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Sometimes, Oscar winners just want to have fun. Join us as we count down the most unexpected and jaw-dropping times that Academy Award winners showed up somewhere you'd never expect them to be! Which cameo shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 weirdest and most
00:10surprising times that a serious Oscar winner showed up in an unconventional movie.
00:32You didn't really see this cameo, but you certainly heard it. In a movie stuffed with
00:36multiverse variants, the most subtle appearance comes during the climatic showdown. While all eyes
00:41were on the chaos, that distinct, laid-back Texas draw belonging to Cowboy Pool was none other than
00:47Best Actor winner Matthew McConaughey. Known for his chill persona, McConaughey leaned all the way
00:52into his own stereotype to voice the gunslinging mercenary. McConaughey does a lot of variety,
00:57but he isn't really one for superhero blockbusters, even turning down the role of Ego in Guardians 2,
01:03so that was a nice surprise. Hearing that Oscar-winning voice coming out of a masked,
01:07cowboy-hat-wearing assassin was a hilarious meta wink to his own career that many fans missed on
01:12the first watch.
01:13Y'all can't do shit about it.
01:15Do you not get it? If we don't go down to the subway and stop her, we all die.
01:19Say the boss lady don't want no disturbances.
01:21Number 9. Gwyneth Paltrow, Austin Powers in Goldmember
01:25Hi, I'm Dixie. Dixie Normus.
01:29Fresh off her Academy Award win for Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow was Hollywood's go-to
01:34girl for polite period dramas and prestige romances, so her appearance in a raunchy spy
01:39comedy was a rather jarring left turn. Appearing in the film within a film titled Austin Pussy,
01:45Paltrow plays Dixie Normus, a tough-talking, leather-clad Bond girl, and may we say,
01:50that has to be the best Bond girl name ever. Seeing the refined actress adopt a crude persona
01:55and deliver lines filled with double entendres was completely out of character for her polished
01:59public image at the time. It proved she was willing to shatter her prim and proper reputation
02:04for a simple dirty joke. And it was a great joke, so good on her.
02:08Well, Miss Normus, shall we shag now? Or shag later?
02:14Oh, Austin, behave.
02:17Number 8. Cate Blanchett, Hot Fuzz
02:33Only Edgar Wright would land Cate frickin' Blanchett and cover 95% of her face. In the
02:38director's beloved Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel briefly visits his ex-girlfriend in a crime scene. The
02:43catch? She is wearing a full forensic hazmat suit and face mask the entire time, meaning only the
02:49slits of her eyes are visible.
02:51Janine, I've been transferred. I'm moving away for a while.
02:54Well, I'm not Janine.
02:56Janine, I've been transferred. I'm moving away for a while.
02:59I know. Bob told me.
03:01But beneath all that latex and protective gear is none other than the two-time Oscar winner.
03:06It's incredibly surprising that an actress of her regal stature agreed to stand around in a hazmat suit
03:11for a scene lasting all of 60 seconds. And the best part is, she's completely uncredited for the
03:16brief scene. Wright has explained that they specifically wanted to get a massive Oscar winner
03:20and completely hide her face just for the sheer absurdity of the joke.
03:24You just can't switch off, Nicholas. And until you find a person you care about more than your job,
03:31you never will.
03:32Number 7. Helen Mirren, Barbie
03:34Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls.
03:45Dame Helen Mirren is acting royalty. Literally, she won the Oscar for playing the queen.
03:50So, hearing her voice serve as the sophisticated narrator for a movie about plastic dolls was already
03:56a treat. But the true shock comes when she stops the movie dead in its tracks to roast the casting
04:01director. When Barbie complains about not being pretty, Mirren breaks the fourth wall to dryly
04:06satirize what everyone is thinking.
04:07I'm not stereotypical Barbie pretty.
04:11Note to the filmmakers, Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast if you want to make this point.
04:15It's a brilliant, self-aware intercept, proving that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach were one step
04:20ahead of the viewers the whole time. Having a legend like Mirren step out of a role to deliver a
04:25sick burn on the movie's own production was the ultimate surprise.
04:28Yes, Barbie changed everything. Then, she changed it all again. All of these women are Barbie,
04:37and Barbie is all of these women.
04:41Number 6. Charlton Heston, Wayne's World 2
04:44I once knew a girl who lived on Gordon Street. But that was a long time ago, when I was
04:52young.
04:53Do we have to put up with this? I mean, you know, can't we get a better actor? I know
04:58it's a small
04:58part, but I think we can do better than this.
05:00Charlton Heston was the cinematic embodiment of biblical epics and old-school Hollywood gravitas.
05:06This guy was Moses and Ben-Hur. He was definitely not a guy you expected to see in a 90s
05:12stoner
05:12comedy about public-access TV hosts. In a scene where Mike Myers complains that a bit player isn't acting
05:17well enough, he demands to work with a better actor, and Heston suddenly walks into the frame.
05:22Gordon Street. Oh, yes. Gordon Street.
05:27He proceeds to deliver a monologue about a gas station with Shakespearean weight,
05:32bringing tears to Myers' eyes. The collision of Heston's intense, dramatic power with the
05:37goofy, low-stakes world of Wayne's World is jarring in the best way possible, proving that
05:41sometimes, serious actors really will do anything.
05:45That's five blocks up, two over.
05:55Number 5. F. Marie Abraham. Muppets from Space.
