6

Kingsman: The Secret Service -- Mark Hamill Plays A Kidnapped Scientist... But In The Comics It Was A Kidnapped Mark Hamill

We're used to seeing Mark Hamill in the role of Luke Skywalker, or as the voice of The Joker, or, of course, as Man Who Gets Turned into Revolting Cockroach Monster -- but recently he showed up rather unexpectedly in Kingsman: The Secret Service as a kidnapped scientist.

20th Century Fox

So why cast the guy who blew up two Death Stars in such an inconsequential role? It turns out that Hamill's casting is actually a reference to the movie's source material. In the comic The Secret Service a similar scene plays out where the hostage was not a renowned scientist, but rather Mark Hamill, the actor -- who naturally gets shit about the prequels from his captors.

Icon Comics

5

Sean Connery Was Cast As Indiana Jones' Dad To Make A Personal Point About James Bond

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Sean Connery playing Indiana Jones' dad. He was pretty much perfect for the role, other than the fact that he's only 12 years older than Harrison Ford, setting up a hilarious, lover-sharing misunderstanding.

Paramount Pictures

4

Scott Baio Was On Arrested Development As A Reference To The Behind The Scenes Machinations Of Happy Days

To say that Arrested Development had elaborate, metatextual humor is like pointing out that the Gilmore Girls were quippy, or that Game Of Thrones is kinda violent, or that The Cosby Show will never again be watched by human eyes. Even the show's casting changes couldn't escape the meta joke machine, in particular the casting decisions made when Henry Winkler left the show. There had already been several Happy Days-related jokes surrounding Winkler's character, lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn -- watch here as he literally jumps over a shark after schilling for Burger King.

Which meant that when filling his role as the family's attorney, the show's producers brought in well-known actor/guy-who-isn't-racist-because-his-wife-has-a-black-friend, Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw.

20th Television

If you were alive in the 70s, or are unemployed and spend your days eating cheetos and watching TV Land, you might realize this is a reference to Happy Days. When Winkler's super-cool Fonz character was starting to look less like a young badass and more like part of a To Catch A Predator sting operation, suddenly his cousin Chachi showed up -- an obvious effort to court younger viewers.

Paramount Domestic Television

3

An SNL Alumnus Shows Up In Ant-Man For A Very Good Reason

Marvel movies are just chockfull of in-jokes; from Captain America's shield being stashed away in Tony Stark's filthy basement, to every Avengers movie being a giant green middle-finger to Edward Norton. And the film about the tiniest superhero in the Marvel arsenal is no exception. You might recall a scene where Ant-Man falls onto the roof of a car, momentarily confusing the driver:

Marvel Studios

Other than the fact that it's nice to acknowledge some of the victims of all this wanton superhero destruction, why show us the driver? Some may notice that the driver is actually played by Garrett Morris, known for his role in Two Broke Girls, and also as one of the original Saturday Night Live cast members.

NBC

2

Paul Reubens Was A Vampire Version Of His Mugshot In Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a mediocre movie that somehow spawned a TV show that even the guy who made the goddamn Wire thinks is "the best show in years." The show imported a lot of elements from the movie, but one character who didn't make the cut was ... uh, this guy:

20th Century Fox

That's Amilyn, the Vampire henchman played by Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, aka ... there's really no other way to describe him. This was Reubens' first screen appearance since his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure in a porno theatre, and his whole character in Buffy was a joke of sorts, Reubens' attempt to confront the scandal head-on. He even insisted his costume be made to look like his mugshot -- it was even written into his contract that if he were to do the movie he wanted to look like a vampire who'd just been hauled into the Sarasota Sheriff's department for jerking off.

20th Century Fox, Sarasota County Sheriff's Department

1

Hot Fuzz -- One Of The Casting Choices Tips Off The Twist Ending

Edgar Wright is known for cramming intricate jokes into minute details, like in Shaun Of The Dead, where the opening scene finds the characters in a pub drunkenly laying out the plot of the entire movie.

Universal Pictures

Similarly, Wright's follow-up, Hot Fuzz, provides a tip-off about where the plot is headed through one key casting choice. The movie finds Simon Pegg as a police officer reassigned to a small English town where he has to unravel the secret behind a series of murders. That secret? Most of the town are secretly members of a creepy cult that have been orchestrating the murders.

Universal Pictures

Now hold onto your tight-fitting argyle socks, because one of those English villagers is played by Edward Woodward who's perhaps best known for his role in the original The Wicker Man where he played a policeman who uncovers a murderous cult in a small English town.

British Lion Films

Not surprisingly, it turns out that The Wicker Man was one of the first movies Pegg and Wright turned to for inspiration. Of course, instead of ending with people getting burned alive in a giant sculpture made of Pier 1 furniture, Hot Fuzz instead opted for a shootout straight out of Bad Boys, so it's not exactly the same.

Universal Pictures

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