SpongeBob Squarepants' 10 Most Iconic Celebrity Cameos

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants, of course, but, on occasion he’s joined by a celebrity or two. 

SpongeBob SquarePants is everyone’s favourite resident of Bikini Bottom. Since its debut in 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has rarely been out of popularity and has amassed hundreds of episodes across a variety of spin-offs, as well as several movie outings. Given this success, the cartoon has caught the attention of the celebrity population and so SpongeBob is littered with appearances of Hollywood and music royalty. 

After a deep dive into the show's history, we have uncovered some of the biggest names that are now part of the SpongeBob lore. Before that, we have to give a shout out to the iconic Clancy Brown. The actor has starred in Highlander, Starship Troopers, and The Shawshank Redemption to name but three heavy hitters of his career. But, Clancy Brown has also been a consistent part of the SpongeBob family having voiced SpongeBob’s boss at The Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs himself, since the show's beginning. 

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham, AKA Posh Spice, surprised everyone when she agreed to lend her vocals to a SpongeBob SquarePants character. Since her solo career following the Spice Girls split, Victoria Beckham has mainly kept her appearances to programming focused on fashion, such as Ugly Betty, but in 2014 she was persuaded by her sons to accept a small part on the popular cartoon show. Beckham can be found in Season 6 where she voiced Queen Amphitrite in the episode, ‘The Clash of the Triton’. 

Keanu Reeves

While many famous people have been happy to provide the voices for characters that SpongeBob encounters throughout his escapades, when it comes to his movie outings, there is a greater chance of seeing their starry faces too. One such face is that of Keanu Reeves who stars in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, as Sage. Whenever SpongeBob and his faithful bestie Patrick find themselves in trouble on their quest to reclaim the snail-napped Gary, Sage appears. Sage essentially becomes SpongeBob’s spirit guide, and given Reeves' laid back and wise persona, the casting could not have been better.  

Pat Morita

Pat Morita famously played karate mentor Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid films. It makes complete sense, therefore, that his appearance on SpongeBob SquarePants was based around martial arts. Morita was cast as Master Udon in the Season 4 episode, ‘Karate Island’. The plot sees a newly crowned King of Karate travel to Karate Island only to discover it is a front for selling timeshare condos. Sadly, Morita passed away before the episode went to air, and the show dedicated the episode to him. 

David Bowie

Anytime that David Bowie was on-screen, whether visually or aurally, it was iconic. A true example of an icon wherever he went, Bowie made headlines. And so, when he signed up to play Lord Royal Highness during Season 5 of SpongeBob SquarePants, fans rushed to see it. Appearing in what is the first SpongeBob television movie, ‘Atlantis SquarePantis’, Bowie's character was on hand to welcome SpongeBob and his friends to the lost realm of Atlantis, but after they accidentally popped a prized bubble, things got nasty. 

Scarlett Johansson

The very first SpongeBob film was released in 2004. The popularity of the show and high profile nature of the feature meant that all kinds of Hollywood royalty flocked to get a role on the project. Scarlett Johansson was one of the lucky few, providing her voice for Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The story sees SpongeBob and Patrick on a hunt for King Neptune’s stolen crown. Princess Mindy is Neptune’s daughter and is on hand to encourage the duo to save the day. 

Matt Berry

Matt Berry has one of the most easily identifiable voices in movie and television, meaning that it is hard to miss his role in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge on the Run. He voices the mighty King Poseidon, who is desperate to retain his youthful glow. Said glow is provided by snail slime and poor Gary ends up snail-napped, leading SpongeBob and Patrick on a desperate rescue mission. 

Mark Hamill

The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants is the most recent film outing for SpongeBob. The story sees SpongeBob fall under the spell of a mysterious ghost pirate known as the Flying Dutchman. SpongeBob joins the crew to prove his bravery, but the Dutchman has nefarious plans for SpongeBob and his bubble-blowing skills. Voicing, and later appearing, as the Flying Dutchman is none other than sci-fi royalty, Mark Hamill. Hamill is no stranger to SpongeBob, having briefly voiced The Moth in Season 5’s ‘Night Light’. 

Antonio Banderas 

When you have a talent as renowned as Antonio Banderas, you don’t confine him to only a SpongeBob cameo. Instead, as seen in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, you cast him as the primary villain and keep him human. He plays Burger-Beard the Pirate who steals the Krabby Patty recipe book, forcing SpongeBob to leave Bikini Bottom behind and enter the human world. 

Awkwafina

Awkwafina is no stranger to work as a voice artist. So far, her career has seen her vocals appear in Storks, Angry Birds 2, Kung-Fu Panda 4, Raya and the Last Dragon, Migration, and both The Bad Guys movies. The star couldn’t resist adding SpongeBob to her credits and so features in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge On the Run as Sandy Cheeks’ robotic creation, Otto. Although not part of the main plot with King Poseidon, Otto is a still a key part of the sub plot involving Plankton and his wife, Karen.

David Hasselhoff

When it comes to SpongeBob-related cameos, they don’t come more iconic than David Hasselhoff. The actor and singer is an ‘80s and ‘90s legend thanks to his work in both Knight Rider and Baywatch. The latter saw him play Mitch Buchannon, the leader of the Baywatch lifeguard team, and the show was a global success. In 2001, Hasselhoff retired the red shorts, but, in 2004, he squeezed back into them for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as he parodied the character, and himself, giving SpongeBob and Patrick a lift back to Bikini Bottom during a time of crisis.