5 of the Weirdest Musician Cameos in Film and TV

It’s usually a pleasant surprise when one’s favorite musician shows up in a film or television show. And some of those musician cameos are quite unexpected and unusual. Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest musician cameos from film and television!

1. Billy Ray Cyrus in ‘Mulholland Drive’

David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is an impressive, surreal, and at moments, terrifying piece of work. Lynch loves to toss in some of the weirdest musician cameos in his films, and this time he opted to cast country star Billy Ray Cyrus in a small role. The “Achy Breaky Heart” hitmaker portrays the side piece of a director’s wife, and his sudden appearance in the film is pretty hilarious and unexpected.

2. Phil Collins in ‘Hook’

Hook is one of Steven Spielberg’s best films. It’s packed with stars like Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams. But it doesn’t end there. A few unexpected musicians make an appearance, including David Crosby and Jimmy Buffett. But it’s Phil Collins who takes on a more center-stage role in the film as a detective tasked with finding the story’s missing children. His acting chops aren’t half bad, either.

3. George Harrison in ‘Life Of Brian’

If you blink, you might miss George Harrison in Monty Python’s Life Of Brian. The former Beatle only plays a small background role as Mr. Papadopoulos with a single line of dialogue in the film, but he plays a much larger role off-camera. Harrison’s company, HandMade Films, produced the movie.

4. David Bowie in ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’

David Bowie proved he was an excellent actor with roles in Labyrinth, The Hunger, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Zoolander, and more. Those were all fitting roles for the late great rock star, but his performance in David Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me was quite surprising. Bowie plays a special agent named Phillip Jeffries in the film. When Twin Peaks was revived in 2017 after Bowie’s death, his character was replaced by a floating grey orb. Very Lynchian, if you ask us.

5. Tom Petty in ‘The Postman’

The Postman wasn’t exactly a successful film, but it was still a delight to see Tom Petty pop up on screen. The Heartbreakers singer portrayed the mayor of a post-apocalyptic city, and he does a pretty solid job with the role.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns

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