Seven Hilarious Movie Cameos by Musicians: David Bowie, The Wu-Tang Clan, and more

A well-placed cameo appearance in a film can be a lot of fun, but there's nothing really surprising about seeing an actor appear as themselves, since you've already seen them in movies a hundred times. The most interesting cameos are by musicians, since they're usually unexpected, but sometimes these cameos become highlights of the film. Here are seven films with hilarious cameo appearances from musicians.

1. Teresa Taylor - Slacker (1991)

Due to Slacker's wandering structure, pretty much every performance could be considered a cameo part, but the film's most famous scene involves Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor (aka Teresa Nervosa) trying to sell Madonna's pap smear to some friends out on the street, who are predictably uninterested.

2. Jarvis Cocker - Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Though he doesn't appear in the flesh, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker lends his voice to Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox to play Petey, one of the evil farmer's henchmen. Petey likes to sing songs around the campfire, but is shut down for his "weak songwriting".

3. David Bowie - Zoolander (2001)

Though there are dozens of cameos in Ben Stiller's Zoolander, the hands-down funniest one is probably the least expected: David Bowie, who shows up literally out of nowhere to act as a judge to a "walk-off".

4. Snoop Dogg & Willie Nelson - Half Baked (1995)

There are a couple of hilarious cameos in Half Baked; Bob Saget, Janeane Garofolo, Jon Stewart, but there were two cameos made by famously stoned musicians: Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson. It's not entirely clear if they're playing themselves or not, but they might as well be.

WARNING: Bad language and drug content

WARNING: Bad language, drug content, and crappy video quality

5. Mudhoney - Black Sheep (1996)

Being a movie from the '90s set in Washington, there was bound to be an appearance from at least one grunge band in Black Sheep, and that band ended up being Mudhoney. Other than simply doing an amusing cameo, though, the band actually contributes to the plot, mistaking Chris Farley's character for his brother, who's running for governor of Washington, and ruining the Rock the Vote concert.

WARNING: Bad language

6. Alice Cooper - Wayne's World (1992)

Thanks to this scene from Wayne's World, I'm physically unable to talk about Milwaukee without saying "'Mili Wau Kay', which is Algonquin for 'the good land.'" Wayne and Garth go backstage at an Alice Cooper concert to hang with the band, but are surprised to find how much historical knowledge Cooper possesses. I wouldn't be surprised if Cooper already knew everything he talks about in this scene.

7. Tom Waits & Iggy Pop/The White Stripes/Wu-Tang Clan - Coffee & Cigarettes (2003)

Director Jim Jarmusch loves casting musicians in his films, and in his anthology film Coffee & Cigarettes, Jarmusch casts six musicians as themselves in three different segments. The first features Tom Waits and Iggy Pop, the second features the White Stripes, and the third features RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan (along with Bill Murray, also playing himself). In all three, the characters are simply having conversations over coffee and cigarettes, and they're all hysterical.

WARNING: Bad language

Tags

Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Mudhoney, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, The White Stripes, Jack White, RZA, GZA, Wu-Tang Clan, Bill Murray