Notable guest appearances in PSB videos—plus 2 possibilities and 2 notable "nonappearances"
This list, with one exception, includes only those people who also have a substantial number of media credits outside of Pet Shop Boys videos. For that reason I don't include, for instance, Donna Bottman, the lovely young woman featured in the "Domino Dancing" video. My one exception is the special case of Dainton Connell, who makes it into the list by virtue of his repeat appearances—and because I was tempted to create a separate list just for him. But I decided to combine the two lists into this one.
- Ron Moody as the "chief executioner" in "It's a Sin"
- Dusty Springfield in "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
- Margi Clarke as the "kept woman" in "Rent"
- Alexander George Thynn, Seventh Marquess of Bath, as the "kept woman's 'keeper'" and dinner party host in "Rent"
- Joss Ackland, Barbara Windsor, Gareth Hunt, and Neil Dickson in various roles in "Always on My Mind"
- Ian McKellen as the vampire in "Heart"
- Jack Bond in "Heart"
This British television and film producer/director, who directed the Boys' film It Couldn't Happen Here as well as their "Always on My Mind" and "Heart" videos, makes a brief cameo appearance in the latter as a farmer standing on the side of the road as the limousine approaches the castle.
- Eagle-Eye
Cherry in "Being Boring"
Son of trumpeter Don Cherry, half-brother of singer Neneh Cherry, and an actor/singer in his own right, Eagle-Eye had a huge 1997 hit with "Save Tonight." He has also appeared in a number of films, among them The Doors and Born on the Fourth of July, and on television, including The Cosby Show and South Beach. On the PopArt DVD, he appears at timing 1:08:06 (and elsewhere).
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in "Jealousy"
- David Walliams and Matt Lucas in "I'm
with Stupid"
The comic duo, stars of the wildly popular U.K. TV show Little Britain, take center stage both literally and figuratively, with Chris and Neil a captive audience.
- Natalia Vodianova, Trent Ford, and Joseph Sayers
in "I Get Along"
Back when she was just an "ordinary" model, Russian now-supermodel Natalia Vodianova appeared in this video, shot by Bruce Weber. Joining her were at least two others also destined for bigger things: American actor Trent Ford and fellow U.S. model Joseph Sayers, the latter rapidly approaching rare "male supermodel" status.
- Duggie Fields in "It's a Sin"
London-based post-modern artist/painter Duggie Fields—who had achieved a high degree of notoriety well before his appearance in this video—served as the personification of Greed (the golden guy with coins in his mouth).
- Dainton Connell
A fan favorite, the Boys' longtime friend/minder/bodyguard, nicknamed "The Bear," appeared in no fewer than five videos before his sudden and untimely death in an October 5, 2007, automobile accident in Moscow:
- "So Hard" (one of the two large men who hover behind Chris and Neil throughout)
- "Jealousy" (that's him closing the doors at the end)
- "Was It Worth It?" (wearing the "Behave" sweatshirt, he even gets to dance!)
- "A Red Letter Day" (a brief glimpse as one of the many people standing in line)
- "Somewhere" (in a fleeting backstage scene)
- Russell Tovey and Tracey Emin in "A New Bohemia"
British actor Russell Tovey (Being Human, The History Boys, Him & Her, Looking, etc.) and British artist Tracey Emin appear among the bohemians in the music video for "A New Bohemia," which was filmed in Margate, where both Tovey and Emin live.
British actor Moody has appeared in scores of films and television shows. Among his more memorable roles have been as Fagin in the 1968 film musical Oliver!, as Iago in the 1981 BBC TV production of Othello, and as Merlin in the 1995 film A Kid in King Arthur's Court.
It almost goes without saying, but if I hadn't included the legendary British pop diva here, someone would have called me to task for the omission.
Known for her starring role in the 1985 film Letter to Brezhnev as well as her numerous subsequent appearances on U.K. television, including recurring roles on Making Out and Coronation Street.
A wealthy British aristocrat, politician (once a member of the House of Lords and an unsuccessful candidate for the European Parliament), and author of several novels, famed for his eccentricity.
Featured in the Pet Shop Boys' film It Couldn't Happen Here, these four veterans of British film and television also crop up in this video cobbled from film exceprts.
If you don't count Dusty, this is probably the single most famous guest appearance in a PSB video. For more than thirty years a giant of the modern Shakespearean stage, Sir Ian has more recently earned a much wider audience with his many prominent film roles, among them Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies, Magneto in the X-Men films, John Profumo in Scandal (for which Neil and Chris wrote the song "Nothing Has Been Proved"), and his Oscar-nominated turn as James Whale in Gods and Monsters.
This Nigerian-British actor, who would later gain fame as recurring characters in the TV series Oz and Lost, portrays the guy who has a quick tryst with a woman in a public restroom and ends up getting in a fight with other characters shortly afterward. It's just one of several roles he took on during the late 1980s and early 1990s in music videos for various artists, back when he was still trying to make a name for himself.
—plus a couple of pre-fame possibilities:
- Is that Eva Mendes in "Se A Vida É"?
Various fans have identified American actress/supermodel Eva Mendes as appearing pre-fame in the "Se A Vida É" video. There's certainly a strong resemblance (the lovely dark-haired young woman who is seen for a moment adjusting her top), so it's a distinct possibility. Various websites have reported her presence in the video as a fact, stemming from her work at the time as an aspiring model and actress. Nevertheless, I have yet to see any absolute confirmation.
- Is Ricky Martin an extra in "Domino Dancing"?
And/or in "Go West"?
It has been reported on a number of websites, including at one time (but no longer) on Wikipedia, that singer/songwriter Ricky Martin appeared fleetingly as an extra in a crowd scene in the video "Domino Dancing," filmed in his native Puerto Rico. I have no absolute verification of this assertion, however, so for now I'm listing it only as a possibility. (Actually, it may not be fair to cite this as a "pre-fame" appearance since, at the time the video was filmed, Ricky would have been near the end of his five-year stint as a member of the popular Latino boy-band Menudo, notorious for its policy of rotating members out of the group once they're no longer teenagers.) More dubiously, a Mexican publication once alleged that Martin appeared in the Boys' "Go West" video, presumably as one of the many "Russian marchers." I find that even more questionable—no, let's say far more questionable—than the earlier assertion for "Domino Dancing."
—and two notable "nonappearances":
- Geena Davis not appearing in "It's a Sin"
A widespread Internet rumor, replicated on various sites, holds that this famous American actress (Tootsie, Beetlejuice, Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, etc.), appears in this video. The only female roles are three of the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Lust, and Pride—the latter traditionally considered the most dangerous sin of all. Indeed, some of those Internet citations have placed Davis in the role of Pride. But the actresses credited as portraying those three sins are, respectively, Naomi Gryn, Amanda Metro, and Paola Pieroni. Further confusing the matter is the fact that, in the audio commentary track of the PopArt DVD, Neil identifies "Pride" as Margi Clarke (see #3 above). But it would appear that Neil is mistaken on this point. The woman who played Gluttony, Naomi Gryn, also served as Derek Jarman's casting director for the video shoot, and she has confirmed that she herself, Metro, and Pieroni performed as those three sins. In short, Geena Davis is not in the "It's a Sin" video.
- Tiffany not appearing in "Heart"
The bride in the "Heart" video admittedly bears a remarkable resemblance to the 1980s teen pop star Tiffany, thereby engendering a once-common rumor. But it's not her. Rather, she's a Croatian actress named Daniella Colić.
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