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  2. Movies

100 Greatest Director Cameos

Features
By Matt Looker published 7 November 2013

Caught on camera

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Dune (1984)

The Cameo: When Paul and Duke take a group to see spice being harvested, they witness a worm attacking the harvester. Duke radios down to tell the workers to evacuate and the guy who answers the call is none other than David Lynch himself.

Why It's Cool: It's always a delight to see the wonderfully weird director onscreen, but never more so than in an epic sci-fi film that already feels a little out of everybody's comfort zone.

Little Nicky (2000)

The Cameo: In a film littered with wacky cameos, Quentin Tarantino stands out as the crazed, blind preacher that appears several times throughout the film.

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Why It's Cool: Its an unusually, overtly comic role for QT, who is more used to holding guns than crucifixes. Well, unless he's warding off vampires.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of the King (2003)

The Cameo: Peter Jackson concludes his run of LOTR cameos by playing a brutish warrior struck down by an arrow.

Why It's Cool: Jackson may have appeared briefly in his other Tolkien instalments, but this time he goes all out in the thick of the action.

1941 (1979)

The Cameo: John Landis plays a very dusty soldier who has his motorbike stolen from outside the cinema.

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Why It's Cool: Just look at him! That's an awful lot of mess to get into for the sake of an in-joke.

Platoon (1986)

The Cameo: Oliver Stone appears as an officer in a bunker, before being blown up by a suicide bomber.

Why It's Cool: Seeing as the film is based on Stone's own Vietnam War experiences, it seems fitting to see him, even briefly, in the thick of the harrowing action.

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Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)

The Cameo: At the end of the film, director David Yates appears as one of the magical moving portraits hanging up in Hogwarts.

Why It’s Cool: As far as cameos go, that’s a very cool, subtle way to go about it. And it’s almost, almost like he has become part of the Hogwarts furniture. Y’know – if you want to read into it.

GoldenEye (1995)

The Cameo: As James Bond and Xenia Onatopp race past a group of cyclists, knocking them over, one of them is actually director Martin Campbell.

Why It’s Cool: It seems like a fairly dangerous cameo to give yourself, not to mention a lot of exercise and effort.

Elf (2003)

The Cameo: Jon Favreau plays the doctor who conducts the paternity test that confirms Buddy really is Walter's son.

Why It's Cool: There is never not a good time to see Favreau pop up onscreen, and seeing him deal with Ferrell's over-excited manchild is priceless.

Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

The Cameo: George Romero appears at the beginning of the film as the WGON TV studio director asking for a new list of rescue stations.

Why It’s Cool: It makes sense for Romero to play the part of the director, no?

Strangers On A Train (1951)

The Cameo: Alfred Hitchcock can be seen making his obligatory cameo as he boards the train carrying a big double bass.

Why It’s Cool: We love the idea of the horror maestro being part of an orchestra.

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