# Most scene stealing very minor movie role **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 12, 2022, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414 "2022-09-12T05:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/21 "2022-09-12T13:47:40Z")
Here’s a really good example: Marilyn Monroe in _Love Happy,_ opposite Groucho Marx. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9P9S-N3IV10/hqdefault.jpg "Marilyn Monroe - Love Happy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P9S-N3IV10) That’s the extent of her appearance, just a couple of minutes and a couple of lines supporting a dumb comedy bit. But she really did swipe the movie, because it’s utterly terrible, deservedly forgotten (and I speak as an avowed Marxist, there’s nothing to defend here), and she stood out in comparison. Afterward, people wanted to know who _that_ was. She’d previously had a couple of other throwaway roles, but this was the one where she was first _noticed._ The following year, she was granted a couple of more serious opportunities, and from there rose quickly to stardom. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/22 "2022-09-12T14:00:16Z")
I am mortified by my ridiculous typo but mollified by that hilarious reply. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/23 "2022-09-12T14:16:26Z")
It was the first time I saw Brad Pitt in a movie. It was a minor role, but he stole the scene for me at least because he was so darn handsome! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/24 "2022-09-12T14:25:33Z")
I was going to say that I think cameo roles which are a punchline unto themselves should be disqualified. I’ve seen a few cases where the audience laughs more at “OMG it’s _that actor_ and I can’t believe they got them for just this scene.” which seems to me like lazy screenwriting (“Well, we could craft a brilliant punchline, or we can just have [million watt megastar] walk through the frame and save ourselves the hassle.”) But then a lot of the examples I could come up with didn’t include dialogue, hence don’t qualify as per the OP. Like (spoiler, I guess, for a movie that’s four years old) Brad Pitt in _Deadpool 2_, and (in a return favor) Ryan Reynolds in _Bullet Train_. But back to the topic, I loved Rick Moranis as the gravedigger in _L.A. Story_. Chevy Chase also has a funny cameo in that one, uncredited for some reason. And Patrick Stewart as the snooty Maitre D’ kills it in his scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/25 "2022-09-12T14:25:46Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Ray Charles in Blues Brothers. Fun Fact: In that scene from Blues Brothers, the kid trying to steal the guitar is Argyle, the limo driver from Die Hard. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/26 "2022-09-12T14:30:05Z")
That is crazy cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/27 "2022-09-12T14:32:38Z")
James Franco gets a lot of hate but his cameo in green hornet was great, and apparently largely improvised: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IasFi2wO1BQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Green Hornet James Franco Funny Scene HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IasFi2wO1BQ) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/28 "2022-09-12T14:45:29Z")
Carol Kane in _The Princess Bride_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d4ftmOI5NnI/maxresdefault.jpg "The Princess Bride (8/12) Movie CLIP - Miracle Max (1987) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4ftmOI5NnI) By my count, Billy Crystal is in three scenes so he doesn’t qualify. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/29 "2022-09-12T14:52:45Z")
Dame Judi Dench got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love.” Her total screen time was eight minutes. I think that fits the OP pretty strongly. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/30 "2022-09-12T14:54:00Z")
**veryfrank** will disapprove of this, but I like [Charlton Heston’s scene in Wayne’s World 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWsFFQP0gA). Barbara Bach appeared in multiple scenes in Up the Academy, but I only remember her having lines in [one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKsdtn7347k). ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/31 "2022-09-12T14:55:54Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I was going to say that I think cameo roles which are a punchline unto themselves should be disqualified. Good point that I wish I’d thought of, much as I love Ray Charles and the Blues Brothers, or Christopher Walken, it’s no surprise to see them shine. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/32 "2022-09-12T15:01:43Z")
He may have been in more than once scene, but Neil Patrick Harris in the back seat of Harold and Kumar’s car is literally the only scene I remember from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/33 "2022-09-12T15:02:14Z")
Kim Catrall in _Porky’s_ i.e. The “Lassie” scene ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/34 "2022-09-12T15:28:46Z")
That totally made the movie! ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/35 "2022-09-12T15:42:42Z")
Wilford Brimley in _Absence of Malice_; anybody who knows Brimley just as the diabeetus guy needs to see his performance in that film. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/36 "2022-09-12T15:43:12Z")
Drew from _Office Space_ doing his whole “O-face” thing (may not count as I think he is in more than one scene): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QzIN3EgBIHg/hqdefault.jpg "Show her my O face!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzIN3EgBIHg) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/37 "2022-09-12T16:05:48Z")
In a movie full of name actors doing shtick, here’s the best of the batch. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g0j2dVuhr6s/maxresdefault.jpg "I Speak Jive - Airplane! (5/10) Movie CLIP (1980) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0j2dVuhr6s) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/38 "2022-09-12T16:16:11Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I’ve seen a few cases where the audience laughs more at “OMG it’s _that actor_ and I can’t believe they got them for just this scene.” which seems to me like lazy screenwriting (“Well, we could craft a brilliant punchline, or we can just have [million watt megastar] walk through the frame and save ourselves the hassle.”) But then a lot of the examples I could come up with didn’t include dialogue, hence don’t qualify as per the OP. My prime example of this is the pretty rotten _Robin Hood_ with Kevin Costner. At the end of the movie, good King Richard returns to England to restore justice to the land. It’s Sean Connery. The audience I was with burst into applause, which I found ridiculous, because even though Connery could obviously play the role beyond an uncredited cameo, they were applauding for Connery the actor, not Richard the king. Gimmick casting. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/39 "2022-09-12T16:27:06Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > But back to the topic, I loved Rick Moranis as the gravedigger in _L.A. Story_. Chevy Chase also has a funny cameo in that one, uncredited for some reason. And Patrick Stewart as the snooty Maitre D’ kills it in his scenes. Those are all good, but see if you can find John Lithgow’s deleted scene from _L.A. Story_. He plays superagent Harry Zell who has a meeting with Harris in an outdoor restaurant. He arrives by jetpack. Scott Bakula filmed some scenes as Harris’s neighbor, which also found the cutting room floor. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414/40 "2022-09-12T16:36:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > My prime example of this is the pretty rotten _Robin Hood_ with Kevin Costner. At the end of the movie, good King Richard returns to England to restore justice to the land. > > It’s Sean Connery. > > The audience I was with burst into applause, which I found ridiculous, because even though Connery could obviously play the role beyond an uncredited cameo, they were applauding for Connery the actor, not Richard the king. Gimmick casting. I’d say that one is more justified, because Connery had played Robin Hood onscreen in the past, so it was a callback, not unlike Lou Ferrigno showing up in both big screen Hulk movies. Whether most of the audience in 1991 knew that is up for debate, I’ll give you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414.md?page=3)