Spies Like Us Cameos Include a Shocking Number of Oscar-Winning Directors

The John Landis-directed Cold War comedy was sold as a buddy spy farce — Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase as two bumbling government employees caught in a nuclear conspiracy. But buried within its screwball antics is a lineup of director cameos that reads like a secret Oscars reunion.

Even if you've seen the film, there's a decent chance you missed them. That's because most of these directors appear briefly, in roles that range from blink-and-you'll-miss-it background gags to absurd character cameos.

The Directors You Didn't Know You Saw

Here's the stacked list of directors sneaking around Spies Like Us:

• Joel Coen – At the time, Coen was years away from Oscar fame for Fargo and No Country for Old Men. In Spies Like Us, he plays one of the drive-in security guards. This was long before his Coen Brothers label carried weight outside indie circles.
• Terry Gilliam – Credited as Dr. Imhaus, Gilliam was already known for Monty Python and had directed Brazil the same year. His offbeat presence fit perfectly, though few spotted him.
• Sam Raimi – Before Spider-Man and The Evil Dead, Raimi also shows up as another drive-in guard. A nod from Landis to his fellow genre oddball.
• Frank Oz – The Muppets legend and director of Little Shop of Horrors appears as a test monitor, casually inserting himself into the chaos with his trademark deadpan.
• Costa-Gavras – Known for politically charged dramas like Z and Missing, the Greek-French director pops up as a Tadzhik highway patrolman. Not a role you'd expect from a Palme d'Or winner.
• Michael Apted – The acclaimed director of the 7 Up documentary series and Bond film The World Is Not Enough, plays an Ace Tomato agent, referencing the film's fictional defense contractor.
• Martin Brest – Coming off Beverly Hills Cop, Brest cameos as another drive-in guard. Brest's subsequent career included Midnight Run and Scent of a Woman, before Hollywood quietly pushed him out after the disaster of Gigli.
• Larry Cohen – The king of low-budget exploitation cinema, behind It's Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent, is also listed as an Ace Tomato agent.
• Bob Swaim – The American director who made waves in French cinema, shows up as a Special Forces Commander.

John Landis was famous for stuffing his films with personal in-jokes and favors, but Spies Like Us is arguably his most stacked lineup of behind-the-camera talent stepping in front of it.

Why Cram So Many Directors In?

Landis himself was already a prolific name by the time Spies Like Us was made, having just come off Trading Places, An American Werewolf in London, and the still-controversial Twilight Zone: The Movie. He was deeply entrenched in Hollywood circles, especially with up-and-coming filmmakers.

In a 2012 interview, Landis admitted he enjoyed pulling in his friends for quick appearances, partly as a way of giving the audience "a private joke you wouldn't get unless you're in the business." It was also a reflection of the communal, chaotic energy of 1980s filmmaking, where directors like Spielberg, Dante, and Landis often made cameos in each other's work.

Frank Oz put it simply years later:

"If you were on set with Landis, odds are you were gonna get thrown into a scene."

Trivia You Might've Missed

• The Coen Connection: Joel Coen worked as an assistant editor on The Evil Dead, connecting him to Sam Raimi years before both showed up in Spies Like Us.
• Martin Brest's Career Cliff: Brest was one of the most promising directors of the 80s and 90s, until 2003's Gigli bombed so badly that it ended his directing career.
• Larry Cohen's Cameo: Cohen rarely acted, so his presence here is a small easter egg for cult cinema fans.

Critically, Spies Like Us was never a darling. Roger Ebert called it "an uncomfortable alliance of two comic actors who just don't seem to like each other much." Yet it has held up as a cult favorite, partly for its goofy tone and partly for exactly this kind of behind-the-scenes lore.

If you revisit it now, it's not just a Cold War spoof — it's a snapshot of 80s Hollywood, when the people calling the shots behind the camera didn't mind making fools of themselves in front of it.

And for those keeping count, that's at least four Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated directors disguised in a film where Chevy Chase gets shot with a tranquilizer dart. That alone might be the best meta joke Landis ever pulled.