There's nothing fans love more than seeing their favorite actors make a fool of themselves; that's part of the appeal of watching people host Saturday Night Live, finally. The postmodern self-referential irony of playing himself in a performance shows an audience that the actor is a real person and can joke; it paradoxically increases a celebrity's likability when they can be seen less as a celebrity and more as a "regular" person. Fans love to know that their favorite actor is even slightly down to earth, and it in turn colors the perception people have of their acting performances. This is why the roles an actor needs to play themselves can sometimes be their most famous or beloved.
Update February 27, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect the release of The unbearable weight of enormous talent and features even more fun performances where actors play themselves.
Technically, people play themselves every day, but some actors take themselves to a whole new level. While the idea of playing yourself in a movie seems simple, it can be done in ways that challenge the actor for the role. In order for people to play themselves well in a movie, they need to be able to laugh at themselves and be the butt of the joke, which requires them to have a thick skin and the ability to recognize someone's public persona and make fun of the image the public associates with it. This kind of meta-performance often seems easier than it actually is, which may be why many actors never do it. However, it often wins many creative awards, as evidenced by the following films. Here are some great movies where actors play themselves.
8 Nicholas Cage - The unbearable weight of enormous talent
One of the newest entries on this list, The unbearable weight of enormous talent was a real career comeback for it Nicholas Cage. Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself caught in a similar scenario that the real actor found himself in after ten years of being forced to make cheap direct-to-video movies and being seen as a joke. The unbearable weight of enormous talent leans towards Cage's movie star persona while simultaneously showing the emotional depth that has made the actor such a prominent figure for so many decades. The film certainly helped revive the star's career as he will now play Dracula in Universal's Reinfeldwith Cage's performance as the famed vampire being the film's main selling point.
7 John Malkovich - being John Malkovich
John Malkovich plays the titular role of itself in it being John Malkovich. In this film, Malkovich not only plays himself, but somehow also plays many other characters in the film. The setting of the film is the consciousness of actor John Malkovich, and the characters in the film (John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener and others) find a way to enter it and try to control it. According to Malkovich, he sometimes plays every character - men, women and children all have John's face and just say the word "Malkovich!" The film may not be a laugh-out-loud comedy to many, but is instead a metafictional thought exercise.
This role would have been a huge challenge for most actors in Hollywood, but Malkovich doesn't seem to even try, taking advantage of his weird public persona as one of the most well-known character actors in Hollywood who can thrive on playing challenging roles . components. Malkovich is what makes this film, and his ability to shift performances based on the characters controlling his consciousness is nothing short of brilliant. If this movie were about anyone other than Malkovich, it wouldn't have a title.
6 Debra Messing - Brothers
Debra Messing plays a small role in the film Brothers, who plays himself as a potential sponsor of the LGBTQ+ museum that the film's protagonist, Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner), is trying to open. Messing is clearly enjoying her time as Grace from the hit television series Will and grace, where she freaks out when Bobby tries to talk to Messing about his personal life, confirming that she is not her character Grace. Messing has always been a great comedy actress, so it's great to see her really loosen up Brothers in one of the film's many highlights.
5 Jean Claude van Damme - JCVD
Gaumont
Jean-Claude Van Damme is one of the most iconic action stars of the 1980s, but by the 2000s, his career seemed to have stalled, as the star not only got older, but the kind of action movies he made his name with had gone out of style. 2008 JCVD steers towards that, where Van Damme plays a fictionalized version of herself as a dejected, washed-up action star who finds herself in the middle of a real heist. JCVD was critically acclaimed and enabled Van Damme to showcase his range as a dramatic actor and could well be his best film.
4 Neil patrick harris - Harold and Kumar go to White Castle
Neil patrick harrisrole in the original Harold and Kumar go to White Castle may have been very minimal, but was monumental to Harris as an actor. Until this film, Harris was known as a child actor and affectionately referred to as "Doogie" in reference to his childhood role. However in the first Harold and Kumar, Harris plays a version of himself who is the complete opposite of his Doogie character in every way - this version of Harris is dirtier, sloppier, and constantly on the hunt for coke and strippers.
This satirical version of himself allowed Harris to shed the childish persona he previously had and transition into adult acting, allowing Harris to land his infamously charming bastard role in How I met your mother and hilarious, extended performances in the ensuing ones Harold and Kumar movies. Without Harris being able to play himself here, he may never have had an acting career after that Doogie Howser MD.
3 Ben Affleck and Matt Damon - Jay and Silent Bob strike back
Miramax
am Affleck had been a regular in Kevin Smith films ever since Mallratsand released in 1999 Matt Damon team up with him to star in Dogma after the duo became Academy Award winners for writing the script for Good Will Hunting. In 2001, Affleck and Damon came together as themselves Jay and Silent Bob strike back to film Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season (Affleck does double duty, also reprising his role as Holden from chasing Amy). The scene with the two of them is a great piece of comedy, both playing a big movie Good Will Hunting had become, a parody of over-the-top sequels, as well as the personas of the two stars. Affleck, in particular, seems to enjoy playing against his then-current media image as a handsome boy actor.
2 Bill Murray- Zombieland
Bill Murray's cameo in it Zombieland is one of the most iconic cameos and a brilliantly short and memorable example of an actor playing himself. When people think of an actor playing himself, this particular role is the one that comes to mind. In Zombieland, Murray plays himself but does so in a very comical way. Murray's version of himself pretends to be undead in order to survive the zombie apocalypse, hanging out in his massive mansion and having a great time.
Not only is this objectively hilarious, but it's also something many fans could see Bill Murray doing in real life. As usual, Murray's comedic timing is impeccable and despite not being a main character in the film, he has a major impact on all who watch. His exit from the movie is just as funny.
1 The entire cast of This is the end
In most movies where actors appear as themselves, it's usually a single cameo, but This is the end allows any actor to play heightened, insane versions of themselves. The basic plot of the movie revolves around a large group of celebrities who get together to have a riotous party when suddenly the apocalypse hits. The cast all play satirical versions of themselves, but the most impressive thing about the film is how the actors can build on each other improvisationally.
The cast was very tight-knit, so the actors on set not only worked well together, but were also able to bounce off each other comically. This made the movie a million times funnier and allowed the cast to create hysterical, realistic banter. The best part about this movie is that you can glimpse the amount of fun such a large group of actors had making fun of the personas they (and the movie audience) had created.
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