Hiring of a big-name actor to play a supporting role. The idea is usually that the actor's fame will draw in viewers, as it normally would if you put them prominently on the advertising; but you don't have to pay them as much if they only have to do a few days work.

Sometimes it's a compromise, for when the [[ExecutiveMeddling studio heads wanted big stars playing the main characters]]. This can also work for documentaries with the casting of the narrator.

Compare NonActorVehicle, OneSceneWonder. If not done carefully, then may result in viewers crying WTHCastingAgency. See also BillingDisplacement. If the StuntCasting is done in service of a film or other one-off project, expect the big-name actor in question to be BilledAboveTheTitle. This happens so often in animation that it has its own trope: CelebrityVoiceActor.
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!!Examples:

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[[folder: Live Action Film]]
* The various ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies have played with StuntCasting:
** Creator/PeterCushing and Sir AlecGuinness in ''Film/ANewHope''.
** Creator/TerrenceStamp in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Creator/SamuelLJackson in that one as well (His role was much expanded in the rest of the trilogy).
** Creator/JimmySmits in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.
* ''Fantasy Mission Force'' was advertised as "Starring Jacky Chan" despite the fact that JackieChan played a minor role. Jackie reportedly appeared in it only because he owed a favor to the lead actor, JimmyWangChu (who was rumored to have ties to organized crime syndicates).
** Jackie's done it more than once; he appeared in Creator/StephenChow's ''King of Comedy'' as a nameless stuntman, and in SammoHung's ''Martial Law'' as a perp, the latter done to return the favor for Hung playing the put-upon biker in ''Mr. Nice Guy''.
* MarlonBrando as Jor-El in the first ''Film/{{Superman}}'' film. He actually got top billing (and a star's wages) on that movie for several scenes that barely totaled thirty minutes in an almost two-and-a-half hour movie. He was cast in the role specifically so they could have a big name actor headlining in order to draw the audience.
** Indeed, the term "Brando Acceptibilty Yardstick" was coined by a reader as an entry in ''Creator/RogerEbert's Little Movie Glossary'' in reference to this. Brando essentially made it okay for mega-stars to do comic book films - and like him, be paid extraordinarily well for it. Like him, they often don't play the lead roles (which are often given to up-and-comers); they usually play mentors (like Brando) or villains. The best known example of the latter might be JackNicholson being hired to play the Joker in 1989's ''Film/{{Batman}}''; he got top billing ''and'' a giant cut of the film's profits and merchandising revenue. The three sequels basically stunt cast all the major villains as a response to how well this worked, culminating in the disaster of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' (Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and UmaThurman as Poison Ivy), while Batman himself was given TheOtherDarrin treatment.
* GeoffreyRush gets third billing in ''Intolerable Cruelty'' for a character seen a grand total of ''three'' times, for maybe two minutes of screen time, whom an audience member might easily mistake for three separate characters on the first viewing.
* Much was made of Creator/DrewBarrymore appearing in the first ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' movie ([[BillingDisplacement top billing]], appearing on the poster and other promotional materials) [[spoiler: despite the fact that she is killed off in the first scene.]]
** However, she was wanted for a larger role, but was unable to do so due to other movies she was starring in - so instead, they opted to give her the ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' treatment.
* ''Film/TheCrowCityOfAngels'' features Iggy Pop as one of the thugs. He was originally asked to play Funboy in [[Film/TheCrow the first film]], but had to decline due to scheduling issues.
* ''Film/DeadMan'' features a variety of celebrities in bit parts, including Robert Mitchum, Billy Bob Thorton, Iggy Pop and Alfred Molina.
* Steven Seagal barely has two minutes of screen time in ''ExecutiveDecision'' before dying with a heroic one liner.
* One of the most bizarre examples: SeanConnery in ''Film/{{Highlander}}''. The Scottish actor plays an Egyptian/Spaniard mentor, while the French actor Christopher Lambert plays the heroic Scotsman. Lambert even explains some of the finer points of Scottish culture (i.e. haggis) to an astonished Connery.
