If the thought of Alien’s Ripley storming through the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn is enough to send the sickly locals running for the hills, then they had better lock their doors because Sigourney Weaver is set to appear in Monday evening’s episode of ITV drama Doc Martin. Weird? Yes. Unusual? No. When it comes to cameos, stranger is better, as these classics prove …
Prince on New Girl
Who would have thought Prince would be game enough to appear on a comedy about Zooey Deschanel doing kooky things all day long? “Oh, how rude of me. I haven’t given you enough time to freak out yet,” he said of his appearance, to a shocked Jess and Nick. “You may do so now.”
Justin Bieber on CSI
The Biebs doesn’t rank highly on the list of pop stars who look capable of planning a bombing, but he did a convincing job as CSI menace Jason McCann. Look away now, Beliebers; he was gunned down.
Boy George on The A-Team
It’s an easy mistake: booking “Cowboy” George to play a country and western club. The greatest culture clash of the 80s was, as the cowboy himself put it: “Totally awesome, Hannibal!”
Ian McKellen on Coronation Street
As con artist Mel Hutchright, McKellen brought a touch of class to the Corrie book club, along with proof that a man more pretentious than Ken Barlow does in fact exist.
Kim Gordon on Gossip Girl
Manhattan’s Upper East Side isn’t the obvious place to find Sonic Youth, but Gordon officiated at the wedding of impeccably hot parents Rufus and Lily. The band also made a cameo in Gilmore Girls. How reassuring to know that even grunge royalty will go to any length to look cool in front of their teenage kids.
Sigur Rós on Game of Thrones
Unfortunately, S Club weren’t available to sing at King Joffrey’s nuptials, so the Icelandic tinkle-merchants took a break from soundtracking massive glaciers to guest as the GoT wedding band. What did they get for their troubles? Pelted with coins.
Larry David on Hannah Montana
Not only did Miley Cyrus once wear clothes, but her alter ego Hannah Montana could get a table in a restaurant quicker than Larry David. The words “Face it, Dad, she’s bigger than you” have never hit a man so hard.
Of Montreal on Yo Gabba Gabba!
There’s not enough swirling psych pop on kids’ TV these days, but the surreal show for toddlers fixed that when of Montreal performed their ode to upset tummies with the gravitas it deserves. Sing it: “Bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast. Make you feel better, get you back on your toes.”
Have you spotted any other unusual cameos from unlikely stars? Does anyone remember Bob Dylan on Dharma and Greg, James Franco’s stint on General Hospital or the time Andy Warhol showed up on The Love Boat?
