# Strange actor cameos
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 16, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411 "2010-12-16T20:01:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/1 "2010-12-16T20:01:06Z")
Watching **Temple Of Doom** the other day, and I was pretty shocked at one scene. Towards the beginning, Indy has just escaped Club Obi Wan and is on his way to the airplane with the diamond he’s just stolen. He has a brief conversation with a British military guy who had arranged the last minute flight. Upon hearing the military guy’s voice, I glanced up and was shocked to see that it was Dan Aykroyd. The camera is a wide shot, so you barely even see him, and that’s his only scene in the movie.
I thought this was rather odd - he was plenty famous at the time just a year or so removed from **Trading Places** , **Ghostbusters** was a year away, and this was a few years removed from his last collaboration with Spielberg - **1941** - so it wasn’t like it was some sort of career move.
Got me thinking - what other cameos from famous actors can you recall where it seemed like kind of a lark? The only two that come to mind are Christian Slater in a small scene in **Star Trek VI** , b/c he was a Star Trek fan, and Glenn Close unnrecognizable in [Hook](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ar4x-hXIic).
---
### Author:  [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/2 "2010-12-16T20:07:06Z")
The King of Jordan had an uncredited, non-speaking role on an episode of Star Trek…either DS9 or Voyager. (when he was still a prince.)
---
### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/3 "2010-12-16T20:08:49Z")
George Harrison is not an actor, but I know he had a mini-appearance in The Life of Brian (one of the Monty Python’s gang called George’s financing of the movie “the world’s most expensive theater ticket.”)
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/4 "2010-12-16T20:09:02Z")
Richard Dreyfuss happened to be on the set of the filming of [The Sentinel (1977)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076683/), and can be seen in a brief passing shot early in the film.
In one that’s kinda weird, in [The Hospital (1971)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067217/), Barnard Hughes is listed in the opening credits. The first time you see him, though, he’s playing a surgeon. However. . . that’s not the role that he “really” plays. He’s wearing a hairpiece, and a fake mustache while playing the surgeon. It’s a mystery as to why, as it’s clear from watching the movie that that and his “actual” character are different people.
---
### Author:  [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/5 "2010-12-16T20:16:04Z")
He wasn’t a famous actor, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s role in _Airplane!_ always strikes me as an odd decision for the famously shy, hermit-like basketball player.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/6 "2010-12-16T20:17:16Z")
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton had one scene appearances in _The Invention of Lying_.
---
### Author:  [@Shecky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shecky)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/7 "2010-12-16T20:26:58Z")
Matt Damon singing “Scotty Doesn’t Know” in Euro Trip. I had to ask if that was really him.
---
### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/8 "2010-12-16T20:33:28Z")
> [@Morbo](#):
>
> Got me thinking - what other cameos from famous actors can you recall where it seemed like kind of a lark? The only two that come to mind are Christian Slater in a small scene in **Star Trek VI** , b/c he was a Star Trek fan,
John Laroquette was in Start Trek III. It was a speaking role, but a pretty small one. And all of the Klingon makeup made him unrecognizable.
---
### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/9 "2010-12-16T20:38:40Z")
> [@leftfield6](#):
>
> He wasn’t a famous actor, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s role in _Airplane!_ always strikes me as an odd decision for the famously shy, hermit-like basketball player.
That was actually his stunt double, Roger Murdoch.
---
### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/10 "2010-12-16T20:42:32Z")
> [@Morbo](#):
>
> Watching **Temple Of Doom** the other day, and I was pretty shocked at one scene. Towards the beginning, Indy has just escaped Club Obi Wan and is on his way to the airplane with the diamond he’s just stolen. He has a brief conversation with a British military guy who had arranged the last minute flight. Upon hearing the military guy’s voice, I glanced up and was shocked to see that it was Dan Aykroyd. The camera is a wide shot, so you barely even see him, and that’s his only scene in the movie.
Aykroyd had a role as a naval officer in 2001’s _Pearl Harbor_ that if not a cameo certainly was very minor; any actor could have played it.
Tyler Perry’s cameo as a Star Fleet big shot in the _Star Trek_ reboot had a lot of “is that who I think it is? And why?” reactions from audiences.
[Cyril Cusack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Cusack), a renowned stage and film actor, was in _Harold and Maude_ for about 5 seconds. He played Glaucus, an ice sculptor for whom Maude was posing nude. In the novelization Glaucus had a larger role so I’m thinking he may have had some deleted on screen time.