* ''TheMeteorMan'' figures James Earl Jones, BillCosby (who has no lines), Marla Gibbs and Sinbad. Gibbs has the biggest role, as she plays the protagonist's mother. Also from the music industry, there's Luther Vandross (also no lines), Big Daddy Kane, Another Bad Creation, Cypress Hill, Naughty By Nature and jazz singer Nancy Wilson.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' is famous for this, particularly in casting musicians in roles as immortals. These include Joan Jett, Roger Daltrey of the Who, Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals, Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet and Sheena Easton. Also notable are Marc Singer, Roddy Piper, and Nia Peeples.
* {{Sitcom}}s, such as ''{{Friends}}'' and ''WillAndGrace'', often cast famous actors to play the stars' parents.
** On {{Friends}} this was taken to the ultimate when Chandler's dad was played by KathleenTurner.
* ''{{Caprica}}'' has begun the step into this world with JamesMarsters being cast into "Know Thy Enemy" as a major player within the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Soldiers of the One]].
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has had this on its more modern series:
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has had JamesCromwell play a role (He returned to play Zefram Cochran in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'').
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': VanessaWilliams, ChrisSarandon, and IggyPop each guest star in an episode.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': Creator/JasonAlexander and Wrestling/DwayneJohnson both guest starred.
* Series/{{Scrubs}} went out of it's way to hire some incredible people such as Dick Van Dyke, Tori Spelling and Courtney Cox.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has always done this, but the revived series generally makes more publicity out of it. Stunt Cast actors in ''Series/DoctorWho'' are not usually heavyweight actors, but are well-known soap actors, comedians, quiz show hosts and other more minor celebrities. Oh, and Sir Creator/DerekJacobi.
** Don't forget Film/JamesBond, evil mastermind of ''HotFuzz'', and overall smug bastard actor TimothyDalton.
*** Speaking of ''Hot Fuzz'', SimonPegg!
**** Veteran actress Clare Bloom also appeared in The End of Time, parts 1 and 2.
** When Creator/JohnNathanTurner was producer during the 1980s, ''Doctor Who'' also had a tendency towards StuntCasting; however, whereas most of modern attempts to do this at least try to match the character to a vaguely appropriate character, many of the earlier efforts ended up being spectacularly miscast, resulting in some truly [[WTHCastingAgency WTH Casting]]. For example, BerylReid as [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Ellen Ripley]]-esque space freighter captain in "Earthshock", a role that was... not quite what you'd expect to see Beryl Reid playing
*** Another Nathan-Turner example; 1950-1960s Broadway star Dolores Gray shows up in the middle of "Silver Nemesis" as Mrs. Remington, a wealthy American lady. She's not exactly miscast; the WTH factor comes from the fact that there is literally ''no point whatsoever'' to her being there. She shows up, gives two of the characters a lift somewhere, and buggers off again. It's also a bit of a WTH moment in that it seems to have been intended as a Stunt Casting moment despite the fact that relatively few of the watching audience would actually have any idea who she even was.
** They have been known to use big stars for the specials though, most notably KylieMinogue crops up in a Christmas Special as a one-off companion!
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie Eric Roberts]] as TheMaster.
* Sir Creator/DavidJason was cast as [[TheGrimReaper Death's]] manservant Albert in the MadeForTVMovie of the Literature/Discworld novel "Discworld/{{Hogfather}}". In the UK, this resulted in the film being promoted as though ''he'' were the main character, rather than the mostly-unknown actress playing the heroine.
** Which today is RetroactiveRecognition, considering that said actress was Michelle Dockery, who later made her name on ''DowntonAbbey''.
* Music/BritneySpears in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' is a prime example. For two episodes, no less. The show does this a LOT, though, and Britney just got the most hype about it.
** Since NeilPatrickHarris publicly frowned on the practice, it's become much less common though.
*** Ironically, NPH was himself stuntcasted on an episode of ''Series/{{Glee}}''.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' attempted to cast Music/BritneySpears as Warren's android girlfriend April in "I Was Made To Love You."
