10 Best YouTuber Cameos In Movies & TV Shows

YouTube has only been around as a company for just a little over 20 years at the time of writing, and yet in that small span of time, it's turned many ordinary folks into full-fledged celebrities. Lots of performers have gotten their starts on YouTube, whether it's 10-year-old Sabrina Carpenter's best covers of Taylor Swift and Adele, or teenage Bo Burnham's comedy music taking him from his childhood bedroom to Netflix specials. Even though many have transcended the online space for A-list fame, others have made whole careers out of their independent work.

In the past 10 or so years, it hasn't been uncommon for YouTubers to gain a little more notoriety by making small cameos in film and TV. Some are lucky enough to get side gigs acting in popular TV shows on HBO or NBC, while others get a sliver of the spotlight in big studio releases worldwide. If you're a fan of these YouTubers, chances are you noticed them pop up in your favorite movies or shows, but there are a few on this list who you may have never known were in something you've probably seen.

While many A-listers take to the Internet to become the best guests on "Hot Ones," others make the reverse journey of going from humble YouTube beginnings to getting embraced by Hollywood at large. These YouTubers may have only appeared briefly, if at all, in these 10 films or TV shows, but those who have been fans for a long time will take pride in recognizing them. 

From 2011 to 2024, Matthew Patrick, a.k.a. MatPat, was the owner and host of the YouTube channel "Game Theory," in which he would analyze (or, at times, over-analyze) the lore of video games from "Super Mario Bros." to "Chrono Trigger." However, some of his most popular videos were about the 2014 indie horror game "Five Nights at Freddy's," making over 60 videos uncovering the hidden narrative in the deceptively simple survival game. Patrick was an early adopter of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" games, which have continued on with nearly 20 titles as of 2025. 

Patrick's reputation in the "Five Nights at Freddy's" fandom ended up scoring him a cameo in the franchise's 2023 film adaptation from Blumhouse Productions. The film is, like the games, a campy, gruesome, and gloriously funny good time, but in case you didn't recognize his face, fans of "Game Theory" will certainly recognize his voice as a waiter in Sparky's Diner, even dropping his famous catchphrase from the YouTube series, "That's just a theory."

As if being in the movie wasn't enough of a victory for the long-time game theorist, Patrick also revealed that it was on the set of "Five Nights at Freddy's" that he finally met the game's creator, Scott Cawthon. Ultimately, the experience served as a well-earned swan song for Patrick, who announced his retirement from the "Game Theory" channel early in 2024 to focus on his family and other creative endeavors. 

It hasn't been entirely uncommon for YouTubers to transition from independently making videos about their lives to becoming big names in Hollywood, which is certainly the case with Lilly Singh. After becoming successful making vlogs under the username "IISuperwomanII," Singh quickly became one of the most well-known YouTubers, earning her the No. 3 spot in Forbes' list of the highest-earning content creators on the platform. It wasn't long until the Canadian comedian ended up netting more proper acting roles, starting with the 2016 comedy "Bad Moms."

Although her cameo in "Bad Moms" may be a quick appearance, Singh appears in a scene as Cathy alongside Christina Applegate's Gwendolyn, who is warning fellow school parents about the behavior of the film's leads. Clearly, it was a good experience for Singh, who took to Instagram after the movie's release to praise the on-set decorum of Applegate and the film's lead, Mila Kunis. 

"Bad Moms" was just the start for Singh in her transition from YouTube to Hollywood. In 2019, she got her very own short-lived late-night show on NBC, and in 2022, Singh starred in "The Muppets Mayhem" on Disney+. She's even lent her voice to animated films like "Ice Age: Collision Course" and "The Bad Guys," but her roles wouldn't be limited to supporting roles. In 2024, she starred in "Doin' It," a film which premiered at SXSW, in which Singh plays an awkward software engineer who gets hired to teach sex ed to high schoolers. 

Lots of people know John Green as one half of the Vlog Brothers, along with his younger sibling Hank, whose to prominence on YouTube making daily videos communicating with one another, and eventually together founding the VidCon event for influencers and online personalities. Aside from his work on YouTube with his brother, Green is also a published author, with his 2012 novel "The Fault in Our Stars" becoming a modern classic, and inspiring a film adaptation in 2014 starring Shailene Woodley. 

If you missed seeing John Green's cameo appearance in "The Fault in Our Stars," you're not alone. Though the author was on set everyday, his brief speaking role as "Girl's Father" was cut from the film, with Green telling Vulture, "They cut it because it was totally unnecessary to the movie-slash-I was terrible ... I was hugely relieved when I got the call when they had cut the scene." The scene was still made available as a deleted scene via the film's physical media releases, so at least his efforts didn't completely go to waste.

