32 Times A Famous Author Made A Cameo In A Movie

One of the coolest Easter Eggs you can find in a movie based on a book is a cameo by the person who wrote the source material. However, sometimes it is even more fun when a renowned author makes an appearance in a movie that they had no creative involvement with. Take a look at our favorite examples of both kinds.

S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders)

S.E. Hinton (born Susan Eloise) made a striking debut as a writer in 1967, and at only 18 years old, with her groundbreaking coming-of-age novel, The Outsiders. She went on to appear in the 1987 adaptation (one of the best Francis Ford Coppola movies) as a nurse.

Cheryl Strayed (Wild)

Podcaster Cheryl Strayed chronicled her life-changing woodland hike in 1995 in her 2012 memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which was adapted into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon two years later. Not only does the author appear at the beginning of the film as wa oman who drops the onscreen Strayed off at a motel but her real-life daughter, Bobbi Strayed Lindstrom, also plays her younger self.

Lee Child (Jack Reacher)

In the first screen adaptation of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels from 2012, the author plays a cop who gives the titular heroic drifter (played by Tom Cruise) a skeptical look. The English writer would later appear in 2016's Jack Reacher: Never Look Back as a TSA agent and was seen in Amazon Prime's Reacher Season 1 finale walking past Alan Ritchson as he walks into a diner.

Hunter S. Thompson (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas)

Johnny Depp starred in two adaptations of Hunter S. Thompson's memoirs: 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary from 2011. While his death in 2005 prevented him from appearing in the latter, the influential gonzo journalist does have a brief cameo in the former as an expressionless patron at a rowdy party.

Kathryn Stockett (The Help)

Kathryn Stockett's 2009 debut novel The Help is a bestseller that was made into an Academy Award-winning film told from the perspective of Black maids working for middle-class white families in 1960s Mississippi. In addition to cast members Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone, the author herself would make a brief appearance as a housewife attending a meeting.

Ken Kesey (Even Cowgirls Get The Blues)

Tom Robbins had a pivotal role in Gus Van Sant's Uma Thurman-led adaptation of his novel, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, as its narrator. The most surprising appearance by a writer in the 1993 road dramedy was countercultural novelist and essayist Ken Kesey as the central character's father.

Greg Behrendt (He’s Just Not That Into You)

Comedian Greg Behrendt was working as a script doctor for HBO's Sex and the City when he came up with the idea for He's Just Not That Into You, which he co-authored with Liz Tuccillo. The bestselling self-help book was adapted into a dramatized ensemble rom-com in which Behrendt appears as the minister at a wedding.

Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club)

Amy Tan's influential 1989 novel, The Joy Luck Club, consists of various vignettes each from the perspective of a different woman in a Chinese family. The author can be spotted during the party scene at the beginning of the 1993 adaptation, which is also one of Ming-Na Wen's best movies.

Mar­shall McLuhan (Annie Hall)

In one memorable scene from Best Picture Oscar winner Annie Hall, Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) has an argument with a movie theater patron about his expertise in the work of media theorist Marshall McLuhan. To get him to pipe down, Alvy asks the real McLuhan to step in and bring the stranger down a size, at which point Alvy address the camera and says, "Boy, if life were only like this."

John Le Carre (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Some of the best spy movies (and TV shows) in recent memory have been inspired by the work of John Le Carre, such as his 1974 novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The suspense master makes a brief appearance in the 2011 film adaptation as a party guest.

Stephen King (Pet Semetary)

There have been numerous memorable Stephen King appearances in movies and TV shows based on his storied bibliography. One of the most famous comes from the 1989 adaptation of Pet Sematary, in which he goes pretty far against type to play a priest presiding over the funeral for Missy Dandridge (Susan Blommaert).

Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting)

In one of the best movies of the 1990s, director Danny Boyle's 1996 dramedy Trainspotting, Renton (Ewan McGregor) seeks "one more hit" before going clean from a dealer named Mikey Forrester, who has nothing to offer him but a couple of suppositories. The grinning Forrester is actually played by Irvine Welsh, the Scottish author who wrote the original novel.

Sapphire (Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire)

To avoid confusion with another 2009 movie called Push, the adaptation of Sapphire's 1996 novel Push was named after its central character but also acknowledges the source material with the full title, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. The author (née Ramona Lofton) can also be spotted in the heavy, Academy Award-winning drama about an abused teen (played by Gabourey Sidibe) playing a daycare center employee near the end of the film.

Kurt Vonnegut (Back To School)

Some of Rodney Dangerfield's best one-liners can be found in his 1986 comedy Back to School, which is also known for its brief but hilarious cameo by Kurt Vonnegut. The satirical novelist shows up to see the wealthy Thornton Melon (Dangerfield) right after his son, Jason (Keith Gordon), confronts him about how he is going to write a midterm paper about the author, which Melon still ends up failing.

Gore Vidal (Gattaca)

In addition to his influential and thought-provoking exploits as a writer, Gore Vidal also worked as an actor from time to time. One of his most memorable roles comes from one of the best '90s sci-fi movies, 1997's Gattaca, in which he plays Director Josef.

Stephenie Meyer (Twilight)

It could be safe to assume that Stephanie Meyer is portraying herself in the 2008 premiere installment of the Twilight movies, in which she can be seen briefly as a writer sitting at the bar in the Carver Cafe typing away at her laptop. The author would also appear in the vampire movies' penultimate entry, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 as a guest at the wedding of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson).

