Shyamalan doing cameos is much more of a twist than his usual plot twists.
M. Night: Nobody knows who I am anymore!
Girlfriend: Really? You put yourself in all your movies.
M. Night: I know. ["And Starring M. Night" splashes across the screen]
Girlfriend: Really? You put yourself in all your movies.
M. Night: I know. ["And Starring M. Night" splashes across the screen]
— CollegeHumor, "Shyamalan"
Being directly inspired by the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, M. Night Shyamalan is known for making cameos in the films he has directed. The only exception is Lady in the Water, where his Author Avatar role is quite big.
- In The Sixth Sense, he plays Dr. Hill, who dismisses Cole Sear and suspects Lynn of abusing him.
- In Unbreakable, he plays a drug dealer at the stadium. He is touched by David Dunn.
- In Signs, he plays Ray Reddy, who regrets his involvement in Mrs. Hess' death.
- In The Village (2004), he plays a park ranger who is abusive towards Ivy.
- In The Happening, he makes a voiceover cameo as Joey calling on Alma's phone.
- In The Last Airbender, he plays a Firebender at a prison camp.
- In Split, he plays a security guard named Jai.
- In Glass (2019), his roles from Unbreakable and Split have combined, with Jai arriving at David Dunn's store and asking David if he met him before.
- In Old, he plays the resort driver who takes couples to the beach.