** Much later, they attempted to cast Miss Spears in a one-off villain role for Season 7. The part eventually went to Ashanti.
* Both 60s spy series ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' and its SpinOff ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'' were given to stunt casting; e.g. [[SonnyBono Sonny]] and {{Cher}} (in "The Hot Number Affair"), NancySinatra (in "The Take Me To Your Leader Affair") and ElsaLanchester (in "The Brain Killer Affair") in ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' and Creator/BorisKarloff (in "The Mother Muffin Affair") in ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE''.
* ''SnowWhiteAndTheThreeStooges''. After realising their figure-skating lead Carol Heiss couldn't carry the film, the producers brought in TheThreeStooges.
* ''Series/{{SCTV}}'', against their wishes, had special guest actors Sir JohnGielgud and RalphRichardson. In his book on the series (titled, appropriately enough, ''SCTV''), DaveThomas said they were both extremely difficult to work with and did not understand their brand of comedy. Later on, they welcomed BillMurray to guest star, who was an active booster of the show. Notable musical guests, who also acted on the show, ranged from HallAndOates, Dr. John, Wendy O. Williams & the Plasmatics, TheBoomtownRats, TonyBennett, Music/RoyOrbison, TalkingHeads, JimmyBuffett, JohnMellencamp (when he was still John Cougar), {{America}}, JoeWalsh, Dave's brother IanThomas (who was semi-successful in the late '70s with his song "Painted Ladies", and would go on to play Dougie Franklin on ''TheRedGreenShow'', on which Dave guest-starred as his brother Ben Franklin), and classical violinist EugeneFodor.
* Creator/LeonardNimoy as William Bell in the season 1 finale of ''Series/{{Fringe}}''
* NBC's ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' started doing this heavily in season 2, though season 1 had its moments. Some, like ScottBakula and JordanaBrewster appeared in multiple episodes, while others, like RobertPicardo and FredSavage, were only in one. Granted some NBC shows have been known to do this, but Chuck also tends to {{lampshade}} it with the actors referencing their famous roles, such as Bakula uttering, "Oh boy."
** ChristopherLloyd as a psychiatrist who Chuck kept addressing as "[[Film/BackToTheFuture Doc]]."
** ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' takes this UpToEleven by doing it all the time. [[VillainOfTheWeek Villains Of The Week]] have included MichaelClarkeDuncan, Nicole Richie, SteveAustin, Creator/RobertEnglund and MarkSheppard ([[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined a.k.a. Romo Lampkin]]).
** Linda Hamilton as Chuck's mom and Timothy Dalton as the villain "Volkoff".
** OliviaMunn, Isaiah Mustafa (Advertising/TheManYourManCouldSmellLike), StacyKeibler, and Creator/SummerGlau as "Greta," secret agents working at the Buy More at different times. Mustafa and Keibler were later given character names and appeared in another episodes
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' sometimes casts unsubs with this method. Most, however, are either unrecognizable (JamesVanDerBeek, JamieKennedy) or so creepy that the HeyItsThatGuy factor is the last thing on the viewer's mind (KeithCarradine, Creator/JasonAlexander).
** Often, the recognition of the unsubs (generally played by supremely benign actors, when this trope is in play) only serves to make the roles creepier, or more tragic. JamesVanDerBeek's character is a good example of that, as is Creator/FrankieMuniz's.
** In general, StuntCasting in a legal or cop drama always brings NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize into play (whether straight or subverted). CM usually averts this by having the unsub commit his crimes onscreen in full view of the audience. "Paradise", in turn is an exception to this rule, where we don't see the unsub actually commit a crime until after they find out who it is...thus playing Narrowed straight (Creator/WilWheaton played the unsub in the ep.)
*** The fans have become critical of this method of casting guest stars as unsubs, even when they are good, because it had been used too often during a weak seventh season. They feel that guest-star unsubs are showcased to the expense of the original cast and story suspense (by showing the unsubs's from the very beginning of the episode, rather than keeping them obscured). By giving more time to the unsubs and their evil deeds, it makes the profiler characters look like stupid slow-pokes, and possibly glorifying the serial killers (which is NOT the point of the show).
