Every Cameo In This Is The End Ranked

A truly out-of-left-field comedy, 2013's "This Is the End" took one of the most beloved plot points of the past few decades (the end of the world) and found a new angle. Put simply, the movie asked: "What if the apocalypse happened while an epic Hollywood party was being thrown, leaving a bunch of celebrities to deal with it?" 

Directed by Seth Rogen and frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg — and written by the same duo, along with Jason Stone, who directed the short film "Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse" — the movie is largely based on the concept that brought that short film to fruition. "Apocalypse" was so well-received that it was eventually turned into "This Is the End," and the two films were even packaged together in the Blu-ray release.

The subversive plot — with name actors playing over-the-top versions of themselves — signaled to audiences that there was a lot of fun to come. Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, James Franco, and Danny McBride filled the lead roles, trying to survive the rapture amongst a smorgasbord of blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos from other celebrities.

You can't have a party without party guests, and in the film it turns out Franco has invited a who's-who of Hollywood stardom to his housewarming bonanza. The combinations of different celebrities sharing the screen in such rapid succession effectively renders the audience into a never-ending incarnation of that meme where Leonardo DiCaprio points at his television screen.

If you've never seen the movie and don't mind spoilers, or if it's just been a while and you need a refresher, here are all the cameos in "This Is the End," ranked.

Before he was Spider-Man's teacher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Martin Starr perished in the fictional apocalypse of "This Is the End." At the time of the film's 2013 release, Starr was already known for his work in such productions as "Freaks and Geeks," "Knocked Up," and "Adventureland," a long time member of the Judd Apatow troupe.

In "This Is the End," Starr mostly stays in the background of the action at James Franco's party, though he does have two moments to shine among the crowd. When a very high Michael Cera can't find his phone, Cera accuses Starr of taking it, so Starr defends himself in front of everyone with some choice expletives. When the earthquake begins in earnest, forming a giant hole in the ground, Starr slips in. 

He's almost able to save himself, hanging on to the edge of the hole, but a falling rock hits him in the face and sends him spiraling into the center of the Earth. David Krumholtz, holding on for dear life himself just a few feet away, shouts Martin's name in anguish as he tumbles to his death.

Audience members watching "This Is the End" might recognize David Krumholtz from wildly different projects. Early in his career, he starred as Bernard the elf in Disney's "Santa Clause" movies. Later, he had a recurring role in the "Harold & Kumar" films, as well as a starring role in "Numb3rs" on CBS. Like many of the other cameos in the film, he had a small part in "Superbad."

Krumholtz desperately attempts to save himself during the apocalypse earthquake, dangling from the edge of a cliff and watching poor Martin Starr fall to his death. Nearby, Jay Baruchel similarly hangs on — so Krumholtz suggests a crazy idea to get them both to safety. Hey, during the end of the world, anything's worth a shot. 

Krumholtz proposes that he grab onto Baruchel's hand, then lunge himself toward Baruchel, at which point Baruchel will use all of his body weight to propel Krumholtz upward and out of the hole. Then Krumholtz, at the surface, could in theory hoist Baruchel out. The plan, of course, fails spectacularly — the moment Krumholtz swings, Baruchel immediately drops him.

Before he became known to a younger generation as Ant-Man, Paul Rudd appeared in a number of comedies alongside the stars of "This Is the End." He and Seth Rogen had relationship issues with their significant others in "Knocked Up," Rudd taught Jason Segel how to surf in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (and Segel reciprocated by playing the best man at Rudd's wedding in "I Love You, Man"), and Rudd played a mentor to Christopher Mintz-Plasse in "Role Models." Which is to say, there's a lot of overlap among the cast of "This Is The End," so it makes sense that Rudd would be friends with this quasi-fictionalized crew.

Rudd shows up late to Franco's party, arriving just as the apocalypse is getting into motion. Having brought an oversized bottle of wine as a housewarming gift, Rudd proceeds to be terrified at the chaos underway. The "Clueless" star runs around hysterically with the huge bottle in his arms, but in the commotion, he mistakenly steps on a woman's head, causing her eyes to bulge from her skull.

Presented as the polar opposite of the timid, hesitant-to-break-the-rules persona fans project on Cera after years of watching "Arrested Development," "Juno," "Superbad" and other projects, Michael Cera's hyperbolized depiction of himself in "This Is the End" is down to party hard. 