Salman Rushdie (Bridget Jones’s Diary)

In the classic rom-com, 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary, the title character (Renée Zellweger) is at a book launch party where she spots novelist Salman Rushdie speaking with a group of other authors. She tries to subtly implement herself into the conversation when the writer courteously asks for her opinion, to which she awkwardly asks where the restroom is.

Charles Bukowski (Barfly)

Director Barbet Schroeder's 1987 dramedy Barfly follows the L.A. exploits of a heavy drinker named Henry Chinaski, played by Mickey Rourke. The screenplay was written by Charles Bukowski, who based the story on his own life experiences and the author also makes an appearance in the film as, indeed, a barfly.

Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us)

One of the most talked about 2024 movies adapted from a novel was the romantic drama It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively. The source material comes from author Colleen Hoover who revealed in an interview with E! that she makes a brief cameo in the film as a party guest but was sure to add that she found the 12-hour shoot to be quite taxing.

Stan Lee (Mallrats)

Highly influential, beloved comic book writer Stan Lee was, just about, the king of cameos, having appeared in countless Marvel movies until his passing in 2018. However, before starring in brief roles in films based on his work, he appeared as himself in a movie that celebrates superhero culture through satirical conversation, Kevin Smith's 1995 comedy Mallrats, in which he offers Brodie (Jason Lee) some much-needed romantic advice.

Maya Angelou (Poetic Justice)

How fitting that a movie called Poetic Justice features a cameo appearance by one of the most influential poets of the 20th Century. Maya Angelou – known for writing "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," among many other famous works – plays Aunt June in director John Singleton's 1993 romantic drama starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur.

Jean Shepherd (A Christmas Story)

One of the all-time greatest Christmas movies, 1983's A Christmas Story, was inspired by Jean Shepherd's semi-autobiographical novel In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Not only did the humorist and radio personality also narrate director Bob Clark's timeless comedy but he even makes a brief cameo during the scene at the mall as a man waiting in line with his child to see Santa Claus.

John Irving (The World According To Garp)

Starring Robin Williams, 1982's The World According to Garp is a dramedy about a writer grappling with his wife's infidelity and the fame of his feminist activist mother. The Academy Award-nominated film is based on the novel by John Irving, who also makes a cameo in the film as a referee for a scene taking place at a wrestling match.

Peter Benchley (Jaws)

One can only imagine what it must have felt like to be the author of the book that inspired the highest-grossing movie in history (at the time), which was also later deemed the first Hollywood blockbuster. Of course, not only did Peter Benchley write the source material for director Steven Spielberg's 1975 horror movie classic, Jaws, but he is also in it, appearing as a TV field reporter visiting the Amity Island beach early on.

Veronica Roth (Divergent)

Veronica Roth, author of the coming-of-age dystopian young adult novel series that inspired the Divergent movies, makes an appearance in the first installment from 2014 that is a bit cooler than most movie cameos that authors can claim. She can be spotted during the zipline scene as an unnamed member of the Dauntless faction.

Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain)

The first adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel would also mark the first and last time he appeared in an onscreen acting role. The Jurassic Park author and ER creator has an uncredited cameo in 1971's sci-fi pandemic drama The Andromeda Strain as "Bearded Surgeon."

Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed)

The 2011 rom-com Something Borrowed is inspired by the 2004 novel of the same name by Emily Giffin, who appears as a woman eavesdropping on a conversation between Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Marcus (Steve Howey) on park benches. In a TikTok video, the author revealed that the book her character is reading is the 2005 sequel to Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and that her cameo had to be shortened in a post because she addressed the camera in every take.

James Dickey (Deliverance)

The best-known work of author James Dickey is Deliverance, which was adapted into an acclaimed film two years later. The author would appear at the end of the harrowing thriller about four men terrorized by savage locals on a canoe trip as Sherriff Bullard, who warns Jon Voight's character to leave and never come back.

Fannie Flagg (Fried Green Tomatoes)

Fannie Flagg received an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the screenplay for the 1991 adaptation of her 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was shortened to just Fried Green Tomatoes. The author, comedian, and frequent Match Game panelist also appears in the acclaimed dramedy as a self-help guru helping women "get that spark back" into their marriages.

William Peter Blatty (The Exorcist)

One of the most iconic examples of a horror movie based on a true story is 1973's The Exorcist, which used William Peter Blatty's novel inspired by an alleged possession as its basis. The author (who later directed 1990's underrated sequel, The Exorcist III) also briefly appears in the classic thriller as a man speaking Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) on the set of Chris MacNeil's (Ellen Burstyn) movie.

Truman Capote (Murder By Death)

The 1976 comedic whodunnit Murder By Death boasts one of the best ensemble casts in a movie, which even includes Truman Capote. The author of such iconic works as In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's plays eccentric aristocrat Lionel Twain, who gathers a group of detectives and their guests for a party at his luxurious estate, which goes terribly.

Graham Greene (Day For Night)

In the 1973 French romantic dramedy Day for Night, writer Graham Greene makes a brief appearance as an insurance agent. According to a DVD special feature, director and star, François Truffaut was not told until after the fact that the role was played by the author, which disappointed him because he was a great admirer of his work.