# Actors / comedians who played a worse version of themselves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [February 18, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737 "2024-02-18T18:22:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/141 "2026-04-18T17:39:57Z")
Canada also had a long-running series of commercials for Skip (a.k.a. Skip the Dishes) where Jon Hamm played an entitled clueless version of himself. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/142 "2026-04-18T18:35:58Z")
> [@icon](#): > > George Takei played a rather easily befuddled version of himself on the show Psych during the first season “Shawn vs. the Red Phantom” Curt Smith from Tears for Fears also played himself on Psych. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/143 "2026-04-18T22:20:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > In CANNONBALL RUN, Roger Moore — who, when he played James Bond, wore a tuxedo and brandished a gun and drove a fast car — wore a tuxedo and brandished a gun and drove a fast car and called himself Roger Moore. Two years after the _Cannonball Run_, in 1983’s _Curse of the Pink Panther_, Roger Moore played himself—but maybe not himself. (He was introduced as being Roger Moore, but there were…complications.) (Apologies if I’ve already mentioned _CoftPP_. But it does appear as though Roger Moore had a thriving sub-career playing himself.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/144 "2026-04-20T03:33:23Z")
Has Eddie Murphy’s Kit Ramsey character in _Bowfinger_ been mentioned? Basically a more egotistical and paranoid version of Eddie Murphy, I think. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/145 "2026-04-20T11:04:14Z")
From my reading of the original post it does not qualify as in the movie (and the credits) he is never referred to as Eddie Murphy. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/146 "2026-04-20T11:48:34Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Has Eddie Murphy’s Kit Ramsey character in _Bowfinger_ been mentioned? Basically a more egotistical and paranoid version of Eddie Murphy, I think. > [@icon](#): > > From my reading of the original post it does not qualify as in the movie (and the credits) he is never referred to as Eddie Murphy. Yes, Eddie Murphy played a character named Kit Ramsey, so it disqualifies that performance from this thread, which is about actors playing a worse version of themselves. Think Neil Patrick Harris playing an out of control version of Neil Patrick Harris in the ‘Harold and Kumar’ movies-- that’s probably about the most canonical example. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/147 "2026-04-20T11:56:39Z")
Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/148 "2026-04-20T14:05:04Z")
There used to be an animated show on Comedy Central called Dr. Katz. The animation was crude (and wasn’t static - I believe they called it wiggle vision), but comedian Jonathan Katz played a therapist (with H. John Benjamin as his hapless son). > **[Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Katz,_Professional_Therapist)** > > Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist is an American adult animated sitcom created by Jonathan Katz and Tom Snyder for Comedy Central. It was the first animated show from Comedy Central, predating South Park by a few years, and originally ran from May 28, 1995, to February 13, 2002. The series starred the voice talents of Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The show was produced by Popular Arts Entertainment, HBO Downtown Productions, and Tom Snyder Productions. The series won a Pe... Anyway, parts of the show featured him in therapy sessions with patients, who were usually comedians doing a comedy bit. Since the comedians were talking as if this was actual therapy material, I’d think it would qualify. Here’s Concan O’Brien [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/U1m5aDktGTY/maxresdefault.jpg "Conan O’Brien's Therapy Session - Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1m5aDktGTY) > **[10 of Dr. Katz’s Most Memorable Patients](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/tv/10-dr-katzs-most-memorable-patients)** > > Fortunately, doctor-patient confidentiality doesn’t extend to cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/149 "2026-04-20T14:18:48Z")
Does any appearance “as themselves” count? Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Last Action Hero” as the actor who portrays the character Jack Slater for example. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/150 "2026-04-20T15:04:26Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > There used to be an animated show on Comedy Central called Dr. Katz. The animation was crude (and wasn’t static - I believe they called it wiggle vision), but comedian Jonathan Katz played a therapist (with H. John Benjamin as his hapless son). I remember that show! I liked it at the time, but yeah, that ‘wiggle vision’ kinda makes me a little nauseous now, watching the Conan clip. > [@Lumpy](#): > > Does any appearance “as themselves” count? Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Last Action Hero” as the actor who portrays the character Jack Slater for example. Don’t think I ever saw that movie. The plot was sort of a ‘movies and reality overlap’ meta thing, if I recall. Did Arnold Schwarzenegger play himself, as in his name was Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie? And did he play a (presumably) worse, less likeable version of himself? Then yes, it would count. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/151 "2026-04-20T15:31:14Z")
The fictional action hero Jack Slater, as portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was in-movie supposedly played by Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don’t think he was playing a “less likeable” version of himself, but he was portraying a fictionalized version of himself in that he has not actually been the star of a series of action movies about a fictional Los Angeles police detective named Jack Slater (at least until the film “Last Action Hero” came out!) It gets meta… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/152 "2026-04-20T15:31:40Z")
