What We Do in the Shadows is one of the funniest shows currently on TV. Based on the 2014 film from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the series is a mockumentary-style comedy about a group of vampires who live in Staten Island. The vampires Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) are finding ways to adapt to the modern world while also dealing with the monsters and other vampires who inhabit their world.
The entire cast is phenomenal and hilarious. They could easily carry this show by themselves, but sometimes they don’t have to. There are many famous celebrities who make guest appearances and create their own funny moments. Season 3 could see some old faces returning or some new faces joining in on the fun. Here are the best guest appearances on What We Do in the Shadows from the first two seasons.
Doug Jones
Doug Jones is known for bringing non-human characters to life via impressive costumes, makeup, and special effects. Here, Jones does what he does best by bringing to life Baron Afanas, an ancient vampire who wants Nandor and the others to help vampires conquer the modern world.
Jones really shines in “Baron’s Night Out” where the group takes the Baron out for a night in New York City. The Baron hasn’t been in the new world yet and is discovering how everything works. The night doesn’t go as planned as the Baron eats people in public and tastes a pizza pie, which leads to some impressive projectile vomiting. Jones does a great job giving this character a childlike demeanor despite being a horrifying monster. The makeup team also deserves props for giving this character such a creepy design.
Vanessa Bayer
One of the most inventive ideas in What We Do in the Shadows is Colin Robinson, an energy vampire. As an energy vampire, Colin finds his food by draining people of their energy by simply boring them or annoying them. In “Werewolf Feud,” we are introduced to Evie Russell (Vanessa Bayer), an emotional vampire who tells tragic stories around the office to drain people of their emotional energy.
Colin and Evie decide to date which goes horribly wrong as the two continue to drain off of each other. Bayer does a great job at playing a manipulative person who constantly fakes being sad. It creates many funny moments as it becomes unclear when she is being tragic on purpose or if she is being sincere.
Haley Joel Osment
In 1999, Haley Joel Osment saw dead people. In 2020, he plays a dead person. In “Resurrection,” Osment moves into the manor as Topher, a new familiar for Laszlo and Nadja. Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), Nandor’s familiar, doesn’t take too kindly to Topher and becomes annoyed by everyone else’s fascination with him. However, when Topher dies in an accident, the vampires try to resurrect him, turning him into a zombie.
Osment plays a really funny zombie, as he isn’t much of a killer. He can only say his name and “hi-five.” He was incredibly arrogant and obnoxious in life and that seems to translate over into his undead form. Even when he is a zombie, no one seems to notice, creating hilarious moments of willful ignorance as no one picks up on the fact that Topher is a rotting corpse brought to life.
Benedict Wong
Also in “Resurrection” is Benedict Wong and while he can do magic this is certainly not Wong from the MCU. Wong plays the necromancer who resurrects Osment. However, Wong’s character seems more like a con man as he does his magic in the same space as his souvenir business. The vampires even pick out their own souvenir license plates.
Wong is great as the sketchy necromancer and he’s especially funny when he begins scatting while supposedly reciting the spell. Even Nandor recognizes that something seems off. He ends up turning Osment into a zombie so clearly he did something wrong.
Nick Kroll
It’s unsurprising that Nick Kroll fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast. Kroll first appears in “Manhattan Night Club” playing Simon the Devious, a vampire who lives in Manhattan and runs a bustling New York nightclub. Simon has a rivalry with Lazslo over a cursed hat that causes horrible accidents to happen to whoever is wearing it. Watching Laszlo and Simon fight over this stupid hat is iconic, especially since they refuse to accept that it’s cursed. Nadja hates that hat and constantly berates Laszlo for wearing it.
Kroll reappears in Season 2 in “The Return.” He pretends to be down on his luck and homeless, begging the vampires to let him stay in the manor. Unfortunately, this ends up being a trick so he can steal the hat. The cursed hat is one of the best running gags on the show and continues to delight.
“The Trial” Episode
This episode contains so many amazing cameos that it could take up its own separate list. The group is summoned by the Vampiric Council to stand trial for the murder of Baron Afanas. The council itself is incredibly star-studded with Tilda Swinton, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Reubens, and Danny Trejo. Waititi, Clement, and Jonathan Brugh reprise their roles from the original film.
Also in the episode are Kristen Schaal, Dave Bautista, Alexandra Henrikson, and Wesley Snipes, who appears on a laptop via Skype. Movie buffs will get a kick out of this episode because many of the cameos are actors who have played vampires in the past. Snipes is referenced as being a vampire hunter; however, they never say “Blade.” It’s a hilarious episode that shows how clever and self-aware this series is.
Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill’s character has the best name in the entire series: Jim the Vampire. In “On the Run,” Jim visits the manor to collect a debt from Laszlo, who swindled him a long time ago. Laszlo flees to a town in Pennsylvania and becomes Jackie Daytona. Daytona becomes a local legend, becoming a local barkeep and involving himself in the high school girls’ volleyball team. However, when Jim appears in the bar, Laszlo realizes the jig may be up.
Easily the highlights of this episode are when Jim sees Laszlo as Daytona yet fails to recognize him due to Daytona’s toothpick. Hamill also has a hilarious Transylvanian accent that makes his performance even more amazing. Hamill and Berry have a fight scene where they use pool sticks in a similar fashion to lightsabers. This episode is a reminder that Hamill is a national treasure who must be protected at all costs.