I’ve been watching the final season of ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’, and I’m currently listening to Larry David being interviewed on Conan O’Brien’s podcast. Conan (half?) jokes to Larry at one point that he’s supposed to be playing a worse, more unlikeable version of himself on the show, but he’s really just being himself verbatim.
Which got me to thinking, there are a lot of times an actor, especially a comic actor and usually for comedic purposes, has played a more unlikeable, annoying version of themselves.
Of course, there’s David’s longtime partner Jerry Seinfeld, who again may not even have been playing a worse version of himself, but more or less his own actual self. And comedian Marc Maron had his show Maron, where his ‘Maron’ character also may not have been much worse than his famously cranky a-hole actual self.
Then off the top of my head…there’s Neil Patrick Harris in the ‘Harold and Kumar’ movies, James Van Der Beek in the short-lived series ‘The B in Apt. 23’. And going back aways, ‘The Jack Benny Show’ in which Benny played himself as a miserly skinflint. And George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Julia Roberts plays a character playing Julia Roberts in “Ocean’s 12”, arguably a worse version of the real Julia Roberts. Briefly the “real” Julia Roberts is on the phone (voiced of course by Julia Roberts) with the fake Julia Roberts.
Jennifer Grey played approximately herself on “It’s Like… You Know”, and I believe at one point her father, Joel Grey, was a guest on the show and screamed something at her like “You’re not my daughter” or “I don’t even recognize you anymore” or something like that. So I would like to nominate Joel Grey. (Don’t know enough about Jennifer Grey or her character to nominate her.)
As I remember, Jennifer Grey appeared on that show after getting a nose job that dramatically changed her appearance. That probably explains the “I don’t recognize you” joke.
Loads of stand-ups play worse version of his, her, or themselves on television.
Lucille Ball in all her tv shows, Chris Rock in Everybody Hates Chris, Paul Reiser in Mad About You, Redd Foxx in Sanford & Son, Norm Macdonald in Norm, Tim Allen in Home Improvement, Sarah SIlverman in The Sarah Silverman Program, Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan in 30 Rock.
What about Roseanne in Roseanne? Was she better or worse? Was Bob Newhart in Newhart worse than Bob Newhart in The Bob Newhart Show? Ricky Gervais in anything?
The recently deceased Carl Weathers played himself on Arrested Development as a low-level scammer whose acting course cost whatever you happened to have on your person, and whose acting advice was mostly about how to live off food snatched from the craft table.
Adam Sandler starred in Funny People as George Simmons, an actor who’d built his career by starring in moronic comedies and speaking in annoying voices.
Louis CK played a more awkward and fumbling version of himself on Louie, though it turned out his character’s treatment of women wasn’t so exaggerated after all
There was another thread on this a while ago. I can’t remember if I started it or just participated in it.
Although many of those were based on themes and sometimes jokes from their stand up, those are not examples of people playing themselves. Rosanne was inspired by the “Domestic Goddess” comedy routine of Rosanne Barr but she played a different character. Same with Tim Allen and the rest. Redd Foxx was playing a character from a converted British comedy. Bob Newhart was never a therapist in real life. This isn’t about actors who don’t have range and basically act the same on screen as in real life, it’s about actors who literally play themselves.
No, actors and comedians who played worse versions of their literal identities. Larry David playing ‘Larry David’ on Curb, etc. I don’t think any of your examples apply.
There are several in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. They interrupt the filming of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. Affleck and Damon play douchey versions of themselves and Gus Van Sant isn’t paying attention while he is literally counting money.
