Being famous comes with a lot of perks. Celebrities get lots of cool stuff for free, like iPads and PS5s and other expensive items that the common folk often have to line up for. Of course, there is a cost to being famous as well; it's a lot harder to just go to the supermarket to pick up some milk without being stopped for a photo or autograph, which has to get tiresome at some point.
One of the coolest things about being famous is having the ability to do fun guest spots on TV shows you like. If Robert Downey Jr. wanted, he could call up the producers of his favorite show and let them know he'll be by next week to show up for an episode, and there's no doubt the whole cast and crew would love it. Some of these celebrities did just that.
10 Brad Pitt Monkied Around On Jackass
Brad Pitt is the kind of movie star who likes to mix it up a little, or at least he used to. While he's relaxed more as he's gotten older, Pitt used to be the kind of star who showed up at weird places doing weird stuff.
Take, for instance, his appearances on the MTV series Jackass. Pitt showed up in two of the show's stunts, one where he waited in line for a movie, making sure people noticed who he was just before Johnny Knoxville and the crew pulled up in a van, beat the actor, and kidnapped him. The second stunt involved everyone in monkey suits riding around in shopping carts and smashing into bushes or curbs.
9 George Clooney Helped Kick Off South Park
It's very possible that no one would know the names Trey Parker and Matt Stone if it weren't for George Clooney. Parker and Stone became a hot duo in Hollywood when their holiday short The Spirit of Christmas was seen by a Fox exec who commissioned them to create a second short for him to use as his Christmas card that year. The second short led to Parker and Stone signing a deal with Comedy Central to make South Park.
One of the biggest pushes in the advertising for the first season of South Park was the recurring cameo of George Clooney, who had loved the two shorts the duo had made and asked to be involved with the series. Parker and Stone cast the Batman and Robin star as the voice of Stan's dog, Sparky.
8 Jay Leno Also Voiced An Animal For South Park
Another fan of the shorts created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Jay Leno, known for his clean style of humor, agreed to lend his voice to the first season of South Park by playing Cartman's cat, Mr. Kitty. Leno's cameo was kept secret for a time, and fans of the Tonight Show host would never have guessed it was him since all he did was meow.
Leno would return to South Park to play himself in the second season episode "City on the Edge of Forever" alongside Henry Winkler who voiced the Kid-Eating Monster.
7 Owen Wilson Was Taking Classes On Community
The first season of a TV series can be rough. The show is trying to attract an audience, and whenever possible, it will bring in well-known celebrities to try and help get attention from the press and viewers. In the twelfth episode of Community's first season, the show's creator, Dan Harmon, called in his pal Jack Black to guest star for an episode.
While Jack Black was used in the ads for Community, the real surprise for fans came at the end of the episode when Loki star Owen Wilson showed up for a quick gag as another student at Greendale Community College.
6 Elizabeth Taylor Spoke One Word For The Simpsons
Already in its fourth season, The Simpsons no longer needed celebrity voices to help get attention; at this point, celebrities were excited to come and lend their voice to the popular series. One such voice was Elizabeth Taylor's. One of the most famous people to ever grace the silver screen, Taylor spoke just one word in the classic episode "Lisa's First Word," creating a moment in Simpsons history.
While most of the episode is a flashback to Lisa Simpson's birth up to her first words, the big moment came at the end when the youngest member of the family, Maggie, is put in her crib. Left alone, Maggie removes her pacifier and speaks her first word, "daddy." It was Taylor who supplied the voice for Maggie.
5 Paris Hilton Got The Ax On Supernatural
Having become a reality show star in 2003, Paris Hilton was a household name by the time she appeared on the long-running series Supernatural in 2009. The series took full advantage of the dislike so many had for the hotel heiress.
In the Season 5 episode, "Fallen Idols," Hilton played the forest god Leshi, who took on the forms of various famous people it came across in a wax museum. Leshi's final form is that of Hilton, who ends up getting her head cut off by Sam Winchester.
4 Prince Popped Up On New Girl
In a moment of perfect timing, New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether was looking for a way to make the most of a big opportunity when she got the call of a lifetime. Fox had selected New Girl to be the lead-out program following Super Bowl XLVIII, a major deal for a TV show, and Meriwether wanted to make the episode that would air a special one.
As she and the writers worked on ideas, Meriwether received word that His Royal Badness himself, Prince, was a fan of New Girl and, despite not being one to appear in other people's work, wanted to be in an episode. The rest is TV history.
3 Johnny Depp Lost His Head Over Walking Dead
While the series isn't known for its cameos, The Walking Dead has actually had a number of familiar faces appear in episodes, including former Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian as walkers, but the most shocking celebrity cameo has to be the head of Johnny Depp in the Season 9, episode "Not Tomorrow Yet."
In the episode, Rick Grimes needs to find a walker that looks like Gregory so he can convince Negan that his rival is dead. One of the walker heads Grimes has to choose from just happens to be Johnny Depp's noggin.
2 Joe Biden Met Leslie Knope On Parks & Recreation
A long-running joke on the sitcom Parks and Recreation was Leslie Knope's crush on the then-Vice President Joe Biden. The man who would become President first appeared in the Season 5 episode "Leslie vs. April," where Leslie's love, Ben, introduced her to her crush for a quick scene. Biden would show up again in the show's series finale where fans of the show learn that Leslie and Ben have a regular game night with the Bidens in the near future.
Biden wasn't the only politician to make a cameo on the popular sitcom. Senators Barbara Boxer, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, and Cory Booker also appeared in episodes, as well as First Lady Michelle Obama.
1 Ben Affleck Snuck Into An Episode Of Curb Your Enthusiasm
In one of the weirdest and fastest cameos in TV history, Batman actor Ben Affleck has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the Season 7 episode "Officer Krupke," Larry David finds himself inside a Banana Republic trying on pants when the fire alarm goes off.
As the customers of the store rush out, a bearded Ben Affleck can be seen mixed in with the crowd. Affleck has never spoken about his quick cameo, leaving his shockingly short and unmentioned appearance in a show filled with celebrities playing themselves a mystery.
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