The Muppetswere created in 1955 byJim Henson, but they wouldn’t achieve major celebrity status until 1976 and the debut ofThe Muppet Show. The show made them stars: Gonzo the Great (Dave Goelz), of unknown origin; Fozzie the Bear (Frank Oz), purveyor of bad jokes; Kermit the Frog (Henson), the heart of the franchise and its most prominent face; Miss Piggy (Oz), porcine princess; and a host of other foam and felt phenoms. Hollywood soon came calling, and 1979 saw the release ofThe Muppet Movie. It was the first of many popular films featuring the maniacal bunch, but they couldn’t do it alone. Each film also featured a cast of great human actors ready to embrace the lunacy, but only the best of them were able to fully stand toe-to-toe with their felted counterparts.
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Charles Durning (The Muppet Movie)
Durningplays Doc Hopper, the Southern owner of “Doc Hopper’s French Fried Frog Legs” and the villain of the film. After seeing Kermit dance, Hopper is bound and determined to make Kermit the spokesfrog for his franchise. Kermit is unwilling, obviously, leading Hopper to increasingly desperate actions including an attempt at brainwashing and hiring hitman Snake Walker (Scott Walker). By treating them as real performers and not just puppets, Durning helped establish the template for film actors working with the Muppets going forward.
Michael Caine (The Muppet Christmas Carol)
Michael Caine’s Scrooge is one of the great portrayals of the character, landing in the top 10 consistently of “Best Scrooge on Film” lists (including#7 on Collider’s own list). What makes his performance so good is almost counter-intuitive: Caine doesn’t try to match the silliness of the Muppets but instead plays the character straight and serious. It’s notThe Muppet Christmas Carolto him; it’s a legitimate adaptation ofA Christmas Carol, and he lends it the gravitas that any good actor gives the role.
Steve Martin (The Muppet Movie)
It’s ascene that lasts under three minutes, butSteve Martinmakes the most of that time to craft a brilliantly hilarious moment with Kermit and Miss Piggy. As “Insolent Waiter,” Martin drips contempt as he delivers “Sparkling Muscatel, one of the finest wines of Idaho” to their dining table. It’s a brief but memorable snapshot of a master of comedy in the prime of his career.
Madeline Kahn (The Muppet Movie)
Trust comedy iconMadeline Kahnto one-up Martin and make the most of31 seconds. Kahn resurrects the persona of her iconicBlazing Saddlescharacter, Lili Von Shtupp, to play a patron of the rough dive known as the El Sleezo Cafe who hits on Kermit. She’s superb in her quick cameo, which sets up a terrible bit wordplay (by which we meanawesomebit of wordplay) between Kermit and Hollywood tough guyTelly Savalas:
Kermit: That’s a myth.
Savalas: Yeah, but she’s my myth!
Kermit: No, no, myth, myth!!
Dave Grohl (The Muppets)
If there was a vote for which celebrity would be the most Muppet-like, it’s a safe bet that the clown prince of rock,Dave Grohl, would top the list. The musician makes one of the earlier cameos inThe Muppets, a riotous and pitch perfect pseudo-Animal in the cover band “The Moopets.” Grohl would also appear in the 2015The Muppetsepisode “Going, Going, Gonzo,” challenging Animal to a drum-off … and it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.
Tim Curry (Muppet Treasure Island)
Tim Curry, like Caine before him, is playing a character with a long storied history in English literature, but that’s where the comparisons end. His Long John Silver has no misgivings about being as wild, ridiculous, and flamboyant as his fuzzy costars. Instead of playing it straight (like Caine did), Curry cranks his performance up to Muppet-worthy levels. And he adds even more to the role beyond that. You believe that the character can lure young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) down an evil path, and Curry is able to ground his emotions as needed without sacrificing what makes his portrayal fun.
Jason Segel (The Muppets)
WhenJason Segelwas tagged to be star, co-screenwriter, and producer onThe Muppets, skepticism was high. Segel had a hand in some 2000s raunch comedies, and this was very much a reintroduction of the Muppets to an entirely new generation. They needn’t have worried. Segel not only brought the energy of their 70s-80s prime back, keeping it clean, but his role in the film as Gary is earnest and optimistic, like the Muppets themselves. He even sang “Man or Muppet” with his “brother” Walter (Peter Linz), a welcome addition to the Muppet musical canon.
John Cleese and Joan Sanderson (The Great Muppet Caper)
Miss Piggy breaks into a home in order to keep Kermit’s illusion that she is Lady Holiday, wealthy fashion designer, alive. The home belongs toNeville (John Cleese) and Dorcas (Joan Sanderson), who are sitting at dinner, conversing. And it’s brilliant. The pair pick up off of their winning banter in theFawlty Towersepisode “Communication Problems” and deliver a dry, slow and utterly absurd conversation, including the fact Dorcas hasn’t left the house in 12 years. Even after discovering Miss Piggy, they nonchalantly carry on. It’s two British legends doing what they do best.
Joan Rivers (The Muppets Take Manhattan)
A riotous scene, one of the best in the film, seesJoan Riversselling Quelle Difference perfume with Miss Piggy. The two are dressed alike in pink dresses with outrageously frilled collars, which looks funny anyway. But then Rivers starts applying makeup to Miss Piggy, and it descends into chaos with the two laughing wildly with lipstick all over their faces. The two iconic divas get fired, but it’s a memorable moment from one of the weaker entries in the Muppet filmography.
Tina Fey (Muppets Most Wanted)
The ever-talentedTina Feyplays Nadya, a Russian prison guard infatuated with Kermit, who has been imprisoned in the Siberian Gulag where Nadya is stationed. Fey is flawless – singing, dancing, and making her character likable. The Russian accent is horrible but somehow still feels perfect. Besides, if the villainous Constantine (Matt Vogel), disguising himself off as Kermit, can pass offhisunmistakably thick Russian accent as the result of a cold, we can definitely let Tina’s intentionally bad one slide.
