When Taylor Swift released the second music video from her record-breaking album The Life of a Showgirl, “Opalite”, the internet immediately began poring over its shining cast of celebrity cameos. Here’s every celebrity who made an appearance in the whimsically upbeat production, and how they all ended up there.
Taylor Swift hasn’t skipped a single beat since the end of her record-breaking Eras tour, and if her interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is anything to go by, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Last year, the Grammy-winning, chart-topping, Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee didn’t just conclude one of the biggest world tours in recorded history — she got engaged, appeared on the New Heights podcast with the Kelce brothers, released her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl, embarked on a highly-anticipated press tour to promote it, and also released her second Eras tour concert film and a six-episode documentary to boot.
If that sounds like a lot, it is — but if there’s anything Swift has built her brand and business on, it’s a reputation for being relentless in her pursuit of musical excellence. Her latest triumph? The brand-new music video for “Opalite”, the cheerful third track in The Life of a Showgirl.
While those with no context may find themselves confused at the seemingly random assortment of celebrity cameos in the “Opalite” video, the idea for it first took root in Swift’s mind on the exact day of the album’s release — during a now-iconic appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
In a post announcing the music video shared to Instagram, Swift said, “When we were all talking during the broadcast, Domhnall made a light hearted joke about wanting to be in one of my music videos. He’s Irish! He was joking! Except that in that moment during the interview, I was instantly struck with an idea. And so a week later he received an email script I’d written for the Opalite video, where he was playing the starring role.”
Swift went on to add, “I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton Show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too. Like a school group project but for adults and it isn’t mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90s with us and help with this video.”
The Graham Norton Show interview
It all started on a red sofa, with a lineup of celebrities composed purely of talent and good vibes. An innocuous, cheeky question, posed by Irish actor and screenwriter Domhnall Gleeson. A playful exchange with musician Lewis Capaldi, and an interview to remember.
On October 3, 2025, Taylor Swift appeared on The Graham Norton show as part of the press tour for The Life of the Showgirl. Swift’s appearance came some years after she had stopped appearing on talk shows, and her return to late night television was received with roaring enthusiasm amongst Swifties and fellow celebrities alike.
That evening, Swift shared Norton’s famous red sofa with acclaimed actor Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Oppenheimer), actress Greta Lee (Russian Doll, Tron: Ares), actress Jodie Turner-Smith (The Agency, Anne Boleyn), musician Lewis Capaldi, and Gleeson, who is best known for his roles as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, and as General Hux in the Star Wars franchise.
While the general vibe on the sofa was memorable and fun, the guests bolstered by the easy energy of Norton — who is regarded as one of the most personable talk show hosts — some of Swift’s critics were quick to judge. Before long, a social media firestorm had spread, perpetuating drama that was later proven unfounded.
Lewis Capaldi on that Graham Norton Show moment with Taylor Swift
During their shared appearance on the Graham Norton Show, Capaldi was asked about his upcoming EP, but responded that he “was told” he “wasn’t allowed to talk about it.” Swift, who is renowned for championing the rights of other musicians — particularly on issues relating to catalogue and masters ownership — promptly chimed in with a confused, “By who?”
Capaldi, bolstered by the audiences’ cheering rattled on, sharing, “What? Am I? F–ck it, yeah, it’s coming out… the EP is coming out. It’s called… I’ll just tell you. It’s called Survive, and it’s coming out later in the year,” prompting a playful rebuke from Norton, who said, “Singing like a canary!”
While most people regarded the moment as a heartfelt showcase of artists supporting fellow artists, others began questioning Swift’s role in Capaldi’s initial claim of ‘not being allowed to talk about it’. Rumours began swirling in the digital sphere that Swift’s team had specifically requested that Capaldi remained silent about his project, thus fuelling already-rampant allegations that Swift’s releases were aimed at ‘blocking’ other artists from reaching the top spot on streaming charts.
@devotedly.yours Lewis Capaldi sets the record straight on who told him he wasn’t allowed to talk about his EP on the Graham Norton Show. Spoiler: it wasn’t Taylor Swift
Capaldi, however, later rubbished those claims on December 11, 2025, when he appeared on KISS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show. Addressing the rumours of “Bad Blood”, Capaldi shared, “That’s hogwash. I saw a TikTok about that. And it’s a woman being like, ‘Taylor did this, and she’s evil,’ and this and that. And I’m going like, ‘That’s completely made up.’”
