# Actors that play themselves playing their character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149 "2005-09-11T22:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/21 "2005-09-12T02:30:44Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > Then _Groundhog Day_, he was a recovering cynical wise-cracking guy. […] That’s not a criticism; I think Murray rocks and every “character” he takes on is made 1000 times more interesting because he puts so much of himself into it. He does have a ‘type’ these days, but unlike most (maybe all) of the people mentioned here, I think he’s capable of being really moving and convincing all the same. He brings some kind of depth to those characters that I’m not sure anyone else does. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/22 "2005-09-12T02:35:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > As opposed to the variety displayed by Chico, Harpo, Zeppo, and the Zeppo replacements. 😉 Well, in the cases of Chico and Harpo at least, they definitely weren’t playing themselves, since Chico did not speak with an Italian accent and Harpo was quite well spoken. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/23 "2005-09-12T03:33:26Z")
The first 3 coming to mind for me were Hugh Grant, Edward G Robinson (both already mentioned) and Steve martin. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/24 "2005-09-12T03:34:59Z")
Martin even. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/25 "2005-09-12T05:31:33Z")
Kate Hepburn sprang to mind when I read the post title. Of course. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/26 "2005-09-12T05:34:34Z")
All these answers, and not one mention of Nicholas Cage? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/27 "2005-09-12T05:39:35Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > Well, in the cases of Chico and Harpo at least, they definitely weren’t playing themselves, since Chico did not speak with an Italian accent and Harpo was quite well spoken. Whether Chico spoke with an Italian accent in the movies is debatable. 😉 But yes, that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/28 "2005-09-12T05:42:29Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > All these answers, and not one mention of Nicholas Cage? Ooh, good one. I’d forgotten all about him (and now, thanks to you, I’ll have to try and erase him from my mind again). How does that guy keep getting work? Not only does he play the same guy, the guy he plays isn’t even likable! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/29 "2005-09-12T05:50:33Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > Ooh, good one. I’d forgotten all about him (and now, thanks to you, I’ll have to try and erase him from my mind again). > > How does that guy keep getting work? Not only does he play the same guy, the guy he plays isn’t even likable! I used to work in a video store. I STILL maintain that Cage has made a total of 4 good movies (_Fast Times at Ridgemont High_, _Bringing Out the Dead_, _Matchstick Men_ - which is made watchable by Sam Rockwell, and _Raising Arizona_). And that his Oscar should be revoked, and given to its rightful owner, Sean Penn, for _Dead Man Walking_. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/30 "2005-09-12T05:59:08Z")
Will Farrell. Zero range as an actor, no sense of comedic timing, and not funny even when he was at his prime doing his cheerleading character on SNL. His agent must have told him that he should base the remainder of his painful acting career on that character. I think it’s pretty discouraging that actors like him have come to be praised for their “comic genius” in a world of so much talent, and I find myself at a loss of words when I wonder how someone as talentless as he is gets so much work trying to be a “lovable baffoon” when he’s really nothing more than an obnoxious, vulgar clod. I also appear to be in a distinct minority with this opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/31 "2005-09-12T05:59:18Z")
Matthew Perry. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/32 "2005-09-12T06:21:49Z")
I can’t think of a better example than Charlie Sheen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_New\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@The\_New\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_New_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/33 "2005-09-12T08:47:23Z")
Joe Pesci Denis Leary Adam Sandler Sinbad Will Smith (although he does a fantastic job of playing himself) Robin Williams I’m not much of a classic movie expert, but Marilyn Monroe pretty much always played herself, didn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![The\_New\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@The\_New\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_New_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/34 "2005-09-12T08:53:21Z")
> [@anamnesis](#): > > Will Farrell. Zero range as an actor, no sense of comedic timing, and not funny even when he was at his prime doing his cheerleading character on SNL… > > I also appear to be in a distinct minority with this opinion. You may be in a minority, but you’re right. But then _popular_ and _talented_ being two different things is nothing new. (Although I can’t say he’s _never_ made me chuckle on SNL.) Oh, and I forgot to put on my list: Elvis ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/35 "2005-09-12T09:56:55Z")
Jim Carrey - He’s pretty much the Ace Ventura/Mask character most of the time (with notable exceptions - I thought his performance in _The Truman Show_ was rather refreshing. Richard E Grant - He’s always Withnail. Jack Nicholson surprised me in _About Schmidt_, where he plays a depressed, ineffectual loser - I can only imagine that the surprise at this unusual choice of character was the reason for the critical acclaim over this movie, as it was just sort of… meh. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/36 "2005-09-12T10:02:01Z")
Cary Grant James Stewart Gary Cooper John Wayne Clint Eastwood I have to disagree with the OP - I don’t consider having just one character to be “bad acting”, just a different kind of acting. Chameleonhood is not the be-all and end-all of the thespian arts. I don’t care much how an actor acts in a different movie than the one I’m watching, I just want to see him really sell the scene. If he then plays basically the same character in his next film, that’s OK, so long as he does a good job then, too. Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, a lot of all those “character” mannerisms, accents and whatnot is just showing off. Stand on your mark and speak your lines like you mean them, and don’t worry about the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/37 "2005-09-12T10:02:25Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > Is there even a name for this type of phenomenon (besides poor acting)? It’s typecasting, isn’t it? (albeit a special case of typecasting, where the type happens to be the actor’s natural personality, as far as we are able to ascertain). ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/38 "2005-09-12T12:05:25Z")
I’d have to say Alec Baldwin. His presence completely takes me out of the movie. I loved _The Aviator_ till he showed up. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/39 "2005-09-12T12:09:42Z")
Clark Gable! I can’t believe I forgot him. Can one of our movie buffs confirm or deny this rumor: the reason he didn’t win the Oscar for Gone With the Wind is that it was widely believed that he was just playing himself. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2005, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149/40 "2005-09-12T12:13:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I have to disagree with the OP - I don’t consider having just one character to be “bad acting”, just a different kind of acting. Chameleonhood is not the be-all and end-all of the thespian arts. I don’t care much how an actor acts in a different movie than the one I’m watching, I just want to see him really sell the scene. If he then plays basically the same character in his next film, that’s OK, so long as he does a good job then, too. Execellent point. And, remember, being a chameleon means respect but lower pay. It’s only when your recognizable to audiences that you can become a star, and it’s rare to do that by being different in every film (Meryl Streep managed, but few others). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-play-themselves-playing-their-character/321149.md?page=3)