Philadelphians were treated to a glimpse at the stars during their morning weather forecast on Jan. 9. Mark Wahlberg and his Broken City director Allen Hughes took over local news station Fox 29's green screen to report on the week's mild weather and congested traffic conditions. But the former Funky Bunch leader is hardly the first VIP "drafted to point at isobars." Here a look at seven celebrity meteorologist cameos.
1. Mark Wahlberg
The action star and his director Allen Hughes fumbled through a tag-team report of Philadelphia's seven-day forecast. While the jocular pair talked over each other and tended to block the screen's display, Wahlberg eventually loosened up, ad-libbing his own lines ("The warmer temperatures are still hanging in there") and offering some free advice ("If you're coming east bound on the 676 here, you're going to have some serious problems. Why don't you stop and get yourself a hoagie?") His clip "gives me hope," says Julie Gerstein at The Frisky, "that he actually has a decent sense of humor."
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2. Prince Charles
The heir to the throne was given a rather predictable report to deliver to Scottish viewers: "Cold, wet, and windy." But he did a charming job of it, says Jessica Derschowitz of CBS News. "If being King of England doesn't work out, Prince Charles may have another profession lined up — TV weatherman." Actually, he could have employed more gusto, says Davis. The report was "solid and to the point, but also stiff and slightly unfeeling."
3. Tom Hanks
When the Oscar-winner crashed the weather desk of Spanish-language channel Univision's morning program Despierta America in June 2011, he took it upon himself to "go bigger than his weather-crashing predecessors," says New York. Joined by a buxom weather lady, Hanks danced through nearly the entire report as jaunty music played in the background. It's all so bizarre and wonderful, that if you "squint, this could be a deleted scene from Lost in Translation."
4. Ellen DeGeneres
While in Chicago to tape her TBS special Ellen's Somewhat Special Special in May 2011, DeGeneres stopped by the city's Chicago affiliate to plug the program — and try her hand at the weather. She delivers "the funniest forecast ever," says The Huffington Post. Her scene-stealing moment: Revealing, shocked, the industry secret about the digital weather maps meteorologists stand in front of. "There's nothing back here! It's just a green screen! It's all a lie, people."
5. Steve Carell
The celebrated funnyman, in England to promote his 2010 film Date Night, used a visit to the morning program GMTV to revisit his famous off-his-rocker weatherman Brick Tamland from the comedy Anchorman. Staying true to the inept fictional meteorologist's character, Carell delivered an impromptu weather report in which he mistook Europe for North America. "It was pretty bad," says Krystal Clark at Screen Crave, "but equally hilarious."
6. Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World duo Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman stopped by Fox 5 Atlanta's morning news program — presumably to promote their film — but instead spent a "glorious two minutes of airtime" delivering an absurdly hilarious weather forecast, says The Huffington Post. There was dancing, confusion, an imaginary bus accident... and very little actual weather reporting. "But watching these two goof off is so much more interesting than the highs and lows."
7. Gerard Butler
The 300 star isn't a comedian, says New York, and therefore plays his report "appealingly straight." On GMTV to promote the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, Butler was quite charming, says Lara Martin at Digital Spy: "Temperatures will be, I'm guessing — I imagine — lower in the North and a little bit warmer in the South!" What a winning performance.
This article — originally published on May 11, 2012 — was last updated on January 10, 2013.