The 29-year-old went on to add, “Basically, my EP hadn’t been announced yet. So, I was told by my label, ‘Don’t tell people before you go on.’ Not like a, ‘You can’t tell people.’ It was like, ‘It’s not been announced yet, so don’t tell people.’ And then we went on Graham Norton, and Graham said, ‘You’ve got this new EP coming out.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I thought I wasn’t meant to mention it.’”
While Capaldi’s clarifications certainly pointed at a case of internet sleuthing gone wrong, his inclusion in the “Opalite” music video proves just one thing: That the best ideas can come from any situation, no matter how serious or innocuous.
Interestingly, Swift’s decision to stagger the release the hotly-anticipated music video has raised brows. The video first premiered on Spotify and Apple Music on February 6, 2026, before dropping on YouTube two days later. Experts suggest the move is aimed at chart domination. Of note is the fact that YouTube withdrew its streaming data from Billboard’s chart formulas last November, rendering its streams moot in counting towards Billboard chart placements. Given the massive streaming gains of a Swift drop, both Spotify and Apple Music are the biggest winners in this scenario, with “Opalite” quickly claiming the top spot for most-streamed music video in a single day on both platforms.
The “Opalite” video, which boasts a Stranger Things-esque aesthetic reminiscent of the ’90s, has understandably caught public attention for its massive list of celebrity cameos. Here’s every one we caught.
Every celebrity cameo on Taylor Swift’s latest music video, “Opalite”
Cillian Murphy
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who is renowned for eschewing the bread and circuses of Hollywood, took the day off from acting to narrate the fictional advertisement for Opalite. While he does not appear in-person, his likeness does make a cameo in a mural as a spokesperson for the glittery, magic-all spray.
Domhnall Gleeson
The final boss of manifestation, Domhnall Gleeson’s dreams have all come true since he first playfully suggested that he’d like to be on a Taylor Swift music video. Cast as the ‘Lonely Man’ opposite Swift’s ‘Lonely Woman’, Gleeson’s character spends the first half of the video attempting to engage in a meaningful relationship with a literal cactus, before finding joy and friendship in Swift (and a much-needed boost of Opalite).
Lewis Capaldi
Lewis Capaldi put to bed the rumours of his non-existent feud with Swift once and for all, when he appeared in “Opalite” as ‘The Greatest Mall Photographer Ever to Do It’. In his role, Capaldi takes some shots of Swift with Gleeson, and later expresses that he wants to be friends before being welcomed with open arms.
Greta Lee
Tron: Ares actress Greta Lee appeared in “Opalite” as an ‘Indie Rock Goddess’, who is shown singing on-screen as Swift’s ‘Lonely Woman’ shares a drink with her rock best friend.
Jodie Turner-Smith
Lee’s Tron: Ares co-star, British actress Jodie Turner-Smith appeared among the celebrity cameos in “Opalite” as the ‘Aerobics Dream Girl’, flanked on either side by familiar faces from the Eras tour as she performed an upbeat workout composed of sunshine and sparkles.
Graham Norton
One of the best and most unexpected celebrity cameos to appear on “Opalite”, Graham Norton appeared as the ‘Nope-alite spokesperson’, an Opalite detractor who only just misses out on spraying Swift with the reversal solution — thus taking away the joy of it all.
Kameron Saunders
Following the epic inclusion of Eras tour dancers in the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia”, it comes as no surprise that Kameron Saunders, who is renowned for his spirited refrains in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” made an appearance in “Opalite”. Saunders appears as an unimpressed judge who gives Swift and Gleeson’s dance performance a zero.
Other familiar faces from the Eras tour
Swift is known to celebrate the individuality and successes of her team, and that includes her tour dancers and backup singers. To that end, numerous familiar faces from her six-episode docuseries Taylor Swift: The End of an Era have cameos in “Opalite”, including vocalists and dancers Melanie Nyema, Kamilah Marshall, and Jeslyn Gorman, and dancers Karen Chuang, Audrey Douglass, Tori Evans, Sam McWilliams, Sydney Moss, Natalie Peterson, Natalie Reid, and Jan Ravnik.
Watch the music video here:
(All images: Taylor Swift/Instagram)
This article first appeared here
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
