A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Such a role need not be filled by an actor: short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and most of them non-speaking. The director Alfred Hitchcock enjoyed inserting himself, often as a passive by-stander, in scenes of his films.