Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Airplane! (1980)

Widely considered to be the greatest cameo by an athlete in any film, basketball legend Kareem Adbul-Jabbar was at the height of his stellar career when he appeared as himself disguised as co-pilot Roger Murdock in the Golden Globe-nominated comedy Airplane! In the film, his cover is blown by a young passenger aboard the aircraft, whose father is of the opinion that Kareem needs to work on his defense and that he only ever tries during the playoffs. It was a profitable cameo for Kareem as it led to several other on-screen appearances.