Much like Alfred Hitchcock and Stan Lee, Stephen King has a penchant for appearing in the film and TV adaptations of his novels. His first cameo involving his own work was in 1982's Creepshow with his most recent (and one of his best) being in 2019's It Chapter Two. He has memorably appeared as a minister in Pet Semetary, Teddy Weizak in The Stand miniseries and, of course, as angry ATM man in Maximum Overdrive. However, his most unique cameo actually occurs in Mr. Mercedes.
David E. Kelly adapted King's Mr. Mercedes -- and the rest of the Bill Hodges trilogy -- into a three-season series in 2017. The book steps away from King's usual horror to deliver a true detective story, although many genre elements still remain. It follows retired detective Bill Hodges on his quest to take down Brady Hartsfield, aka the Mercedes killer, after failing to solve his mass killing case while still on the job. Brady, a highly intelligent psychopath, splits his time between working at the local electronics shop and driving an ice cream truck.
The first season of Kelly's Mr. Mercedes adaptation sticks closely to King's plot. Viewers are given an intimate look into Bill Hodges' struggles with retirement and alcoholism and Brady's incestuous relationship with his mother. And the addition of Holland Taylor's Ida only makes the series more compelling. However, the true cherry on top of the sundae is getting a cameo from Stephen King himself.
In Season 1, Episode 6, "People in the Rain," Brady (played by Harry Treadaway) is interviewing with his boss Anthony "Robi" Frobisher and some big wigs from his electronics store for a promotion at a local diner. However, Brady -- being the psychopath he is -- envisions killing everyone in the diner, including the line cook played by King. It's a brief, bloody moment, but it marks a unique first for King. It's the only cameo in which he has appeared entirely dead.
Sure, King has been killed in various cameos. Creepshow's "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is a notable example. Here, King played the titular Jordy Verrill, who -- after touching a crashed meteorite -- takes his own life after strange vegetation begins to grow over his body. However, audiences still got to see King in action.
In Mr. Mercedes, however, King only appears as a lifeless corpse with a knife plunged into his chest. Despite not having lines or any role at all, it remains one of King's best and, funny enough, most personality-capturing cameos. After all, how appropriate is it to see the King of Horror take part in such a gruesome, bloody scene? And one can only bet that King probably had a blast doing it too.
