M. Night Shyamalan’s Cameos in His Own Films, Ranked

The celebrated master of the twist ending, M. Night Shyamalan has, for better or worse, always insisted on giving himself a cameo appearance in the films that he directs. Some think it’s a wonderful trademark while others can find it to be a little annoying. Some of his cameos last for just a few seconds while others are credited roles as characters who appear in several scenes. Despite what we think of his penchant for inserting himself into his own narratives, it won’t prevent us from giving you a ranking of his best appearances.

Related: M. Night Shyamalan on ‘Knock at the Cabin,’ Making Changes to the Novel & Why He Used a Lot of Close-Ups

8. The Hotel Van Driver in ‘Old’ (2022)

When a group of tourists needs to commute from the hotel where they are staying to the mysterious beach where they begin to age a year for every hour, Shyamalan is Johnny-on-the-spot to play the hotel van driver. He curiously asks all his passengers to surrender their passports to him before he delivers them to a remote location where they walk a short path to the beach. Shyamalan’s unusual request is made more clear at the end of the film as he delivers a less-than-memorable twist. But we’re here to rank his acting, not his questionable plot devices. So this cameo cracks the list, but just barely.

7. The Park Ranger in ‘The Village’ (2004)

Much was expected of The Village when it hit theaters in 2004 following his successes like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. The film may not have reached what were some unrealistically lofty goals, but Shyamalan does his best to boost the movie as the boss of a local park ranger on patrol on the outskirts of a Pennsylvania State Park who stumbles upon the blind Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard). She scales the park wall in her quest to find medicine for her dying love interest played by Joaquin Pheonix. It’s a one-scene cameo, and at the time, a lot of folks didn’t know what Shyamalan looked like and probably didn’t notice him. Maybe that helped him come across as more believable.

6. Vick Ran in ‘Lady in the Water’ (2006)

Following the disappointment of The Village, Shyamalan, unfortunately, stumbled one more time with his intrepid but uneven story of a woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) who mysteriously appears in the pool of a run-down Philadelphia apartment building where Paul Giamatti plays the superintendent, Cleveland Heep. Shyamalan plays an aspiring writer who has more screen time in this film, and would probably be considered more of a supporting player. He is sought out by Howard’s character, Story, to write a tale about her experiences and bring some kindness to the world. He’s pretty good, but the film? Not so much.

5. Infomercial Chicken Fryer Salesman in ‘Knock at the Cabin’ (2023)

Knock at the Cabin had us chuckling a little bit as Shyamalan appears in an infomercial playing on the TV in the background as Leonard (Dave Bautista) and his group wait to see the report of a terrible earthquake that will validate what they are telling their hostages (Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Kristen Cui) near the beginning of the film. He is unnamed and un-credited but he sure did make the deal on a chicken fryer look like it was just too good to pass up. Unfortunately, he is unceremoniously interrupted as the infomercial cuts away to the catastrophic breaking news.

4. Technology Guru in ‘Split’ (2016)

In a film that saw Shyamalan return close to the form he captured around the turn of the millennium as a director, he also plays a tech guru who is working for a psychotherapist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley). It’s a quick one, but Shyamalan is able to provide her with some closed-circuit footage of the troubled Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy) walking away from her office after an appointment. In the few lines of dialogue that he has, he manages to profess his love for Buffalo wings while also making a case for his favorite restaurant, Hooters. Glad we managed to get that one into the story, right?

3. Dr. Hill in ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)

Perhaps Shyamalan’s crowning achievement hit theaters in 1999 and starred Bruce Willis, Toni Collete, and a young Haley Joel Osment who has a unique ability, or maybe a curse, to communicate with dead people. The film will always be remembered for its remarkable twist at the end and made $672 million on just a $40 million budget. Shyamalan plays a pediatrician, Dr. Hill, who examines Cole (Osment) after he is brought in with bruises and marks that can’t be explained. It’s a nice nod to Shyamalan’s parents, both of whom were doctors.

2. Stadium Drug Dealer in ‘Unbreakable’ (2000)

In one of his most believable cameos, Shyamalan plays a drug dealer who is unwittingly being pursued by a stadium security guard and anti-hero, David Dunn (Bruce Willis). Dunn’s unique ability to sense the misdeeds of others with a mere touch reveals that Shyamalan’s character is carrying some illegal drugs. He is more than serviceable in the role of the panicked and nervous peddler who has to scramble to get rid of his stash when he notices that Dunn is randomly frisking fans at the game. Ideally, all of Shyamalan’s cameos would be just about this length and carry just as much significance.

1. Ray Reddy in ‘Signs’ (2002)

This role was less of a cameo and more of a supporting part, and Shyamalan did very well because it was 2002, and like in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, most of us didn’t know what he looked like. Without the extra burden of suspension of disbelief, he was just another serviceable actor as far as we knew. Playing Ray Reddy, Shyamalan is convincing as the neighbor of a disillusioned priest and farmer, Graham Hess (Mel Gibson). Reddy’s character falls asleep at the wheel and ends up killing the priest’s wife who is out for a walk. He appears in a handful of scenes including one to warn Graham that he is abandoning his house to go to a lake because he believes that the invading aliens don’t like water. And it turns out he was right! Shyamalan captures some emotional and tense moments as he is riddled with guilt over the accident and what it has done to Graham’s family.