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.
Curt Smith from Tears for Fears also played himself on Psych.
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.)
Has Eddie Murphy’s Kit Ramsey character in Bowfinger been mentioned? Basically a more egotistical and paranoid version of Eddie Murphy, I think.
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\\
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.
Got it.
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).
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
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.
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.
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.
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…
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 “I pretend to be the person I’m playing.”)
Bowie’s scene was the best scene of a great series.
(Psst) Post #12:
Then a few posts later @Loach mentioned Liam Neeson, who had a very funny turn on Extras:
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.