of Dodgeball are ruing the day they even considered trying to include a motivational sports cameo towards the end of the film, to cue Ben Stiller up for the final match. It all looked so good at the time. An athlete. The best in his field. He’d even beaten cancer. Oh, the irony…..
What’d you think of the list? Sound off below!