Why Do Actors Do Cameos?

We all know when they happen. You're watching a movie and then you see a familiar face. This actor may not be a supporting actor or even mentioned in the opening credits. But you recognize this face. But this actor does not stay for long, but he or she somehow leaves a lasting impression on you. In film, this is known as a cameo. Though the actor does not get first billing, this cameo is typically one of the things that you will remember from the film. But why do actors do these cameos? Do these actors get paid a lot for these cameos? I know in certain cases they don't. Sometimes they do it for free, like the case of Liam Neeson in The Hangover 2. This case also brings about another problem. Cameos don't always make it to the final film. As with the case of Neeson's tattoo artist cameo, the cameo was cut. So doing a cameo does not give you much monetary gain, and it may not even give you more screen time. So why do a cameo?

Sometimes, the cameo is done as a favor to the director, actor, or someone else involved with filming. That was the case with Neeson, who was texted by his The A-Team co-star Bradley Cooper. There are other famous cameos that happened because of some sort of relation to someone in the film. The infamous "I'll have what she's having" scene from When Harry Met Sally... is an example of a cameo. The woman who uttered this line was none other than the mother of Rob Reiner, the director of this movie. Edgar Wright's movies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz also enlist the help of family members of both Wright and cast members like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It is even more common to see actors in cameos as nods to the director. Kevin Smith's movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back has so many cameos. There are cameos from George Carlin, Chris Rock, Matt Damon, Brian O'Halloran, Jason Lee, Jeff Andersen, and Ben Affleck, who all acted in previous Kevin Smith movies. Cameos like these both show some professional relationships between the director and these actors and they act as Easter eggs to truly devoted fans.

Sometimes, the cameo acts as an homage to the actor, the director, or the genre of movie. George A. Romero cast Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg as zombies in one of his movies because of their work Shaun of the Dead. Mark Hamill was cast in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back because of his affiliations with Star Wars. Kevin Smith even went so far as to break the fourth wall and tell the audience that his movie, already riddled with references, had yet another reference to Star Wars. Gus van Sant was also cast in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as the director of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season, referencing his previous work as the director of Good Will Hunting. Leslie Nielsen, the king of the spoof, was cast in Scary Movie 3 as the president in a spoof movie, literally affirming his status as the best spoof actor of all time. Maybe the most infamous cameo would be all of Stan Lee's cameos in Marvel movies. The comic book revolutionary can be seen in almost all Marvel movies. Does he have a substantial role? More often than not, no. But the directors tip their hat to Stan Lee by allowing him to be in these movies. It is a deserving gesture to a deserving person. Would people still know about these people and their accomplishments without these cameos? Certainly, but the cameo is just another way to draw admiration for these stellar actors.

Sometimes, the cameo is there because it enhances the movie. In Zombieland, Bill Murray, after being talked about for what seemed to be forever by Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), finally shows up. He first appears as a "zombie", but he truly is alive. His turn in Zombieland put that movie over the top, because though it was funny throughout, no one could top Bill Murray. His cameo added to the hilarity of the movie. But cameos don't only add hilarity to funny movies. Sometimes they ground the movie even more. One example is Rodney Dangerfield in Natural Born Killers. The classic funny man seems to give the dark movie some more humor, but Dangerfield shows his acting chops by completely creeping out the audience as the abusive father of Juliette Lewis' Mallory Knox. The scene is devastating on its own, but it seems to reach new heights (or depths) by Dangerfield. Another superb example is Alec Baldwin's cameo in Glengarry Glen Ross. Baldwin is a spectacular actor, both drama and comedy, and he shows his ability to milk a script in this movie. Cameos like these are intended to better the viewing experience by adding something that any other actor could not do.

Of course, the issue now is what constitutes a cameo. Did Jim Parsons have a cameo in Garden State or did he have a cameo in Garden State because he is Jim Parsons? This question is essentially asking whether the cameo exists because someone played that role or whether the cameo exists because the actor is famous. Because there are many films where an actor may have only a small role, but they never call it a cameo. Does a cameo stand on its own? What I want to know is about the role of the number of actors in the scene. This could explain why henchman, though they have onscreen time, are not considered cameos, but extras. There is also a fine line between cameos and supporting roles. Pete Postlethwaite had a supporting role in The Town, but he arguably had a cameo in Inception. Does the cameo only count if the scene is brief or if the character only occurs once? There are many questions about cameos, but at least we know why actors do them. An actor takes cameos because it is an homage, a favor, or a vital part of the movie. It may be funny or serious. It may be relatively long or short. But they will always have importance for a movie goer and a movie maker.