100 Greatest Director Cameos

Road Trip (2000)

The Cameo: Amy Smart falls asleep on the bus and wakes up to find fellow passenger Todd Phillips trying to suck on her bare feet.

Why It's Cool: It's the first appearance of Todd Phillips' recurring cameo character Barry, a guy would be seen in equally creepy scenes in Old School , The Hangover and Due Date .

The Goonies (1985)

The Cameo: As the Goonies exit the cave at the end of the film, Richard Donner plays one of the sheriffs sat on a quad.

Why It's Cool: In a film as gleefully adventurous and childlike as this, it seems only right that the director gets in the onscreen fun too.

The Fast And The Furious (2001)

The Cameo: During the first race, director Rob Cohen appears as the pizza delivery guy who gets blocked as a result.

Why It’s Cool: It’s a nice idea for the guy who has effectively birthed this high-speed franchise to have a cameo in which he gets utterly stalled.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

The Cameo: John Landis appears as one of the cops driving through the mall in pursuit of the eponymous Jake and Elwood.

Why It's Cool: It's one of the best and most chaotic car chases ever committed to film so it's good to know that the man filming it all couldn't resist getting physically involved.

Hostel (2005)

The Cameo: Takashi Miike can be spotted as a businessman at the warehouse.

Why It’s Cool: Miike’s own brand of torturous gore-horror is a clear influence on this film so it’s only right that he gets an homage.

The Age Of Innocence (1993)

The Cameo: Martin Scorsese makes an appearance as May’s wedding photographer.

Why It’s Cool: Another in a long line of Scorsese cameos, but it’s always nice to see the bushy-browed one in period costume, and there’s something that feels so right about him commanding an old-fashioned camera.

Superman II (1980)

The Cameo: As Clark and Lois pull up to the diner, director (original director, anyway) Richard Donner walks past and out of shot.

Why It’s Cool: It’s good to know that, even when Donner fell out with the studio and was replaced by Richard Lester to finish the shoot, he had still left his mark on the final, theatrical release.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

The Cameo: When Harry enters the tavern, director Alfonso Cuarón can be seen sitting down holding two candles (presumably because it seems a bit magical).

Why It’s Cool: In a wizarding world full of wonderful characters, why not insert yourself into a scene as one of them? Still curious about those candles though…

Rear Window (1954)

The Cameo: As James Stewart peruses his neighbours’ windows, he spies director Alfred Hitchcock winding a clock in the songwriter’s flat.

Why It’s Cool: You just know when the film starts that Hitchcock is going to show up as one of the neighbours be spied upon – this moment is just when the film delivers on that promise.

Escape From New York (1981)

The Cameo: As Snake Plissken first enters the old theatre, he comes across a group of musicians. The violinist in the top hat is John Carpenter. Because of course it is.

Why It’s Cool: There’s no real way of telling it’s him from sight alone so this is just one of those awesome movie trivia moments.