14. Bruce Campbell's Cameos - Spider-Man 1-3 (2002-7)
Pop quiz time. Which stars feature in all three of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy? There's of course Tobey Maguire as Peter, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, James Franco as Harry etcetera but there is one that everyone always forgets. Yes, the unsung star of the first three Spider-Man films is surely The Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell who features in not one, not two but three cameo roles across the trilogy, each of them providing memorable comic moments. In the first film, Campbell plays the Ring Announcer of the wrestling tournament Peter Parker enters to win cash, giving him the name of Spider-Man after not thinking much of Peter's original name, 'The Human Spider.' In Spider-Man 2, Campbell appears as the Snooty Usher at the theatre who makes Peter go through a long process of tidying up his appearance before going in only to tell him he can't enter because he is late. Spider-Man 3 sees Campbell play yet another character - this time the Maitre'd at the French restaurant where Peter hopes to propose to Mary Jane. Unfortunately, the date does not go as planned and Campbell and his waiters keep coming out to celebrate at the wrong moment. While Campbell's trio of cameos may be superfluous to the wider plot they are great examples of the humour that the Spider-Man films find time for amongst all the action and romance. There's even a fan theory that states Campbell is playing the same character intent on annoying Peter Parker through various disguises. The true identity of this perennial thorn in Peter's side? His classic comic book enemy, Mysterio, of course. I'll leave you to ponder that one...
