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News & Current Events Mar 25, 2026 at 5:00 AM

What are your favorite examples of directors making cameos in other peoples films?

Posted by nowhereman136

Im talking like Cecil B Demille in Sunset Boulevard, Steven Spielberg in Austin Powers, Gus Van Sant in Jay and Silent Bob, and David Lynch in The Fabelmans. Lets exclude directors cameoing in their own films, directors who are also prominent actors (Mel Gibson or Clint Eastwood), or directors who had significant roles in someone else's film like Tarantino in From Dusk til Dawn or Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha
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Classic-Rise-37 Mar 25, 2026 +30
Peter Jackson as Santa in Hot Fuzz.
30
FredererPower Mar 25, 2026 +25
Not exactly a cameo as it is a supporting role, but I loved Rob Reiner in Wolf of Wall Street. "$26,000 for one f****** dinner!"
25
DrewDonut Mar 25, 2026 +3
The IRS allows for T and A
3
FredererPower Mar 25, 2026 +2
T and E.
2
DrewDonut Mar 25, 2026 +2
That's what I said
2
ZarathustraEck Mar 25, 2026 +2
The apps did cure cancer.
2
de_rats_2004_crzy Mar 25, 2026 +1
My first thought too!
1
Agent-Two-THREE Mar 25, 2026 +19
Spike Jonze in Moneyball Tarantino in Little Nicky
19
MadMads23 Mar 25, 2026 +8
Tarantino as the crazy priest in *Little Nicky* was hilarious! It’s probably his best role xD
8
DrewDonut Mar 25, 2026 +4
Spike Jonze in Wolf of Wall Street too
4
thinreaper Mar 25, 2026 +6
He had a sizeable role in Three Kings as well in 1999, the same year he directed his first feature film Being John Malcovich
6
chazooka Mar 25, 2026 +3
Spike Jonze showing up for half a second to brush the glass out of Michael Douglas' face in The Game was such a trip on my last rewatch.
3
bluejester12 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Tarantino in Desperado
2
TrueLegateDamar Mar 25, 2026 +13
Steven Spielberg in The Blues Brothers Sam Raimi in Miller's Crossing.
13
BranWafr Mar 25, 2026 +11
> Steven Spielberg in The Blues Brothers Frank Oz in The Blues Brothers
11
Trike117 Mar 25, 2026 +7
Paul Reubens in The Blues Brothers.
7
smonster1 Mar 25, 2026 +3
Frank Oz in “Trading Places”. “You’re looking at 3 to 5, mandatory. Louis.”
3
Spiritual_Bet3955 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Frank Oz also played a doctor in An American Werewolf In London!
2
chazooka Mar 25, 2026 +3
"Hey old friends Joel and Ethan, your Miller's Crossing script is amazing. I was wondering if you could cast me in a small part." "Say no more, Sam - what role were you thinking?" "How about a guy who gets shot 1000 times?" "Sounds good!"
3
mikeyfreshh Mar 25, 2026 +9
Martin Scorsese in Shark Tale
9
shifty1032231 Mar 25, 2026 +4
or Akria Kurosawa's Dreams
4
thesearstower Mar 25, 2026 +2
As Vincent Van Gogh. Weird!
2
Beautiful-Mission-31 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Weirdly, he also has a role in the Mandalorian and Grogu
2
bolshevik_rattlehead Mar 25, 2026 +9
David Cronenberg popping up as an assassin at the end of Gus Van Sant’s *To Die For* (1995) is just awesome
9
ThalloAuxoKarpo Mar 25, 2026 +2
He also had a small role in Viggo Mortensens Falling.
2
La_Mano_Cornuta Mar 25, 2026 +1
Cronenberg as the psycho doctor in Clive Barker's Nightbreed.
1
Seagoon_Memoirs Mar 25, 2026 +15
Werner Herzog in The Mandalorian
15
Spade9ja Mar 25, 2026 +10
“I don’t know what cameo means”
10
Seagoon_Memoirs Mar 25, 2026 -3
it's a very small part 🤷‍♀️
-3
redbirdrising Mar 25, 2026 +5
Not all small parts are cameos. Cameo is a one scene and maybe one line character. Like Stan Lee in all those MCU films.
