Top 10 WORST Movie Cameos

Top 10 WORST Movie Cameos

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at movie cameos that might not have lasted long, but felt like an eternity nonetheless. A few spoilers may follow.

#10: Quentin Tarantino

“Django Unchained” (2012)
There’s no denying that Quentin Tarantino is one of our greatest directors and writers. As a performer, however, Tarantino is notorious for overdoing it. You could argue that Tarantino’s hokey acting style is in the spirit of the B-movies that inspired much of his work. When you pair him against an A-lister like Jamie Foxx, though, Tarantino’s acting shortcomings only become more apparent. His appearance as Frankie, a mining employee, is already distracting enough in “Django Unchained.” Tarantino calls even more attention to himself by making his character Australian for no apparent reason. It’s been rumored that Tarantino struggled to do a Southern drawl, but an Aussie accent wasn’t the most believable alternative. Thankfully, Tarantino had the good sense to blow his character up.

#9: Charlton Heston

“Planet of the Apes” (2001)
Charlton Heston delivered one of cinema’s most iconic final lines in the original “Planet of the Apes.” When Tim Burton tried rebooting the franchise decades later, Heston returned for a prominent cameo. This time, Heston wasn’t playing a human, but one of the damn dirty apes that he once cursed. Hidden under layers of makeup, Heston played Zaius, the father of the villainous General Thade. On his deathbed, Zaius shares a startling revelation about the humans, damning them all to hell with his final breath. Um… was this supposed to be a dramatic goodbye? If so, you kind of ruined it with such a painfully weak in-joke. Heston’s soap opera-esque delivery doesn’t help, contributing to his Razzie win that year.

#8: Madonna

“Die Another Day” (2002)
We vaguely remember Madonna’s title song for this James Bond movie, although we often forget that she also made a cameo. If there’s one thing that Madonna should never be, it’s forgettable. Her character is fairly inconsequential to the plot, however. She plays Verity, a fencing instructor. She doesn’t face off against Mr. Bond in a sword fight, but the two do swap innuendos that are on the nose even by this franchise’s standards. Aside from being a vessel for double entendre, Verity primarily exists to drop exposition about Gustav Graves and Miranda Frost. Madonna’s presence is not only a wasted opportunity, but she hasn’t acted in a live-action feature film since. Seeing how this cameo won her a Razzie, we can understand why.

#7: Donald Trump

“Ghosts Can’t Do It” (1989)
Whether you love or hate this two-time U.S. president, Donald Trump made some pretty amusing cameos back in the day. If showing Kevin McCallister the lobby was the pinnacle of his acting career, Don’s Razzie-winning appearance in this romantic fantasy has to be his lowest point. Bo Derek plays a woman whose elderly husband takes his own life. When he comes back as a ghost, she sets out to kill somebody so that he can possess their body. Just when you think this premise can’t get any more bonkers, Trump shows up to negotiate a deal with Derek’s character. The most bizarre thing about this cameo is how dull it is. Trump brings zero charisma, puckering his lips through some truly horrendous line reads.

#6: Kathy Bates

“North” (1994)
“North” is an ensemble piece that everyone involved should probably expunge from their résumé, especially Kathy Bates. In a role that scored her a Razzie nomination, the Oscar-winning actress plays one of young North’s potential adoptive parents. This particular one lives in Alaska. No, Bates is not an Alaska Native - and her makeup is an offensive reminder. As if performing in brownface wasn’t insensitive enough, Bates also gets to deliver some unbelievably mean-spirited dialogue about why Grandpa is being cast away to die at sea. For the record, Abe Vigoda isn’t Inuit either. On one hand, you could say that 1994 was a different time. On the other hand, 1994! Seriously, how did anyone think this was okay by that point?

#5: O. J. Simpson

“Back to the Beach” (1987)
Speaking of things that happened in 1994… well, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s head back to 1987 when this beach party parody hit the screen. “Back to the Beach” features several cameos, some of which aged better than others. The most uncomfortable one occurs as a family arrives at an LA airport. Young Bobby is disappointed that there aren’t any celebrities at baggage claim, although his mother says he can’t expect to see big names everywhere. Speak of the devil, Mom has a run-in with the Juice himself. At the time, this might’ve been a funny reference to Simpson’s Hertz commercials. Through a modern lens, though, we wince knowing what’s to come, especially when somebody steps on Simpson’s hand with his ring finger.

#4: Ian Holm

“Alien: Romulus” (2024)
Does it count as a real cameo if the actor passed away before shooting? In any case, a few minutes in the uncanny valley is too long for us. With Peter Cushing’s likeness being recreated in “Rogue One,” some thought technology had gone too far while others felt the technology hadn’t come far enough. The conversation continued in “Alien: Romulus” where the late Ian Holm was seemingly brought back. In reality, the android Rook was constructed through a mix of animatronics, CGI, and actor Daniel Betts’ voice. While the filmmakers received permission to use Holm’s likeness, many still found the execution sloppy. The effects were updated for the film’s home release, but the results still left people wishing they just let Holm rest in peace.

#3: Jared Fogle

“Jack and Jill” (2011)
Although we thought about including Al Pacino, it’s debatable if that counts as a cameo given his significant screen time. The good news (or bad news) is that this alleged comedy has plenty of other awkward celebrity appearances. The most excruciating involves Jared Fogle - back when he was merely the Subway Guy. Meeting at a birthday party, Adam Sandler’s Jill is introduced to Mr. Fogle. Jill talks about how she misses the old Jared (don’t we all?) before accusing the spokesperson of fraternizing with sex workers. You don’t know how close you are to the truth, Jill. The cameo is capped off with Jared insisting they cut the cake already.

#2: Rob Schneider

“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” (2007)
Whether he’s appearing in an “SNL” sketch or chanting, “You can do it,” Rob Schneider is best experienced in small doses. Even then, a little of Schneider can go a long way. In yet another so-called Adam Sandler comedy, Schneider overstays his welcome from the second he appears on screen. He plays Morris Takechi, the Asian chapel owner who unites the titular Chuck and Larry in holy matrimony. Because a film that revolves around gay stereotypes wasn’t enough. They also had to throw in racist stereotypes, which Schneider “specializes” in. As you might have guessed, Schneider is no more Asian than Chuck and Larry are gay. The next time Hollywood gets the urge to cast Schneider as another race or ethnicity, just don’t do it.

#1: The Original Cast

“Ghostbusters” (2016)
Whatever your thoughts about this - let’s say divisive - reboot are, most would agree that having the original “Ghostbusters” cast make cheesy cameos as different characters was a miscalculation. The only one that works is a bust of the late Harold Ramis. Besides that, Bill Murray unsurprisingly looks miserable to be there, all too eager for his character to get axed off. Dan Aykroyd’s cameo as a taxi driver is almost funny, but they just had to end it with a bad reference. Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts are also briefly shoehorned in for little reason other than to remind us that they were in the OG “Ghostbusters” too. Rick Moranis, meanwhile, ghosted the reboot, which was a wise choice.

Which movie cameo would you have left on the cutting room floor? Let us know in the comments.