He slaps Rihanna on the butt. He dusts cocaine in Christopher Mintz-Plasse's face. Jay Baruchel walks in on him in the bathroom with his pants down, surrounded by several girls. George Michael Bluth, this is not.

High on multiple substances when the apocalypse begins, Cera reacts differently than the many party guests assembled in Franco's front yard, fearful for their lives. He instead takes the opportunity to make accusations about who stole his cell phone — and does so with such an unpleasant attitude that you might find yourself cheering when he begins accusing Martin Starr and the ground moves violently, impaling Cera with a light post.

The post hoists Cera into the air, and he realizes his phone was in his pocket all along. "That's embarrassing," he mumbles before falling to his doom in a giant hole created by the earthquake. The first of many celebrity deaths in the film, the dispatching of Cera signals the sharp, unexpected turns ahead.

When "This Is The End" originally hit theaters, Mindy Kaling was a hot property in Hollywood. She had just completed her run on "The Office," had recently wrapped up the first season of her new series "The Mindy Project" (which would continue for another five seasons), and was very in-demand. Nevertheless, she made time to drop in on some old friends.

Attending Franco's housewarming in the film, Kaling is happy to see Seth Rogen and meet Jay Baruchel for the first time, mentioning that she loves his work in "Million Dollar Baby."

But, in a crush no one sees coming, Kaling divulges that she has a thing for Michael Cera. Eyeballing the "Juno" star from across the room, Kaling tells Rogen that she admires how Cera is "pale, 110 pounds, hairless," and some additional R-rated qualities. Sadly, the two never get to hook up, as both she and Cera perish in the earthquake.

Jason Segel is just trying to have a good time at Franco's party, but instead keeps finding himself in the middle of awkward encounters with other celebrities. 

At the party, Segel supports Rihanna when Michael Cera assaults her; later, Segel chats with Kevin Hart, lamenting what he perceives as repetitive scripts for "How I Met Your Mother." The CBS sitcom had already aired for eight seasons when "This Is The End" debuted in theaters, and would air a ninth and final season soon afterwards.

Aziz Ansari, at the time in the middle of his run on "Parks and Recreation," probably could have survived the earthquake and been a prominent part of 2013's "This Is the End," but celebrity after celebrity leaves him hanging, literally. When apocalyptic tremors form a hole in James Franco's yard that appears to drag its captors to hell, Ansari almost gets sucked in, but is able to hang on to the last remnants of terra firma. He just needs a little help hoisting himself up, if only someone would assist him.

Ansari cries out to Craig Robinson for assistance, but the "Hit Tub Time Machine" star takes one look at him and remarks, "It's too late for you! You're already in the hole!" before frantically running away. Ansari replies in frustration: "What are you talking about?!" 

The "Master of None" star seemingly gets a chance for survival when Kevin Hart passes his way, but it is short-lived. Ansari grabs onto Hart's foot, causing the comedian to aggressively kick him in the face, making Ansari fall to his death. But wait, the one time Tom Haverford does appear to get the last laugh. When Ansari's severed hand remains attached to Kevin Hart's foot, the funnyman frantically tries to un-attach it, causing him to also fall into the hole.

Comedian Kevin Hart swings from one end of the emotional pendulum to the other over the course of James Franco's party in "This Is The End," one moment sharing a laugh with a bud and the next letting someone fall to their death.

Prior to the earthquake, Hart has a conversation with his "Five-Year Engagement" co-star Jason Segel. The two discuss Segel's long tenure on the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." Hart thinks the show is hilarious, while the shine seems to have faded for Segel. "It's the same thing a lot," Segel laments to Hart. He cites an example of his character pretending to not know who ate a missing birthday cake while actively having cake frosting across his face, and mimics the bit for Hart. Beside himself with laughter, Hart is in stitches and affirms to Segel that's why the show is #1. Later as the earthquake sucks celebrities into an ominous hole, Aziz Ansari pleads to Hart for help. Hart, trying to escape from the chaos himself, rejects Ansari, but in the process dies anyway.

Quite a few party guests in "This Is the End" also had appearances in "Superbad," including Seth Rogen, David Krumholtz, Martin Starr, and Danny McBride. At the heart of that 2007 comedy, though, was three actors portraying teenagers attempting to have the night of their lives: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. The three of them share one scene together in "This Is the End," for what is effectively a "Superbad" reunion with a bit of their roles reversed.

