It’s no secret that filmmakers would like to include some pop culture references in their movies, including many popular film and TV references. However, because Easter eggs are so familiar, it is sometimes difficult to surprise viewers, especially eagle eye fans. Therefore, filmmakers come up with new ideas: reference the previous projects of their actors.
In fact, Hollywood has several movies where actors got to pay homage to their past roles. For instance, when playing Nick Fury in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014), Samuel L. Jackson made a covert allusion to Jules from “Pulp Fiction” when Fury fakes his own death. Or the scary mask at the end of “Holy Motors” reminds us of Édith Scob‘s iconic 1960 horror movie “Eyes Without a Face”,…
Want to know more? Scroll down to discover some of the best honor allusions in Hollywood movies!
#1 Keanu Reeves in “John Wick: Chapter 3” (2019)
Source: John Wick: Chapter 3
Before the “John Wick” series, Neo from “The Matrix Films” was by far the most well-known role Keanu Reeves has played. So it makes sense for Reeves to quote one of Neo’s most famous lines in “John Wick: Chapter 3”: “Guns. Lots of guns”. In “The Matrix Films”, Neo tells he needs “Guns. Lots of guns” to save Morpheus, and in “John Wick: Chapter 3”, he makes the same request during the firefight at the Continental. What follows in each movie is a pretty awesome action sequence.
#2 Sean Connery in “The Rock” (1996)
Source: The Rock
Without a doubt, “The Rock” is one of Michael Bay’s best movies. In order to prevent a rogue General from launching rockets containing nerve gas from Alcatraz, Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage cooperate to break into it. It’s one of Connery’s best-known roles outside of playing James Bond, and appropriately, he’s referred to the role that catapulted him to stardom in “The Rock.” His character describes how British Intelligence training helped him develop all of his talents, which does seem familiar.
#3 Franco Nero in “Django Unchained” (2012)
Source: Django Unchained
It’s clear that Quentin Tarantino‘s films frequently contain allusions to older movies. It’s one of the things he’s best known for, with his revenge-themed revisionist western, “Django Unchained”, even featuring a hint in the title. “django” is an iconic spaghetti western from 1966 – the kind of violent and seedy western that most obviously affected Tarantino’s style. Even Franco Nero, who portrayed Django in the first film, makes a cameo appearance in the scene where he meets the new Django, played by Jamie Foxx. When Foxx’s Django tells Nero’s character that the D in his name is silent, Nero simply responds, “I know.”
#4 Carrie Fisher in “The Blues Brothers” (1980)
Source: The Blues Brothers
“The Blues Brothers” is a wonderfully crazy mix of action, comedy, crime, and musical. It tells the story of petty-criminal brothers who try to save their old orphanage from destruction, with their plans including reorganizing their old jazz band to hold a charity concert. Along the journey, there are other side characters and challenges, such as Carrie Fisher‘s character, a vindictive ex-girlfriend of one of the brothers. She gathers a variety of weapons and employs them all to try to kill her ex. At one point, she fires a bazooka, and it makes a sound similar to a blaster from a galaxy far, far away.
#5 Samuel L. Jackson in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
Source: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Samuel L Jackson has been in a lot of movies so there are countless roles that you could allude to in one of his movies. He has starred in some of Quentin Tarantino’s most well-known movies, and he is also well-known for his portrayal of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So it looks like his performance as Nick Fury paid his homage to Jules in “Pulp fiction. In “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, Fury fakes his death, and he even receives a funeral and a tombstone and all. On this tombstone is a reference to the famous discourse at Ezekiel 25:17, which is arguably the most recognizable monologue from “Pulp Fiction”.
#6 Dennis Hopper in “River’s Edge” (1986)
Source: River’s Edge
As a filmmaker and actor, Dennis Hopper played a significant role in the New Hollywood movement. One of his most famous roles is the biker-themed counterculture movie “Easy Rider.” After that, Hopper had a supporting role in the dark crime film “River’s Edge,” which is mostly about a group of youngsters. At one point, he mentions he used to be a cyclist when he was younger, cheekily referencing “Easy Rider”… and given the way that movie ended, there’s no way both of these people played by Hopper can be the same character.
#7 Marlon Brando in “The Freshman” (1990)
Source: The Freshman
In all honesty, “The Freshman” isn’t a particularly memorable movie but it’s a very standard comedy about a freshman who is inexplicably mistaken for the mafia. Moreover, this is Marlon Brando‘s last chance to play a character who’s similar to the legendary Vito Corleone, as played by Brando in “The Godfather Part I. This 1990 comedy is crammed with references to that film and Brando’s character in it, it seems sensible to let Brando pay homage to his eventual role.
#8 Michael Imperioli in “The Sopranos” (1999-2007)
Source: The Sopranos
The Sopranos” was a crime-drama TV show with numerous actors in the cast of “Goodfellas. This put gangster movie/show fans into conflict with each other as the former is one of the best crime series of all time and the latter is by far one of the best gangster movies ever. Of course, this also led to many Martin Scorsese references throughout the show, but perhaps best in the first season. In “Goodfellas”, Michael Imperioli played a small role as Spider, a young associate of the mob who is brutally shot in the leg at one point. In “The Sopranos“, Imperioli’s role is bigger and he is a much more violent character. As such, he was the one who carried out the unprovoked shooting, blowing up someone in the bakery to test his patience. “It happens,” he tells the man, who is screaming in pain, which is hilarious… but only if you’ve seen “Goodfellas”.
#9 Édith Scob in “Holy Motors” (2012)
Source: Holy Motors
“Holy Engines” brings us on a strange, surreal journey. It’s about a man who assumes multiple identities to pull off a series of bizarre, disconnected jobs while being wheeled around by a mysterious older woman, played by Édith Scob. Scob was well known in French cinema, most notably for her role in the iconic (and spooky) horror film “Eyes Without a Face” (1960). This is another weird movie about identities (and face transplants!), in which Scob wears a creepy mask for much of the runtime. At the end of “Holy Engines”, her character wears a similar one and it would be surprising if the connection was unintentional.
#10 Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
Source: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Harrison Ford has been fortunate enough to play two of the most iconic characters in film history. He’s had four appearances (and one cameo) in the “Star Wars” series as the lovable rogue Han Solo and has portrayed the globe-trotting adventurer Indiana Jones in four movies “Indiana Jones” to date (a fifth coming in 2023). It’s a tradition in “Star Wars” movies in which a character says “I have a bad feeling about this” at least once per movie with Ford getting to say it – or a variation of it – four times. In Indiana Jones‘ fourth film, “Skull Kingdom,” his character has the line like a pretty obvious reference to Star Wars/Han Solo.
