Everyone loves a surprise cameo; they make every movie that much more fun. But there
are some cameos so well hidden—because they're a special favor to a star or director, or
some kind of elaborate inside joke—that they're easy to miss. Here are some times
that big stars showed up in secret uncredited roles…and hardly anyone noticed.
Glenn Close, Hook
During one unforgettable scene in Steven Spielberg's Peter Pan riff, Captain Hook brutally throws
one of his own pirates, Gutless, into "the boo box" with a scorpion. It's enough to make
any self-respecting pirate scream like a girl — but in this pirate's case, he actually
was one. That's actress Glenn Close under the bushy beard, decades before she earned
an Oscar nomination for playing another male character in Albert Nobbs.
Peter Jackson, Hot Fuzz
At the beginning of this movie, Simon Pegg's cop character gets stabbed in the hand by
an unhinged Santa Claus. Santa's face is obscured by a beard, but that psychotic Father Christmas
is Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who was friendly with Hot Fuzz director Edgar
Wright. After Jackson invited Wright to visit the set of King Kong, Wright returned the
favor by extending an invite to the set of his film, where Jackson volunteered to do
a cameo. The scene was shot after Jackson had lost a great deal of weight and shaved
his beard, which means the director wore a phony fat suit for his big moment onscreen.
Cate Blanchett, Hot Fuzz
Peter Jackson wasn't the only big Hollywood name to pop up in this British cop comedy.
In another scene, Simon Pegg's character meets up with his ex-girlfriend, an investigator
named Janine—who's played by Cate Blanchett. Blanchett was a big fan of Edgar Wright's
zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead, and when she met him at a party, he offered her a cameo…
only one in which her face would be totally obscured, just because he thought it would
be funny to cast an Oscar winner in a role where she'd be completely unrecognizable.
Danny Glover, Maverick
In this 1994 big-screen remake of a classic TV comic western, Maverick is in a bank when
a robbery goes down. Leading the crooks is a guy who uses a red bandana to cover up his
face—he wouldn't want to be noticed, after all. The scarf also did a pretty good job
of concealing the identity of the actor playing the bandit: Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon co-star
Danny Glover.
Stephen Spielberg, The Blues Brothers
This film featured a marvelous roster of legendary blues and R&B musicians including Ray Charles,
Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker. But also making an appearance
is director Steven Spielberg, who struck up a friendship with Dan Akroyd and John Belushi
a year earlier and appears here as a clerk in a county assessor's office.
Dan Akroyd, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
After Steven Spielberg cameoed in Dan Aykroyd's movie, Aykroyd returned the favor. At the
very beginning of the second Indiana Jones adventure, a mustachioed British man helps
arrange transportation for Indy at an airport — with one minor caveat.
"There might be a slight inconvenience as you will be riding on a cargo full of live
poultry."
Of course, not even a silly accent can entirely mask Akroyd's distinctive voice, which makes
this one cameo that's easier to spot than the rest.
Bill Murray, Dumb and Dumber To
This sequel to the classic idiot flick Dumb and Dumber was written and directed by Bobby
and Peter Farrelly, who also directed Bill Murray in their 1996 bowling comedy Kingpin.
Like Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright, the Farrelly brothers thought it would be amusing to cast
a very well-known actor in the role of Icepick, Harry's roommate, whose identity is completely
concealed with a breathing apparatus throughout his one scene — and Murray was happy to
trade his Kingpin combover for a hazmat suit.
Jimmy Buffett, Jurassic World
When order inevitably breaks down and the dinosaurs at Jurassic World escape to terrorize
the theme park guests, there's a few seconds of comic relief: an old dude in an orange
shirt runs away from the chaos and carnage…while carefully carrying away two margaritas. Who
played this hero? The planet's most ardent margarita lover, of course: "Margaritaville"
singer Jimmy Buffett.
Stephen Colbert, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Stephen Colbert is a huge J.R.R. Tolkien fan and scholar, having shown off his geek credentials
multiple times on The Colbert Report and The Late Show.
"Last time you were here, we had a Tolkien showdown and I, I smoked you like a ham."
In 2013, he was rewarded for his devotion with a small part in the second installment
of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. Colbert appears onscreen for just a few seconds as
one of Lake-town's spies.
Owen Wilson, Rushmore
Wilson co-wrote this indie dramedy cult classic with childhood friend and frequent collaborator
Wes Anderson, and his two actor brothers show up in minor roles. Andrew plays a coach at
the titular school, and Luke plays a doctor who goes on a date with Rosemary, played by
Olivia Williams, with whom most of the men in the movie are totally obsessed.
"These are OR scrubs."
"O R they?"
But Owen is in the film, too, if you look closely: he plays Edward Appleby, Rosemary's
deceased husband, who appears exclusively in a couple pictures on the wall in Rosemary's
house.
Basically everyone in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
When the new installment of this beloved franchise hit theaters in 2015, it was full of secret
cameos from actors who just wanted to be a part of the fun. So when Rey trades salvaged
parts to this Jakku junk dealer in exchange for rations, there's actually a familiar face
under all that latex, padding, and CGI: actor, writer, and total Star Wars superfan Simon
Pegg.
And he's not the only one! Remember the stormtrooper who releases Rey in this pivotal scene?
"And you'll drop your weapon!"
"And I'll drop my weapon."
That's James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, trading his dinner jacket for a suit of white plastic
armor. And a final surprise: throughout the movie, you're hearing but not seeing a famous
comedian. The little chirps and blips made by BB-8, the world's most adorable droid,
are actually the vocalizations of actor and Saturday Night Live alumnus Bill Hader.
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