Cameo Appearance - History - Real-life People

Real-life People

Films based on actual events occasionally include cameo roles of the people portrayed in them. In the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness Chris Gardner makes a cameo in 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. 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). The 2000 film Almost Famous featured Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner as a passenger in a New York City taxicab. Chuck Yeager has a cameo as "Fred", a bartender at "Pancho's Happy Bottom Riding Club", in The Right Stuff. Likewise, several associates of Harvey Milk appear in the 2008 film Milk. In the 2008 film 21 Jeff Ma, the character the film is based on, plays a blackjack dealer at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. His character in the movie calls him "my brother from another mother".

In a similar vein, cameos sometimes feature persons noted for accomplishments outside the film industry, usually in ways related to the subject or setting of the film. In the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Buzz Aldrin appeared as himself whereby he reveals certain details as to what really happened (although fictional) during the Apollo 11 space mission. October Sky (1999), set in 1950s Appalachia, featured photographer O. Winston Link in a brief appearance portraying a steam locomotive engineer. Link became famous in the 1950s for chronicling the last days of regular steam locomotives service in the region. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), set in Depression-era rural South, featured cameos by country "roots" music notables such as Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, The Whites and the Fairfield Four. In the film The Last Mimzy, noted string theorist Brian Greene has a cameo as the Intel scientist. In Dr. Dolittle 2 a cameo appearance was made by Steve Irwin. Stan Lee, the creator of many Marvel Comics characters has appeared in the film versions of the comics, including The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four and Thor. Skateboarder Tony Hawk makes a cameo as a dead body in an episode of CSI: Miami. In Men in Black II, Biz Markie (a hip hop artist) appears as an alien who uses beatboxing to communicate, also Michael Jackson appeared as Agent M.

Mike Todd's film Around the World in Eighty 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. Notably the 1983 television adaptation and 2004 film version of the story also feature a large number of cameos.

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, a silent appearance by Buster Keaton and a voice-only cameo by Selma Diamond. Bill Murray made a cameo as himself in the 2009 movie Zombieland with featured Ghostbusters antics.

Also some royalties have made cameos: Carl XVI Gustaf, king of Sweden, was in children's program "Mika" (Mika och renen Ossian på äventyr) when Mika was in Stockholm with his reindeer. Another royal is the present king of Jordan Abdullah II, who appeared briefly in Star Trek: Voyager ("Investigations") while still a prince.