While many TV shows have made household names out of their star players, occasionally showrunners have been able to corral some of Hollywood’s biggest names to drop in for a surprising cameo during a complete episode or a single scene.
Perhaps one of the most polarizing cameos belonged to Ed Sheeran on HBO’s Game of Thrones in July 2017. The singer appeared in a brief scene during the season 7 premiere, titled “Dragonstone.” In the episode, the “Bad Habits” singer plays a Lannister soldier sitting next to a campfire as Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) rode past on horseback. He sang a quick tune to his fellow soldiers and Arya replied, “It’s a pretty song. I’ve never heard it before.”
While some fans were pumped to see the “Thinking out Loud” crooner pop up in Westeros, others were really annoyed. Twitter users commented everything from “Ed Sheeran’s really looking for that castle on the hill, huh,” to “I don’t even watch Game of Thrones but still made Ed Sheeran ruined it” and “This is a show with dragons and I still can’t believe that Ed Sheeran is currently on screen.”
The HBO show’s creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss previously announced his cameo at South by Southwest that March. “We knew that Maisie was a big fan of Ed Sheeran and for years, we’ve been trying to get him on the show so we can surprise Maisie,” Benioff said at the time. “This year we finally did it.”
Following criticism of his brief role, Sheeran told MTV News that September that he was fine with it being a one-time performance. “No one wants to see me come back,” he said. “I wanted to be a cameo in it, and I’ve done the cameo. I’m cool with it, though. I enjoyed it.”
Another unforgettable cameo belonged to Taylor Swift when she made a one-scene appearance on the season 2 finale of New Girl in May 2013. While Cece (Hannah Simone) was set to marry Shivrang (Satya Bhabha) in the episode, the duo both had cold feet about their upcoming nuptials.
As Shivrang called off the nuptials mid-ceremony, he remarked that he was in love with his ex-girlfriend Elaine, who stood up from her seat at the time. There, Elaine was revealed to be the “Cardigan” singer in a scene that seemingly replicated her “Speak Now” track off her third studio album.
“She’s awesome,” Zooey Deschanel previously told Us Weekly at an episode screening and panel that April. “She’s super-funny and really smart. Very professional and we loved working with her.”
More recently, supermodel Gigi Hadid made a voiceover cameo on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever when season 2 premiered in July 2021. During the third episode, Hadid plays herself and narrates the inner monologue of Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet). She took over the role after Chrissy Teigen dropped out amid a bullying controversy involving Courtney Stodden.
“You may be asking yourself, Why is Gig-ers taking time out of her busy schedule to narrate the story of a 16-year-old old boy,” the model says at the start of the episode. “Believe it or not, I relate to this kid. We’re both constantly underestimated because people only see us as sex symbols.”
Hadid shared a trailer of her voiceover role via Instagram at the time with the caption, “Had the BEST time getting to narrate a new episode of @neverhaveiever — I got your back, Pax!” Barnet commented, “Thanks so much Gigi! you killed it! 
.” Show creator Mindy Kaling also replied, “I fainted” and “You did such a great job! We loved having you! 
.”
