In 2014, the movie adaptation of John Green's novel The Fault in Our Stars hit theatersâminus a cameo from Green. His role, "Girl's Father," was ultimately cut. "I was hugely relieved when I got the call when they had cut the scene," he told Vulture . "I was terrible. Terrible."
Not all author cameos are destined for the cutting room floor, though. Keep your eyes peeled for these sneaky appearances the next time youâre enjoying a movie based on a book.
The author of The Help has a bouffanted cameo as part of a scene involving the Junior League. Her mother, sister, and some friends also appear.
In addition to making a cameo as a diner patron in the first Twilight film (you can see her at the 40 second mark in the video above), Meyer also made a subtle cameo in Breaking Dawn: Part 1 âshe's a guest at Edward and Bella's wedding . You can see her as Bella is getting walked down the aisle.
Morpurgo and his wife, Clare, both filmed a cameo for the movie. This isnât the first time Morpurgo has popped up for a bit part in War Horse , though. Heâs also made small appearances when the play adaptations of his books have been performed in London and New York.
The author cameos in many of his moviesâ Thinner, Rose Red, The Storm of the Century, The Stand, The Shining, The Langoliers and Sleepwalker , just to name a few. In 1989's Pet Sematary , he plays a priest at a funeral.
The famous childrenâs and YA author, who was on set for the entire shoot , plays a character named Mr. Collingwood in a flashback sceneâjust look for the man who buys onion oil to help with his baldness.
In a scene that will make Edward Cullen fans green with envy, Robert Pattinson brushes by an âastonished womanâ watching Rosie the elephant steal produce. That woman is Water for Elephants author Sara Gruen. Many of her family members also appear in the scene.
Hintonâwhose real name is Susan Eloise âappears as the nurse in Dallyâs hospital room.
Anyone familiar with Irvingâs love of wrestling wonât be surprised that he chose to appear as a wrestling referee in the movie adaptation of The World According to Garp , a role that required a fair amount of scuttling around on the floor.
The author who made millions of people question their summer vacation plans plays a reporter in a brief scene in the 1975 film adaptation , which Benchley co-wrote.
Early in the movie, before the pea soup really hits the fan, Reaganâs actress mother is working on a movie. Blatty plays the producer of the film in a short on-set scene, asking if one of the scenes is really necessary. It's a case of art imitating life, because Blatty had many similar disputes with The Exorcist director William Friedkin.
He plays a guest at the MI6 Christmas party. The author can be found standing next to a spy dressed like Lenin.
Andrews played a maid . She died shortly after filming her very brief cameo, missing the movieâs 1987 premiere.
Flagg plays the workshop leader of a womenâs seminar that Evelyn attends (before she's empowered by Towanda, of course).
You can spot the mono-named author of Push as a woman at a day care center near the end of the movie.
Johnny Depp looks at "himself"âthe real Hunter S. Thompson âat 0:25. (Beware, there's profanity in this clip!) The actor and the author became friends; after Thompson's death in 2005, Depp reportedly paid to have his ashes shot out of a cannon .
At 1:17 in the clip above, Vonnegut appears as one of the many people passing Campbell on the sidewalk.
She plays "Smiling woman in Italian market."
The writer has a memorable scene as the man who sends Ralphie and his brother to the end of the Santa line.
In a nod to her chick-lit career, Giffin appears in a scene where she's reading a book on a park bench. The novel just happens to be Something Blue , the sequel to Something Borrowed.
Susann made a cameo as a reporter in the movie made from her best-selling book . She was no fan of the film, however; she called it "a piece of s***."
There's scene where movie Jonathan (Elijah Wood) is visiting his grandfather's grave. In the background, a groundskeeper is blowing leaves. The man keeping the cemetery tidy is the real Jonathan Safran Foer.
She plays a guest at a house party.
Unlike most of these cameos, Welsh actually has an extended part. He plays Mikey Forrester, the dealer who supplies the opium suppositories that result in one of the most, uh, memorable bathroom scenes in the history of cinema.Â
When the camera lingers a beat or two too long on an older gentleman enjoying a beer, you'll know you've spotted Bukowski.
It seems that the author's presence on the set was distracting to the actors, so they asked director John Boorman to ask Dickey to leave. To soften the blow a little, Boorman offered Dickey the part of the sheriff. Though Dickey originally declined ("I ain't coming back; get yourself another boy"), he eventually returned to give this impressive performance.
A version of this story appeared in 2012; it has been updated for 2022.
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