14 Celebrities Who Made Hidden Cameos You Definitely Missed

There are plenty of things in films and television shows to keep a viewer entertained, be it the story, the special effects, or even the musical score that is accompanying on the on-screen action. But what fans really love to look out for are special Easter eggs that have been included for them to find, especially blink-and-you-miss-it cameos from celebs. 

These secret celebrity cameos can come about for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes the filmmakers will just want to include a funny little surprise for their fans, while in other cases they might want to include an actor who they are friends with and enjoy working with but didn’t have a significant role for them in their movie. It’s even possible for people to be given a secret hidden movie cameos as a thank you for something they may have done that helped production. Whatever the case, many of these cameos are done in such a way as to keep them hidden for as long as possible, with the actors disguised or obscured from view so that they are effectively hiding in the background. This helps to ensure that only the hardcore fans get to see them, rewarding them for their support.

Out of the 52 surviving major films that Alfred Hitchcock made, the director had hidden cameo appearances in 39 of them. Generally, he would be seen for just a second or two in a non-speaking part as a sort of signature and early Easter egg for fans to spot. Perhaps the most secret and difficult to spot of these is from the movie Lifeboat. The director can only be seen for a few moments when a character is reading a newspaper that contains an advertisement for “Reduco Obesity Slayer” in which he appears as the before and after model following his real-life weight loss.

Minority Report features a large number of cameos from directors, actors, and other production staff. Most prominent among them are Magnolia director Paul Thomas Anderson and screenwriter Scott Frank. However, Tom Cruise also seemed to bring two of his colleagues from his previous film Vanilla Sky. The director of that flick, Cameron Crowe, can be seen on the subway reading a newspaper and is hard to miss, but the cameo of Cameron Diaz is much harder to spot as it is so low key. She is actually in the exact same scene and can be partly seen behind Crowe, sitting down and facing the other way.

See where else Diaz is sneaking around to here.

While Carrie Fisher is most famous for her work as an actor, specifically in the Star Wars franchise as Princess Leia, she also worked extensively as a writer and script doctor. One of the biggest movies she contributed to in this role was Hook. However, it turns out that she also had an on-screen role in the movie. Fisher appeared alongside her friend George Lucas as the pair embraced on a bridge during the intro for the film before being lifted into the sky by Tinkerbell. The secret celebrity cameos made by the pair were only recently confirmed as part of the 25th anniversary of the movie.

Chris Martin and fellow Coldplay band member Johnny Buckland both make brief cameos in Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead. While it is difficult to spot Buckland, the lead singer can be seen staggering towards the two main characters near the red phone box in the scene above. It is difficult to notice them, though, thanks to the zombie makeup and the fact they only appear for a few seconds. The two musicians had contributed to the film by singing part of the song “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” and were likely included as a thanks.

Rumors began swirling not long before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens that James Bond star Daniel Craig had a secret cameo in the movie. The appearance was let slip by Simon Pegg, who also makes a brief cameo, during an interview, but Craig denied it in a sarcastic reply when asked about it. It was later confirmed that the actor did in fact play a Stormtrooper who is guarding Rey and is tricked using her Jedi powers. With both Spectre and the Star Wars movie being filmed at Pinewood Studios, it would not have been too difficult for Craig to switch sets.

This is another example of blink-and-you miss it cameos, with Canadian comedian Dan Aykroyd appearing in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. While the character played by Aykroyd has several lines of dialogue as he escorts the protagonists onto the cargo plane near the beginning of the movie, he is using a heavy accent and his face is disguised thanks to a rather large mustache. The actor is a close friend of director Steven Spielberg and landed this small role as a result. Speaking of which, Spielberg can also be spotted momentarily just after this cameo, along with producers George Lucas, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy.

Although David Beckham is one of the most famous people on the planet and recognizable all around the world, many may have missed his brief role in The Man from U.N.C.L.E in 2015. The former footballer was included in the movie after director Guy Ritchie and actor Henry Cavill phoned him to ask if he would like a part. He appears as a Russian projectionist, with just one line of dialogue, though, it's hard to spot thanks to the glasses and facial-hair disguise.

The historical drama Kingdom of Heaven was a critically acclaimed movie. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom in the lead role, it also featured a number of other high-profile stars, such as Jeremy Irons and Michael Sheen. However, one of the actors may not have been entirely recognizable as King Baldwin because the role involves the actor wearing a metal mask that covers his entire face throughout the brief scenes he appears in. This effectively hides the fact that Fight Club star Edward Norton is playing the king.

Even when many people knew that Ozzy Osbourne was set to appear in the movie Trick or Treat, it was still difficult to find him in the movie. This, despite the fact that the cameo is actually rather prominent. The musician plays a reverend in an interview, decrying heavy metal and the messages it conveys. However, Ozzy hides in plain sight, as he has short hair that has been combed neatly and is without any of the usual clothing or accessories you would expect to see him in.

Edgar Wright is famous for including all manner of cameos in his movies, and Hot Fuzz was no exception to this rule. However, one of these secret celebrity cameos is incredibly well hidden. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is show on screen for just two seconds when he stabs the main character, Nick Angel, in the hand. He's especially hard to spot since he's dressed up like Father Christmas, large white heard included. The director had become friends with Wright after watching Shaun of the Dead, and the pair even spent time together while Jackson was working on King Kong. Strangely, both Martin Freeman and Cate Blanchett also make brief cameos, and the pair later worked with the Jackson on The Hobbit trilogy.