What We Do in the Shadows has quickly become one of the best and widely-acclaimed comedy series in television history. A spinoff to the 2014 mockumentary of the same title, written and directed by one of the hottest directors in Hollywood today, Taika Waititi and his long time friend, Jemaine Clement. The television adaptation follows the everyday lives of four vampires living together on Staten Island, New York. Nandor, Lazlo, and Nadja being your traditional vampires, Colin Robinson being an energy vampire feasting off the boredom he induces by long-winded stories and explanations. Along for the ride is Guillermo, who is Nandor’s familiar, waiting on Nandor with the hopes of one day becoming a vampire himself. The series does an excellent job of making these mythical characters as relatable as any others on television.
What We Do in the Shadows has become well known for it’s high-profile guest stars often popping up as an unexpected guest of additional comic relief. With close to twenty high profile guest stars already having appeared on the show, lets break down the top eleven guest star appearances on What We Do in the Shadows.
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11 Donal Logue
20th Television
Best known for his roles on Grounded for Life and Gotham, Donal Logue makes an appearance in season three of the show as a vampire version of himself, Donal Logue, paying respects to a supposedly dead Nandor. Within the show’s universe, having developed an obsession with vampires while working on Blade, Marvel’s vampire trilogy. Logue had himself bitten to become a vampire. Working his way through the ranks, he became a valued member of the Worldwide Vampiric Council. Logue’s performance as an undying version of himself is not only comedic, but comes with moments of heart.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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10 Benedict Wong
20th Television
Best known as Wong from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Benedict Wong also joins the silliness of What We Do in the Shadows in season two of the show. Playing a necromancer masquerading as a souvenir salesman Wallace is long time friends of Lazlo and Nadja. The couple turn to Wallace when a deadly accident befalls their familiar, Topher (more on him later). Wallace, distracted by his cellphone during the necromancy, does manage to bring back Topher, only this time as a flesh eating zombie version. Wong’s over-the-top performance as Wallace plays well against some of the more subtle moments of his career.
9 Craig Robinson
Craig Robinson is funny in just about everything he has been in, and What We Do in the Shadow is no different. Playing the inexperienced vampire hunter, Claude, Robinson again delights audiences with his comedic timing. Claude, despite never having seen a vampire, finds himself as one of the leaders of the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area, a front for underground vampire hunting. Robinson’s Claude nearly meets his end during a hunt but is saved by Guillermo and whisked away to safety. Robinson’s portrayal as the brave and overconfident Claude ranks among the best in What We Do in the Shadows.
8 Vanessa Bayer
SNL alum Vanessa Bayer was featured in season one of What We Do in the Shadows as a coworker of Colin Robinson named Evie. It is quickly revealed that Evie is an emotional vampire, a psychic counterpart to Colin Robinson’s energy vampire. Realizing there is not enough “food” for the both of them, they resort to a psychic duel one day after work before collapsing. After being brought together by their loneliness, a relationship formed between the two until Evie began demonizing Colin Robinson for an emotional snack from their coworkers, leading to their breakup. Bayer’s traditional awkwardness from SNL helps propel her appearance as Evie as truly memorable.
7 David Cross
David Cross has never been shy about playing the outrageous; just watch any episode of Arrested Development; his guest appearance on What We Do in the Shadows in season four is no different. In this guest appearance, Cross plays Dominykas, a member of the Supreme Worldwide Vampiric Council, alongside an earlier entry, Donal Logue. The outrageousness of Dominykas reaches its climax during a scene where he investigates a dead Nandor’s…“manhood” to see if it lives up to the legend and David Cross plays the scene as hilariously as only he can.
6 Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista plays Garrett in a star-studded season one episode “The Trial”. Garrett ’s backstory is most tied to Lazlo, who in the year 1932 turned a baby into a vampire due to boredom, and left it with a friend. Looked down on by the Vampire Council, this crime was charged to an innocent Garrett, who was then imprisoned. Nadja and Nandor, having been summoned to the council on murder charges, meet Garrett, who believes their innocence having been falsely convicted himself. Expressing his desire to torture and kill the true culprit of the crime he was convicted for, fully unaware that Lazlo was that man sitting right across from him. Sporting a look reminiscent of the blood suckers from the still important Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a hilarious air of dull-wittedness, Bautista nails his guest appearance.