Scroll through to revisit the most surprising TV show celebrity cameos:
The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke told Decider that Gal Gadot wasn't asked to join the June 2022 parody of her star-studded "Imagine" video. "No. No. That would be mean," he said. "It was more about a superhero created a really unfortunate public celebrity moment and so how could we not use that? We went out to all of our friends, and who was willing to videotape themselves or film themselves with their phone singing ‘Imagine’ and ended up with a pretty funny roster of people.” The Prime Video series featured Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Rose Byrne, Patton Oswalt and Josh Gad among the celebrities singing the John Lennon hit after a devastating explosion in season 3. Amazon Studios
The Atomic Blonde actress appeared in a movie trailer where The Seven defeat supervillain Stormfront, played in the series by Aya Cash and portrayed in the fake film by Theron. Showrunner Eric Kripke explained that executive producer Seth Rogen brought the actress in for the quick role. “We got Charlize the way we got most of our cameos, which is the rigorous process of whoever returns Seth Rogen’s calls,” Kripke told Decider after the Season 3 premiere aired in June 2022. “They had just made the Long Shot together and she was so sweet and awesome and hilarious and agreed to do it. I actually felt bad because I think she was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll pop in and do a cameo. What is that? A couple hours?’ and then we’re having a suit designed for her. Let’s just go in for fittings, just to show up and be there all day. I hope Seth got her a very expensive thank you gift because we all really owe her for how she helped us out.” Amazon Studios
The Taken actor played himself in the fourth season of FX's Atlanta in May 2022 and addressed the controversy surrounding a story he told in February 2019 about wanting to assault Black men after his friend was sexually assaulted.“You might’ve heard or read about my transgression,” Neeson tells Brian Tyree Henry's character, Paper Boi, in the episode. “You know, what I said about what I wanted to do to a Black guy, any Black guy, when I was a younger man in London. A friend of mine had been raped and I acted out of anger. I look back now and it honestly frightens me. I thought people knowing who I once was would make clear who I am, who I’ve become. But with all that being said, I am sorry. I apologize if I hurt people.” YouTube
The NFL star appeared with Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the final episodes of Netflix's Grace and Frankie, which debuted in May 2022. "80 For Brady!," the athlete captioned a behind-the-scenes snap with the actresses via Instagram. "So grateful for these legendary women and the entire team that’s working to bring this story to life. How many times do you think I had to call for my lines?" Eric Canha/CSM/Shutterstock
After the Oscar winner finished her Emmy-winning run as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, Colman made a few surprise appearances on Heartstopper, Netflix's coming-of-age LGBTQ+ romance. Her character was the mother of Nick (Kit Connor), who realizes he is bisexual after falling in love with his best friend Charlie (Joe Locke). Courtesy of Netflix
The Taken star, who hails from Northern Ireland, made a brief appearance in the final season of Derry Girls. The show, which follows a group of Northern Irish teenagers living in Londonderry amid the 1990s conflict, premiered its third season on the U.K.’s Channel 4 in April 2022. Neeson played Chief Constable Byers, who questioned the besties after they attempted to break into their school to find out their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam results. Courtesy Channel 4/YouTube
The Georgia gubernatorial candidate, who’s a self-proclaimed Trekkie, played the president of United Earth in the season 4 finale of Star Trek: Discovery. “I’m still floored when I think about Stacey gracing us with her presence in our Season 4 finale,” show star Sonequa Martin-Green told Deadline in March 2022. “We spent so much of our time fanning out and pretending to be cool in her midst. She’s a legend in the making and a civil hero, and she was an absolute delight to work with.” Marni Grossman/Paramount+
Following his 2017 cameo in the season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones, the "Castle on a Hill" singer told Buzzfeed a year later where he thought his character of a Lannister soldier might have ended up after the conclusion of his singing scene. “I know what Game of Thrones fans hoped happened to my character,” he told the outlet. “I'm sure they think my character got brutally, brutally murdered, but I think my character is still out there. I think he's chillin'. It was fun being in Game of Thrones, but I definitely think they should've killed me off in the episode. I reckon that probably would've been the redemption for people that didn't like it.” In November 2021, Sheeran talked about the backlash his appearance on the HBO series caused, admitting on an episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, “I feel like people’s reaction to it, sort of, muddied my joy to it." His appearance on GOT was intended to be a surprise for his friend Maisie Williams, who played Arya Stark. “I don’t think they had written the ending yet. It was meant to be her last season, but it wasn’t,” he told Shepard. “And as a surprise for her, [they got] me on. So, she was meant to turn up on set. and I was by the fire.” Unfortunately, Sansa herself, Sophie Turner, spoiled the surprise before he even got to set. Still, the “Perfect” singer said shooting the show was actually “good” — despite the ire his appearance caused. Sheeran also had quick cameos in Bridget Jones’s Baby, Yesterday, and Amazon's Modern Love. HBO
