History Main / TheCameo

** And the UpdatedRerelease of [[ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne Nocturne]] features [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] as an early boss fight (including a ShoutOut to the his appearance at the start of DMC 2) and later as a crucial participant in a lengthy sidequest.

* When it was announced that Nurse Carol Hathaway was leaving ''{{ER}}'' at the end of the show's sixth season, George Clooney insisted that he would not reprise his role as Dr. Doug Ross (Carol's on-again off-again love interest) in the ''{{ER}}'' sixth season finale. [[ExactWords And he didn't.]] He appeared in the episode ''before'' the season finale, which was Carol's final regular episode on the show, and the episode ended with Doug and Carol together again(in a guest appearance in the final season they were HappilyMarried). George Clooney accepted standard union scale pay for his cameo, which he did mainly as a favor to actress Julianna Margulies.

* The backglass for Creator/{{Bally}}'s ''[[Pinball/PlayboyBally Playboy]]'' pinball shows Granny and Little Orphan Annie[[note]]two regular characters from the magazine's cartoons[[/note]] in the swimming pool.

* ''Saturn VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' eschews having just multi-colored Bombermen for battle mode: instead, you get the White and Black Bombers, then [[VideoGame/AdventureIsland Master Higgins]], [[VideoGame/MilonsSecretCastle Milon]], VideoGame/{{Bonk}}, and several ''VideoGame/TengaiMakyou'' characters to choose from.
* NipponIchi lives on this trope.
* MichaelJackson cameo'd in ''SpaceChannel5'' as well as [[VideoGame/Ready2RumbleBoxing Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2]], in which he voiced himself and was motion-captured.

* The ''{{Airplane}}'' movies had quite a few.
** ''{{Airplane}}'': The directors (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker) all have minor roles; the "Jive Lady" is Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver of ''LeaveItToBeaver''); Ethel Merman plays a hospitalized war veteran who [[NapoleonDelusion thinks he is Ethel Merman]]; the guy stuck waiting in the cab is Howard Jarvis (creator of California's Proposition 13).
** ''{{Airplane}} 2: The Sequel'': Both Bob Costas and Pat Sajak have brief appearances.
* In "{{Apollo 13}}" the B-movie director Roger Corman has a brief cameo as an [[RealitySubtext budget-minded]] American senator being shown round the Apollo assembly building.
** Ron Howard who directed ''Apollo 13'' got his start working for Corman. This is not the only time "students" of Corman has had their mentor appear in cameos: He shows up as a senator in ''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'' and as an FBI director in ''TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' (where he's even listed in the opening credits!). He also appears in ''TheHowling'' (along with Forrest J. Ackerman)-- as a phone booth user who just ''has'' to check the coin return when he's done.

** ChristopherMeloni as tow-truck driver Freakshow.

* ''Pinball/WorldCupSoccer'' has [[Franchise/MortalKombat Raiden]] showing up during one mode, as well as the "Stay cool, daddy-o" guy from ''Pinball/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' and Admiral Biagie from ''Pinball/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.

** Peter Jackson apparently loves to insert himself into his own movies for stretches of time lasting a few seconds: this habit of his goes back to ''HeavenlyCreatures''! (He's the homeless guy Juliet Hulme hugs as she and Pauline exit a movie theater towards the beginning of the film.)

* In the first ''Film/{{Spider-Man}}'' movie by Sam Raimi, several actors from the TV series he's produced get bit parts, including Lucy Lawless from ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' and Bruce Campbell from the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' series. Oh, and let's not forget the car that Uncle Ben was driving, also from ''Evil Dead''.

** [[Series/{{Community}} Joel]] [[TheSoup McHale]] showed up as the Bank Manager in {{Spiderman}} 2, and made a whole sketch on his show about how the next movie was going to be about him.

* BruceWillis loves his cameos - ''Film/FourRooms'', ''NationalLampoonsLoadedWeapon1'', ''[[CharliesAngels Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle]]'', ''NancyDrew'' (one of two EmmaRoberts movies in which he turns up uncredited), ''Grand Champion'' (the other one), ''Film/TheExpendables'' and ''The Astronaut Farmer''.

* Fabio has a cameo in ''DudeWheresMyCar''. Kristy Swanson also has a role that, while not technically a cameo (she's fifth-billed in a cast of 56 actors credited), is little more than a [[StealthPun fleshed-out]] FanserviceExtra.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has had many over the years, but one [[DoingItForTheArt impressive]] one is Creator/JonathanFrakes doing a ''one-line'' cameo in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before."
-->"Yes! Front row!"

* TheMovie of ''KamenRiderKiva'' has cameos by several actors from its predecessor, ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'', most prominently the voice actors of [[SpotlightStealingSquad the Taros]]. The film draws attention to said cameos by having three of the four utter their character's CatchPhrase; the fourth, who plays a teacher, finds his character's phrase written on the blackboard at the start of class.

* BruceWillis loves his cameos - ''FourRooms'', ''NationalLampoonsLoadedWeapon1'', ''[[CharliesAngels Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle]]'', ''NancyDrew'' (one of two EmmaRoberts movies in which he turns up uncredited), ''Grand Champion'' (the other one), ''TheExpendables'' and ''The Astronaut Farmer''.

