The Simpsons’ reputation for crowbarring guest stars into their show has almost become a joke in itself. In its massive history, the iconic animated sitcom has featured Oscar Winners, bands, TV icons and even Julian Assange.
The show’s undeniable influence on the pop culture landscape is such that it’s almost easier to list the A-listers who haven’t appeared on the show, rather than those who have. So, as a Trivia night-winning Simpsons tragic, I am going to do just that. Here are five A-listers who surprisingly haven’t appeared alongside the world’s favourite four-finger family.
Tom Cruise
Cruise came so close to appearing on the show that The Simpsons’ writers actually wrote a part for him. In Season 4’s ‘Brother From The Same Planet’, Bart becomes disenchanted with Homer’s negligent parenting and signs up to the ‘Bigger Brother’ program. A suave fighter jet pilot, Tom, takes Bart under his wing. As the name would suggest, the part was written for Cruise. The Mission: Impossible star turned the role down, however, and it eventually went to series regular Phil Hartman. You might remember him from such TV roles as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz.
Owen Wilson
A handful of his “Frat Pack” cronies have featured on The Simpsons, but Wilson has never had the chance to “wow” audiences with a guest spot himself. Wilson is no stranger to voice acting, however, lending his dulcet tones to Lightning McQueen in the Cars franchise, and voicing a nervous religious type in a 2001 King of The Hill episode.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was at the peak of her powers during The Simpsons’ golden era. Despite this, the Aussie actress never stopped by Springfield to voice a guest character. She is parodied in Season 7’s ‘Much Apu About Nothing’, in which Apu has a vision of her and then-hubby Tom Cruise coming to life on a magazine cover.
John Travolta
You would think that this jumping and jiving chameleon of an actor would have guest-starred on The Simpsons years ago. But alas, no. An infrequent punching bag for the writers (the bartender at Itchy & ScratchyLand springs to mind), Travolta has actually never appeared on the series. Series regular Dan Castellaneta voices a jittery caricature of the Grease icon in Season 11’s premiere, ‘Beyond Blunderdome’.
Clint Eastwood
Like Cruise, Eastwood turned down a guest spot during The Simpsons golden era. Dr. Wolfe, the sadistic dentist who fits Lisa’s braces, was written for Eastwood back in Season 4. However, when Eastwood turned it down, cast member Hank Azaria took the reigns. Dan Castellaneta tried his hand at an Eastwood parody later in the series, voicing the hard-boiled Dirty Harry spoof, McGarnagle.
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Check out The Simpsons parodying Clint Eastwood:
