10 Perfect TV Cameos Where An Actor Plays Themselves

2 weeks ago 27

Kristen Bell smiling in Hacks Season 4 Ep 5

Published May 23, 2026, 8:30 PM EDT

Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV.

While guest spots and cameos on TV shows are common, actors playing versions of themselves in cameos isn't, which makes them incredibly fun to see. While TV and film have come far closer than they've ever been in the past, with stars of the big screen crossing over to the small and vice versa, there's still an interesting chasm between TV actors and movie actors. In the modern era, TV has lent itself to being more of a high-quality medium, especially with the advent of streaming and miniseries becoming more prevalent. Even so, seeing film stars on TV is exciting.

10 Bradley Cooper

Abbott Elementary

Bradley Cooper, a Philadelphia native, may not have been the most likely guest star on an episode of Abbott Elementary, but that made his appearance on the series all the better. Appearing as himself in an episode that aired directly after the Oscars, Cooper was said to be corralled by a student outside the school and brought in for show and tell. While he wasn't exactly a heightened version of himself, Cooper did get to play into his Philly roots during the appearance, and was perfect fodder for the characters of the series to mess around with in the episode.

Release Date 2021 - 2026-00-00

Showrunner Quinta Brunson

Writers Quinta Brunson

Quinta Brunson

Janine Teagues
Tyler James Williams

Gregory Eddie

9 Bob Saget

Entourage

Although most viewers likely knew Bob Saget for his role on Full House, where he played a clean-cut single father of three girls, his public persona as a stand-up comedian had been far raunchier than the sitcom let on. When he appeared on Entourage, Saget got the opportunity to lean into his pre-sitcom image. Playing a deliberately vulgar, over-the-top version of himself, Saget was able to contrast the image he'd gotten in Hollywood with the image he'd originally projected, which blended together two distinct sides of his personal. The cameo saw Saget genuinely willing to lean into a dark place.

Release Date 2004 - 2011-00-00

8 Carl Weathers

Arrested Development

A hilarious part of Arrested Development's insane lore, Carl Weathers' cameo on the series is truly a legendary example of stunt casting. Throughout Arrested Development, Tobias Funke (David Cross) is working to hone his craft as an actor and failing miserably. Weathers plays an exaggerated version of himself, offering acting lessons, and while Tobias consistently treats him like a respected mentor, Weathers is shown to be a penny-pinching opportunitst at every turn. Arrested Development was able to use its already developed sense of self-awareness and absurdism to play into the world where Weathers is genuinely taking advatage of Tobias.

Release Date 2003 - 2019-00-00

Network FOX, Netflix

Showrunner Mitchell Hurwitz

Directors Troy Miller, Mitchell Hurwitz, Joe Russo, Paul Feig, Anthony Russo, Lee Shallat Chemel, Jay Chandrasekhar, Robert Berlinger, Greg Mottola, Peter Lauer, John Fortenberry, Lev L. Spiro, Patty Jenkins, Andrew Fleming, Jeff Melman, Jason Bateman, Danny Leiner, Arlene Sanford

Writers Dean Lorey, Abraham Higginbotham, Gareth Reynolds, Hallie Cantor, Jake Farrow, Karey Dornetto, Brian Singleton, Chris Marrs, Maggie Rowe, Barbara Adler

Jason Bateman

Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi

Lindsay Bluth Fünke

7 Reginald VelJohnson

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Playing into the pop culture nostalgia boom of the 2010s, Reginald VelJohnson's cameo as himself on Brooklyn Nine-Nine plays into a long-standing joke and is arguably one of the funniest moments of the series. Throughout the series, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) shares his love of the Die Hard films with his friends, and when Charles Boyle (Joe Lotruglio) arranges VelJohnson as a part of a scavenger hunt for Peralta's bachelor party, it's the perfect moment for the actor to step in. VelJohnson nails his own self-awareness and Brooklyn Nine-Nine crafts a brilliantly sweet story around the exciting cameo on screen.

Release Date 2013 - 2021-00-00

Directors Michael McDonald, Claire Scanlon, Linda Mendoza, Dean Holland, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Victor Nelli Jr., Craig Zisk, Tristram Shapeero, Rebecca Asher, Eric Appel, Maggie Carey, Alex Reid, Giovani Lampassi, Nisha Ganatra, Ryan Case, Trent O'Donnell, Matt Nodella, Jamie Babbit, Ken Whittingham, Max Winkler, Akiva Schaffer, Fred Goss, Jaffar Mahmood, Julie Anne Robinson

Writers Gabe Liedman, Phil Augusta Jackson, Tricia McAlpin, Justin Noble, Lakshmi Sundaram, Andrew Guest, Matt O'Brien, Jeff Topolski, Lang Fisher, Gil Ozeri, Brian Reich, Matt Murray, Andy Gosche, Brigitte Liebowitz, Alison Agosti, Nick Perdue, Beau Rawlins, Aeysha Carr, Andy Bobrow, David Quandt, Matt Lawton, Vanessa Ramos, Kylie Condon, Stephanie Amante-Ritter

6 LeVar Burton

While LeVar Burton becomes more of a figure on Community through the seasons, his first appearance on the show is one of the most hilarious guest spots in modern sitcom history. Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) has mentioned Burton in passing, but when Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase) sends the Reading Rainbow star to meet Troy, his reaction is entirely unanticipated. Essentially going catanoic because the pressure to impress Burton is too much, Troy spends the duration of their meeting staring straight ahead, while Burton peppers him with questions in a friendly way that uses his friendly public persona to the fullest.