05:59Hey, wait for me! Hold the boat!
06:04Winning Best Actor for his intense portrayal of Antonio Salieri, F. Marie Abraham easily established
06:10himself as a titan of serious cinema. So, of course, he decided to cameo in Muppets from
06:14Space. Abraham pops up during Gonzo's bizarre nightmare sequence, playing none other than the
06:20biblical figure, Noah.
06:21Mr. Noah? Sir? I'm gonna come, too.
06:27What are you, anyway?
06:29So, at least there's a degree of prestige there. Dressed in ancient robes aboard the Ark,
06:34the esteemed dramatic actor looks completely deadpan as he asks what Gonzo is before denying
06:39him entry. Seeing a revered actor bringing theatrical gravitas to a silly Muppet dream
06:44was a phenomenal treat for the parents in the audience. They probably didn't have that on their
06:48bingo card when they grudgingly went to the theater that day.
07:00Number 4. Meryl Streep. Stuck on You.
07:16Meryl Streep is the most nominated actor in Academy history, revered for her transformative
07:21roles in serious dramas. The Farley Brothers make diarrhea jokes. These two worlds should never
07:27collide, yet they crashed head-on for Stuck on You. Streep shows up to play a fictionalized version of
07:33herself, starring in a Bonnie and Clyde musical opposite Greg Kinnear's character.
07:37These gentlemen of the law have mistakenly thought that we're the notorious criminal Bonnie and Clyde.
07:44Do you know how many times a day we hear we resemble that murderous pair?
07:48Seeing the grande dame of cinema tap dancing in a lowbrow comedy, and clearly having the time of
07:53her life doing it, is a surreal fever dream. It stands as perhaps the most unconventional booking
07:58of her career, shattering the idea that serious actresses of her caliber can't have fun.
08:04Still, we wonder what that day on set was like. Did they talk about Jeff Daniels pooping in a broken
08:08toilet?
08:17Number 3. George Clooney, The Flash
08:27For over 25 years, George Clooney has apologized for Batman and Robin. Like everyone, he has mocked the
08:34infamous bat nipples, called the movie a disaster, and seemingly buried that chapter of his career
08:39forever. So that's why the final seconds of The Flash caused audible gasps in theaters worldwide.
08:45Bruce!
08:46Congratulations.
08:47Thank you. You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. I have so much to tell
08:51you the next time
08:52I see you.
08:52When Barry Allen thinks he has fixed the timeline and approaches Bruce Wayne, the man stepping out of the
08:57car isn't Ben Affleck or Michael Keaton. It's a sharp-suited Clooney. It was a cameo that no one was
09:03expecting, given the painful history he's had with the franchise. By reprising the role that nearly
09:08killed his career, Clooney pulled off the ultimate act of self-deprecation. And, let's be honest,
09:13this simple joke was probably the best thing about this movie.
09:17Hey, Barry.
09:20No, where's...
09:22You're...
09:22You...
09:23No, you can't...
09:25You...
09:26You're not Batman.
09:30What's wrong with you?
09:31Number 2. Gene Hackman
09:33Young Frankenstein
09:34My name is Harold, and I live here all alone.
09:38What is your name?
09:39Mmm!
09:40I didn't get that.
09:41Mmm!
09:42Mmm!
09:43Nope.
09:45Oh...
09:45Forgive me.
09:47I didn't realize you were mute.
09:49In the early 1970s, Gene Hackman was the very definition of the tough guy actor,
09:54known for his gritty, hard-boiled roles like Popeye Doyle in The French Connection.
09:58He was intense, serious, and scary.
10:02So, when he appeared under a thick beard as the lonely blind man in Mel Brooks' comedy
10:06classic, audiences were floored.
10:09I know what it means to be cold and hungry, yes, and how much it means to have a little
10:15kindness from a stranger.
10:17Uncredited and unrecognizable, Hackman poured hot soup on the monster's lap and lit his thumb
10:22on fire with a level of slapstick commitment that rivaled the seasoned comedians on set.
10:27It remains one of the most shocking against-type castings ever.
10:30Hackman proved he wasn't just a dramatic powerhouse.
10:33He was also a brilliantly funny man, who stood toe-to-toe with some of the comedians
10:37in the biz.
10:38Wait!
10:40A toast!
10:42A toast to...
10:44Yes.
10:45Long friendship.
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11:05Number 1.
11:06Tom Hanks.
11:08Borat Subsequent Movie Film.
11:14Taking the top spot is a cameo that collided fiction with a terrifying reality.
11:20Tom Hanks is America's dad, the very symbol of safety and decency.
11:25And in 2020, he was also the first major celebrity to go public about getting COVID.
11:30In the final scene of Borat 2, the chaotic character approaches Hanks in Australia.
11:35Hanks appears as himself and gets coughed on by Borat, who in the movie is patient zero
11:40for the virus.
11:44Because of the strict COVID protocols and lockdowns at the time, getting anyone to film a cameo
11:50was incredibly difficult, let alone Tom frickin' Hanks.
11:53Sacha Baron Cohen later revealed that he reached out to Hanks directly, and he immediately agreed
11:58to spoof his own highly publicized diagnosis.
12:00Our fatality rate plummeted to 92%.
12:05Were you as surprised as we were?
12:07Let us know in the comments.
12:08Let us know in the comments.
12:09Let us know in the comments.
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