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Imelda Staunton - Alice In Wonderland (2010)
The Character: Tall Flower Faces. Basically, massive flowers with faces that talk to Alice when she arrives in Wonderland.
Voiced By: Imelda Staunton.
Why It's Surprising: It's not the kind of starring role that Staunton's known for, but a nice surprise in a film that has too few of them.
Greg Grunberg - Star Trek (2009)
The Character: Kirk's angry step-father, who reprimands young Kirk for stealing his car over the phone.
Voiced By: Greg Grunberg.
Why It's Surprising: It's Matt Parkman from Heroes ! He got the gig because he's good friends with JJ Abrams, though it's strange that Abrams relegated him to a voice-only role…
Jeremy Clarkson - Cars (2006)
The Character: Harv, the agent of super-fast car Lightning McQueen, who's only ever heard over the telephone.
Voiced By: Jeremy Clarkson.
Why It's Surprising: It's the Top Gear presenter's sole movie credit, and fun in-joke for fans of the hot wheels. (Note: in the US version of Cars , Jeremy Piven voiced this character.)
Paul Giamatti - Robots (2005)
The Character: Tim the Gate Guard. He stops undesirables from getting into Bigweld Industries. He's a cheeky chappy.
Voiced By: Paul Giamatti.
Why It's Surprising: Have you heard the voice of Tim the Gate Guard? It doesn't exactly sound like Paul Giamatti, so when his name comes up on the credits, it's a bit of a shock.
Michael G. Wilson - A View To Kill (1985)
The Character: A voice on a loudspeaker, which can be heard in the scene when Bond and Stacy Sutton return to City Hall at nightfall.
Voiced By: Michael G. Wilson.
Why It's Surprising: Wilson had produced and written Bond films ever since Moonraker in 1979, but this was his first cameo. He's gone on to cameo in pretty much every Bond film since.
Linda Hamilton - Terminator Salvation (2009)
The Character: Sarah Connor, mother of John Connor and general kick-ass babe. She crops up on an audio recording that John listens to in the future.
Voiced By: Linda Hamilton.
Why It's Surprising: Hamilton had pretty much washed her hands clean of the Terminator franchise after Terminator 2 , so it was a pleasant surprise to hear her reprise her role as Sarah - even if she later spoke out about her disappointment in Salvation .
Selma Diamond - It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
The Character: Ginger Culpepper, the wife of Spencer Tracy's character, who's only heard over the telephone.
Voiced By: Selma Diamond.
Why It's Surprising: Diamond has one of the most recognisable voices in film, celebrated for its raspy quality, which makes her the perfect fit here, and a nice little coup for director Stanley Kramer.
Simon Pegg - Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
The Character: Buckminster, or just Buck, who crops up for a cameo appearance after his starring role in Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs.
Voiced By: Simon Pegg.
Why It's Surprising: Most animated characters who pop up in sequels go unvoiced because, really, what's the point in getting an actor in to do one line? (See Julie Andrews' absence from Despicable Me 2, though her character appears.)
Not this time, with Pegg swinging by briefly to reprise his role as Buck.
David Carradine - Death Race (2008)
The Character: Frankenstein, the mask-wearing protagonist of Death Race.
Voiced By: David Carradine, who voices the character in the film's opening scene before Jason Statham takes up the character.
Why It's Surprising: It's an awesome, totally unexpected nod back to the 1975 film.
Will Wheaton - Star Trek (2009)
The Character: Nero's henchman, who utters that infamous, unfinished line: "Sir, if we ignite the red matter…"
Voiced By: Will Wheaton.
Why It's Surprising: They digitally altered his voice, but it's still Will Wheaton, getting his fingers in all sorts of sci-fi pies.
Julie Andrews - Enchanted (2007)
The Character: Alright, not a character, but the narrator of this singularly tongue-in-cheek Disney princess flick.
Voiced By: Julie Andrews.
Why It's Surprising: It's just one of the film's knowing nod-winks, Andrews obviously being synonymous with Disney, and sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Angela Bassett - Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)
The Character: Mr Smith's Boss, a mysterious figure who's never seen, only heard.
Voiced By: Angela Bassett.
Why It's Surprising: You know you've got an A-list cast when even the voice of a character you never actually see is played by an Oscar nominee like Bassett.