Frank Thornton, bk4 Captain Peacock on _Are You Being Served?_ and its follow ups, had a “don’t blink or you’ll miss him” moment in Gosford Park. He played the butler of Maggie Smith’s character and appears in maybe 10 seconds; if he has a line it’s something like “the car’s ready madame”.
---
### Author:  [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/11 "2010-12-16T20:43:00Z")
> [@bouv](#):
>
> The King of Jordan had an uncredited, non-speaking role on an episode of Star Trek…either DS9 or Voyager. (when he was still a prince.)
It was Star Trek Voyager. Shame - would have been more interesting to give him a speaking role on DS:9. The show played with a lot of themes that he would have had an interesting perspective on.
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/12 "2010-12-16T20:44:39Z")
Rocky Marciano had a brief (and uncredited) cameo in an episode of “Combat!” His face fills the screen, and he has one line. That’s it.
---
### Author:  [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/13 "2010-12-16T20:46:15Z")
The Star Trek franchise attracts quite a few cameos: seven years after he directed _The Usual Suspects_, Bryan Singer appeared very briefly in _Star Trek: Nemesis_.
I was a little surprised to see Robert Duvall in 1978’s \*Invasion of the Body Snatchers \*(which also has a cameo from Kevin McCarthy, but that one makes a little more sense).
---
### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/14 "2010-12-16T20:46:32Z")
> [@bouv](#):
>
> The King of Jordan had an uncredited, non-speaking role on an episode of Star Trek…either DS9 or Voyager. (when he was still a prince.)
Correct; it was on _Voyager_: [Abdullah bin al-Hussein | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Abdullah_bin_al-Hussein)
Here’s Bryan Singer: [Bryan Singer | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Bryan_Singer)
William Shatner played his own dead brother: [George Samuel Kirk | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Sam_Kirk)
Lakers star James Worthy once played a rather rude Klingon: [James Worthy | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/James_Worthy)
Good luck recognizing Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac in _that_ makeup: [Mick Fleetwood | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Mick_Fleetwood)
---
### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/15 "2010-12-16T20:47:24Z")
> [@leftfield6](#):
>
> He wasn’t a famous actor, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s role in _Airplane!_ always strikes me as an odd decision for the famously shy, hermit-like basketball player.
Actually that wasn’t so strange. Prior to his appearance in **Airplane!** , Kareem had the public image of being cold, stand-offish, and fan unfriendly. His role in the movie did a lot to improve his image.
---
### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/16 "2010-12-16T20:48:26Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#):
>
> George Harrison is not an actor, but I know he had a mini-appearance in The Life of Brian (one of the Monty Python’s gang called George’s financing of the movie “the world’s most expensive theater ticket.”)
He also had a very brief cameo as a reporter in _The Rutles_ (which IIRC he also financed).
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/17 "2010-12-16T20:49:57Z")
Cate Blanchett in **Hot Fuzz**. Not only is she uncredited, but you don’t even see her face.
Mel Gibson in **Father’s Day**. He just shows up for no reason in particular in a cameo.
Joseph Cotten in **Touch of Evil**. He happened to be on the set one day, and his old friend Welles had him show up in one of the crowd scenes (he does get a closeup).
---
### Author:  [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/18 "2010-12-16T21:04:58Z")
My favorite is the movie _The List of Adrien Messenger_. It is filled with cameos but all the famous actors had heavy make-up applied and were not revealed until the end of the film. The list includes Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra.
Other oldies for me include Sean Connery popping up as King Richard in Costner’s version of _Robin Hood_, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope showing up as spectators in the crowd in _The Greatest Show On Earth_, Hitchcock in every film he made, and the handful of real politicos in _Dave_.
---
### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/19 "2010-12-16T21:08:31Z")
**Frank Oz** and **Steven Spielberg** both have small roles in _The Blues Brothers_. Oz is the guy at the prison reading the inventory of Jake’s belongings, and Spielberg is the clerk at the end who takes their payment for the taxes on the orphanage.
> [@leftfield6](#):
>
> He wasn’t a famous actor, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s role in _Airplane!_ always strikes me as an odd decision for the famously shy, hermit-like basketball player.
_Airplane!_ is a pretty direct remake/ripoff of _Zero Hour_ (watch it sometime; whole patches of dialog are lifted intact from the original). The co-pilot in _Zero Hour_ was also played by a pro athlete; I think it was Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch.
---
### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/20 "2010-12-16T21:10:31Z")
There were also real life politicians and celebrity lawyers who had cameos in Pacino/Reeves/Theron movie _Devil’s Advocate_, most notably then Senator Al D’Amato (R-NY). I wondered at the time if they knew they they were playing associates and party guests of Satan.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411.md?page=2)