Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” is an action-packed, summer box-office hit that also happens to feature several A-list cameos. In the film, Pitt plays assassin Ladybug, who boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto on what he thinks is a routine mission. He’s not aboard the train long before he discovers his fellow passengers are also trained assassins with one common goal: kill Ladybug. This madcap premise leads to three huge cameos before the credits roll.
Even before the cameos are factored in, “Bullet Train” has an impressive cast. In addition to Pitt, the movie also stars Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, and Bad Bunny.
Additionally, one of the “Bullet Train” cameos is revealed in the movie’s trailer, but that doesn’t make it any less delightful to see it unfold on screen. Sandra Bullock plays Maria Beetle, who is the voice inside Ladybug’s ear throughout most of the movie. In a recent episode of Entertainment Weekly’s “Around the Table” video series, Pitt revealed how Bullock always seems to show up for him, even when he gives her short notice.
“Sandy has bailed me out I can’t tell you how many times,” Pitt said. “I literally asked her to come host an event for thousands of people while she was on vacation: ‘Cut [your] vacation short, get a gown, and come through.’ And she’ll be there for me. She’s been an amazing friend for these decades.”
Check out the gallery to see how so many of Pitt’s A-list pals ended up in “Bullet Train.”
Scott Garfield/Sony / Photo Credit : Scott Garfield
Sandra Bullock
Throughout most of the movie, Bullock is simply the voice of Ladybug’s handler, but in the final act, Maria Beetle appears on screen. Producer Kelly McCormick told IndieWire that she hopes the “Miss Congeniality” actor will be up for a bigger role if the movie gets a sequel. “If we got a [“Bullet Train”] franchise, she hopefully would want to play much deeper into it,” McCormick said.
Interestingly, Bullock’s cameo in “Bullet Train” appeared to have led to Pitt’s small role in her film “The Lost City.” The actor shared with EW that he wanted Bullock to play Maria because “Her voice, I don’t know, it’s like Morgan Freeman. For gravitas.”
In return, he agreed to play the daring hero who attempts (and fails) to save Bullock’s romance-writer character in “The Lost City.” Pitt explained, “Just this idea of cross-pollinating each other’s projects was really good fun.”
Getty / Jeff Spicer
Channing Tatum
“The Lost City” and “Bullet Train” cross-pollination also included a hilarious cameo from Channing Tatum as a character who is known as “Random Passenger.” In the movie, Tatum’s character keeps popping up at random moments to help Ladybug or to inadvertently get in the way.
“Chan’s [character] was supposed to just be somebody,” McCormick said to IndieWire. “For a long time, we were looking at a lot of [audition] tapes, and wondering, who could that be? There were so many great ones, especially because we were shooting in LA and there’s lot of great actors here. But then we were just like, ‘I wonder what Chan’s up to, I wonder if he’s around, wouldn’t it be fun?'”
For his part, Pitt’s costar, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was equally shocked to show up on set one day to find Tatum waiting to film scenes. “I tap this guy on the back, he turns around and it’s like, ‘It’s f*cking Channing Tatum,'” the actor told EW.
Getty / Michael Loccisano
Ryan Reynolds
Perhaps the most surprising cameo of them all is Ryan Reynolds. A character named Carter is referenced throughout the movie because he’s the assassin Ladybug took over the deadly train job for. However, it’s not until the film’s final moments that Carter is revealed to be none other than Reynolds.
Since “Bullet Train” director David Leitch also directed “Deadpool 2,” it was easy for him to ask Reynolds for a favor. But the “Deadpool” star had a stipulation of his own. “He said, ‘As long as it’s the same length as Brad’s Vanisher cameo,” Leitch told EW.
Pitt previously popped up in “Deadpool 2” as a mutant called Vanisher, but the invisible character is only seen briefly while he’s being electrocuted. According to Leitch, he may not have completely kept up his end of the deal. “I don’t know if I held up to my end of the bargain,” the director said. “Ours might be a few frames longer.”
