# Oddest cameo in a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213 "2016-12-20T06:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Debillw3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Debillw3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debillw3)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/121 "2017-01-03T06:40:18Z")
Not quite odd, but my all-time favorite cameo was Jack Riley in the episode of “ALF” where Bill Daily was first playing a psychiatrist. Similarly, Suzanne Pleshette in the Newhart finale was a great one. The weirdest, though, are the number of times that Stephen Hawking voices himself. Given how busy Dr. Hawking is & how easy it would be for TV programs to get an exact match, it always surprises me when the credits show that he was playing himself. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/122 "2017-01-03T13:14:22Z")
The currently in theaters Passengers has one (though maybe technically not as he is listed in the credits). Can’t see how it could spoil anything but since it is still recent: [spoiler]At the end of the movie when the ship arrives at its destination the crew is shown coming out of hibernation into the main area. Among them is Andy Garcia. He has no line, he’s on screen for maybe three seconds. The role had no impact on the movie. For the life of me I can’t figure out why he’s there unless they’d filmed something much more involved for that part of the movie and then it all got cut.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/123 "2017-01-03T15:00:57Z")
Perhaps not odd but prescient: Arnold Schwarzenegger had a cameo in _Dave_. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/124 "2017-01-03T15:04:50Z")
> [@Debillw3](#): > > The weirdest, though, are the number of times that Stephen Hawking voices himself. Given how busy Dr. Hawking is & how easy it would be for TV programs to get an exact match, it always surprises me when the credits show that he was playing himself. Getting a physical likeness could be a bit difficult, though the advances shown in _Rogue One_ are promising. But his lines must be a relative doddle to do: the scriptwriters just feed the lines into his voice computer and he just has to activate it at the right time (granted that’s no small feat for him). Perfect delivery every time. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/125 "2017-01-03T15:11:15Z")
Stephen Hawking is the world’s most famous fanboy. He appears or has the voice used in so many shows because he wants to. He has asked to appear in various shows. He knows he can appear in anything he wants now. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/126 "2017-01-03T15:51:14Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Stephen Hawking is the world’s most famous fanboy. He appears or has the voice used in so many shows because he wants to. He has asked to appear in various shows. He knows he can appear in anything he wants now. Just don’t ask him about black holes.😛 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/127 "2017-01-03T17:02:15Z")
That’s his real voice, you know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/128 "2017-01-03T17:04:24Z")
Daniel Craig as the storm trooper that Rey uses the Jedi mind trick on to get loose from the comfy chair. I think it was more than a cameo but in the Star Trek movie with Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon there was also John Larroquette as a Klingon. I remember reading that at the time there were a number of big names wanting to do bit parts as hard to recognize (due to makeup) characters. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/129 "2017-01-03T17:57:32Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > That’s his real voice, you know. 🙂 Yes, albeit from a voice synthesizer. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/130 "2017-01-03T18:10:27Z")
John Tesh played a Klingon in a Star Trek episode, I think it was the Next Generation ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/131 "2017-01-03T19:30:39Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > _Around the World in 80 Days_ had cameos galore. The one that yanked me out of the picture was Frank Sinatra as the honky-tonk piano player in a San Francisco saloon. What I was gonna say. It’s a fun film. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/132 "2017-01-10T19:20:55Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Not a movie but Seth Macfarlane in the Star Trek Enterprise series was a big WTF? > > I believe he did a couple of episodes if I remember correctly. > He was just a bit, no name character. > **[Rivers](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Rivers)** > > Ensign Rivers was a Human male Starfleet officer in the mid-22nd century, serving as an engineer on two NX-class starships, Enterprise and Columbia NX-02. Serving in Starfleet by 2153, Rivers was aboard Enterprise for its mission into the Delphic... Says he was named in his second appearance. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I should have remembered Robert Patrick, who like Stone and Bogart was a walk-by. Other than his multi-episode role in Sopranos, Patrick seems to have spent a lot of his career reprising the T-1000 character for joke/shock value. His IMDB list seems to show a much bigger career than you are aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/133 "2018-11-14T21:00:36Z")
Bumped. The future King of Jordan was in an episode of _Star Trek: Voyager_: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Abdullah\_bin\_al-Hussein ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/134 "2018-11-14T22:52:21Z")
Steve Martin’s, “The Man With Two Brains,” has an odd cameo by Merv Griffin; I dunno why, it’s not all that funny or interesting. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/135 "2018-11-14T23:02:14Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Steve Martin’s, “The Man With Two Brains,” has an odd cameo by Merv Griffin; I dunno why, it’s not all that funny or interesting. It amused me. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/136 "2018-11-15T00:03:56Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Steve Martin’s, “The Man With Two Brains,” has an odd cameo by Merv Griffin; I dunno why, it’s not all that funny or interesting. One of the best scenes! I love how Merv rants about not having the ability to lurk because of his fame. 😃 _Lurk_. Funny word. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/137 "2018-11-15T00:15:02Z")
Senator Alphonse D’Amato in “Devil’s Advocate”. Also Victor Mature in “Head”. (The surreal Monkees film.) The latter also had Annette Funicello as a character named “Minnie”. Oh, and it’s on YouTube [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q4nT-5DyjX0/hqdefault.jpg "The Monkees ~ Head ~ Full Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4nT-5DyjX0) ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_Burly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frank_burly/32/24_2.png) [@Frank\_Burly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Burly)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/138 "2018-11-15T00:27:03Z")
Billy Ray Cyrus in Mulholland Drive. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/139 "2018-11-15T01:11:18Z")
Groucho Marx in _Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter_ (1957). Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Tony Curtis in _Paris When it Sizzles_ (1964). Natalie Wood in \*The Candidate \*(1972), which also boasts a cast full of contemporary politicians, newsmen and Groucho Marx. Yul Brynner in drag, singing seductively to Roman Polanski at a bar in _The Magic Christian_ (1969). Also with brief bits from Laurence Harvey (stripping to _Hamlet_) Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Richard Attenborough and others. Senator Everett Dirksen of Ill. in _The Monitors_ (1969), among others. John Hurt in _Spaceballs_ (1987), proving himself the finest chestbusting thespian the silver screen has ever seen. Digitally reanimated Laurence Olivier in _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ (2004). Digitally de-aged Alice Cooper in _Dark Shadows_ (2012). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/140 "2018-11-15T01:58:57Z")
In the movie _California Suite_, Maggie Smith plays an actress up for an Oscar. At one point, they show a clip of her nominated performance set in an airplane. The pilot of the airplane in the movie-within-a-movie is James Coburn. He even has a couple of lines, but was uncredited. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213.md?page=8)