Summary
The Fast and Furious franchise has expanded its scope to include international espionage, high-tech heists, and outrageous stunts. Celebrity cameos, including musicians and athletes, have been a recurring feature in the franchise. The franchise has the power to attract A-list stars for brief appearances, adding to its overall allure.
The Fast and Furious franchise has always had famous faces appearing in surprising roles, and the best cameos make their movies even better. Although it started out as an all-out street racing franchise, the more recent Fast and Furious movies have expanded their scope to include international espionage, high-tech heists, and increasingly outrageous stunts. There has also been an increase in the number of celebrity cameos, reflecting the franchise’s newfound status. Fast and Furious 11 will undoubtedly continue this trend, although details remain a mystery.
The cameos in Fast and Furious aren’t just limited to actors, since musicians and athletes have also made brief appearances over the years. This means that there’s no telling who could be next to pop up in a Fast and Furious movie. Some cameos were announced before the release of the movie in question, but others were kept a secret, making them even more shocking. The Fast and Furious franchise has proven that it has the power to attract A-list stars, even if they only appear on-screen for a few seconds.
![A custom image of Tej, Han, and Roman from Fast and Furious](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/roman-han-and-tej-from-fast-and-furious.jpg)
Related 10 Best Fast & Furious Characters That Didn’t Appear In The First Movie The Fast and the Furious may have kicked off the Fast Saga, but some of the franchise’s best characters were only introduced later down the road.
10 Rita Ora
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
British singer-songwriter Rita Ora makes a brief cameo in Fast and Furious 6 when Dom and Letty face off in a drag race in London. She counts them down before the race begins, and watches as they hare off into the distance. Ora is best-known as a musician, with pop hits such as “Let You Love Me” and “Your Song,” but she has some acting experience too. Her most substantial film role so far has been in the Fifty Shades trilogy of movies, and she also played a minor role in Detective Pikachu.
9 Iggy Azalea
Furious 7 (2015)
Iggy Azalea also features on the Furious 7 soundtrack with Wiz Khalifa, rapping on the track “Go Hard or Go Home.”
Iggy Azalea’s cameo in Furious 7 is so brief and inconsequential that it could easily be missed. The Australian rapper only has one line, spoken after Letty wins her first drag race back at Race Wars. Iggy Azalea features on the Furious 7 soundtrack with Wiz Khalifa, rapping on the track “Go Hard or Go Home,” so it’s a nice touch for her to appear in a minor role too. There have been plenty of rappers in the Fast and Furious movies, not just Ludacris.
8 T-Pain
Furious 7 (2015)
The penthouse party scene in Furious 7 is steeped in flashy excess, and having T-Pain as the DJ underlines this point. T-Pain plays himself, which is unusual for the franchise, but this choice suits the setting perfectly. Sometimes, celebrity cameos can be too distracting in movies, but T-Pain’s cameo draws attention to itself in the best way possible, highlighting the exorbitant wealth and the party atmosphere in Abu Dhabi. T-Pain has had a few minor acting roles, appearing in the Melissa McCarthy comedy The Boss as himself, and having small parts on The Cleveland Show and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
7 Pete Davidson
Fast X (2023)
SNL comedian Pete Davidson appears in Fast X as Bowie, a black market arms dealer who supplies guns to Dom and the rest of the team. Bowie knows Ramsey somehow, but Fast X doesn’t reveal much about their shared history. Based on the fact that he sells her out, it can be inferred that they aren’t the best of friends, and it’s unlikely that he’ll appear in future Fast and Furious movies. Pete Davidson’s acting roles have almost all been in comedies, and although he’s a minor villain in Fast X, he also provides some comic relief.
Related 10 Movies Where Pete Davidson Basically Played Himself Pete Davidson has had a prolific few years appearing in film and TV, however, many of his roles are just exaggerated versions of himself.
6 Kevin Hart
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Hobbs and Shaw had a few more cameos than the main series of Fast and Furious movies, possibly as a way of distinguishing itself from the rest of the franchise. Kevin Hart has appeared alongside Dwayne Johnson in several movies, including the Jumanji movies and Central Intelligence. He pops up in Hobbs and Shaw as an overzealous air marshal who first tries to break up a potential fight between the two leads, before pivoting to begging with them to join their team. He doesn’t impact the plot, but it’s a fun cameo nonetheless.
5 Ryan Reynolds
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Hobbs and Shaw was directed by David Leitch, and the director gave a cameo to the star of one of his other popular action movies, Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds plays CIA agent Victor Locke, who shares a past with Luke Hobbs. He’s very happy to see Hobbs, who he treats like an old friend, but Hobbs is much less enthusiastic. Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson share a playful dynamic in their brief time on-screen, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Reynolds return for Hobbs and Shaw 2, although details remain scarce about the sequel.
4 Cardi B
F9 (2021)
Vin Diesel approached Cardi B to appear in F9 partly because his daughter is a fan of her music.
Cardi B’s F9 cameo is one of the most surprising in the entire franchise, but she fits in with the rest of the cast nicely. The rapper plays Leysa, an old friend of Dom’s from the Dominican Republic. She helps him escape from Interpol in London, showing that they share a strong bond from their past. Cardi B also had a memorable role in Hustlers, but she isn’t a prolific actor. Vin Diesel approached Cardi B to appear in F9 partly because his daughter is a fan of her music.
3 Ronda Rousey
Furious 7 (2015)
In Furious 7, Letty manages to fight off three women in Abu Dhabi, but they were just a warm-up for the real test, Ronda Rousey. Her cameo as Kara lets her play to her strengths. She isn’t much of an actor, but her fight with Letty is one of the best moments of hand-to-hand combat the Fast franchise has ever produced, with the duo grappling and tumbling around a luxurious hotel room before falling from a balcony onto a crowded dance floor. Rousey’s reputation from the UFC and WWE adds some extra jeopardy to the fight.
2 Meadow Walker
Fast X (2023)
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Fast X, Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow plays a flight attendant who helps Jakob Toretto escape from the Agency. It’s a tasteful tribute to the actor who played Brian O’Conner, without distracting from the plot too much. Meadow Walker’s Fast X cameo is very brief, but it presents tangible evidence of the “family” culture of the Fast franchise. Due to Fast X’s unresolved ending, it’s possible that Walker could appear in the franchise’s next installment too, either in the same role or as a more substantial character.
Related How Furious 7 Finished Paul Walker’s Scenes After His Death The Fast & Furious 7 VFX team was able to finish Paul Walker’s scenes in the movie despite his death mid-way through shooting. Here’s how they did it.
1 Ja Rule
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Ja Rule plays Edwin in The Fast and the Furious, a brash young street racer who is well-known in the Los Angeles scene alongside Dom. When Brian first goes undercover, Edwin is one of the people he must win over if he wants to be accepted. The first drag race is a great showcase of Edwin’s personality, and he provides one of the movie’s funniest moments as he lets out a scream when Brian overtakes him. Edwin would have made a great addition to the Fast franchise’s Toretto family, but he only appears in the first movie.