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Ash Wednesday: Top uncharacteristic Bruce Campbell cameos

By Susan Leighton

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Darkman

Ash Wednesday – Bruce Campbell – Darkman – Courtesy of Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

This is one of my favorite Sam Raimi films. I fell in love with Darkman back in 1990. The story is exceptional and manages to create a new character in a comicbook setting. When scientist Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) discovers how to manufacture synthetic skin, his world gets turned upside down.

Burned alive by gangsters, he’s forced to go into hiding from his girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand) until he can develop a plan of revenge while perfecting his experiments. After he is picked up off the street and taken to a neurological clinic, he has surgery performed on him to limit nerve sensory pain.

While his burns no longer cause him discomfort, much like the Hulk, his anger becomes prominent. In the end this brand-new ability enables him to get rid of the people that deformed him. Even though that is behind him, he decides that he can no longer live in the same world as Julie and he will continue to fight injustice and crime.

Bruce appears toward the end of the film as the fresh face of Peyton. Although it only lasts for what seems like a couple of seconds, his turn to look back at Julie is priceless.

The Color of Time

Ash Wednesday – Bruce Campbell – The Color of Time – Courtesy of RabbitBandini Productions, Victorino Noval Productions, Elysium Bandini Studios

More from Bruce Campbell

James Franco stars as real-life poet, C.K. Williams in a film about how the women in his life influenced his craft. The timeline for the movie alternates between the past and the present quite frequently.

Based on eleven of Williams’ poems, they help to illustrate what point in time the current story is taking place in. Once again, in the small scene that Campbell is in with Franco, he manages to make the most of it.

Filmed in Bruce’s hometown of Detroit, it was like a reunion of Oz the Great and Powerful. That is how he acquired the role of Goody. In the trailer, look for him at :18 and 1:13.

Eddie Presley

Ash Wednesday – Bruce Campbell – Eddie Presley – Courtesy of Tempe Video (2004) (USA) (DVD

“Deep down we all want to be the King,” is the tagline for this little indie film from 1992. It is the story of a troubled Elvis impersonator (Duane Whitaker) who tries to score one last gig doing his act with the help of Doc (Roscoe Lee Browne).

This effort also unites Bruce with Ted Raimi again. In a brief scene in an asylum where Eddie spends some time, Campbell is paired with none other than Quentin Tarantino. Look for BC’s cameo starting at 1:03 in the trailer.

It is interesting to note that ten years later, Bruce played the King in

Bubba Ho-Tep

. Foreshadowing of greatness to come?

The Ladykillers

Ash Wednesday – Bruce Campbell – The Ladykillers – Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

Joel and Ethan Coen’s remake of the 1955 classic (with heavy hitters Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers) starred Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans and JK Simmons. The premise behind this incarnation is the same. Hanks and his crew convince their boarding house landlady that they are a group of musicians. In actuality, they are preparing a heist.

In an unbilled cameo, Bruce plays a flirtatious Humane Society worker.

Have you seen these films? Do you have a favorite cameo of Bruce? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.

Next: Bruce Campbell: Our top 5 favorite unconventional roles

Susan Leighton can be found on Twitter and Facebook @SusanontheLedge. She is also featured on Nerdrotics Podcast every Friday night at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Friday Night Tights, the pop culture wrap up show. You can catch her coverage on IFC’s Brockmire at TV Series Hub.

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