Almost every superhero movie and TV show relies on getting fans hyped through cameos. But superhero movies aren’t the only thing that can pull off crazy cameos like that. In fact, celebrities have a long history of showing up in things as themselves. Sometimes this happens to make the story feel more grounded in the real world, like when Anderson Cooper showed up on the in-universe news in Batman v Superman. Other times they show up as themselves to add a sense of craziness in the story, like Keanu Reeves showing up in Always Be My Maybe.
But this list will only be celebrating the cream of the crop of craziness. The times that made audience members sit back quizzically in their seat and ask themselves “… but why?”.
9. Chris Hemsworth in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a film centered on nostalgia, which means there are a lot of cameos from many actors and characters from Kevin Smith’s “ViewAskiewniverse”. But among all the familiar faces and friends from the Kevin Smith Catalog, Chris Hemsworth makes a surprise cameo in this film.
The cameo occurs when Jay and Bob attend Chronic Con, a parody of San Diego Comic-Con-themed around the in-universe comic characters based on Jay and Bob, Bluntman and Chronic. Hemsworth leads the charge of all the Chronic Con appearances by appearing as a holographic host of the con that helps attendees navigate the showroom floor. Honestly, he mostly just stands there and makes puns based on his name, which is amazing. While it’s a little jarring seeing an advanced hologram in the world of Jay and Bob, this cameo is Hemsworth it.
8. Billy Idol in The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer stands tall as one of the best in Adam Sandler’s filmography. It’s a hilarious and charming rom-com centered around Adam Sandler playing a wedding singer named Robbie in the 80s who has a hard time with love.
Towards the end of the movie, Robbie gets on a plane to stop Julia (Drew Barrymore) from marrying a jerk who isn’t good enough for her. This is one of the more tired rom-com tropes, but it’s played so sincerely that it hardly hinders the plot.
After using his friends credit card to get into first class, Robbie tells his story to the other first-class passengers and befriends them all. The story inspires them to encourage him to stop her from being married. One of those passengers just so happens to be Billy Idol playing himself.
What makes this cameo so special is that Billy Idol has a real impact on the plot and makes it even funnier. There is a distinct possibility that without Billy Idol, Robbie would have never gotten to his one true love. Mr. Idol even helps Robbie stage a little song to win back the heart of Julia after realizing she was sitting in the economy section of the same flight. The song that he sings, “I Wanna Grow Old with You” is also an absolute banger of a song for the film to go out on.
7. Al Roker in The Proud Family
The Proud Family is much crazier than anyone tends to remember or give the show credit for. The series featured realistic characters living in the suburbs who mostly deal with your average sitcom shenanigans. But the logic of the world in The Proud Family works like it’s from a 1960s Bugs Bunny cartoon. That is to say, the show took full advantage of the fact that it was animated. This attitude even extended to the celebrity cameos that the writers decided to use.
First off, the decision to make Al Roker one of the main celebrity cameos in the show is already a pretty wild choice. Yes, he is famous and a well-known weatherman, but it still feels so random. In “Tween Town” the 10th Episode of Season 2, Al Roker shows up in the town that the Proud Family lives in to open up a new teen nightclub. The real story kicks off after the club opens when Penny (Kyla Pratt) gets busted by her parents Oscar and Trudy (Tommy Davidson and Paula Jai Parker) for sneaking out to attend the nightclub. Her parents ground her and when she storms off to her room, Al Roker possesses her computer and TV screen and offers her the chance to wish that all the adults in the world went away.
It has only been 10 minutes and Al Roker, a weatherman from the real world, goes from nightclub owner to an evil wish-granting genie. How the story wraps up is so insane that it shouldn’t be spoiled for any new viewers. But, if you were only able to watch one episode of The Proud Family, please consider making it this one.
6. Jessica Biel in Bojack Horseman
BoJack Horseman is about the titular Bojack (Will Arnett), a talking horse who starred in a Full House type show where he adopted three humans. In the modern-day, Bojack struggles with depression, anxiety, narcissism, and alcoholism. His frenemy, Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Thompkins) is less overtly troubled, but he is unhealthily clinging to his past fame.
One of Mr. Peanutbutter’s ex-wives is actress Jessica Biel who shows up multiple times throughout the show’s run. Her standout moments come from Season 4, Episode 7 “Underground”, where she attends a party for Mr. Peanutbutter’s mayoral campaign at his house. During the party, an earthquake hits, trapping everyone in the house for the foreseeable future. The twists and turns in this episode are wild. Trying to explain them without being able to provide context would be daunting. And with that in mind, it is actually much funnier to just say what happens with no context: In this episode, Jessica Biel becomes a Cannibal Queen that eats Zach Braff as a sacrifice to a flame. For more of the un-Biel-ievable story, you’ll just have to watch the show.
