Tim Burton’s Two Cameos In His Films Understood

Director Tim Burton is well known for his repertoire of fantasy and horror films — however, he has also seemed on the other side of the camera for a couple of cameos in his movies. Unlike other directors, creating cameos in his movies isn’t a systematic habit of Burton’s. Of all of the movies he has directed, Burton has only made a cameo in two — Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.

Tim Burton wears many hats when it comes to filmmaking; he is a director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Burton made his feature-film directorial debut in 1985 with Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure; from there, he quickly became known for his distinct gothic style. Working in both real-life films and animation, Tim Burton has directed iconic movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and many more. Burton is known to frequently collaborate with actors like Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he shared a relationship and fathered two children.

Though Tim Burton’s cameos are very brief in both movies, it is possible to spot the director in both. In Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, Burton can be found during the film’s final battle on the boardwalk between Miss Peregrine’s children and the Hollowgasts. The director can be spotted on one of the amusement park rides, getting hit in the face with an errant covering decoration come to life. In Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Burton makes an uncredited appearance. When Pee-Wee is down on his luck and his search for his bike brings him to a dark, sketchy alley in the pouring rain, he is jumped by some thugs who don’t appreciate his presence. One of those street thugs was none other than director Tim Burton – however, the role is short-lived, as Pee-Wee scares the group off with an impressive hiss.

Both of Tim Burton’s cameos arose not out of a desire to be seen on screen, but out of need. In the case of Miss Peregrine’s, the movie was quickly running out of budget and crew members — and they weren’t technically allowed to film on the boardwalk. What remained of the crew snuck onto the rides to get the few shots they could, getting kicked out a few times along the way. “It wasn’t out of vanity, it was more out of necessity,” Burton explained (via CinemaBlend). When asked why he didn’t make more cameos in his movies, his explanation was simple: “I don’t like looking at myself!” The budget for Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was also very tight — only $7 million — so it is likely that Burton’s appearance in Pee-Wee was also driven by necessity.

Tim Burton has multiple projects coming down the pipeline at the moment, but there’s no telling when — or if — Burton is going to step in front of the camera once more. Between the upcoming Netflix series Wednesday and the recently-announced Beetlejuice 2, eagle-eyed viewers should keep an eye on the screen just in case.  With just these couple of appearances on screen, Tim Burton has made one thing very clear; he is willing to do whatever it takes to complete his movies, even if it means having to see himself on the big screen every now then.