In the wide world of American cartoons, there’s no larger name than SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-Present). For over a quarter of a century, SpongeBob has delighted kids and adults, whether it be through silly jokes, gross-out humor, or clever adult jokes. Most kids can easily identify the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Clancy Browne as SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs, respectively. Still, in several SpongeBob SquarePants movies, you may hear or see celebrities that you probably weren’t expecting.
Some celebrities decide to appear in SpongeBob SquarePants to delight their kids. Some do it for a paycheck. Regardless of the reasons why, nobody was really expecting these six celebrities to appear in a SpongeBob SquarePants movie. The upcoming The SpongBob SquarePants Movie: The Search For SquarePants (2025) will most likely contain a treasure trove of weird and delightful celebrity cameos, so let’s take a look at some of the most unexpected celebrities to appear in a SpongeBob movie. All of these films can either be found on Paramount+ or Netflix, so head over there if you want to see some bizarrely iconic cameos.
David Hasselhoff - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
Arguably, the most iconic cameo in all of the franchise would be the moment when the legendary David Hasselhoff, star of Knight Rider (1982-1986) and Baywatch (1989-2001), came running across the screen to save SpongeBob and Patrick from dehydration.
Hasselhoff’s kids loved the series, so when he was offered the opportunity to play a more exaggerated version of his character from Baywatch, he jumped at the opportunity. His appearance was an instant hit with adults and kids alike. Kids loved watching this ridiculous man swim like a speedboat across the water, while adults got a kick out of seeing the most-watched man on TV act as a cartoony caricature of himself. To this day, Hasselhoff’s appearance in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie has made him a memorable part of the franchise, to the point where he has cameoed in later SpongeBob projects, including the recent video game SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide.
Scarlett Johansson - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
Nowadays, most people know who Scarlett Johansson is. Between her tenure in the MCU as Black Widow, her award-winning performances in Marriage Story (2019), and her recent box office behemoth Jurassic World Rebirth (2025), she needs no introduction.
Back in 2004, that was hardly the case. While she gained prominence the year before thanks to Lost In Translation (2003), Scarlett Johansson was relatively unknown, especially in the realm of voice acting. Nevertheless, she voiced King Neptune’s daughter, Princess Mindy, in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, who helped SpongeBob and Patrick on their quest to retrieve her father’s crown. Her cameo is still a surprising reveal to longtime fans, since she was rarely featured in the marketing in the lead-up to the film’s release, and in part because of how she quickly catapulted into the realm of Hollywood A-Lister in the decades that followed. But looking back, this helped introduce her to a mainstream audience and would only be another step in her meteoric rise to stardom.
Alec Baldwin - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
Rounding out our trio of notable celebrity cameos in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie would be the man who played Dennis, the imposing and dangerous bounty hunter sent to hunt down SpongeBob and Patrick, portrayed by Alec Baldwin.
While Baldwin’s star has dimmed significantly since the release of the film, and mostly in part due to the controversy surrounding the filming of Rust (2024), he’s nevertheless a well-known name within the world of cinema. While he’s mostly known for his sardonic wit, seeing him play an intimidating bounty hunter actually manages to work pretty well, channeling a performance that takes some cues from Slade from Teen Titans (2003-2007). It’s unexpected to see such an A-list actor play this relatively silent menace, but leave it to Alec Baldwin to get the most out of what should be a simple villain.
Keanu Reeves - The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020)
For most of the 2010s, Keanu Reeves was seen as the perennial Hollywood badass. Thanks to the popularity of John Wick (2014), as well as a breathtaking performance in the video game Cyberpunk 2077, Keanu Reeves was all the rage. So much so that his cameo in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run seemed inevitable.
In it, Keanu Reeves plays a spirit inhabiting a tumbleweed who was meant to guide SpongeBob and Patrick on their journey to rescue Gary. He pops up intermittently to offer courage, positive reinforcement, and the kind of platitudes that you would expect from mentors like Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996). However, there’s no getting around the fact that just seeing Keanu Reeves’ face inside a tumbleweed is bizarre. Apparently, the role was conceived solely for Reeves, so the uncanny appearance is intentional and part of the joke. It certainly does leave an impact and is probably the most memorable thing about the film, making it just as surprising as Hasselhoff’s role in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Johnny Knoxville - Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)
While there have only been four theatrically released SpongeBob SquarePants movies, there have been a few direct-to-streaming feature films that have their own odd and unexpected celebrity cameos. Probably the most unexpected one would have to be Johnny Knoxville appearing as Sandy’s brother Randy in Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie.
While this isn’t Knoxville’s first appearance in the franchise, his role as Randy will definitely be nostalgic to those who remember watching Knoxville on Jackass (2000-2001). Randy works at a rodeo and dresses like an Evel Knievel knock-off, and he, alongside the rest of Sandy’s family, helps Sandy and SpongeBob save Bikini Bottom. Even for the little time he’s present in this 82-minute movie, Knoxville shows that he’s grown and matured since his younger days. He’s less obnoxious, and seeing his character lean into what made Knoxville such a fun presence in his early years lets you appreciate Knoxville’s appearance all the more.
Ice Spice - The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants (2025)
It’s not uncommon for animated movies to get a tie-in pop song from a popular artist. Plenty of films have done it, yet seeing Ice Spice not only produce the lead single for The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants, the infectiously catchy “Big Guy,” and appear as a character is pretty unexpected.
If you’re a fan of her music, though, that shouldn’t be too big of a shock. After all, one of her first singles was titled “Bikini Bottom,” and she talks about how she grew up watching the series. Say what you will about her talent as an artist, but seeing a younger celebrity cameo in a franchise like SpongeBob SquarePants makes perfect sense. Ice Spice herself has also been dipping her toes into acting this year as well, with her recently cameoing in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Thanks to Nickelodeon’s marketing machine, it’s impossible to separate Ice Spice from The Search For SquarePants, and even if she’s only in the movie as much as Johnny Knoxville was in Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, that’ll probably be the case for years to come.
