Horror master Stephen King isn't just an author—in addition to his 60-plus novels and 200-plus short stories, he has numerous acting credits to his name. Beyond that, those credits aren't just from his own movies. Over the years, there has been a nonstop slew of movie and television adaptations of King’s many novels, novellas, and short stories. And he's become one of several authors who have ended up making cameos in the film versions of the stories they have written.
King famously first began making appearances in the movie versions of his works in 1982, with George Romero's Creepshow. King actually has more than a cameo in this movie; he plays the character of Jordy Verrill, a man who interacts with a meteor that lands in his backyard and must deal with the aftermath, eventually dying by suicide.
King also made appearances in the following adaptations of his written works: Creepshow 2, Pet Sematary, Golden Years, Sleepwalkers, The Stand, The Langoliers, Thinner, The Shining, Gotham Cafe, Storm of the Century, Rose Red, Kingdom Hospital, Under The Dome, Mr. Mercedes, and It: Chapter 2. The last is often referred to as his best acting role yet. While he has certainly lent his on-screen talents to his own projects, King has been memorably featured - however briefly - in several movies and shows outside of his macabre creations.
Every Stephen King Acting Credit (Not In His Own Movies)
In 1981, he played his first role, “hoagie man”, in another George Romero movie, Knightriders. In this brief part, King appears with his wife, Tabitha, both acting as spectators at an event. King also appeared in Romero’s Diary of the Dead as a radio preacher in 2007. Before that, in the 2005 romantic comedy, Fever Pitch—starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon—King plays himself, throwing out the first pitch at a Red Sox game the characters attend.
King has also made multiple appearances on various television shows. In 2000, he appeared in Frasier season 8, episode 8, “Mary Christmas”, playing Brian, a man who calls Frasier during his stint as a talk radio host. The same year, King played himself in an episode of The Simpsons. In the episode, Marge approaches the author at a book signing and asks him about what book he’s working on releasing next—much to Marge's disappointment, King tells her he’s not writing another horror story, but a biography of Benjamin Franklin.
Stephen King went on to famously play the character of cleaner Richard Bachman in season 1, episode 3 “Caregiver" on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy in 2010. In the episode—the only one he appears in—King’s character is hired by Tig to dispose of the body of Gemma’s father’s live-in caretaker. This acting stint was King's most recent role to date other than ones he's played in his own adaptations, but fans will likely get more glimpses of him on screen in the future.