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For Sale Mar 31, 2026 at 8:05 PM

Shortest role by a famous actor

Posted by MaxBulla

Just started watching Vigil on the iPlayer and Martin Compston says about 3 lines, dies of an overdose....The End Surely must be the shortest appearance in British TV history by a well known actor, no? EDIT: Just to clarify, I meant at the start of a film / tv show. First scene, bang. A fair few answers below are characters appearing/disappearing quickly somewhere within the film.
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Pr1mrose Mar 31, 2026 +49
Brad Pitt in Deadpool 2, appears for a split second and dies
49
OneGeekyBelgian Mar 31, 2026 +2
First thing I thought of as well.
2
MaxBulla Mar 31, 2026 -15
not my type of thing, but was it right at the beginning?
-15
ztpurcell Mar 31, 2026 +23
No he plays an invisible character you don't get a glimpse of until he's electrocuted and then dies
23
JonnyPockets Mar 31, 2026 +17
Gary Oldman in Tiptoes.
17
ShaunTrek Mar 31, 2026 +3
The role of a lifetime
3
Hi_Im_Dadbot Mar 31, 2026 +7
Wasn’t there an episode of Parks and Recreation where they finally find the mayor of the town and he’s unconscious in a hospital bed and it’s Bill Murray lying there, who they just show for two seconds and then move on?
7
ClassicsMajor Mar 31, 2026 +5
I think he was dead in a coffin then they played a short video of him where he talked about banging his secretary.
5
notthatgeorge Mar 31, 2026 +3
So he was on for a couple of scenes, it was on video when he said, ifI did good you're welcome and if I didn't do good it wasn't my fault.
3
Flermy Mar 31, 2026 +8
Robert Downey Jr plays a blood covered corpse in a single shot in "The Nice Guys"
8
BoSocks91 Mar 31, 2026 +7
Matt Damon - “Eurotrip”
7
Matanishu Mar 31, 2026 +5
Also Matt Damon in Thor: Ragnarok.
5
hart37 Mar 31, 2026 +2
And again in Thor Love and Thunder both also having Sam Neill and Luke Hemsworth. The Sam Neill one is funny in Love and Thunder given there's a reference to Event Horizon earlier in the film.
2
riegspsych325 Mar 31, 2026 +1
you can make a whole post just for Matt Damon cameos
1
Manos_Of_Fate Mar 31, 2026 +1
My headcanon is that Loki kidnapped MCU Matt Damon and forced him to be in his play.
1
wizardvictor Mar 31, 2026 +4
Kevin Costner was heavily cut from The Big Chill that he only appeared briefly as a corpse. Bill Murray was also just a corpse and a video recording in Parks and Rec. 
4
notthatgeorge Mar 31, 2026 +2
Jon Hamm was also in a couple of parks and rec scenes
2
ComputerDecent463 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Jon Voight hailing a taxi and then biting Kramer has to be up there. Not as famous, but Eric Braeden was pissed that he only had two lines of dialogue as Robin’s father on How I Met Your Mother which is why they replaced him with Ray Wise (who coincidentally ended up joining Y&R.)
2
ClassicsMajor Mar 31, 2026 +2
Martin Sheen reprising his character from Apocalypse Now for like 30 seconds in either the first or second Hot Shots! movie.
2
sd_glokta Mar 31, 2026 +2
George Clooney on South Park
2
Medlion1122 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Mark Hamill in The Force Awakens
2
monsieurxander Mar 31, 2026 +2
Martin Short is in one brief scene in the first episode of Schmigadoon, and he's credited as main cast for the entire season.
2
erwan Mar 31, 2026 +4
There are plenty of them and they're called "cameo"
4
IronChefPhilly Mar 31, 2026 +5
Marlon Brando in Superman
5
HandbagsAtNoon Mar 31, 2026 +2
Neve Campbell in one scene in a season 7 episode of Mad Men. Not the most famous but still an interesting one. Made me realize her acting style is so Mad Men-coded. Wish she had been in the whole series (or at least an entire season) instead of one scene.
2
DorisMaricadie Mar 31, 2026 +1
Possibly not the shortest bu Ben Affleck, aces high i think
1
Ralphwiggum911 Mar 31, 2026 +2
He was in two or three scenes and had a longish monologue. Not short at all.
2
DorisMaricadie Mar 31, 2026 +1
🤪 i remembered it as an opening scene monologue, sorry Incorrectly it seems
1
Ralphwiggum911 Mar 31, 2026 +1
All good.
1
RiffRafe2 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Colm Meaney doesn't last that long at the beginning of the 1st episode of "Gangs of London".
1
FilmUncensored Mar 31, 2026 +1
Emma Roberts in Hunt
1
TubeScr3ameR Mar 31, 2026 +1
Charleton Heston's Gas Station Attendant in Wayne's World 2 (1993) is really good.
1
bavmotors1 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Jim Carrey has one line on The Office
1
moss_field_journal Mar 31, 2026 +1
It still beats Brad Pitt’s Deadpool 2 “electrocuted in half a second” cameo. UK TV equivalent might be Bill Murray in Parks & Rec, blink-and-gone legend.
1
RusevReigns Mar 31, 2026 +1
Tom Hanks in Sheridan's 1883 has a few minutes cold open in civil war flashback.
1
ItsSoLitRightNow Mar 31, 2026 +1
Ha no way. I totally missed that!
1
Lord__Abaddon Mar 31, 2026 +1
Jack whitehall in frozen. he played gothi the troll.
1
mullet85 Mar 31, 2026 +1
There's a couple in The Last Man On Earth, Jon Hamm and Will Ferrell (though Ferrell showed up in photos for quite a while after)
1
ialo00130 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Chris Evans in Free Guy Seconds of screen time with only one line: "What the Shit".
1
OreoSpeedwaggon Mar 31, 2026 +1
Does everyone mentioning movies in this thread not realize that this is r/television and not r/movies?
1
Mediocre-Touch-6133 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Tim Conway - Dorf
1
ih8dumppl Mar 31, 2026 +1
Arnold in The Rundown
1
Savings_Stock_4240 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Jack Black in Last Man on Earth
1
Away-Concentrate-946 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Something with Warwick Davis I'd imagine.
1
BookieDaGreat Mar 31, 2026 +1
Could also be **Matt Damon in Thor: Ragnarok** if we’re counting glorified cameos, or **Cate Blanchett in Hot Fuzz** if we’re talking “wait, that was them?” appearances. Famous actors love a good microscopic role when the joke is worth it.
1
MaybeNotTooDay Mar 31, 2026 -5
Any geezer teaser
-5
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