5. James Avery in Family Matters
This one is just as deranged as it is heartwarming. In Season 5, Episode 12 of Family Matters “Scenes from a Mall”, The family patriarch Carl (Reginald VelJohnson) has to watch his nephew Richie (Bryton James) and his friend Little G (Gary LeRoi Gray). In the end credits scene, there’s a blooper where Little G says that Richie wins a bet they made off-screen, about Carl looking like Uncle Phil (James Avery) from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Then, completely surprising Reginald VelJohnson, James Avery walks through the front door and stared him down. That joke in itself is already funny but what makes it so much cooler is that Reginald VelJohnson was genuinely excited by James Avery showing up that he just started laughing and hugged him.
But if you were to stop and think about this for a second, in the context of the show’s world this appearance has much stranger implications. If James Avery is canonically playing Uncle Phil in this scene, that means that Uncle Phil must be hunting down people that others say look like him. There can be only one. Now that is the type of dark storytelling that should be in the new Bel-Air reboot.
4. Bill Murray in Zombieland
Bill Murray doesn’t just cameo in movies. Bill Murray hijacks the movie. In the 2009 comedy Zombieland, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and the rest of his fellow apocalypse survivors stumble upon the big mansion with a “BM” on the gates to take refuge from the zombies. After making enough noise, Bill Murray reveals himself to the rest of the cast. He survived the apocalypse and has been mostly staying in his mansion this whole time. He not only survived, but he also thrived by using his acting skills and knowledge of hair and makeup to dress as a zombie and blend in with the crowd. The fact that this actually works and leads to him just surviving is easily one of the funniest, and most underplayed, jokes in this entire film. It’s also shockingly believable that Bill Murray would succeed in an apocalypse like this.
3. Jack Black in The Muppets (2011)
The 2011 The Muppets reboot is about the Muppets getting the band back together to put on one last show to save Muppet Studio from being purchased by an evil rich man. This is a fairly obvious and tongue-in-cheek reference to the state of the brand at the time. Which makes it the perfect satirical situation for Kermit and the gang to be in.
For one reason or another, Jack Black is like the mortal enemy of the Muppets in this film. In the climax of the movie the Muppets start the big show but are still in need of a host. So some of the Muppets just decide to go to Jack Black’s trailer and assault him, kidnap him, and bring him to the studio to force him to host. And because it’s the Muppets, of course it works. Jack Black is tied down through all the show segments just complaining and screaming for help as the audience laughs at him. The payoff is amazing, and Jack Black really sells it.
2. Stephen Hawking in The Simpsons
Stephen Hawking was very funny, and no one seems to really talk about that when it comes to his legacy. Which makes sense due to him being one of the smartest people in the world. But just because he did a lot of serious work, doesn’t take away from the fact that he was a very funny and that he loved pranking people. He especially loved making good-natured jokes about himself.
And oh boy, did The Simpsons live up to that. In this show, Stephen Hawking isn’t just the smartest person in the room, he’s one of the sassiest characters to ever reside in Springfield. That snark and wit were greatly paired with a lot of physical comedy involving his wheelchair. Each episode he would have a new crazy gadget as an attachment to the chair. The best of which was a button he could press to hit people standing near him with a boxing glove. One of the great things about The Simpsons is that when they do bring in elements from reality, it’s almost always dealt with class and dignity. It is not mean-spirited like some adult animation shows. Stephen Hawking just might be the best example of this mindset.
1. Stan Lee in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is one of the most criminally underappreciated superhero flicks from the past decade. The movie starts with the team being upset that Warner Brothers is making movies for every DC character except for them. Robin (Scott Menville) is especially hurt that Alfred got his own solo movie before he did. From there on out, Robin and the Titans do their best to try to get the respect they deserve on the big screen. As they wander around the studio lot and discuss amongst themselves what they should do, a familiar face shows up in the background…
It’s Stan Lee! Happily and loudly announcing his intrusive cameo and jumping around with glee about it. But causing such a ruckus got the Warner Brothers security guards chasing after him. Realizing he made a mistake by being in a DC movie, he runs away before we see him suffer any of the consequences. Rest in Peace, Stan. You’ll always be a legend and the King of Cameos.
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