Famous People With the Most Cameo Roles

A cameo in movies or television is an appearance or role by a famous actor or celebrity. Cameos are brief, unannounced, and don’t greatly involve the particular personality in the storyline. In the best-case scenario, a good cameo is like seeing an old friend pop up in an unexpected place.

To determine the actors with the most cameos, 24/7 Tempo reviewed acting credit data from film industry site The Numbers, a subsidiary of Nash Information Services. Actors were ranked based on the number of acting roles billed as cameos in their filmographies. Supplemental data on inflation-adjusted domestic box office is also from The Numbers.

The success of a cameo lies in the recognition factor and the impact it has on the audience. Cameos can be made by actors playing themselves or in character. These transitory spots can enhance a film or TV show by bringing a certain authenticity to the storyline, such as comic-book illustrator Stan Lee appearing in Marvel Cinematic Universe films or celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck voicing Chef Smurf in “The Smurfs.”

The original “Batman” series from the 1960s was famous for including cameo-making celebrities who conversed with the dynamic duo as they scaled the side of a building.

Directors are famous for appearing in films — their own or others — none more so than Alfred Hitchcock. Other movie helmsmen making a brief stop in front of the camera include Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg, Tarantino, M. Night Shyamalan, and Martin Scorsese.

Actors such as David Hasselhoff and John Ratzenberger appear on this list for recognition on television, while Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Whoopi Goldberg are familiar faces in movies.

Not everyone who makes a cameo is an actor or director. Talk-show hosts Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, and Larry King have made many cameos, as has prolific horror novelist Stephen King. Athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Mike Tyson have made celebrated cameos in films. (Here are 25 famous athletes who tried to have a career in Hollywood.)

30. Pat Kiernan

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.7 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Avengers (2012)

29. Conan O’Brien

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $519.1 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Vanilla Sky (2001)

28. Quentin Tarantino

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $486.9 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Pulp Fiction (1994)

27. Kevin Costner

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $531.9 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

26. Steven Spielberg

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.7 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

25. Penny Marshall

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $398.3 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Get Shorty (1995)

24. Oliver Stone

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $524.2 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Dave (1993)

23. Sigourney Weaver

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $903.8 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Finding Dory (2016)

22. Sylvester Stallone

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $215.6 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Staying Alive (1983)

21. Charlie Sheen

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $463.1 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

20. Shaquille O’Neal

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $732.8 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Lego Movie (2014)

19. John Candy

• Cameo roles: 5 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $320.1 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Rookie of the Year (1993)

18. Robin Williams

• Cameo roles: 6 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $189.5 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)

17. M. Night Shyamalan

• Cameo roles: 6 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.3 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Sixth Sense (1999)

16. David Zucker

• Cameo roles: 6 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $828.6 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Airplane! (1980)

15. David Hasselhoff

• Cameo roles: 6 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.0 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017)

14. Matt Damon

• Cameo roles: 7 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $407.9 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Interstellar (2014)

13. James Earl Jones

• Cameo roles: 7 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.2 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

12. Mike Tyson

• Cameo roles: 7 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $917.2 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Hangover (2009)

11. Bruce Willis

• Cameo roles: 7 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $549.1 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Verdict (1982)

10. John Ratzenberger

• Cameo roles: 8 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $2.7 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Finding Nemo (2003)

9. Martin Scorsese

• Cameo roles: 8 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $543.2 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: The Aviator (2004)

8. Bill Murray

• Cameo roles: 8 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $912.1 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Space Jam (1996)

7. Samuel L. Jackson

• Cameo roles: 9 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $1.8 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

6. Whoopi Goldberg

• Cameo roles: 9 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $372.4 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: In & Out (1997)

5. Stephen King

• Cameo roles: 9 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $640.5 million
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: It: Chapter Two (2019)

4. Alfred Hitchcock

• Cameo roles: 16 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $3.7 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Notorious (1946)

3. Larry King

• Cameo roles: 21 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $2.9 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Shrek 2 (2004)

2. Jay Leno

• Cameo roles: 25 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $2.3 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Cars (2006)

1. Stan Lee

• Cameo roles: 46 credits
• Total inflation-adjusted domestic box office of cameo movies: $15.7 billion
• Highest-grossing movie with cameo role: Avengers: Endgame (2019)