John Ratzenberger - A Bug's Life (1998)
The Character: P.T. Flea, a money-grabbing ringmaster.
Voiced By: John Ratzenberger.
Why It's Surprising: This was only the second character that Ratzenberger had voiced in the Pixar-verse (after Hamm in Toy Story ), and was a pleasant surprise before he decided to voice a character in every single Pixar movie ever.
Adriana Caselotti - The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Character: Juliet, who croons alongside the Tin Man during his show-stopping 'If Only I Had A Heart'.
Voiced By: Adriana Caselotti.
Why It's Surprising: Caselotti most famously voiced Snow White in Snow White & The Seven Dwarves , and hadn't voiced a character since then - until she popped up for this cameo. Shame.
James Cameron - Avatar (2009)
The Character: Well, it's not so much a character as the voice of an evil Marine who's about to bomb the Na'vis' home tree.
Voiced By: James Cameron.
Why It's Surprising: Cameron's done voice cameos before, but this one's particularly mean considering the director casts himself as a bad guy who's about to wreak hell on the Na'vi. What does that say about him?
Stephen King - Stuck In Love (2013)
The Character: Stephen King, who makes a phone call to this film's lead character in order to congratulate him on a short story he's written.
Voiced By: Stephen King.
Why It's Surprising: The film's a teeny tiny indie, so it's a huge boon to have nabbed a cameo from the King of horror.
James Earl Jones - The Lion King (1994)
The Character: Mufasa, the King of the Pride Lands - until, that is, his evil brother steps in and changes everything forever.
Voiced By: James Earl Jones.
Why It's Surprising: Jones is the owner of perhaps the most famous, commanding voice on film, and he crops up here for little more than a glorified cameo. It's a clever bit of casting that adds gravitas and emotional punch exactly where it's needed.
Patrick Stewart - Bambi II (2006)
The Character: The Great Prince of the Forest, otherwise known as Bambi's father.
Voiced By: Patrick Stewart.
Why It's Surprising: This is a straight-to-video sequel that doesn't feature the voice of anybody particularly notable - except for Picard himself! How'd they manage that?
Majel Barrett - Star Trek (2009)
The Character: Starfleet Computer, otherwise known as the voice of Starfleet.
Voiced By: Majel Barrett (aka the wife of Gene Roddenberry).
Why It's Surprising: Considering JJ Abrams wanted to give the Star Trek universe an overhaul, it was a nice surprise that he retained the voice of Barrett for the Starfleet computers - one of the main holdovers from the Star Trek films and series that had gone before.
Barry Humphries - Finding Nemo (2003)
The Character: Bruce the Shark, an Aussie carnivore who's sworn off eating fish. "Fish are friends not food!"
Voiced By: Barry Humphries.
Why It's Surprising: Well, it's Dame Edna as a shark! Humphries would go on to do even more stellar voice work just last year when he voiced the Goblin King in The Hobbit.
Leslie Phillips - Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone (2001)
The Character: The Sorting Hat - the tatty old bit of headware that decides which Hogwarts house new students will be placed in.
Voiced By: Leslie Phillips.
Why It's Surprising: Phillips is an institution, and to have him pop up in the Harry Potter films was a fantastic surprise - and a spot-on bit of voice casting.
James Cameron - Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Character: T-1000, or least some of him - James Cameron provided the dying screams of the futuristic assassin as he's melted into oblivion.
Voiced By: James Cameron.
Why It's Surprising: Well, you'd expect Robert Patrick to provide those sounds really, wouldn't you? We guess it was just easier for Cameron to do a quick recording session on his own during the film's edit…
Julie Andrews - Despicable Me (2010)
The Character: Gru's Mom, a hook-nosed old granny who's, shall we say, not very nice.
Voiced By: Julie Andrews.
Why It's Surprising: Andrews made a whole career out of playing holier than thou characters, which makes this an awesome subversion in a film that loves subverting stuff.
Patrick Stewart - Ted (2012)
The Character: Less a character than the film's velvet-tongued narrator, though in Patrick Stewart's hands, the narrator is as fully-fleshed a character as anybody else in the film.
Voiced By: Patrick Stewart.
Why It's Surprising: It has Stewart dropping swear words all over the shop, including this great line: "No matter how big a splash you make in this world whether you're Corey Feldman, Frankie Muniz, Justin Bieber or a talking teddy bear, eventually, nobody gives a shit."
