Wait, did Eminem actually pop up in Happy Gilmore? If you’re thinking about the original 1996 classic—the one with the Bob Barker fight and the "Gold jacket, green jacket" lines—then the answer is a hard no.
Back in '96, Marshall Mathers wasn't even a household name yet. He was still grinding in the Detroit underground, years away from the Slim Shady LP or that iconic 8 Mile run. But if you’ve been scrolling through TikTok or caught a headline lately saying he's in the movie, you aren't exactly hallucinating. It's just a matter of which movie we're talking about.
The Eminem Cameo: Happy Gilmore 2 Explained
The confusion stems from the long-awaited sequel, Happy Gilmore 2, which hit Netflix in the summer of 2025.
Adam Sandler is notorious for packing his movies with his buddies and random A-listers. This time, he really outdid himself. Eminem doesn't just show up for a "blink and you'll miss it" background shot; he plays a specific character with a direct tie to the first film’s lore.
Honestly, it’s one of the funniest parts of the sequel.
Eminem plays Donald Floyd Jr., the son of the legendary heckler from the first movie (originally played by the late, great Joe Flaherty). You remember that guy—the one who drove a Volkswagen Beetle onto the course and screamed "Jackass!" at the top of his lungs? Well, Slim Shady stepped into those obnoxious shoes.
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What Actually Happens in the Scene?
In the sequel, Eminem appears wearing a bucket hat and a beard, looking genuinely malevolent. He confronts Happy (Sandler) and delivers a line that had theaters—and living rooms—erupting. He tells Happy that he wishes his father could be there to see this, but unfortunately, his dad is now in "the great Sizzler in the sky."
It's a perfect nod to the original "Sizzler" joke from 1996.
The scene turns into absolute chaos. Eminem asks Happy, "Is this your posse?" before a fight breaks out. In a truly bizarre twist, Eminem’s character ends up getting tossed into a pond filled with alligators. It's high-level slapstick, and seeing the most serious rapper on the planet lean into that kind of absurdity is just... weirdly satisfying.
Why Did This Happen Now?
You might wonder how Sandler even got Eminem to agree to this. They’ve actually been friendly for a while.
Sandler told Dan Patrick in an interview that he’s known Marshall for years. He was actually nervous about asking him, saying he "didn't want to bother the man" while he was out in Detroit doing his thing. But when he finally made the call, Em was surprisingly down for it.
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They reportedly spent a whole day shooting, and according to Sandler, Eminem was "insane" on set, ad-libbing a million lines that they couldn't even use because they were so over-the-top.
It’s Not Their First Time Working Together
A lot of people forget that Eminem actually appeared in another Adam Sandler project years ago. In the 2009 movie Funny People, Eminem played a fictionalized, highly aggressive version of himself. There's a scene where he’s sitting at a table with Sandler and Ray Romano, and he starts losing his mind on Romano for staring at him.
That 2009 cameo proved Eminem had comedic timing. It's probably why the Happy Gilmore 2 appearance felt so natural, even though it was totally unexpected.
Other Cameos You Might Have Missed
Eminem wasn't the only heavy hitter in the sequel. The movie is basically a "who's who" of 2025 pop culture.
- Travis Kelce: Plays a head waiter serving golf legends.
- Bad Bunny: Appears as Oscar Mejías.
- Margaret Qualley: Shows up in a hilarious one-scene role as an amateur golfer.
- Scottie Scheffler: The pro golfer actually gets arrested in the movie, which is a direct (and hilarious) jab at his real-life 2024 PGA Championship arrest.
Was He in the 1996 Original?
To be crystal clear: No. If you see a "Mandela Effect" post claiming Eminem was a caddy or a random fan in the 1996 Happy Gilmore, they are likely confusing him with someone else or just trolling. In 1996, the "celebrity" guests were people like Bob Barker and Lee Trevino.
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The closest thing the original had to a "gritty" cameo was Ben Stiller playing the abusive nursing home orderly, Hal L. (who, by the way, also returns for the sequel).
What This Means for Eminem's Acting Career
For a long time, fans wanted a sequel to 8 Mile or another serious lead role for Marshall. Instead, he seems much more comfortable doing these "unhinged" comedic cameos. It suits him.
He gets to show up, be the funniest person on screen for three minutes, and then head back to Detroit. By playing Donald Floyd Jr., he basically cemented himself into the "Sandlerverse."
Next Steps for Fans:
If you haven't seen the cameo yet, head over to Netflix and search for Happy Gilmore 2. The Eminem scene happens during the latter half of the film. Pay close attention to the dialogue—almost every line he says is a callback to a joke from the first movie or a reference to his own career.
If you're looking for more of "Funny Eminem," definitely go back and watch his scene in Funny People (2009) or his brief, hilarious appearance in the film The Interview (2014), where he plays a version of himself coming out on live TV.