10 Surprising A-List Celeb Cameos in Your Favorite Sitcoms
Back in the day, the only way to see a top actor in a TV show was through a brief cameo.
Lots of sitcoms used this strategy to lure in new viewers and make the situations more comedic, and these are the best examples of that.
There's a term in the anime and manga industry called "moe gap": it's used when the character's behavior completely contradicts your first impressions of them.
In a way, sitcom cameos for prominent movie stars are perfect examples of that because most of them jumped into portraying a comedic character right after doing some characters that ooze seriousness, and this contrast is what makes them interesting.
That's the case, for example, with Jon Hamm in 30 Rock, or Matt Damon in Will & Grace. The cases where stars play themselves are also hilarious because they serve as a way to tether the world of the sitcom to the real one and we can see them do something extremely nonsensical with serious faces. Watching the episodes with them brings so much joy and spices up the recurring cast.
Sometimes it's just nice to see the actors you love on the big screen have fun on the small one.