Mintz-Plasse played the fearless Fogell in "Superbad," whose fake I.D. gave him the infamous nickname "McLovin." Here in "This Is the End," Mintz-Plasse is a bit on-edge, and rightfully so, as Cera blows cocaine into his face. He reprimands Cera, and Hill tries to de-escalate the situation to no avail. It's a quick moment, but it's nice to see the three of them share a scene together again.

Zombies, demon possession, monsters made out of fire... it seems that there are no rules in the apocalypse, and anything can happen. At no point in "This Is the End" is that more true than in the film's final moments, when Channing Tatum makes an appearance as himself. It should be noted that Tatum wasn't part of Franco's housewarming party earlier in the film, so his arrival toward the end comes as something of a surprise.

After being banished from Franco's home, actor Danny McBride is living on the streets, but he's doing pretty well. He's king of the cannibals, and takes advantage of the apocalyptic age everyone is living in to lead a vicious pack of humans who kill and eat other humans. At McBride's side is a man on a leash, wearing a Luchador mask. Taking off the mask, he's revealed to be none other than Tatum, who McBride is proud to note is his new sexual partner. 

As Tatum and the cannibal army devour James Franco, it results in a scene that is truly one of those "what the heck am I watching?" moments. But ultimately, it's moments like this that make "This Is the End" worth watching.

Arguably the most famous person in the entire movie, the presence of this 9-time Grammy winner — as the only musician among this disparate party crowd — makes the film feel less like an in-joke among friends. How does she know James Franco in a way that would warrant an invite to his housewarming party? Is she there with someone else? What is she talking about with Jason Segel when Michael Cera rudely interrupts the conversation by hitting her on the backside?

There are a lot of questions, but the important thing seems to be when Rihanna finds a moment to lend her vocal talents to the party's proceedings. She joins the rest of the party in serenading Craig Robinson while he plays the piano, singing a foul-mouthed, memorable tune. No matter what your expectations are going into this movie, "Rihanna singing about lingerie while Craig Robinson plays the piano" is probably not on your bingo card. 

Soon enough, Rihanna is among the party guests who dies in the apocalypse. It's too bad, because when the world rebuilds after the apocalypse, it would be nice to have some musicians around.

Fresh after the 2011 release of the final "Harry Potter" movie, Emma Watson makes it clear in "This Is the End" that she's not in Hogwarts anymore. 

Wielding an axe and shouting f-bombs, Watson survives the threat of apocalyptic monsters outside, then seems to find solace inside James Franco's house. But she is soon alarmed after overhearing the rest of the house's inhabitants, who are all guys, discuss whether they think she feels uncomfortable as the only female in the house. Reacting to such talk, she puts the boys in their place and then leaves the residence.

Earlier in the movie during the party, Watson and Craig Robinson have a more casual conversation with Jay Baruchel, who they peg as a hipster. Fervently denying the label, Baruchel all but confirms he is, in fact, a hipster when he admits to Robinson's suspicion of not liking films that are "universally loved," including "Forrest Gump." Watson then quotes the famous line "Life is like a box of chocolates" from the movie, perhaps giving viewers a quick peek at how she'd fare starring in a "Gump" remake.

For the entire duration of "This Is the End," it's clear that some people can escape the apocalypse via a bright, blue light beaming them upward. What awaits them when they reach the sky remains a mystery, as does how to achieve this ascension. 

Much is revealed, however, in the final moments of the film. Just before being killed by a giant monster made of fire and rocks, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel perform acts of compassion and save their souls, allowing them to beam skyward and out of the monster's clutches.

It turns out you can make anything happen in heaven. Seth Rogen wishes for a Segway. Jay Baruchel, on the other hand, is a little more ambitious, so he uses his wish fulfillment to summon a reunion of all five Backstreet Boys — Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, and Kevin Richardson.

The cameo is made even better by the camera at first only showing the back of the boyband's heads. In a dramatic reveal, the audience sees that this is indeed the real Backstreet Boys.

What happens next is a fitting finale for what has been a proudly, defiantly off-the-wall film. The Backstreet Boys lead the citizens of heaven in singing and dancing to "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," and really, it's the best ending anyone could possibly ask for.