From short cameos to season-long roles, stunt casting has been used for decades. But it has become increasingly popular in recent years, and more often than not, it’s simply used as a handy marketing tool.
But more than anything else, it’s a novelty used to put actors in roles that go against their type or to fool audiences. Whether it’s comedy duos cast as FBI agents, real-life couples playing characters who are enemies, or a well-seasoned actor being thrown into a low-budget sitcom, these examples of stunt casting have been more satisfying than any other.
10 Key And Peele In Fargo
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele may as well be attached at the hip, as there’s very little they don’t do together outside of the horror movies that Peele has directed.
Not only do they have their own successful sketch show together, but they also starred in Toy Story 4 together as Bunny and Ducky, which is almost stunt casting itself. And on top of that, they were cast in Fargo as two FBI agents. Fargo is a masterclass in stunt casting all on its own, but the casting of Key and Peele added to the dark comedy of the show perfectly.
9 Larry David In Hannah Montana
With Larry David being the creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, one of the most offensively hilarious sitcoms of all-time, he featured in a show that could be seen as the polar opposite.
David starred in an episode of Hannah Montana where he plays his typical self and ends up arguing with a restaurant host. Why he did it might is still a mystery as anybody who watches Curb knows that David doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. But considering how his daughter is in the scene with him, odds are he probably did it for her.
8 Will Ferrell In The Office
After Steve Carell decided to leave The Office to pursue more serious roles in movies, it almost seemed like the writers didn’t know what to do as there was a revolving door of random branch managers.
The best of them all came in the form of Deangelo Vickers, played by Will Ferrell, who is just as incompetent as Michael Scott, if not more so. Casting Ferrell as Carell’s successor was a genius move as they had already starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. So it felt as if it had come full circle.
7 Ashanti In Buffy The Vampire Slayer
As Buffy the Vampire Slayer is very much a monster-of-the-week type show, with each episode featuring a new villain that Buffy inevitably defeats in around 40 minutes, some of these villains ended up being recognizable faces.
The biggest stunt-casting came when Ashanti played a demonic character, who hilariously goes on a date with Xander. But that isn’t the only history Buffy has with stunt casting, as Britney Spears was almost cast in the role of a robot, but didn’t end up happening due to scheduling conflicts.
6 Quentin Tarantino In Alias
Being the biggest consumer of movies and TV than anyone else in the world, Quentin Tarantino has always been happy to share what he’s currently enjoying, whether it’s old western movies or Star Trek.
But he was also a big fan of JJ Abrams’ Alias, to which the creator responded by giving the controversial director a role of his own. Tarantino actually has a big role and his own arc in a two-part episode, as he plays an SD-6 agent gone rogue.
5 Paris Hilton In My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is a show that fans will never get closure for as it was canceled after the biggest cliffhanger of the series. But at least left fans with enough memorable and quirky episodes to binge, one of the most memorable of them being “I Won’t Die With A Little Help From My Friends.”
When Earl has been comatose after a car accident, the viewers learn that he believes he is living his life in a sitcom filmed show called The Hickeys. Paris Hilton makes a cameo in this episode as herself, and her prim-like attitude that she’s known for contrasts with the trailer park characters of the show hilariously.
4 Bill Burr In Breaking Bad
While the show would look a lot different if it was recast today, fans would agree that there a few casting choices that helped to make Breaking Bad as iconic as it was. From Bob Odenkirk’s portrayal of the criminal lawyer Saul Goodman or Bryan Cranston as Walter White (which is stunt casting itself considering his previous role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle), many fans would say this casting was ingenious.
However, one that did surprise them was Bill Burr, who played Kuby, Saul Goldman’s right-hand man. Though Burr has gone on to continue his dramatic acting in The Mandalorian and The King of Staten Island, this was the first time viewers ever saw him in a serious role.
3 Danny DeVito In It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Casting Danny DeVito in the show is a lesson for any enthusiasts looking to work in TV, and the lesson is that if somebody like DeVito asks to star in a promising up-and-coming show, then they should say yes. The actor approached the creators of the show and asked for a role simply because his son liked it.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is 14 seasons deep at this point and it has been renewed for another four, and that’s in no small part thanks to DeVito.
2 Brad Pitt In Friends
One thing Friends is known for is its expert use of guest stars, whether it’s Bruce Willis as Elizabeth's father or Sean Penn as Ursula's fiance. However, one that was memorable was Brad Pitt's cameo.
In what is such a subtly meta-joke for a series (that is more grounded in reality compared to other shows) Friends made use out of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s marriage at the time by casting Pitt in the show as an enemy of Rachel’s. While fans were delighted to have him part of the show for a brief amount of time, they just wish the writers had executed the storyline a little differently.
1 Evan Peters As Pietro In WandaVision
There has never been any kind of stunt-casting on TV more talked about than Evan Peter’s casting as Pietro in WandaVision, and that isn’t just because it’s one of the most-watched shows of all-time. After having played the same character in the X-Men series, a completely different universe, his first appearance on the show sent fans into a frenzy.
Viewers thought that WandaVision would be the catalyst for the multiverse, and that the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men would collide. When the didn’t happen, it split fans into two different camps. However, it still made shockwaves on the internet nonetheless.
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