Lenny Henry - Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
The Character: Shrunken Head, which is exactly what it sounds like - a weird shrunken head who's swinging around as dashboard ornamentation on a Knight Bus.
Voiced By: Lenny Henry.
Why It's Surprising: Well, it's Lenny Henry as a shrunken head, for a start…
Frank Sinatra - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
The Character: The Singing Sword, which is a weapon whipped out during one of the film's Acme-flavoured fight scenes.
Voiced By: Frank Sinatra, who croons 'Witchcraft'.
Why It's Surprising: Sinatra had barely worked in the movies since 1970, which means this was massively unexpected - and really funny. A fun flourish in a film stuffed with them.
Joan Rivers - Look Who's Talking (1989)
The Character: Newborn baby Julie, who pops up (so to speak) right at the end of the film to complain about her terrible day.
Voiced By: Joan Rivers.
Why It's Surprising: A baby voiced by Joan Rivers? We can't think of anything scarier, frankly, especially given Rivers' propensity for four-letter expletives and cringe-worthy yarns.
Stanley Kubrick - Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Character: Murphy, who speaks over the radio when Cowboy demands support near the film's close.
Voiced By : Stanley Kubrick.
Why It's Surprising: Kubrick's not exactly one for cameos, though there are rumours he contributed appearances to everything from The Shining to Eyes Wide Shut, so to have him record a voice-only cameo here is quite something.
Bill Hader - Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
The Character: The computer of the USS Vengeance.
Voiced By: Bill Hader.
Why It's Surprising: Hader's a well-known SNL alum and one of the funniest US actors working today, which makes his voice cameo in one of the year's biggest sci-fi movies a real head-scratcher.
Brad Bird - The Incredibles (2004)
The Character: Edna Mode, a diminutive, chain-smoking fashion paragon (darling) who used to kit out superheroes.
Voiced By: Brad Bird.
Why It's Surprising: Look at a picture of director Brad Bird. Then look at a picture of Edna Mode. They don't exactly go together, do they? Especially as Edna looks more like Linda Hunt.
Jarvis Cocker - Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)
The Character: Petey, a banjo-playing musician who plays a song by a campfire, and is one of the few human characters in Wes Anderson's film.
Voiced By: Jarvis Cocker.
Why It's Surprising : It's just so random. You need a bit with a musician, who do you call on? Jarvis Cocker, of course! We suppose his brief appearance in the fourth Harry Potter film made him cool again…
Helen Mirren - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005)
The Character: Deep Thought, a svelte-sounding super-computer.
Voiced By: Helen Mirren.
Why It's Surprising: When you hire Helen Mirren, you sort of want her to be on-screen, right? Not squirreled away as the voice of a computer. Which means this film has hefty balls.
Jon Hamm - A Single Man (2009)
The Character: Harold Ackerly, the cousin of Jim (Matthew Goode), who calls up George (Colin Firth) to let him know that Jim is, y'know, dead.
Voiced By: Jon Hamm.
Why It's Surprising: It's a pretty thankless role for a guy who was the starring character in mega-hit Mad Men at the time, but Hamm definitely added some gravity to the voice-only character.
Quentin Tarantino - Jackie Brown (1997)
The Character: Less of a character than, well, the electronic voice on Jackie's answering machine.
Voiced By: Quentin Tarantino.
Why It's Surprising: Tarantino likes cameos, something he's more than proved over the years, but this one's pleasantly subtle and a nice little in-joke for audiences. It certainly beats his embarrassing cameo in Django Unchained…
Guillermo del Toro - Puss In Boots (2011)
The Character: Comandante, who pitches up briefly in this Shrek spin-off.
Voiced By: Guillermo del Toro.
Why It's Surprising: Del Toro exec produced the film, but it's still a bit of a shock that he agreed to lend his voice to a minor character in the film, mostly because we can't believe he actually found the time to get into a recording booth.
Harvey Keitel - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
The Character: An American OSS operator who speaks to Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) over the radio. He agrees to Hans Landa's terms of surrender to Raine.
Voiced By: Harvey Keitel.
Why It's Surprising: Keitel's a big name, so relegating him to a mere voice cameo is something of a bold move. But then, this IS Tarantino…
Lou Ferrigno - Avengers Assemble (2012)
The Character: Hulk. You know the one. Big, green. Gets angry quite a lot.
