8 of the most surprising celebrity film cameos of all time: from Elon Musk in Iron Man 2 and Michael Jackson in Men in Black, to Eminem ‘coming out’ in The Interview and Tom Cruise as Austin Powers
- Tom Cruise and Matt Damon are the kings of unexpectedly funny cameos, while Elon Musk and Glenn Close had blink-and-you-miss-them turns in Iron Man 2 and 90s film Hook respectively
- Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards played Jack Sparrow’s father in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise after Johnny Depp admitted his character was based on the ageing rocker
To a movie-goer, few things are more delightful than a celebrity cameo. The very best ones either catch us completely off guard, or see our favourite stars sending themselves up by playing against type.
So whose cameos have been the most surprising over the years? We’ve rounded up eight of our favourites.
1. Eminem in The Interview
In 2014, the controversial North Korea-centred comedy The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogan, featured a cameo by Eminem – coming out as gay. Franco’s character sits down with the rapper to ask him about his controversial lyrics, to which Marshall Bruce Mathers III replies: “When I say things about gay people and people think my lyrics are homophobic … you know, it’s because I’m gay.”
Franco’s “wait, what?” reaction to the unlikely revelation even spawned one of the internet’s favourite gifs.
2. Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Matt Damon in Eurotrip
Matt Damon is the king of comedy cameos, making it hard to pick his most surprising – from his brilliant “I’m F****** Matt Damon” skit with Sarah Silverman on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, to his hilarious cameo in Marvel’s Thor.