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File:StrangersCameoPubReenact.jpg

Alfred Hitchcock boards the train while lead character Haines gets off, at the beginning of Strangers on a Train in 1951

A cameo role or cameo appearance (/ˈkæmi/; often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance or voice part of a known person in a work of the performing arts, typically unnamed or appearing as themselves. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly either appearances in a work in which they hold some special significance (such as actors from an original movie appearing in its remake) or renowned people making uncredited appearances. Short appearances by celebrities, film directors, politicians, athletes, or musicians are common. A crew member of the movie or show playing a minor role can be referred to as a cameo as well, such as Alfred Hitchcock's frequently performed cameos.

Concept[]

Originally "cameo role" meant "a small character part that stands out from the other minor parts". The Oxford English Dictionary connects this with the meaning "a short literary sketch or portrait", which is based on the literal meaning of "cameo", a miniature carving on a gemstone.[1] More recently, "cameo" has come to refer to any short appearances, whether as a character or as oneself, such as the examples below.[2]

Cameos are generally not credited because of their brevity, or a perceived mismatch between the celebrity's stature and the film or TV show in which he or she is appearing. Many are publicity stunts. Others are acknowledgments of an actor's contribution to an earlier work, as in the case of many film adaptations of TV series, or of remakes of earlier films. Others honour artists or celebrities known for work in a particular field.[citation needed]

Possibly the best-known series of cameos was by Alfred Hitchcock, who made very brief appearances in most of his films.[3]

Cameos also occur in novels and other literary works. “Literary cameos” usually involve an established character from another work who makes a brief appearance to establish a shared universe setting, to make a point, or to offer homage. Balzac often employed this practice, as in his Comédie humaine. Sometimes a cameo features a historical person who "drops in" on fictional characters in a historical novel, as when Benjamin Franklin shares a beer with Phillipe Charboneau in The Bastard by John Jakes.[citation needed]

A cameo appearance can be made by the author of a work to put a sort of personal "signature" on a story. Vladimir Nabokov often put himself in his novels; for instance, the very minor character Vivian Darkbloom (an anagram of the author's name) in Lolita.[4]

Film directors[]

Quentin Tarantino provides cameos or small roles in at least 10 of his movies.[5]

Likewise, Peter Jackson has made brief cameos in all of his movies, except for his first feature-length film Bad Taste in which he plays a main character, as well as The Battle of the Five Armies. For example, he plays a peasant eating a carrot in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Desolation of Smaug; a Rohan warrior in The Two Towers and a Corsair of Umbar boatswain in The Return of the King. All four were non-speaking "blink and you miss him" appearances, although in the Extended Release of The Return of the King, his character was given more screen time and his reprise of the carrot eating peasant in The Desolation of Smaug was featured in the foreground in reference to The Fellowship of the Ring - last seen twelve years earlier.[6]

Director Martin Scorsese appears in the background of his films as a bystander or an unseen character. In Who's That Knocking at My Door, he appears as one of the gangsters; he is a lighting crew man in After Hours and a passenger in Taxi Driver. He opens up his 1986 film The Color of Money with a monologue on the art of playing pool. In addition, he appears with his wife and daughter as wealthy New Yorkers in Gangs of New York, and he appears as a theatre-goer and is heard as a movie projectionist in The Aviator.[citation needed]

In a same way, Roman Polanski appears as a hired hoodlum in his film Chinatown, slitting Jack Nicholson's nose with the blade of his clasp knife.[7]

Actors and writers[]

Directors sometimes cast well-known lead actors with whom they have worked in the past in other films. Mike Todd's film Around the World in 80 Days (1956) was filled with cameo roles: (John Gielgud as an English butler, Frank Sinatra playing piano in a saloon), and others. The stars in cameo roles were pictured in oval insets in posters for the film, and gave the term wide circulation outside the theatrical profession.[citation needed]

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), an "epic comedy", also features cameos from nearly every popular American comedian alive at the time, including the Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis, a silent appearance by Buster Keaton and a voice-only cameo by Selma Diamond.[8]

Among the many cameos featured in Maverick, (directed by Richard Donner), Danny Glover (Mel Gibson's co-star in the Lethal Weapon franchise of films also directed by Donner) appears as the lead bank robber. He and Maverick (Gibson) share a scene where they look as if they knew each other, but then shake it off. As Glover makes his escape with the money, he mutters "I'm too old for this shit", his character's catchphrase in the Lethal Weapon film series. In addition, a strain of the main theme from Lethal Weapon plays in the score when Glover is revealed. Actress Margot Kidder made a cameo appearance in the same film as a robbed villager, and the actress previously starred as Lois Lane in one of Donner's earlier films Superman.[9]

Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Will Ferrell have made appearances in so many of the same films (whether as lead characters or cameos) USA Today coined the term the "Frat Pack" to name the group.[10] Actor Adam Sandler is also known for frequently casting fellow Saturday Night Live performers (including Rob Schneider and David Spade) in various roles in his films (as well as making cameo appearances of his own in theirs, most of which he co-produces). Sam Raimi frequently uses his brother Ted and Bruce Campbell in his films.[11][12]

The american singer/actress Cher has done a couple of cameos over the years. She did two cameos in Will & Grace and she even did a few in the 90s.

The animated series Adventures of Tintin featured its author Hergé in all the episodes.[13]

Stan Lee is well known for his cameo appearances throughout most of the Marvel films.[14]

An Adventure in Space and Time, a drama about how the Doctor Who began, features many actors from the show's past, including two past companions in a party scene, another as a mother calling her children in for dinner and a fourth in a car park at the BBC.[15]

Scrat’s cameo in Surviving Sid.

Real-life people[]

Films based on actual events occasionally include cameo guest appearances by the people portrayed in them. In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner makes a cameo at the end. 24 Hour Party People, a film about Tony Wilson, has a cameo by the real Tony Wilson and many other notable people. In the film Apollo 13, James Lovell (the real commander of that flight) and his wife Marilyn appear next to the actors playing them (Tom Hanks and Kathleen Quinlan respectively). Domino Harvey makes a short appearance in the credits of Domino, while the real Erin Brockovich has a cameo appearance as a waitress named Julia in the eponymous movie (where her role is played by actress Julia Roberts).[citation needed]

Elon Musk and Larry Ellison, both founders of large technology companies, are featured in cameos in the 2010 blockbuster, Iron Man 2.[16]

The king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, was in the children's program "Mika" (Mika och renen Ossian på äventyr) when Mika was in Stockholm with his reindeer.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Oxford English Dictionary, "Cameo".
  2. "Cameo in Film topic". Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Retrieved 9 January 2017. a short appearance in a film or play by a well-known actor<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  3. Dirks, Tim. "Alfred Hitchcock's Film Cameo Appearances in His Own Films". Filmsite. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  4. Straumann, Barbara (2008). Figurations of Exile in Hitchcock and Nabokov. Edinburgh University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-7486-3647-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=0AqrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA114. 
  5. Vincent, Alice; Saunders, Tristram Fane (10 December 2015). "Quentin Tarantino: his 10 best cameo roles". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  6. Sumra, Husain (14 December 2011). "Did you know that Peter Jackson made cameos in the Lord of the Rings films?". Swiftfilm. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  7. Clarke, Roger (1 May 2008). "Story of the scene: 'Chinatown' Roman Polanski (1974)". The Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  8. Sobczynski, Peter (21 January 2014). ""It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Gets the Deluxe Treatment from Criterion". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  9. Ebert, Roger (20 May 1994). "Maverick". Chicago Sun-Times (Sun-Times Media Group). http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19940520/REVIEWS/405200302. Retrieved 15 September 2016. 
  10. Wloszczyna, Susan (15 June 2004). "Wilson and Vaughn: Leaders of the 'Frat Pack'". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-06-15-frat-pack_x.htm. 
  11. "Monsters-Movies.com". Retrieved 18 February 2017.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  12. "Sam Raimi - Credited with". Retrieved 18 February 2017.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  13. Talbot, John; Adams, Edmund; Winkels, Rob; Mar, Irene (27 March 2009). "Hergé's Cameo Appearances". Tintinologist. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  14. "Stan Lee has made 28 cameos in Marvel movies and shows — here they are". Retrieved 18 February 2017.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  15. Wilson, Dan (21 November 2013). "Doctor Who: 17 things for Who fans to spot in An Adventure in Space and Time by Mark Gatiss". Metro. Retrieved 15 September 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  16. Greenberg, Andy. "Elon Musk, Larry Ellison Appear In Iron Man 2". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/velocity/2010/04/29/elon-musk-larry-ellison-have-cameos-in-iron-man-2/. 
  17. "It's So Last Century - Mika". Retrieved 18 February 2017.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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