# Actors who play themselves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341 "2001-10-29T19:09:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Candlemas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Candlemas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candlemas)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/21 "2001-10-30T19:10:37Z")
W.C. Fields was basically himself in all his movies. I think it’s interesting that there are some stars that are famous by shear force of personality. Their personalities are so unique, charming, looney, etc. that they themselves are just fun to watch. When I watch Johnny Depp, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep or Denzel Washington in a movie I expect to see a great performance. But some folks (like W.C. Fields, John Wayne, Ben Stein) are such characters themselves that they command our attention without having to act. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/22 "2001-10-30T19:17:22Z")
Matthew Perry. Either he’s always playing himself, or he’s always playing Chandler Bing. Not sure which. But I still like him. He’s got a killer smile. Sheri ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/23 "2001-10-30T19:25:07Z")
Eva Gabor could act. Once again I must recommend “A Touch of Evil” How would anyone know whether Pauly Shore can act? Have any of you seen him in a movie? I haven’t, but I saw the advertising for his movies and considered it a warning that they were really dumb. And the Jenny McCarthy show on MTV was very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Yondan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/278dde/32.png) [@Yondan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yondan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/24 "2001-10-30T20:29:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*\*Meg Ryan. She plays the same character in every movie. \*\* I disagree. I think this is largely because she has been cast in roles with little variety. To see her stretch as an actress, see _Joe vs. the Volcano_. This is an odd film, but I really liked it. To address the other issue, the idea that men can’t really act is absurd. Ever heard of Robert deNiro? Denzel Washington? Patrick Stewart? Sir John Gielgud? Kirk Douglas? Burt Lancaster? Nathan Lane? Christopher Walken? James Earl Jones? Dustin Hoffman? OTOH, there are a lot of men who are (or were) really just performers, in that they may play variations on a theme, but never really create new characters or personalities: Bruce Lee, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage. OTOOH, this may not be a really bad thing. As others have noted, why would you want to watch the Bogart play anything else? The same thing goes for Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck. Or maybe a more nuanced definition needs to be developed here. After all, would anyone say that Peck’s acting was less than superb? and yet his roles were always about these men with incredible integrity and strength. And yet he always knew that he was not the characters he played, and was remarkably humble in his own life. So is he a performer or an actor? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/25 "2001-10-30T22:26:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*Well, let’s see… > > Sean Connery played a Scottish Russian sub captain in “The Hunt for Red October.” > > He played a Scottish ancient Greek warrior in “Time Bandits.” > > He played a Scottish Spaniard in “Highlander.” > > He played a Scottish Irishman in “The Untouchables.” > > He played a Scottish Arab sheik in “The Wind and the Lion.” > > Am I missing any others? \*\* He played a Scottish king Arthur in _First Knight_. ---
**Author:** ![jwg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@jwg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jwg)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/26 "2001-10-30T22:47:03Z")
jean claude van dam alan alda (good or bad guy, he still plays alan alda) shannon tweed (I know, I know) slim pickens Michael Ironsides Lassie Walter Brimley David Niven Chevy Chase Goldie Hawn that guy who played the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket (or at least he always plays the same part) ---
**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:** [October 31, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/27 "2001-10-31T00:26:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jwg \* > \*\*jean claude van dam > …Lassie… \*\* Hey, to begin with it was a guy dog in drag and second, I have it good athority that Lassie also played Asta in the Thin Man series and did Neil (the Saint Bernard) in Topper. That bitch had range (except it was a guy dog of course). ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ For those not up on old movies, the part about Neil and Asta was just a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/28 "2001-10-31T04:54:59Z")
I’d disagree with putting Robin Williams on the list… He’s got two characters. The prof in _Dead Poet’s Society_ sure wasn’t the same character as Mork. And for the record, I happen to think that he’s pretty good at those two characters. ---
**Author:** ![Yondan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/278dde/32.png) [@Yondan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yondan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/29 "2001-10-31T16:40:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*I’d disagree with putting Robin Williams on the list… He’s got two characters. The prof in _Dead Poet’s Society_ sure wasn’t the same character as Mork. > > And for the record, I happen to think that he’s pretty good at those two characters. \*\* THis is true, except that he pretty much put a stake through Mork’s heart long ago. It’s too bad that the rest of roles (aside from the prof) are mutants from the planet ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/30 "2001-10-31T17:44:47Z")
There might be a certain sameness to the roles Jack Nicholson has taken lately (I wouldn’t know), but such was not always the case. The characters of Jake Gittes (Chinatown), R.P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Jack Torrence (The Shining) are just a few that represent his great range at one time. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/31 "2001-10-31T18:00:09Z")
Helen Hunt. I’m not sure if she’s playing Jamie Buchman over and over and over, of if she’s just playing herself over and over. Either way, it’s extremely annoying and impossible to watch. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/32 "2001-10-31T21:56:29Z")
I really like and admire **Steve Buscemi** , and I tend to like movies he’s in. However, he can’t be considered very versatile. Either he doesn’t have any range at all, or he’s always asked to play the same character, or he’s smart enough to have made a career out of playing the one kind of character he does better than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/33 "2001-11-01T01:36:02Z")
William Shatner! He’s the rocketman! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/34 "2001-11-01T10:25:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*Helen Hunt. I’m not sure if she’s playing Jamie Buchman over and over and over, of if she’s just playing herself over and over. Either way, it’s extremely annoying and impossible to watch. \*\* Doh! you stole my thunder, pepperlandgirl. Helen Hunt is the definition of a one-note actor. She’s identical in every role she plays. I’ve also noticed that Leelee Sobieski seems to be playing Helen Hunt in her roles as well. ---
**Author:** ![jwg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@jwg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jwg)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/35 "2001-11-01T15:02:13Z")
the guy dog in drag playing Lassie? He really wanted to be a girl dog. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/36 "2001-11-01T15:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xizor \* > \*\*Sandra Bullock \*\* You, Sir, obviously have not seen “Love Potion No. 9.” Sua ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/37 "2001-11-01T16:52:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > I’d disagree with putting Robin Williams on the list… He’s got two characters. The prof in _Dead Poet’s Society_ sure wasn’t the same character as Mork. I take it that Leslie Zevo from _Toys_ was just a dialed-down Mork? ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341/38 "2001-11-01T18:04:48Z")
Robin Williams’ wise and worldly professor in _Dead Poet’s Society_ was definitely the same as Robin Williams’ wise and worldly counselor in _Good Will Hunting._ And I would say that Robin Williams’ crazy homeless guy Parry in _The Fisher King_ was merely a take on Mork, except that Mork was from another planet, and Parry only seemed to be. So, Robin Williams has two characters. Does this exempt him from the One Trick Actor List, or perhaps does he just top the list of the Two Trick Actor List? And why would anyone _want_ Chevy Chase to play anybody but Chevy Chase. Oy Vey that guy makes me laugh, just standing there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-themselves/90341.md?page=1)