Voiced By: Lou Ferrigno, who voiced the Hulk in the animated series and The Incredible Hulk.
Why It's Surprising: A big fuss was made of the fact that Mark Ruffalo was playing Hulk in both human and Hulked-out form, so it's interesting that Joss Whedon decided to keep Lou Ferrigno as the voice of the big green giant. Interesting and welcome.
James Cameron - Aliens (1986)
The Character: The Alien Queen, who's responsible for those evil, man-eating xenomorphs. Yes, she's the big mama.
Voiced By: James Cameron, who provided a series of screeches and hisses for the queen.
Why It's Surprising: You'd think that Cameron would hire a proper 'animal sound-maker' for his exquisitely-crafted sequel - that he decided to do it himself is typical Cameron, but still surprising.
Paul Bettany - Iron Man (2008)
The Character: JARVIS, who's basically an AI butler and assistant to Tony Stark, helping him create and develop the Iron Man suit.
Voiced By: Paul Bettany.
Why It's Surprising: Bettany was having pretty rotten luck in the movie stakes when Iron Man came out, so it was nice to see him land a pivotal - and unconventional - role like this. His clipped British tones are also perfect for keeping Stark in check.
Timothy Dalton - Toy Story 3 (2010)
The Character: Mr Pricklepants, the thesp-loving hedgehog who likes to quote Shakespeare. He takes his craft with the utmost seriousness.
Voiced By: Timothy Dalton.
Why It's Surprising: Well, it's Timothy freakin' Dalton! After cresting a comedy wave in Hot Fuzz , he proved he hadn't lost his funny bone with this scene-stealing cameo.
Nicole Kidman - Panic Room (2003)
The Character: The girlfriend of Stephen (Patrick Bauchau), who we only hear when she speaks to him over the phone.
Voiced By: Nicole Kidman.
Why It's Surprising: Kidman was originally cast as the lead of David Fincher's film, but was replaced by Jodie Foster when she suffered a knee injury. Nice of Fincher to keep her in the film at least a little bit - even if it is only her voice.
Orson Welles - Transformers: The Movie (1986)
The Character: Unicron, a planet-sized Transformer with huge destructive capabilities.
Voiced By: Orson Welles.
Why It's Surprising: You hardly expect the guy who made Citizen Kane , long considered the greatest film ever made, to play a Transformer in an animated movie now, do you?
As far as reports go, though, Welles enjoyed the challenge - and it ended up being his final role before his death.
Bruce Willis - Rugrats Go Wild (2003)
The Character: Spike, the pet dog of the Pickles family and a regular in The Rugrats since 1991.
Voiced By: Bruce Willis.
Why It's Surprising: For a start, this is the first time Spike's actually spoken since a 1994 episode of The Rugrats . And then there's the fact that he's voiced by one of the biggest action stars of all time. Insanity.
Fergie - It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984)
The Character: Sally, Charlie Brown's philosophical younger sister who is forever demanding answers of the universe.
Voiced By: Fergie, in It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984) and Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985)
Why It's Surprising: Well, you hardly expect a Black Eyed Pea to wind up in the adventures of Charlie Brown, do you? We're surprised she didn't break out into an R&B warble.
Sigourney Weaver - Wall-E (2007)
The Character: Simply called 'Ship's Computer', the ship in question being the humongous Axoim, a metropolis-like spaceship that's home to obese, Earth-fleeing humans.
Voiced By: Sigourney Weaver.
Why It's Surprising: It brings the actress full circle almost 30 years after Alien - in that film, she ranted and raved at 'Mother', the female voice of the Nostromo. In Wall-E , Weaver's now become the voice of a starship herself…
George Clooney - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
The Character: Dr Gouache, a character who originally appeared in the TV show as Dr Doctor. He has somewhat dubious medical credentials.
Voiced By: George Clooney.
Why It's Surprising: In the show, Dr Gouache was voiced by Trey Parker - it was something of a casting coup to get Clooney involved instead, especially considering the actor used to play a doctor on ER .
Steven Spielberg - Paul (2011)
The Character: Not a character but real-life director Steven Spielberg, whose voice is heard in a flashback to the 1980s when he and alien Paul come up with the idea for ET .
Voiced By: Steven Spielberg.
Why It's Surprising: It's ridiculously funny and we love that Spielberg was up for the gag.
