Cameos are a dime a dozen in films, especially now in an era where celebrity culture runs rampant. Look no further than Val Kilmer's emotional cameo in Top Gun: Maverick. While cameos are a commonplace occurrence, it is less common for Oscar-winning actors to spend their time and effort on short cameos.
However, there are a fair amount of actors and directors, who despite Academy Award-winning status, have made small, many as short as seconds long, appearances in films. Some cameos are integral to the film while others are mere appearances to surprise and please the audience.
F. Murray Abraham - Muppets From Space (1999)
Winning the Best Actor Academy Award in 1985 for his performance in Amadeus, F. Murray Abraham has been in many acclaimed movies throughout his long career, from Scarface to The Grand Budapest Hotel.
An unexpected title on Abraham's resume is an underrated entry in the Muppets franchise, Muppets from Space. In a very small role in a dream sequence at the beginning of the film, Abraham plays Noah (the biblical one) in a single-digit minutes-long cameo.
Peter Jackson - Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
One of the most successful franchises ever made, Lord of the Rings has a range of exalted actors from Cate Blanchett to Viggo Mortenson. The franchise was also award-winning, culminating in three Oscar wins for director Peter Jackson in 2004 for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
In a scene easy to overlook, many viewers may have missed an appearance from Peter Jackson in a fleeting cameo in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. He plays a drunk man in the rain, holding a carrot (of all things), in a seconds-long appearance.
Buster Keaton - Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Buster Keaton was one of the foremost stars of Hollywood's Silent film era. Best known in his films for his physical comedy talents accompanied by a deadpan face, Keaton earned the nickname "The Great Stone Face". Decades later, in 1950's Sunset Boulevard, Keaton made a short cameo playing a fictional version of himself.
During Norma Desmond's waxworks card game, Keaton makes his quick appearance as a washed-up version of himself. While Keaton did not win an Oscar during his most prolific period, he was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1959 for his pioneering work in the film industry.
Quentin Tarantino - Desperado (1995)
Tarantino is the recipient of two Oscars; the first occurring in 1995 for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Pulp Fiction, and the second Oscar for the Best Writing, Original Screenplay award in 2013 for Django Unchained. The enthusiastic writer-director makes it a point to appear in each of his own films.
However, he has actually made brief cameos in his friend and sometimes collaborator Robert Rodriguez's work. In the sequel to El Mariachi, 1995's Desperado saw Tarantino in a tiny role as a barfly telling a joke, in a scene that ultimately ends in blood.
Questlove - Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
In a mockumentary about a fictional boy band and their impact on music, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping features a slew of music who's who. Just a sample of some musicians featured in the film are Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, RZA, Carrie Underwood, and even Ringo Starr.
Multi-hyphenate Roots drummer and co-frontman Questlove is in the film for a small moment as one of the talking heads musical guests that talk about the impact the fictional boy band has had on popular culture. A recent award winner, Questlove won an Oscar for his film Summer of Soul, where he won in the Best Documentary category.
Steven Spielberg - The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
In an extremely subtle cameo, only those with the most discerning eyes will catch Steven Spielberg's appearance in his sequel to Jurassic Park, The Lost World. In the scene where Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore are watching footage of a T-rex and its baby being transported back to Isla Sorna on CNN, the reflection of Goldblum, Moore, and, unexpectedly, Spielberg is seen on the TV.
An Oscar winner three times over, Spielberg won first in 1994 for Schindler's List in the two categories of Best Director and Best Picture. Years later, he won his third Oscar in 1999 for Saving Private Ryan in the Best Director section.
Christopher Walken - Pulp Fiction (1994)
An Oscar winner in 1979 for his performance in The Deer Hunter, Christopher Walken played a very brief but important part in 1994's iconic shot-filled Pulp Fiction. Playing Captain Koons, Walken portrays a Vietnam veteran who delivers a priceless family heirloom to the boyhood version of Bruce Willis's character, Butch.
Walken makes the most of his short cameo, infusing his trademark mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that everyone associates with the gifted thespian into the character. While one of the shortest appearances in the film, it is also one of the most seminal, serving as a creative form of story exposition that shows the audience the importance of Butch's watch.
Martin Scorsese - Taxi Driver
In Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle comments on the disintegration of society and the perceived lack of morals in those around him. Interestingly enough, the Oscar-winning director himself, Martin Scorsese makes an appearance that exemplifies the kind of people that disgust Bickle and further this paranoia.
In the film, Scorsese, in a quick appearance, plays a cab customer stalking his cheating wife. The man explains to Bickle his wife's affair, the racist thoughts he has towards his wife's lover, and the violent fantasies he has about murdering his wife. The quick but noteworthy scene is disturbing, keeping in line with the uneasy tone of the film.
Orson Welles - The Muppet Movie
Renowned in his time as a boy wonder, Orson Welles won his first Oscar at only 26 years old in 1942 for Citizen Kane in the Best Writing, Original Screenplay category. Almost 30 years later, he won another Oscar, this time an Honorary one.
Therefore, it was pretty unexpected to see the Orson Welles in 1979's The Muppet Movie. In a short but impactful role, Orson appears as a cigar-loving big shot movie executive who signs the Muppets to a "standard rich and famous contract."
Brad Pitt - Deadpool 2
In a cameo as short as they come, Brad Pitt occurs for a split second in Deadpool 2. Before his scene, all we know of his character is that he has invisible powers, so we never see what he looks like, That is, until he is electrocuted when embarking on an X-force mission with his teammates and gets automatically caught in a power line, electrocuting him but illuminating his true form in the process, revealing the actor's visage.
Matt Damon also makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in a completely unrecognizable part. A recent Oscar Winner for his fantastic turn in 2019's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, an Academy Award was long overdue for this adventurous actor.