* LegendOfTheSeeker pulled in CharismaCarpenter of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' fame, put her in skintight red leather and shouted it from the rooftops. They also got ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'''s JoleneBlalock to play a semi-major character.
* The re-imagining of ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has been playing with this, with recent appearances by Dane Cook, SeanCombs and NickLachey. Not forgetting semi-regular Jean Smart.
* Subverted brilliantly in ''HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''. When famous actors such as Robin Williams, Vincent D'Onofrio and Steve Buscemi appeared, they were given real acting challenges to work with. Williams' performance as a man whose wife has just been murdered stands as the first major [[PlayingAgainstType subversion of his persona]] and a real glimpse of dramatic depth.
* ''BigBrother 13'' brings back three "Dynamic duos". It becomes pretty obvious that they just set it up so that one of the six returnees would win, given how, when it was reduced to two, a [[SarcasmMode mysterious stroke of luck]] bailed them out.
* When the 60s' ''Series/{{Batman}}'' took off, all of a sudden many big name actors who normally wouldn't do television wanted a chance to play a Bat-villain. The second season especially is loaded with this, name actors playing one-shot villians created just for them, with the network playing up the guest-villian bit. Among these performers were Shelley Winters, Van Johnson, Liberace, Michael Rennie, Tallulah Bankhead, Zsa Zsa Gabor... and many more.
** This is one reason the series has not been released on DVD--the rights and clearances department would have to track down zillions of performers, representatives, or estates. It would also likely be darned expensive.
* Most {{Game Show}}s tend to do this in the form of "Celebrity Editions" in their waning years in a last-ditch effort to round up some bonus viewers before they inevitably sink into the drain. Most notable are ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' and ''TheWeakestLink'', whose final primetime seasons were almost nothing ''but'' celebrity editions.
* The casting of Shirley [=MacLaine=] as the GrandeDame Martha Levinson in ''DowntonAbbey'' is this done for the right reasons: what ''other'' American actress could engage in Dame-to-Dame Combat with Dame MaggieSmith?
) Averted: When Margret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz) played Morticia's mother in the 1960s Addams Family series, the network did not exploit the connection--appropriate though it was.
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[[folder:Animation]]
* ''TransformersAnimated'' does this a lot with voice casting. Blurr is voiced by the original Blurr's voice actor JohnMoschitta (the world's fastest-talking man), Master Yoketron is voiced by GeorgeTakei, and Wreck-Gar by Music/WeirdAlYankovic (who did the original Wreck-Gar's theme song).
** An interview has MartyIsenberg stating that hiring Weird Al was just an idea he had after EricIdle (see below) wasn't available that ended up working out.
** ''TransformersTheMovie'' took this to an extreme in '86. Almost all the new characters had big name voice actors. LeonardNimoy was Galvatron, EricIdle was Wreck-Gar, RobertStack was Ultra Magnus, etc. Most impressive of all, OrsonWelles (in his last performance) was absolutely AWESOME as Unicron. [[TheOtherDarrin None of them stayed]] [[PoorMansSubstitute on for the]] [[TransformersGeneration1 TV series]] though.
*** That last bit was rather justified with Orson Welles, of course, being that he [[AuthorExistenceFailure died about a month after recording his lines for the movie]].
* On the subject of GeorgeTakei, he was a one-off villain in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''.
* The casting of AyaHirano as Dende in ''DragonBallKai'' is largely seen by the fanbase as this. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37_ltlDkuuk the image song doesn't help waver this opinion]].
** Even more blatant was getting SatomiSato, fresh off her success of voicing Ritsu in ''KOn'' to voice Dende's brother Cargo... for maybe one or two lines before he gets killed.
*** ''DragonBallZ'' has been guilty of this as well. One episode during the Buu saga features Majin Buu befriending and helping a blind boy who was a one shot character. Said one-shot was voiced by MegumiHayashibara.
