He’s not a Movie Star but:
David Duchovney - Don’t Tell Mom, the Babysitter’s Dead
Kevin Costner played the dead guy in The Big Chill . We didn’t see enough of ya, man. But it was your best performance to date.
Dude, not me. I love that movie so much it’s almost a sickness.
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And speaking of Parker Posey, this might be a little big for a ‘bit part’ characterization, but how about Tori Spelling in The House of Yes?
John Wayne as a Centurion in The Greatest Story Ever Told
“True lee he wuz the sunn of gawd.”
Sting, Robin Williams, and Uma Thurman in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
aaaarrrrrrrrooooooooooommmmmmmmmrrrrrrooooooooo
hijack alert: While looking Terry Gilliam (director) up on IMDB, I saw that he’s going to direct the film adaptation of GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett! I’M SO PSYCHED!!! I’ve ALWAYS thought this would make a great movie! end hijack alert
aaaarrrrrrrrooooooooooommmmmmmmmrrrrrrooooooooo
Ted Knight in Psycho (prison guard in last scene)
George Wendt in My Bodyguard (handyman at the hotel)
I’ve seen both Patrick Swayze and Lawrence Fishburn as patients on MASH*.
Haven’t seen it for myself, but I’ve heard that Ed O’Neill played a cop in Deliverance.
I’ve also heard that Jerry Seinfeld played bit parts in old sitcoms like Benson and The Cosby Show.
Billy Bob Thornton in Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
John Goodamn in C.H.U.D. (uncredited)
John Ratzenberger in Motel Hell
For those of us who have trouble discerning the difference… how can you tell if it’s a bit part or a cameo?
Not only bit parts, but uncredited bit parts:
Martin Landau and Christopher Walken, in Sleepy Hollow. Although I’m not sure the the Headless Horseman can be considered a bit part. But he has no face to recognize for most of the movie and no lines, as such, so…
jayjay
Jack Nicholson in the original (1960) “Little Shop of Horrors”
Zsa Zsa Gabor in “Queen of Outer Space” (1958)
David Duchovney as a party goer in Working Girl .
John Travolta as Subway Thug in Woody Allen’s Bananas.
I believe you mean Sylvester Stallone.
Not a cameo/bit part, but Stallone was in The Lords of Flatbush, with Henry Winkler. I kept waiting for Tony Manero to show up.
Not a movie star, and a nonspeaking role, and uncredited, but didja notice Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) in On The Waterfront?
{b}James Cagney** as George M. Cohan doing a dance duet with Bob Hope as Eddie Foy in The Seven Little Foys
This makes a pretty good trivia question. In what two movies did James Cagney play George M. Cohan? But not any more, I guess, since I gave it away.
Jim Carrey in Simon Birch,
Tom Hanks in Radio Flyer
You are absolutely correct. I get those two mixed up a lot.
I realize this is becoming a John Ratzenberger salute but he was also in Ghandi as a military driver for another that probably belongs in this category Candice Bergen as Margaret Brooke White. The weird thing about Ghandi, however, is that while everyone else seems to have his or her own voice, clearly Ratzenberger does not. Someone else dubbed over him.
Another example of a big star doing a bit roll was Jack Nicholson in Strisand’s On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. He played Barbara’s younger brother appearing in two or three scenes. By the time he did this film he was a big star. Why then did he do it?
Earlier someone mentioned Nicholson and the original Little Shop of Horrors. Wasn’t he the star? Hardly a bit part.
I will attempt to respond to the “Cameo” Vs. “Bit” parts question. A bit part is one that while minor, advances the plot or story. On the other hand, a cameo has no other purpose than to let the audience go, “Oh, there’s that big star.”
And to extend the Ratzenberger hijack…
Don’t forget he played a missle technician in Superman - The Movie. He’s the one who tells the highers ups that the XJ-101 Rocket has gone off course and it refuses to self-destruct.
And I might question whether his voice was dubbed in Gandhi. It’s been 20 years since I’ve seen it but I do know that Ratzenberger’s ‘Cliff Claven’ voice is a pose. He doesn’t really sound like that.
Really, he’s not a bad actor. And he developed a character for the ages.
“Earlier someone mentioned Nicholson and the original Little Shop of Horrors. Wasn’t he the star? Hardly a bit part.”
No, he played the dental patient (same part played by Bill Murray in the remake). I’m pretty sure it was his first big-screen credit as well, though I could be mistaken.
Near the beginning of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Dan Aykroyd plays the guy who ushers Indy and Whatzername onto the plane that ends up belonging to the gangster he was running away from.
How about Bill Murray as Dustin Hoffman’s roommate in Tootsie? I can’t remember why, but Murray didn’t take any billing.