Movies

Martin Scorsese appears briefly in a credited role in this scene from his feature film Taxi Driver, the first scene in which Cybill Shepherd appears.

A cameo role or cameo appearance (often just "cameo") is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films and television. Such a role need not be filled by an actor: short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, and other celebrities are common.

Cameos are often uncredited due to their brevity or because of a perceived mismatch between the celebrity's stature and the film or TV show he or she is appearing in. Many are publicity stunts. Others are acknowledgements of an actor's contribution to an earlier work, as in the case of many film adaptations of TV series, or of remakes of earlier films.

Mike Todd's film Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) was studded with cameo roles and gave the term wide circulation outside the theatrical profession. The frequent cameo appearances of Alfred Hitchcock in his films also helped popularize the term. One group well known for their cameos is the Frat Pack, a group of modern actors who often appear in each other's films.

Cameos are also common in novels and other literary works such as comic books, although the focus is obviously on the character rather than on the person portraying him or her. Such "literary cameos" usually involve an established character from another work (sometimes not explicitly identified) who makes a brief appearance to establish a shared universe setting, to make a point of some sort, or just as a homage. A notable appearance of this sort is that of d'Artagnan in Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. Real-life comtemporary or historical persons are sometimes used in literary cameos to establish the setting or the time period of the story.