** Similarly, Aya Hirano was also cast as Shinobu the vampire in LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} even though Shinobu never spoke a single word in the entire series. It must be noted, however, that with the recently announced prequel anime, maybe this was a case of extreme foresight in the case of the casting company.
* In its early days Creator/DreamWorksAnimation was extremely blatant with doing this in addition to making use of the InkSuitActor. In some cases, like Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' it won the company critical acclaim. In others, like WillSmith in ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' and Jerry Seinfield in ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'', it got the company a lot of ridicule. [[GrowingTheBeard Starting with]] ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda,'' the company started putting [[SubvertedTrope less emphasis]] on the actors they hire for movies.
* The educational kids' series ''LibertysKids'' is known for this. WalterCronkite had a recurring role as Creator/BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, AnnetteBening as Abigail Adams, BillyCrystal as John Adams, and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry, as well as General Norman Schwarzkopf, SylvesterStallone, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, BenStiller, and WhoopiGoldberg.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' features a "special guest star" -- who isn't even always an actor -- almost every episode nowadays, and of course most of the promo is devoted to their part, however small it might be. (Example: "Elementary School Musical" had a lot of emphasis placed on the appearances of three of the cast of ''{{Glee}}'' while - at least in the UK - pretty much ignoring the stars of ''FlightOfTheConchords'', whose roles were much more important to the episode.)
* [[WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw HA HA HA! Final episode stunt casting!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Documentaries]]
* Leonard Nimoy narrating on the History Channel.
** Don't forget [[OldShame In Search Of]]!
* The documentary series, [[DiscoveryChannel Through the Wormhole: With Morgan Freeman.]]
** ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' parodied and this trope in episode 49 and pointed out the widespread egregious use of Morgan Freeman for his deep sultry tones.
** Let's face it, they wanted him for ''MarchOfThePenguins'' because they wanted even penguins to get a MagicalNegro voiceover.
*** This was parodied in BobSaget's ''FarceOfThePenguins'', which was narrated by SamuelLJackson.
* Interesting point about Sir DavidAttenborough's documentaries. In the UK he is nearly synonymous with good quality and he has been producing, commissioning and writing for natural history documentaries for decades and is widely knowledgable about his subject and a driving force on all his projects (and was knighted for it). Outside the UK, maybe Canada, not so much thus his replacement narrators in other territories tend to be big entertainment names.
** ''Life'' got narration by Oprah Winfrey in the US.
** Sigourney Weaver, as a more familiar face of conservation work, was brought in on ''Planet Earth''
* The BBC documentary Frozen Earth got JohnHurt.
** The Dutch voiceover was replaced with CariceVanHouten.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* When a Broadway show becomes a LongRunner, it's likely to fall victim to a revolving door of StuntCasting. The stage version of ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' is a notorious example.
** TheNineties revival of ''{{Grease}}'' may have something to say about that one. (Seriously, Rosie O'Donnell as Rizzo?) And it's rare to see a professional production that ''doesn't'' stunt cast the OneSceneWonder Teen Angel (who sings "Beauty School Dropout"). [[AmericanIdol Taylor Hicks]] was one of the more recent performers in that role on tour.
* The 2007 Las Vegas staging of ''Film/TheProducers'' cast Creator/DavidHasselhoff as Roger De Bris, the FlamboyantGay director, and even gave him top billing.
** Hasselhoff had previously become a bit infamous for playing the title roles in the musical ''[[Theatre/JekyllAndHyde Jekyll & Hyde]]'' on Broadway, and one performance was filmed and released on video and DVD. The play itself became well know for frequently stunt casting the lead role.
* Toward the end of its run, the Toronto production of ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' cast [[Music/{{KISS}} Paul Stanley]] as the Phantom. He was generally well-received and got some Music/{{KISS}} fans interested in musical theatre as well.
* As it's Broadway run wound down, ''MissSaigon'' brought back Lea Salonga, the first actress to play Kim.
* During its final year on Broadway, {{Aida}} cast well known R&B stars in the title role, such as Toni Braxton, Deborah Cox and Michelle Williams. While this usually paid off in singing ability, the acting sometimes left a lot to be desired.
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