5
Silvershanks Mar 25, 2026 +4
Not sure if it counts as a cameo if they are a prominent character in the story.
4
truckturner5164 Mar 25, 2026 +8
Roger Corman literally pinching pennies in a phone booth in "The Howling".
8
Hurdy_Gurdy_Man_84 Mar 25, 2026 +7
Frank Darabont in John Carpenter's Vampires.
7
Rayeon-XXX Mar 25, 2026 +7
Truffaut in close encounters.
7
ShutterBun Mar 25, 2026 +6
That was nowhere near being a cameo.
6
chazooka Mar 25, 2026 +7
"When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting. When the horizon's at the top, it's interesting. When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit!" RIP David Lynch
7
SayLies Mar 25, 2026 +6
Peter Jackson in Hot Fuzz always cracks me up lol. also love Martin Scorsese popping up in Quiz Show. small moments but super memorable imo.
6
deadflowers5 Mar 25, 2026 +5
Pier Paolo Pasolini in the Italian western 'Kill and Pray' (1967) as a revolutionary priest.
5
dantoris Mar 25, 2026 +6
Steven Spielberg - The Blues Brothers George Lucas - Beverly Hills Cop III
6
Felis_bieti Mar 25, 2026 +2
And Frank Oz -- The Blues Brothers.
2
Silvershanks Mar 25, 2026 +4
Cronenburg just did a great cameo in the first 10 minutes of Ready of Not 2.
4
itchy_008 Mar 25, 2026 +4
John Landis’ filmography is filled with [cameos by directors](https://filmbabble.blogspot.com/2022/05/those-times-john-landis-put-his.html)
4
SpunkyBlah Mar 25, 2026 +4
Ti West in You're Next is fun
4
Invisible_Mikey Mar 25, 2026 +4
Nicholas Ray AND Sam Fuller both did cameos in Wim Wenders' The American Friend.
4
jupiterkansas Mar 25, 2026 +2
Sam Fuller's done a lot of cameos. He's also an aircraft commander in Spielberg's 1941.
2
lithiumcitizen Mar 25, 2026 +3
Sydney Pollack has admitted that he started acting to get to see how better directors than himself worked on set. He also said that acting wasn’t particularly hard. Decent resume as an actor… Three Days of the Condor The Electric Horseman Tootsie The Player Eyes Wide Shut The Interpreter Michael Clayton
3
Felis_bieti Mar 25, 2026 +3
My wife and I saw a guy in an old Twilight Zone. He looked familiar. I asked my wife, "Who's this guy? Sidney F****** Pollack?" It was. [Wiki page for the episode.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Templeton)
3
AStewartR11 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Some of these aren't cameos. He's a major part of *Michael Clayton* and *Eyes Wide Shut.* His best cameo is in *Death Becomes Her*. He's actually the best part of the film.
2
morphindel Mar 25, 2026 +4
George Romero in Silence of the Lambs!
4
Loki-L Mar 25, 2026 +3
Steven Spielberg as himself in Austin Powers in Goldmember George Lucas and Carrie Fisher have a very brief cameo in Spielberg's Hook
3
morphindel Mar 25, 2026 +1
> George Lucas and Carrie Fisher have a very brief cameo in Spielberg's Hook ???
1
smonster1 Mar 25, 2026 +5
They’re the couple kissing on the bridge at the end of the film.
5
morphindel Mar 25, 2026 +2
Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that
2
Frazzledghost Mar 25, 2026 +3
- Roger Corman in Scream 3 - Dario Argento in Gaspar Noe's Vortex - David Cronenberg in Jason X
3
leviathan0999 Mar 25, 2026 +3
Oliver Stone in "Dave." Our hero is a celebrity impersonator who's been brought in by the White House Chief of Staff to hide the fact that the real president has suffered a debilitating stroke while being serviced by a hooker. During a montage showing how the public is reacting to what they don't know is a fake president, we see various real-life politicians and journalists, and in among them is a clip of Larry King interviewing Oliver Stone, who was at the time very much associated with JFK assassination conspiracy theories. Stone is talking earnestly about the various physical inconsistencies that convince him that President Bill Mitchell has been replaced by a double (which is exactly what's happening) and Larry King is gently chiding him, "C'mon, Oliver, be real..."