** ''Shadow Warrior'' the Duke's [[RecycledInSPACE Recycled In JAPAN]] version has Lara Croft appear in a secret room, bound and [[PerverseSexualLust gagged]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} 2'', if you turn on the clipping cheat and go inside the Icon of Sin's head, you discover that the ManBehindTheCurtain is John Romero's head on a stake. Also, the "satanic" speech that is heard before its attack commences is actually the following, played backwards through a modulator: "To win the game you must kill me, John Romero."

* ''Pinball/TronLegacy'' features a cameo by DaftPunk on the right triangle bumper.

* Parodied in LetsPlay/MarioPartyTV: Mr. Doom's character of choice is Boo whenever the ghost is available. On boards where Doom isn'houtOut/Neptunia}} shout-outs]] and references to other video games, often by using [[LawyerFriendlyCameo silhouettes of the characters and avoiding using their actual names]]. One {{side quest}}, however, basically has you chasing after (and then fighting) Macaroon, the [[ShopKeeper merchant girl]] from ''VideoGame/TrinityUniverse'', another of Idea Factory's dungeon exploring [=RPGs=].
* ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' features The Flying Welshman who looks almost identical to Bobbin Threadbare from ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}''. The only difference is he's wearing a lifejacket and has a different voice (''Loom'' had a talkie version, rare at the time)). As ''Loom'' had no sequels, LucasArts clearly put this in for people wondering what Bobbin was up to.
** In reference to the ''Loom'' advertisement in the first game, ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' advertises ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' in a similar way, with Guybrush encountering the advertiser in a restaurant. The only difference is that the character who does so is the lead character from that game, Manny Cavalera...who doesn't speak to Guybrush on account of being dead.
* At the beginning of Alleyway, an old Breakout clone for the Game Boy, [[SuperMarioBros Mario]] runs across the screen and hops into the pilot seat of the paddle.
* In the bonus modes of ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' a couple of characters from early games the company made are playable characters.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}: Absolution'', VideoGame/KaneAndLynch have cameos in the first stages of Act II. Kane is seen in a bar while Lynch is at a shooting range in a gun store.
* ''BreathOfFire'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'', an easter egg shows [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Chun-Li]] practicing her Lightning Kick.
** In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'', Nina must fight a boss who turns out to be the Nina from I, the sorceress Bleu/Deis is a hidden OptionalPartyMember, and Bo and Karn appear on the optional Giant's Island.
** In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'', Bleu/Deis appears again, this time playing a small role in the plot and acting as a Master. Several generic characters also look like Ox and Mogu from I, and Sten from II.
** In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'', Momo from III is a Master, and in the EndGamePlus, Rei and Teepo appear to sell you a unique item.
* Seeing as how the ''VideoGame/SegaSuperstars'' series involves crossovers, other characters cameoing in the courts and tracks is inevitable. (Chao as spectators on [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] tracks, Yoyo, Rhyth, Professor K, and others on ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio'' tracks, the VideoGame/BurningRangers flying around the track based on the game named after them, and so on)
* ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale''. A crossover fighting game, so it's a no-brainer. Each stage involves elements from some other game interfering with that one, you can get chibi versions of certain characters to cheer you on in fights, story modes involve characters from the same franchise as that character, etc. Also, some finishing moves include cameos from other characters of that franchise too. ([[VideoGame/SlyCooper Sly's]] Lvl. 1 finishing move has Murray come out and attack, [[VideoGame/PaRappaTheRapper PaRappa's]] Lvl. 3 finishing move has him put on a concert with characters such as Lammy and Katy Kat watching, etc.)
* ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' is filled to the brim with cameos.
* In ''VideoGame/AtlantisNoNazo'', the old master whom you rescue at the end is the hero from Creator/{{Sunsoft}}'s earlier game ''Ikki''.
* The first batch of ''VideoGame/{{McPixel}}'s'' DLC had stages for YouTube {{Lets Play}}ers who supported the game, such as JesseCox t even playing, this has led to jokes about him appearing as the thieving Boo the players can hire.

!Examples:

** A particularly awesome one in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' for anyone who is into animation history. Those two old men who praise the heroes after the climax ("That's the way to do it" - "No school like the old school") are ''Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston''...Not ringing a bell? They were the last surviving two of Disney's "Nine Old Men", legendary animators who had been in the business practically since the beginning. For example, they were both animators on SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs, and were involved in practically every animated Disney project up to TheFoxAndTheHound.

(Sadly, Thomas didn't live to see ''The Incredibles'' finished, and Johnston died in 2008.)

* Parodied in LetsPlay/MarioPartyTV: Mr. Doom's character of choice is Boo whenever the ghost is available. On boards where Doom isn't even playing, this has led to jokes about him appearing as the thieving Boo the players can hire.

* In the ''TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "The Switch" Arnold Schwarzenegger (who also directed the episode) appears in a few cameos first as the Cryptkeeper's personal trainer who introduces the story and as a body builder in the beach scene.

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' loved its cameos, ranging from BillyDeeWilliams as the godfather of JD's GirlOfTheWeek to GaryBusey as a doctor who looks like Gary Busey.