Release Date 2009 - 2015-00-00

Network NBC, Yahoo! Screen

Directors Tristram Shapeero, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Rob Schrab, Jay Chandrasekhar, Adam Davidson, Justin Lin, Steven K. Tsuchida, Kyle Newacheck, Victor Nelli Jr., Nat Faxon, Michael Patrick Jann, Anthony Hemingway, Ken Whittingham, Steven Sprung, Tricia Brock, Jeff Melman, Gail Mancuso, Duke Johnson, Fred Goss, Bobcat Goldthwait, Richard Ayoade, Seth Gordon, Beth McCarthy-Miller

Writers Chris McKenna, Hilary Winston, Andrew Guest, Tim Hobert, Karey Dornetto, Stephen Basilone, Emily Cutler, Annie Mebane, Alex Rubens, Tim Saccardo, Paul Isakson, David Seger, Maggie Bandur, Monica Padrick, Matt Murray, Liz Cackowski, Lauren Pomerantz, Dan Guterman, Matt Roller, Ryan Ridley, Carol Kolb, Jon Pollack, Dino Stamatopoulos, Donald Diego

5 Olivia Newton-John

Glee

As one of the earliest guest stars on Glee, Olivia Newton-John was an exciting addition to an episode in the first season. Eventually, Glee found itself rife with guest star roles and heavy hitters from the worlds of TV, film, and theater coming into play, but Newton-John appeared as herself in an early episode of the series alongside Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), who was performing the song "Physical" in an elaborate re-imagining. While Newton-John and Lynch both perform well, the parody of the song is a hilarious nod to the original, and became a majorly memorable part of the series.

Release Date 2009 - 2015-00-00

Network FOX

4 Timothy Olyphant

The Grinder

Playing a fictionalized version of himself on The Grinder was an interesting move for Timothy Olyphant, but the decision was especially clever as it played with his on-screen persona. While viewers were used to seeing Olyphant's dramatic chops shine in roles on shows like Deadwood and Justified, his role on The Grinder was a far more comedic turn, especially with the actor playing himself. While the fictionalized version of Olyphant, who often poked fun at his own image, was set up to agitate Rob Lowe's Dean Sanderson, Olyphant came out of the show as the far more interesting party.

Release Date 2015 - 2016-00-00

Network FOX

Directors Jamie Babbit

Writers Niki Schwartz-Wright

Fred Savage

Stewart Sanderson
William Devane

Dean Sanderson Sr.
Austin Fryberger

Chad Oseroff

3 Kristen Bell

Hacks

Although her cameo is brief, seeing Kristen Bell playing herself on Hacks felt like an incredibly natural fit for the actress. While Bell has played herself in the past, the fictionalized version of Bell on Hacks is likely somewhat closer to her actual persona, despite some minor changes. Appearing in a scene with Deborah (Jean Smart) in a grocery store, Bell plays into the polished public persona viewers would expect as Deborah tries to book her for an appearance without much of an out. While Kristen Bell's appearance doesn't dominate the story, she plays a great piece of the puzzle.

Release Date 2021 - 2026-00-00

Network HBO Max

Showrunner Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky

Directors Desiree Akhavan

Writers Pat Regan, Ariel Karlin, Carol Leifer, Joe Mande, Guy Branum, Andrew Law, Samantha Riley

2 Carrie Fisher

The Big Bang Theory

A brief appearance for a great joke, Carrie Fisher joins James Earl Jones and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) for less than a minute on The Big Bang Theory, but it's an incredibly effective cameo. While Fisher, known for her appearances in the Star Wars films in her youth, had a reputation through the years for her behavior, she was still a legend and only grew more popular through the years. Her cameo, which sees her chasing off Jones and Sheldon with a bat after they ring her doorbell and run, makes for an incredible bit on the Chuck Lorre series.

Release Date 2007 - 2019-00-00

Showrunner Mark Cendrowski

Directors Mark Cendrowski

Writers Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady

1 Seth Rogen

The Boys

A more recent appearance than most, The Boys sees Seth Rogen along with a group of other actors on the show in a tongue-in-cheek cameo. While Rogen, an executive producer of The Boys, appeared on the show once prior, his cameo during The Boys season 5 sees him with a group of other actors in crisis. Blurring the line between real Hollywood and the manufactured Vought spectacle, Rogen's recognizable persona is one of several that helps build the lore of the series throughout its run. Rogen's cameo in The Boys final season is a viscerally dark but self-aware on-screen moment.