Certain actors are often considered to be “playing themselves” in many of their roles. It seems to be somewhat insulting because it implies a limit in range and that they can only play roles that fit their perceived selves. What actors out there are often viewed as “playing themselves” and can you think of a role or two from that actor that went against that trend?
Jack Nicholson comes to mind, especially regarding his later career (from the mid-80’s and beyond). A lot of his characters are pretty similar and fitting the template of Jack’s perceived persona. I think the big exception was Col. Jessup from A Few Good Men. It was a role unlike any other for Nicholson in that era and, ultimately, was one of his best acting performances.
Samuel L. Jackson also plays very similar characters. His exception may be his role in the Star Wars films. Michael J. Fox is another one. Earlier in his career before his unfortunate illness, he played quite a few similar characters. Even in an intense, dramatic war film like Casualties of War, his character looked like Alex P. Keaton dropped in the middle of the Vietnam conflict.
John Wayne was the ultimate in playing himself. Did he ever have a stellar acting performance in a role that countered his image?
What do you think? Is this something that you see with younger actors today?..women?..etc???
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