Killers of the Flower Moon features a memorable Martin Scorsese appearance, but he’s taken many small acting roles, from Taxi Driver to Mean Streets.
Note: This essay on Martin Scorsese’s appearance in movies, both in cameos and small character roles, was originally published in 2021. It has been updated and republished in light of his on-screen role in his 2023 movie Killers of the Flower Moon.
As a director, enthusiastic world-cinema champion, determined advocate for visual literacy, and the most famous critic of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Martin Scorsese is indisputably one of cinema’s most important figures. But his acting work has received comparatively little recognition. From his first movie appearance as an uncredited gangster in his debut feature, 1967’s Who’s That Knocking At My Door, to his pointed on-screen role at the end of his 2023 historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese has amassed an impressive career full of thoughtful cameos, self-parodic bits, and genuinely effective dramatic work.
He started with several gifts most thespians dream of: a commanding presence, comfort in front of the camera, and a keen understanding of how a director uses actors. These qualities are all on display in his appearances in his own documentaries, from his frantic scrambling to prepare for a Rolling Stones concert in his 2008 concert film Shine a Light to his work in Pretend it’s a City, his Netflix documentary series about Fran Leibowitz. But he has also continued to push himself as an actor, crafting performances that rebel against his public persona and demand to be taken seriously.
Perhaps inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, Scorsese frequently shows up in small roles in his own films. Unlike Hitchcock, however, his roles seem chosen with purpose, as he often plays parts that hint at his function behind the camera. Sometimes he’s a photographer (Hugo, The Age of Innocence) or a director (The King of Comedy). In Raging Bull, he appears in the final scene as the stagehand who interrupts Jake LaMotta’s backstage monologue. He is the sarcastic voice of the EMS dispatcher in Bringing out the Dead, literally directing his protagonist into various scenarios. In Mean Streets, he plays the enforcer brought in during the last act to finally kill Johnny Boy and end the movie. And in Killers of the Flower Moon, he’s a radio announcer, framing the movie’s relationship to history by explaining directly to the audience how the real-life story ended, and putting his own regret and frustration directly on the screen.