Thankfully, Green had a few other chances to cameo in his own book adaptations. For 2015's "Paper Towns," he had an uncredited voice-only appearance as the father of Becca (Caitlin Carver), and for 2024's "Turtles All the Way Down," he finally stayed in the cut as a gym teacher, Mr. Adler. Hopefully, the Vlog Brother feels a lot better about his acting this time around.

For a long time, the faces of the YouTube channel Smosh were Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, childhood friends whose viral sketches grew into an Internet empire. Among many structural changes over the years, the main channel is now heralded by improviser and cast member Angela Giarratana, with the variety show "Bit City." Gone are the days of "Smosh: The Movie," as Giarratana has not only become a fan-favorite of Smosh's fanbase but a major presence across all its channels. 

However, even before she was given the reins to hosting "Bit City," Giarratana had made some high-profile cameos in television, including a brief guest spot on "Two Broke Girls," but the one that might be even more surprising to Smosh fans is her brief cameo in "Minx," an HBO series about the creation of the first erotic magazine for women. Giarratana appears in the first season episode, "Relaying news of a wayward snake," as Sylvia, the host of a house party who forms a camaraderie with Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond) over their frustrations dealing with selfish men. 

It's only a few scenes, but Smosh fans in particular will get a kick out of seeing Giarratana play a big role in Joyce's journey toward standing up for herself against Jake Johnson's Doug. As for Giarratana, her time on Smosh has kept her busy, but not busy enough to book more acting roles, including the short film "Guts," which premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. 

If you were on YouTube in the late 2000s, chances are you remember hearing the words, "Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic, I remember it so you don't have to." In case you don't remember that ... well, then I guess you really did listen. Doug Walker debuted his movie review series, "The Nostalgia Critic," in 2007, which later became the launchpad for future YouTube critics like him. His appearances outside the channel have been few and far between, but many Internet fans noticed his cameo in the funny, messed-up, and horrific adult animation series on Adult Swim, "Smiling Friends."

"Smiling Friends," which premiered in 2020, is the brainchild of YouTube animators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack and has featured many cult icons from their corner of the web. Walker's cameo comes in the season 2 episode "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?," in which co-workers Pim (Cusack), Charlie (Hadel), and Allan (also Cusack) team up to free Mr. Boss (Marc M.) from succumbing to the evil intentions of a demon named Brittney (Erica Lindbeck). 

For the characters to learn how to kill a demon, they consult DanielTheDemonSlayer, played by a live-action Walker, who brings the same energy as his Nostalgia Critic character, quipping, "Hello, I'm Daniel the Demon Slayer, I slay demons so you don't have to." It's a fun Easter egg for long-time fans of Hadel and Cusack's history, and judging by Walker's genuine review of the second season, playing DanielTheDemonSlayer was a natural fit. 

I know, I know, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Wait a minute, Rosanna Pansino was on 'Parks & Rec'? I don't remember seeing her in any episode." And you know what? You probably didn't! Pansino hit it big on YouTube with her series "Nerdy Nummies," which she started in 2010 as a way to combine her love for baking with her love of video games and all things nerdy. However, you'd have to be pretty nerdy to spot Pansino as a background actor on "Parks & Recreation," during the second season episode "Christmas Scandal." 

While the episode mostly follows Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope dealing with false rumors of her having an affair, another side plot sees Chris Pratt's Andy Dwyer dressing up as Santa for Pawnee's annual Winter Wonderland. He's accompanied by two elves who can be seen standing with Pratt in the deep background during a talking head of Poehler, with one of the elves dressed in red played by, you guessed it, Pansino.

Though it's a cameo that's far less than even a speaking role, behind-the-scenes footage filmed by Pratt reveals she got to spend a decent amount of time on set hanging out with the future star of "Guardians of the Galaxy," as well as his scene partner in the episode, Aubrey Plaza. Obviously, the two unnamed elves aren't the best single-episode guest stars on "Parks & Recreation," but it's nevertheless a fun fact about YouTube's favorite baker. 

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has had a lot of impressive guest stars over the years, from Adam Sandler to Lin-Manuel Miranda, and even Zooey Deschanel as her character Jess from "New Girl." However, the show also included a surprising cameo from Eugene Lee Yang, perhaps the biggest breakout star of the YouTube comedy troupe The Try Guys. After meeting together at BuzzFeed, the quartet rose to prominence with their videos "trying" various activities, such as modeling nude, dressing in cosplay, and swimming with sharks. 

