14 Celebrities Who Were Way Too Famous for Their Cameos and Guest Starring Roles
Leave it to Larry David to get both ironic and meta in a single short cameo.
Larry David: ‘Hannah Montana’
Larry David turned Hannah Montana into Curb Your Enthusiasm when he and his daughters made a very meta cameo: the girls complained that their dad wasn’t famous enough to get a table at a fancy restaurant.
Justin Bieber: ‘CSI’
CSI star Marg Helgenberger said that while Bieber was “very nice to me,” he was “kind of a brat” and locked one of the producers in a closet.
Prince: ‘New Girl’
Prince was a huge fan of the show, a fact no one knew until his manager reached out to Zoey Deschanel with a very scam-coded message: “Hello, I am manager to legendary artist Prince. He is loving the show New Girl. He would like 2 B on the show.” They eventually made it happen, and the episode was a major boost to the show.
Liberace: ‘Batman’
Liberace showed up on two episodes of the 1966 Batman series, as two very different villains: he played the dastardly Chandell, and later returned as Chandell’s villainous twin: Harry.
Andy Warhol: ‘The Love Boat’
Even in the promotional photos, he looks like a giant hipster stick in the mainstream mud. The show had plenty of guest stars, but this is a guy who made it his business to push the envelope of popular culture, making an appearance in the very stale culture he was often lampooning
Sammy Davis Jr.: ‘All in the Family’
Davis Jr. smooches Archie Bunker on the cheek just before making his exit, causing what was at that time the longest laugh break forced by an in-studio audience.
Ed Sheeran: ‘Game of Thrones’
Sheeran has a unique look that would stand out in any time period, even a completely fictional one. So when he popped up as a filthy, grinning bard in one episode, at possibly the height of his fame, it took viewers out of the moment more than a Starbucks cup on a royal dais.
Norman Mailer: ‘Gilmore Girls’
The writers shot their shot, and got a dream cameo. According to Mailer: “They happened to write a script in which a well-known author is visiting Lorelai’s inn and drinking nothing but iced tea and driving the cook crazy. I think they were using the name Norman Mailer, and somebody said, ‘Let’s try and get him.’”
Madeleine Albright: ‘Gilmore Girls’
The writers once again shot for the moon, getting in touch with Albright’s representatives to get their blessing to have an actor portray the former Secretary of State. Albright insisted instead on playing herself.
Mike Bloomberg: ‘Gossip Girl’
News magnate and one of the world’s most edible billionaires Bloomberg showed up ever-so-briefly in the series finale to weigh in on the big twist: “I’m shocked! I thought it was Dorota!”
Mandy Moore: ‘How I Met Your Mother’
The fact that she appeared on the show was weird enough, but they also had her dress up like some 2007 Tumblr dork’s idea of “punk”: a black-and-red hair and clothing motif, and awful temporary tattoos on her arms.
Snooki and Paris Hilton: ‘Supernatural’
They had a penchant for getting guest stars to play demons, but some of the best and worst performances were cameos. Snooki and Hilton both played demon versions of themselves, ostensibly because they couldn’t be trusted to act — even though Hilton had appeared in House of Wax with Supernatural star Jared Padalecki. They made hay of that connection with some especially meta dialogue.
James Franco: ‘General Hospital’
Few people have wasted their celebrity status quite like Franco. While he was still super popular, he did a stint on the schlocky soap opera and, when everyone hated it, he chalked it up to “performance art.”
Pete Wentz: ‘One Tree Hill’
Fall Out Boy played their hit song “Dance, Dance” at an in-universe club, which is understandable, but then Wentz stuck around long enough to date a 17-year-old.