MovieChat Forums > The Avengers (2012) Discussion > Best cameo ever?

Best cameo ever?

posted 9 years ago by justahero
12 replies | jump to latest

I immediately gave this movie more credit when all of a sudden Harry Dean Stanton showed up.
You know Brett from Alien. It was so briliant! And that cute talk about aliens

I wonder if people watching it had any idea who he is 

They must have been like "What the fack?" 

[–] Socialman 9 years ago

Trust me, people know.

But it was a nice cameo, agreed. If you can call it that, since he really is just an actor playing a part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kkcvHaiG_M

Fabricati Diem, Pvnc !
RIP Terry Pratchett

[–] justahero 9 years ago

it was a cameo...he even talked about aliens...that makes it a cameo in my head 

[–] PreachCaleb 9 years ago

Well, yeah, a cameo is a small part played by a recognizable actor.

Sure, he's not on Tom Cruise level of recognizablity, but he is pretty well known among genre fans.

Let's be bad guys.

[–] Socialman 9 years ago

Not sure on the definition of 'cameo', but I always thought the specific actor had to have some relevance or other contextual ties to be considered a cameo.

A bit like Danny Glover showing up in Mel Gibson's movie 'Maverick', and the two of them having a moment of recognition. Any other actor would have been just a bit player, now it's a cameo.

Harry Dean Stanton has (to my knowledge) no context with Ruffalo or any of the others, for it to be relevant that it's HIM standing there and not anyone else.

What makes this a cameo instead of a bit part ?

Now, had he shown up in IM2, mopping a green floor over at HAMMER tech, then I would have considered it a cameo.

And for the record, I'd rather see HDS standing there (or anywhere) than Tom Cruise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kkcvHaiG_M

Fabricati Diem, Pvnc !
RIP Terry Pratchett

[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

but I always thought the specific actor had to have some relevance or other contextual ties to be considered a cameo.

Nah, that's not a necessity. An example would be Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore. Or Roman Polanski in Rush Hour 3.

What makes this a cameo instead of a bit part ?

Being recognizable makes it a cameo. As you said, it could've been played by any other actor. That's usually what separates a cameo from a bit part. Just how noticeable the actor is.

Let's be bad guys.

[–] Socialman 8 years ago

Being recognizable makes it a cameo. As you said, it could've been played by any other actor. That's usually what separates a cameo from a bit part. Just how noticeable the actor is.

The problem with this is that wether or not it's a cameo would completely rely on the audience recognising someone.

Personally, I tend to recognise a lot of actors, even in bit parts, but that wouldn't make them cameos. And like justanicknamed said, Garret Morris showing up in Ant-Man is a real cameo, but I doubt the larger part of the audience would recognise him or even realise he was the first ever on-screen depiction of the guy that just fell onto the roof of his car.

Nice example from this movie is the two cops at the battle of New York. Essentially two versions of the same part, only one of them is played by Whedon alum Enver Gjokaj who later returned to the MCU in a larger part, while the other one is played by an actor I don't remember seeing anywhere before.

Your definition would make one a cameo and the other a bit part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kkcvHaiG_M

Fabricati Diem, Pvnc !
RIP Terry Pratchett

[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

The problem with this is that wether or not it's a cameo would completely rely on the audience recognising someone.

Not completely, but yeah, it is an important aspect of what makes a cameo. Let's use Iron Man 3 as an example:

To an American audience, Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing were just playing bit parts, but to a Chinese audience, they were more likely cameos.

There's also something to be said for the director's intentions as well.

Your definition would make one a cameo and the other a bit part.

Yep.

I get what you're saying, and yeah, it is a pretty grey area when it comes to determining cameo vs bit part. My only real point is that a cameo need not be related to movie or series they're appearing in.

Let's be bad guys.

[–] patdog12241982 8 years ago

"Are you an alien?"-HDS, AVENGERS

The inclusion of the word 'alien' in the convo implies cameo, as opposed to say more obvious cameos such as Lou Ferrigno as the guard tha Norton/Banner bribes oor 'The Courtship of Eddie's Father' being on the TV in TIH, in this day/age we could simply chalk any/all of these up to 'Easter Eggs', not getting them doesn't hurt anything, catching them adds another layer to the moment

I fell asleep during INCEPTION BUT I FEEL like I still saw it!

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

I agree. Garret Morris showing up in Ant-Man is a cameo. This, not so much.

[–] Chunderstruck 8 years ago

The screening I was in there were people clapping when he showed up. My younger brother by 13 years, asked "who's that?".

[–] DracTarashV 8 years ago

Cameo or not, it's so great to see Stanton in that scene. Brilliant indeed.

You want something corny? You got it!

[–] mwgfgrey 8 years ago

I was just about to ask about the significance of his cameo cause I knew I recognized him from Red Dawn and i forgot he was in the Aliens franchise. Good stuff.