All the amazing cameos in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Did you spot all the secret cameos in Star Wars Episode VIII, including Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Prince William and more?
Long-awaited Star Wars sequel The Last Jedi is now in cinemas, and it’s absolutely full of surprises – but perhaps one of the most frequently shocking things about it is just how many starry cameos director Rian Johnson has managed to cram into the film, from big-name movie stars and fellow directors to actual members of the royal family.
Below, we’ve gathered as many as we could spot during our watch of Episode VIII, and will update the list as more information about the cast becomes available (we’ve also left out any spoiler-heavy cameos for the time being).
Princes William and Harry
For a long while it was rumoured that the two Princes had filmed a short cameo for The Last Jedi as a pair of stormtroopers, and this week RadioTimes.com was able to confirm that was indeed the case, with the pair donning First Order uniform for a scene that featured John Boyega’s Finn alongside new characters Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and DJ (Benicio del Toro).
“They were very nice – Prince William was funny, and Harry as well,” del Toro told RadioTimes.com.
And his co-star Kelly Marie Tran, while less willing to directly address the rumours, still gave a flavour of the mood when the Princes appeared during the scene.
“Hypothetically, I think that it would have been surreal, and an out-of-body experience,” Tran said.
Tom Hardy
The Princes weren’t alone in trying out the stormtrooper armour, with Taboo and The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy appearing in the very same scene.
Gary Barlow
And if that wasn’t enough, Take That’s Gary Barlow is supposedly ALSO in that scene playing a stormtrooper (though at time of writing that hasn’t been 100 per cent confirmed).
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The star of director Rian Johnson’s previous films Brick, The Brothers Bloom and Looper didn’t miss out on a role here either, providing the voice of an alien called Slowen Lo, which follows an odd tradition in the new Star Wars films of naming aliens after Beastie Boys songs (this from Slow and Low, and The Force Awakens’ X-Wing pilot Ello Asty from Hello Nasty).
Gareth Edwards
Rogue One: A Star Wars story director Gareth Edwards appears briefly as a Rebel soldier on the mineral-rich planet of Crait, huddled in a trench awaiting battle with the First Order.
Michaela Coel
Chewing Gum and Black Mirror’s Michaela Coel appears in a small role as a Resistance communications officer, after previously doubting whether she’d made the cut in the finished film.
“It's literally, I [sit] on the spaceship and I say three words,” she told Complex earlier this year. “And they probably didn't even make the movie.”
Justin Theroux
The Leftovers’ Theroux plays a flashy high-roller and master hacker in the Canto Bight casino scenes, where he’s accompanied by none other than…
Lily Cole
The model and actor (who has also now become one of the select group of actors to appear in both Doctor Who and Star Wars) appears as one of Theroux’s companions.
Ade Edmondson
In one of The Last Jedi’s biggest surprises, comedian and actor Adrian Edmonson (recently seen in crime drama Bancroft on ITV) has a great deal of screentime as a First Order officer working with Domnhall Gleeson’s General Hux.
Kate Dickie
It’s hard to differentiate cameos from honest-to-goodness normal acting parts sometimes – we spotted a few faces from Misfits and The IT Crowd in small roles who probably aren’t well known enough to merit cameo status – but Kate Dickie’s fame from playing Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones definitely qualifies her. She plays a First Order technician near the beginning of the film.
Hugh Skinner
While he doesn’t have any speaking lines, W1A and Fleabag star Skinner can be glimpsed in many important scenes towards the end of the film, where he appears to be acting as some sort of aide-de-camp for prominent Resistance officers. Hopefully they're not using Syncapatico software on the X-Wings...
Edgar and Oscar Wright
Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright and his illustrator brother Oscar both play Resistance fighters in The Last Jedi, as director Rian Johnson recently revealed to RadioTimes.com.
“Did you see Edgar Wright?” he asked us. “He's very subtle but he's back there. Edgar's there along with his brother Oscar and assistant Leo.
Joe Cornish
Wright and Gareth Edwards weren’t the only directors to get a look-in, with Attack The Block director Joe Cornish (whose casting of The Last Jedi lead John Boyega indirectly kickstarted the actor’s career) also appearing.
“Joe Cornish? He's in the movie,” Johnson told us. “A few directors. It's all director-geek cameos.”
Warwick Davis
As has become tradition in recent years, Return of the Jedi’s Warwick Davis has a role in this latest Star Wars film, though it’s not been officially revealed what his character’s name is yet.
Andy Nyman
Actor, writer and magician Andy Nyman, described by Johnson as “a lovely dude” also makes an appearance in The Last Jedi. Nyman is best known for his appearances in Peaky Blinders, Dead Set, Campus and his Ghost Stories stage show.
Ralph Ineson
The Office and Game of Thrones’ Ralph Ineson originally played a larger role in Episode VIII, but if you watch closely you can still spot him at certain points in the film – at least according to the actor himself.
Navin Chowdry
The Teachers, A Touch of Cloth and Doctor Foster star plays a Resistance pilot.
And finally…Gary Fisher
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYbzk2-gl-p/?hl=en&taken-by=garyfisher
The late Carrie Fisher’s internet famous dog Gary gets his own cameo of sorts in the movie, having served as the model for the pet of an alien character in the Canto Bight casino. Finally, he’s getting the recognition he deserves.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in UK cinemas now
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.