One of the eternal mysteries of awards season is how to determine whether Oscar-worthy actors should compete in the lead category or in supporting. Is Lily Gladstone’s role in “Killers of the Flower Moon” significant enough to warrant a best actress nom? Is “The Taste of Things” star Juliette Binoche’s part “too big” for supporting? While stellar thesps split hairs over how they ought to be classified, another kind of performance has gone largely unrecognized — one that practically deserves its own category: best cameo. Like Alec Baldwin’s motivational speech in “Glengarry Glen Ross” or Christopher Walken’s watch story from “Pulp Fiction,” a brief appearance by the right actor can completely transform what
audiences make of a movie.
Here are our nominees for the surprise appearances that boosted this year’s awards crop. Warning: there are some spoilers ahead.
Carey Mulligan in “Saltburn”
Scene: “Promising Young Woman” director Emerald Fennell reserved an eccentric part for her former leading lady, who hilariously embodies “Poor Dear Pamela,” a needy socialite with frizzy red hair and a spaced-out stare. Most of this biting satire takes place at the eponymous estate, where Pamela showed up for a weekend and never left.
Screen Time: 7:24
Verdict: Mulligan’s kooky cameo imbues this tragic lush with a dash of camp.
Rhea Perlman in “Barbie”
Scenes: Perlman is an inspired choice to embody Ruth Handler, the designer of the world-famous doll. In the first of two significant scenes, Barbie stumbles upon her inventor having tea at Mattel headquarters. Later, in an empowering reunion, Handler tells her creation, “I always knew that Barbie would surprise me, but I never expected this,” taking Barbie’s hands in hers.
Screen Time: 6:45
Verdict: Greta Gerwig taps into the comedy legend’s serious side to sell the film’s emotional finale.
Audra McDonald in “Origin”
Scene: In Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste,” McDonald plays Miss Hale, who tells Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (as Wilkerson) how her strategically chosen first name obliged the racist principal at her school to begrudgingly address her as “Miss.” To that, the Pulitzer winner replies, “Your father tore a loophole through the hierarchy.”
Screen Time: 5:14
Verdict: A dignified McDonald makes this one of the film’s most impactful scenes.
Tilda Swinton in “The Killer”
Scene: After Michael Fassbender’s hit man misses his mark, he has no choice but to take out his employers. He stalks Swinton’s shot caller to a restaurant, where the lethal adversaries share a table. The sophisticated star coolly sips whiskey, using her wits to charm her way out of what could be her last supper.
Screen Time: 11:46
Verdict: The talky scene calls for someone worldlier than the title character, and Swinton imbues this rival — a picture of the killer’s future — with an urbane weariness.
Gary Oldman in “Oppenheimer”
Scene: In a transformation nearly as drastic as his Oscar-winning turn as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour,” Oldman appears as Harry Truman in just one scene. Oppenheimer pleads to shut down Los Alamos after the bombing of Hiroshima; Truman mocks him, sneering, “Don’t let that crybaby back in here” as he skulks from the Oval Office.
Screen Time: 3:10
Verdict: It stings to hear the veteran star deliver the line, “Hiroshima isn’t about you,” in a film that very much is about Oppenheimer.
Jeff Goldblum in “Asteroid City”
Scene: Oldman may have been almost unrecognizable in “Oppenheimer,” but it’s a complete surprise when Wes Anderson reveals the actor behind the animated alien in his 1950s ensemble comedy. The gag comes when Jason Schwartzman’s actor character breaks one of the movie’s many Brechtian layers to find Goldblum backstage. “I don’t play him as an alien, I play him as a metaphor,” he pontificates to no one in particular.
Screen Time: 8 seconds
Verdict: Goldblum gets a big laugh, while providing a key to interpreting the whole film.
Paul Reubens in “Quiz Lady”
Scene: The trivia-tastic Hulu film features no less a comedy star than Will Ferrell as an Alex Trebek-like game show host. But the cameo that tickles everyone belongs to the Pee-wee Herman creator, who pays off a throwaway joke from early in the film when Awkwafina and on-screen sister Sandra Oh bump into him on the lot where the quiz show tapes.
Screen Time: 1 minute
Verdict: Reubens’ unexpected death makes this final appearance — in which he’s mistaken for Scottish actor Alan Cumming of “The Good Wife” — all the more poignant.