The former first lady announced she would appear on the eighth and final season of Black-ish in 2022. “I’ve long been a fan of Black-ish’s wit and all-around brilliance, and it was such a thrill to join in for an episode,” Obama tweeted in October 2021. “I can’t wait for you all to see it!” She previously made a cameo on the Parks and Recreation series finale in 2015. Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock
The “Stitches” crooner popped up in the season 3 premiere of The 100 in January 2016. During his acting debut, Mendes sang a brief track for the Arkers at the request of Raven (Lindsey Morgan). Morgan dished on his cameo during an interview with Teen Vogue at the time. “I loved working with Shawn,” she said. “He is a total natural and was just full with so much enthusiasm. He was awesome on set. We became friends pretty immediately.” YouTube
During the season 2 finale, titled “Elaine’s Big Day,” the Grammy winner played Elaine, a surprise guest at Cece’s almost-wedding to Shivrang. "One word: Magic," Max Greenfield previously told Us of her guest role. "I'm telling you she was magic on the set, magic. Felt like we had a really good thing going, me and her.” YouTube
The legendary actor guest-starred as himself on The Big Bang Theory in season 7. During the January 2014 episode, Jones excitedly chatted with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) about Star Wars before taking him out for a wild night. At one point, he had the idea to knock on Carrie Fisher’s door and run away. When he told Sheldon whose house they were at, he quipped, “And she’s a little crazy, so get ready to run," before Fisher came out to reunite with her Star Wars costar. YouTube
After Chrissy Teigen announced she was stepping down from her upcoming role in season 2 of Never Have I Ever amid her Courtney Stodden bullying controversy, Hadid stepped in to replace the Cravings author. Hadid ended up voicing the inner thoughts of character Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) because they are “both constantly underestimated because people only see us as sex symbols,” she explained in the episode. Shutterstock (2)
The Live cohost briefly joined Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer for a quick cameo on Comedy Central’s Broad City. While the former soap star is often called “America’s Sweetheart” in real life, she played a much wilder version of herself in the episode. "I play myself,” Ripa said on Live With Kelly and Michael in March 2015. "I sort of play what I like to refer to as my alter-ego's alter-ego. So it's like an alter-ego twice removed. It is a very different version of me. It's a party Kelly Ripa. A misguided Kelly Ripa.” She teased her appearance at the time, “There may be booze. There may be other things! Who knows?" YouTube
The late icon made a brief appearance on New Girl as himself in February 2014. Show star Zooey Deschanel told Jimmy Kimmel in April 2018 that Prince was a big fan of the show and wanted to be a part of it, revealing that his manager cold-emailed the actress stating that the “Purple Rain” singer wanted “2 B” on the Fox sitcom. “It was a highlight of my whole life,” Deschanel said at the time. “It was amazing just to get to hang out with him. To the very last second, we weren’t sure if he was going to come to set… We were like, ‘I hope he’s the type that shows up.’” YouTube
Gossip Girl had many notable celeb guest stars pop by The CW show for an episode, including the America’s Next Top Model alum. Banks played diva Ursula in season 4 and worked alongside Hilary Duff and Blake Lively. In the “Dan de Fleurette” episode, the supermodel played Duff’s costar in a movie and Lively’s Serena was tasked to help the over-the-top actress get ready for their movie premiere. Giovanni Rufino/The CW
The Smallville alum reunited with his former costar Erica Durance for a brief scene in The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” four-part special in December 2019. Over on Earth-167 (aka Smallville), Welling’s Clark Kent had grown up and was living on his farm with Lois after he’d given up his powers to be with her. Superman and Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch, along with The Flash’s Candice Patton, visited Kent in Smallville to warn him of Lex Luthor’s (Jon Cryer) nefarious plans. Dean Buscher/The CW
The pop star had a small role on Jane the Virgin in October 2015 as Jane’s neighbor. She played Annabelle, a wannabe rockstar who had been keeping the new mom (Gina Rodriguez) and baby Mateo awake at all hours of the night when she practiced with her bandmate. YouTube
Before being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, Biden appeared on Parks and Recreation twice. First, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) briefly met the former Vice President in a 2012 episode, where she remarked, “This isn’t real, this isn’t happening” as she shook his hand. Biden later appeared in a 2015 episode alongside his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. YouTube
During the 2007 “Voyage of the Damned” episode of Doctor Who, Minogue played a one-time companion of David Tennant’s The Doctor. Other BBC scripts favorably mentioned the singer by name and there have even been Whovian references at her past concerts, according to BBC America. YouTube
In September 2008, the Olympic gymnast played a version of herself on Freeform’s (then ABC Family) The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She appeared in a quick scene in the school hallway, flirting with bad-boy Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff). In March 2021, the former athlete recreated the scene on TikTok alongside her husband, Andrew East. YouTube
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