Odd we’ve gone this far and no one mentioned _Extras_ (at least, a search doesn’t find it). That was their stock in trads, as Ricky Gervais met various actors who played comic versions of themselves. These include Ben Stiller (arrogant and boastful), Kate Winslet (who appears in a Holocaust film hoping to win an Oscar (she eventually did in real life), Patrick Stewart, David Bowie, and Ian McKellen ([giving acting advice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5CX00i4uZE) “I pretend to be the person I’m playing.”) ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/153 "2026-04-20T15:42:11Z")
Bowie’s scene was the best scene of a great series. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/154 "2026-04-20T15:46:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Odd we’ve gone this far and no one mentioned _Extras_ (at least, a search doesn’t find it). That was their stock in trads, as Ricky Gervais met various actors who played comic versions of themselves. (Psst) Post #12: > [@Actors / comedians who played a worse version of themselves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/12): > > Likewise Extras and Life’s Too Short. Then a few posts later @Loach mentioned Liam Neeson, who had a very funny turn on Extras: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/huJ81Mq2y34/hqdefault.jpg "Improvisational Comedy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huJ81Mq2y34) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/155 "2026-04-20T16:09:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Odd we’ve gone this far and no one mentioned _Extras_ (at least, a search doesn’t find it). That was their stock in trads, as Ricky Gervais met various actors who played comic versions of themselves. We have, and yet weirdly you’re right - when I initially did a search for “Extras” nothing came up. And yet now they do. Wonder if the search engine is having issues. Case in point: > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Likewise **Extras** and **Life’s Too Short**. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Or the show [Extras](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445114/) with Ricky Gervais. Especially season 1. > [@MrDibble](#): > > [Patrick Stewart on _Extras_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_cwI1Xj4M) (show cited a few times here, but this particular scene…) > [@Gyrate](#): > > Warwick Davis played a worse version of himself in _Life’s Too Short_ and a better (probably) version of himself in _Billionaire Boy_. And was in _Extras_ as himself as well. > [@Tibby](#): > > David Bowie in _Extras_ was gloriously vicious to Ricky Gervais’s character, capped off by his spontaneous “little fat man” song. Very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/156 "2026-04-20T16:16:50Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > He was also a jerk in the one at the bowling alley when he tried to break up Leonard and Penny just to win a bowling match. Agreed. I think he was a jerk in several episodes - then somehow he and Sheldon became somewhat friendly (I forget how they reconciled). To the point where he was supposed to be the officiant at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding… until Howard rescued Mark Hamill’s dog and asked him to step in (“I got you an upgrade!”). Wil was kind of disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/157 "2026-04-20T16:31:09Z")
> [@icon](#): > > From my reading of the original post it does not qualify as in the movie (and the credits) he is never referred to as Eddie Murphy. See, that’s the gimmick with Roger Moore in CANNONBALL RUN, which leaves me uncertain: yes, he gets referred to as “Roger Moore” — because the character, an obsessive fan who’s paid for surgery to help him look like Roger Moore, painstakingly introduces himself as “Roger Moore” — sure as he does his best to talk like Roger Moore while dressed like Roger Moore. I ask you: would movie star Roger Moore, who famously played James Bond, drive around in an Aston Martin and carry a prop gun that doesn’t actually fire bullets? Well, yeah; I guess he would. And so this guy, uh, _does that,_ is all. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/158 "2026-04-20T16:45:16Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > See, that’s the gimmick with Roger Moore in CANNONBALL RUN, which leaves me uncertain: yes, he gets referred to as “Roger Moore” — because the character, an obsessive fan who’s paid for surgery to help him look like Roger Moore, painstakingly introduces himself as “Roger Moore” — sure as he does his best to talk like Roger Moore while dressed like Roger Moore. Now that’s an interesting one. In that case, despite the fact that it’s Roger Moore playing a character named Roger Moore, it wouldn’t qualify for this thread because, within the fiction of the movie, he’s not supposed to be the actual Roger Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/159 "2026-04-20T16:57:25Z")
James Franco was himself in an episode of 30 Rock. He was trying to use the hollywood trick of having a fake fling with someone to prove your not having a real fling with someone else. But instead of trying to brush off rumors that he’s gay, he’s fighting rumors that he’s in a relationship with a pillow. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qEgUFcxIR4o/maxresdefault.jpg "James Franco's Pillow | 30 Rock") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEgUFcxIR4o&t=168) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737/160 "2026-04-20T19:17:12Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > > > He was also a jerk in the one at the bowling alley when he tried to break up Leonard and Penny just to win a bowling match. > > Agreed. > > I think he was a jerk in several episodes - then somehow he and Sheldon became somewhat friendly (I forget how they reconciled). To the point where he was supposed to be the officiant at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding… until Howard rescued Mark Hamill’s dog and asked him to step in (“I got you an upgrade!”). Wil was kind of disappointed. They reconciled then Brent Spiner got on Sheldon’s list by removing Sheldon’s action figure from its package. James Earl Jones also played himself on the show. He did ding dong dash Carrie Fisher so it’s arguable if he was playing a worse version of himself. Surprisingly that episode was the first time Jones and Fisher met in person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-comedians-who-played-a-worse-version-of-themselves/997737.md?page=9)