The slew of interesting and quirky celebrity cameos in Family Guy is always a treat and is a big reason for the show’s success; no one knows which A-lister could pop up in which episode.
From Betty White to Cate Blanchett to Liam Neeson, some of the biggest Hollywood icons have appeared on the show, often taking digs at their own public image. But which was the best celebrity cameo on Family Guy? Let’s explore.
10 Cate Blanchett
It’s tough to imagine the Blue Jasmine star in the Family Guy universe but Blanchett indeed made two separate cameos on the show. She played Penelope, Stewie Griffin’s ex, in the Season 10 episode entitled “Mr. And Mrs. Stewie.” She shared Stewie’s love for advanced weaponry and he was fascinated by her because she killed her mother!
In another episode, in the same season, Blanchett voiced the role of Queen Elizabeth II, which is funny considering Blanchett is the most famous for playing the other Elizabeth on the big screen.
9 Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson plays himself in the Season 12 episode titled Brian’s a Bad Father where the actor is seen instructing the kidnappers to send him his daughter’s head which puts a funny spin on his Taken movies. In the episode titled Fighting Irish, Quagmire invites his friends to Quagfest to celebrate his 1000th sexual conquest and they all find out that Liam Neeson is also going to be in Connecticut to shoot a movie.
As usual, Peter who often boasts about beating Liam Neeson up gets drunk and once again, proclaims that he can beat up Neeson and the guys make him call his bluff. They all head to Connecticut to meet Neeson in person, and when Peter makes a fool of himself and is arrested he is bailed out by Liam Neeson himself.
8 Sam Elliott
The Big Lebowski star Sam Elliott provided a hilarious voice-over narration in the Family Guy episode titled Girl, Internetted where Meg finds internet fame and in the voice-over, he even lists his own credentials as having appeared in films like The Big Lebowski and Road House.
In the episode Wild, Wild West, he voices the role of Mayor Adam West’s cousin who is aptly named Wild West, who after talking to Peter decides to run for the job of Mayor himself.
7 Drew Barrymore
Barrymore has made several cameos on the show. She voiced Mrs. Lockhart in Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High and voiced herself in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. Season 5 onwards she begins playing Brian’s girlfriend Jillian Russell who’s depicted as an airhead who also suffers from bulimia.
In later storylines, Jillian is seen dating Mayor Adam West and she eventually gets married to a man named Derek Wilcox. She was last seen in Season 12 in the episode Life of Brian.
6 Robert Downey Junior
Robert Downey Junior’s son was reportedly a huge fan of the show so in the early 2000s the star called up the producers to check if he could be involved in the show in some way. He appears in Season 4 as Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin’s long lost older brother who was locked away in the Brookfield Insane Asylum because he had a nervous breakdown after he saw his mum perform oral sex on Jackie Gleason.
He also comes to the conclusion that Gleason was a bad guy because he was ‘fat, and upon his release from the institution Patrick eventually becomes the Quahog Fat Guy Strangler.
5 Carol Channing
The late Broadway star had an unusual and quirky cameo on the show in the episode Patriot Games in Season 4. When Stewie becomes a sports bookie, Brian loses $50 on a bet that Mike Tyson could beat Carol Channing on Celebrity Boxing. Channing wins by tiring Tyson out. After Tyson punches her a bunch of times she hits back harder and in the end, wins the boxing match.
The events of the match even leave the audiences at the match stupefied as they scream, “She’s gettin’ beat!” “Nah, she’s gettin’ mad!”
4 Bryan Cranston
Family Guy did a stellar job of handling character-led crossover episodes which also provided a broader perspective on the relevance of the shows on pop culture.
In the season 4 episode titled I Take Thee Quagmire, the Griffins watch an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where the role of Hal was voiced by Bryan Cranston; Hal kills his nagging wife Lois with a refrigerator door after she criticizes them for not appreciating her enough. Hal then realizes that he and the kids are free from her and walk off into the sunset holding hands.
3 Robert Loggia
The Big and Scarface actor Robert Loggia had one of the most well-drafted cameos in the entire show. Peter gets stuck next to him at the airport and when staff asks Loggia to spell his name, he replies, “R as in Robert Loggia. O as in, ‘Oh my God, it’s Robert Loggia!’ B as in, ‘By God, that’s Robert Loggia!’ E as in everyone loves Robert Loggia. R as in Robert Loggia. T as in, ‘Tim, look over there – it’s Robert Loggia!’”
2 Betty White
The iconic Betty White has had several cameos on the show. The most memorable cameo for Family Guy was in the season 4 episode Peterotica where Peter after reading some disappointing erotic fiction, writes a letter to the publisher, suggesting how he would have done things differently.
After his friends suggest that he write his own erotic fiction, and his book is actually shown as successful as is eventually picked to be produced as an audiobook read by Betty White.
1 Adam Levine
Family Guy is probably the only show that can criticize or poke fun at celebrities during their cameos and that’s the exact treatment Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine during his stint on the show. In season 12 episode Quagmire’s Quagmire, Adam provides his own voice as part of a cutaway. Stewie actually threatens Brian telling him that he would blow his Adam Levine dog whistle.
Levine intervenes and says that his pitch isn’t that high. At which point Stewie’s head pops up in the frame, as he breaks the fourth wall to tell the audiences that it actually is that high.
About The Author