During the group's heyday, Yang made a brief appearance in a pretty significant episode of the NBC sitcom, as it was the swan song for Chelsea Peretti's Gina Linetti — one of the best characters in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." While posing undercover with Andy Samberg's Jake Peralta at the exclusive Manhattan Club, they bypass an employee named Theo, played by Yang, by threatening to call their "daddy" until he lets them through.

It's a brief, albeit memorable moment for the show, whether you recognized Yang or not. However, fans of The Try Guys may get a little nostalgic watching it, as it predates Yang's departure from the YouTube channel by five years, though he's clearly gone on to bigger and better things since. These include a voice role in the Netflix animated film "Nimona," as well as a book deal with publishing company Feiwel and Friends for a two-part queer fantasy novel series. 

Liza Koshy is of a specific breed of YouTuber who started out her Internet career even smaller by posting sketches on Vine under the username "Lizzza." By the mid-2010s, Koshy had grown quite an audience on YouTube, covering a wide variety of videos, from vlogs to life advice, and even an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016. By 2018, she was only 22 years old, yet Forbes had designated her as a resuscitator of YouTube's relevance in the late 2010s. 

It wasn't very long before Koshy's sights started going beyond YouTube, as subsequent years have seen her cameo in "Boo! A Madea Halloween," "Good Burger 2," and even playing herself on "Scooby Doo and Guess Who?" However, with hindsight being 20/20 and all, one of Koshy's most surprising roles was alongside 2024's biggest pop star, Sabrina Carpenter, in the Netflix film "Work It," in which they play friends who start a dance team together in the hopes of improving her standing in applying to college. 

The film is easily one of the best movies starring Carpenter, but it's her on-screen chemistry with Koshy that really makes it worth watching. 2025 is only going to see things getting bigger for Koshy, as she's slated to make appearances in Akiva Schaffer's "The Naked Gun" reboot, and later this year will share the screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Santa Claus in the holiday movie "The Man with the Bag." 

Few YouTube series have had the longevity of "Epic Rap Battles of History," which began in 2010 as the brainchild of musicians and improvisers Peter Shukoff and Lloyd Ahlquist. The series, which pits figures from history and pop culture against each other in battle rapping, has lured its fair share of guest stars, including Snoop Dogg, Key & Peele, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and J.B. Smoove, but more surprising than any of those were Shukoff and Ahlquist not only guest starring in a "SpongeBob SquarePants" movie, but contributing a rap battle to it.

2015's "SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge Out of Water" follows SpongeBob and his friends attempting to rescue the Krabby Patty secret formula from Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), a pirate who starts a food truck on the surface above Bikini Bottom. Shukoff and Ahlquist cameo as two surfers, one who's disgusted by Burger Beard's copycat Krabby Patty, and another who stuffs his face with it. 

However, it's the very end of the movie that's a huge surprise for Shukoff and Ahlquist's fans, as just before the credits roll, a rap battle a la "ERB" ensues between Bubbles, a dolphin who oversees time and space voiced by Matt Berry, and a group of seagulls voiced by Shukoff and Ahlquist. Odds are the rap battles won't be making a return in any future "SpongeBob SquarePants" episodes, but it remains a fun watch for fans of both "ERB" and SpongeBob SquarePants.

It's possible that there's never been a film more indebted to its Internet culture than "A Minecraft Movie," a broad, slapstick farce starring Jack Black as expert crafter Steve, who comes to the aid of four strangers who get sucked into the world of the popular video game. However, it's early on in the film that several popular "Minecraft"-centric YouTubers make cameos, including longtime Let 's-Player Daniel Middleton, also known by his username, "DanTDM." (TDM stands for The Diamond Minecart.)

Although several other YouTubers have been known to make "Minecraft" content, few are as successful as Middleton, who in 2016 was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most views for a dedicated 'Minecraft' video channel." Prior to "A Minecraft Movie," he also made cameos in "Ralph Breaks the Internet" and "Free Guy," both theatrical releases that center on the world of video games.

As for "A Minecraft Movie," Middleton has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role as an auctioneer at a storage auction where Jason Momoa's Garrett buys the contents of Steve's home, eventually leading him to the world of "Minecraft." If only Middleton's character had outbid Garrett at the auction, then he'd have been the one to fulfill his lifelong destiny of mining. At the very least, Middleton got to stay in the movie; the same of which can't be said about streamer Valkyrae, whose cameo was cut from "A Minecraft Movie" after she criticized Jason Momoa's behavior on-set.