5 Doug Jones
Typically covered under layers of makeup and silicon, Doug Jones is most well known for playing creatures in hit films such as The Shape of Water, Pans Labyrinth, and Hellboy. Following that tradition, Jones again finds himself under makeup and silicon as his reoccurring guest appearances as Baron Afanas in What We Do in the Shadows. Having been the sier of Nadja, Baron acts as a sort of authority/father figure to the group in season one. After a night of drunken escapades with the group, the Baron is burned alive by sunlight from an unexpected entrance of Guillermo through the front door.
The Baron returns in season three after surviving the previous years off of the blood-soaked yard from his grave when Colin Robinson hears his calls for help. With nothing remaining but a head, a torso, and his left arm, Baron is completely void of any memories regarding his death. He joins the group on their search for The Sire, the oldest living vampire. After a battle between The Sire and the group, Baron and The Sire become roommates in New Jersey. Far from his typical stoic creature roles, Jones gets to flex some comedic chops in his role as the Baron making him one of the silliest characters on the show. A comedic skill Jones is sure to continue flexing in the upcoming Hocus Pocus 2.
4 Nick Kroll
Simon the Devious is one of the most outrageous characters on the show and one that only Nick Kroll could pull off. As a long time friend of Lazlo and Nadja, Simon and Lazlo engage in a rivalry over a cursed witch skin hat throughout the series. As flamboyantly funny as any character off of The Kroll Show, he plays Simon as perfectly over-the-top as he needs to be.
3 Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment, introduced as Topher, the familiar to Lazlo and Nadja in season two, meets a quick demise by an accidental electrocution. The group takes Tophers to see the necromancer Wallace, played by Benedict Wong, featured earlier on this list. After Wallace’s attention is divided during a ritual to bring Topher back to life, the process succeeds, but brings Topher back as a zombie. Despite trying to live as normal a life as possible with zombie Topher, the group quickly realizes something must be done when Topher attacks Guillermo. This leads them to return Topher to Wallace demanding a refund. After being convinced to take only souvenirs from his shop as a repayment, Wallace takes back Topher, putting him to work making new trinkets with other mistakenly-created zombies. Osment’s comedic timing is an underrated asset in his adult acting years and one he gets to display as Topher.
2 Mark Hamill
In perhaps one of the funniest episodes in the series, this season two story features Lazlo fleeing to Pennsylvania after being tracked down by Jim, played by Mark Hamill, an old acquittance to whom Lazlo owed money. Adopting the new persona of Jackie Daytona in the small Pennsylvanian town, Lazlo becomes the owner of Lucky’s Brew Bar and Grill as a bartender. Quickly becoming a popular figure in the town, Lazlo decides to help support the local women’s volleyball team in their efforts to apply for the state tournament. After stumbling upon the town himself, Jim develops an attachment to the volleyball team as well, before discovering that Jackie Daytona is none other than Lazlo himself.
After a fight that leaves the fundraiser money burnt to ashes, the two vampires talked through their issues, with Lazlo giving Jim the Big Mouth Billy Bass toy from the bar, officially settling their debt. Jim than joyfully takes on the role of coach for the volleyball team only to become enraged during a game when his Billy Big Mouth breaks, reigniting the anger for Lazlo. Hamill knocks it out of the park as Jim the Vampire, leaving us wanting more of the character moving forward.
1 The Vampire Council
Back to the star-studded episode, “The Trial”, this episode contains so many guest star appearances that we could not fit them in one photo. The Vampire Council presiding over the trial of the group for the murder of Baron Afanas is lead by Tilda Swinton and flanked by the likes of Paul Reubens, Danny Trejo, Evan Rachel Wood, Wesley Snipes, as well as the three main characters from the 2014 film, Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and Jonathan Brugh. A comedy show trying to find its legs in the vast wilderness that is television these days, a group of guest stars in the first season leant credibility to What We Do in the Shadows and has allowed it to flourish into becoming the great comedy series it is today.
