When you are the star of a film, there are several possibilities to create a remarkable performance. However, if you just appear in one scene (Cameos) , establishing a lasting impression becomes considerably more difficult. According to the Hollywood Reporter, studios are increasingly engaging in “boarding,” a process in which companies fly big-name actors in for short, focused shooting stints, giving their picture a megawatt above-the-credits name while not having to pay them their whole price. It’s a method intended at enhancing attention for both the film and the performers, and it has the potential to add a new twist to an already thrilling and engaging narrative. The best A-list Cameos in film history are now presented.
Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin Cameos
Baldwin, the ultimate Cameos, barely appears for one scene and completely steals the film – a feat made all the more astounding by the fact that he takes it from Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, and Kevin Spacey.
Zombieland, Bill Murray
Bill Murray appears two-thirds of the way through Zombieland and quickly establishes that, even while undead, he’s funnier than everyone else engaged in the picture.
Hot Shots! Part II, Martin Sheen Cameos
A clever allusion to the Apocalypse Martin Sheen is now appearing in Hot Shots! Part II benefits from his son Charlie Sheen’s self-congratulatory welcome.
Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise
After his Oprah couch-jumping debacle, Cruise’s vulgar movie exec revealed that the action actor was totally fine playing the fool.
Sunset Boulevard, Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton’s sad-sack expression is enough to shatter one’s heart in a film about fading old Hollywood splendor.
Goldmember stars Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Steven Spielberg, and Austin Powers.
It’s a Pee-Big Wee’s Adventure joke, to be sure. However, making a big-budget movie-within-a-movie version of Austin Powers with this A-list cast and director was a pleasant surprise.
Young Frankenstein, Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman not only starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s serious The Conversation in 1974, but he also received a few laughs as an insane blind priest in his lone Young Frankenstein Cameos.
Christopher Walken, Pulp Fiction Cameos
There is no one better than Christopher Walken to give a single scene’s worth of drama, sympathy, and oddity.
Neil Patrick Harris, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Neil Patrick Harris, who had abandoned his teenage Doogie Howser image, provided Harold and Kumar the obscene wild-man lunacy they needed to take it over the top.
Johnny Depp, 21 Jump Street
The fact that the film never foreshadows Johnny Depp’s debut in 21 Jump Street helps — even if he’s been lurking in the background for previous sequences, under pounds of latex.