3
weenix3000 Mar 25, 2026 +3
Takashi Miike in Hostel
3
Hopeful_Coconut_7758 Mar 25, 2026 +3
One more for David Cronenberg: Nightbreed (1990)
3
JeanRalfio Mar 25, 2026 +1
That mask he wears is creepy as f***. He just had a small role in Ready or Not 2. Barely in it but still very creepy. Fun to see him at the beginning of Jason X too.
1
True_to_you Mar 25, 2026 +3
Wes craven in Jay and silent Bob strike back as himself. 
3
Kwpthrowaway2 Mar 25, 2026 +3
Rob Reiner in the Wolf of Wallstreet. RIP.
3
NerdfestZyx Mar 25, 2026 +4
Sophia Coppola in The Godfather 👶
4
Forlorn_Hopeless Mar 25, 2026 +2
Lloyd Kaufman in the Toxic Avenger (2023).
2
Cunari Mar 25, 2026 +1
Lloyd Kaufman in Gamer is best
1
rev9of8 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Ben Affleck in Kevin Smith's **Jay and Silent Bob Reboot**.
2
JBru_92 Mar 25, 2026 +2
I've always generally enjoyed how M. Night Shyamalan does this. It's always more than a cameo and often crucial to the plot but never so much that it's distracting.
2
Bexhill Mar 26, 2026 +1
Casting himself as the writer whose work will save the world in Lady in the Water, and adding a mean old film critic character who gets torn apart by a monster, is the goofiest, pettiest shit ever. I love that guy.
1
concentric0s Mar 25, 2026 +2
Tim Burton appears in Cameron Crowe's Singles. The character Debbie goes to a video dating service. She agrees to pay $20 extra for her video to be directed by Brian. Because "he is like the next Martin Score-sees". The video dating segment ends up being appropriately weird, which has always made me hopeful Burton did in fact direct it. Possibly in character as Brian. Lol.
2
radioactive_sharpei Mar 25, 2026 +2
It's tv, but Guillermo del Toro as Pappy McPoyle on Its Always Sunny was funny.
2
ZorroMeansFox Mar 25, 2026 +1
Here's Spielberg in **The Blues Brothers**: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MApxKsCyU
1
aldila81 Mar 25, 2026 +1
Quentin Tarantino in Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django and RR's Planet Terror.
1
kungfuringo Mar 25, 2026 +1
Jim Jarmusch in Sling Blade
1
TheLastSalamanca Mar 25, 2026 +1
Paul Mazursky - Two Days in the Valley.
1
Cunari Mar 25, 2026 +1
Martin Scorsese in Guilty by Suspicion
1
neverapp Mar 25, 2026 +1
I liked the Garry and Penny Marshall scene in Hocus Pocus.  Didn't know who they were the first time I saw it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qxpDqfqbvOE
1
jupiterkansas Mar 25, 2026 +1
Penny Marshall in Get Shorty
1
CalagaxT Mar 25, 2026 +1
Spies Like Us. It had Joel Coen, Terry Gilliam, Sam Raimi, Frank Oz, Costa-Gavras, Michael Apted, Larry Cohen, and Bob Swaim.
1
Bexhill Mar 26, 2026 +1
Charlie Kaufman is just hanging out in the audience of the interpretive dance performance in Big Lebowski.
1
Bexhill Mar 26, 2026 +1
JUDD APATOW'S FLOPPY D*** IN POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, FINAL ANSWER
1
Otherwise_Self5250 Mar 25, 2026 -2
Tarantino in Pulp Fiction wad a great character.
-2
Hughjarse Mar 25, 2026 +5
> Tarantino in Pulp Fiction That was his own film. >of directors making cameos in **other** peoples films
5
Otherwise_Self5250 Mar 25, 2026
Pulp Fiction was prior to him acting in someone else's film.
0
ShutterBun Mar 25, 2026 +1
Technically his cameo in “Sleep With Me” (which would make a good addition to this thread) was before Pulp Fiction, at least going by the U.S. release date.
1
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