# Celebrities who played a fictionalized version of themselves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911 "2009-08-27T14:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/21 "2009-08-27T16:31:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Also… does it count when a celebrity stars as himself in his own autobiography? If so, Muhammad Ali played himself in “The Greatest,” and Jackie Robinson played himself in “The Jackie Robinson Story.” If it does, then we have to count Howard Stern playing Howard Stern in Private Parts. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/22 "2009-08-27T16:32:22Z")
Merv Griffin played himself as a genial serial killer in Steve Martin’s _The Man with Two Brains_. Hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/23 "2009-08-27T16:34:40Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Garry Shandling played Garry Shandling, the fictional host of a talk show on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show." It get’s a little more complicated because it’s a show-within-a-show, which means that Garry Shandling the actor played Garry Shandling the narrator who was talking about Garry Shandling the talk show host. Also a lot of the guest stars played fictionalized versions of themselves appearing on his fictional talk-show. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/24 "2009-08-27T16:39:02Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > Kareem Abdul Jabbar in **Airplane** I’m sorry son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I’m the co-pilot. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/25 "2009-08-27T16:39:16Z")
There was Michael Jackson on “The Simpsons”, doing the voice of the fat white guy in the mental hospital who was deluded into thinking he was Michael Jackson. And Ethel Merman in “Airplane!”, as Lt. Hurwitz, the mental patient who thought he was Ethel Merman. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/26 "2009-08-27T16:53:43Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > Jamie-Lynn Sigler in Entourage. Not just her–dozens of actors and directors on that show have done the same thing. > [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > Julia Roberts in Ocean’s 12. Actually, Julia Roberts plays another character (Tess) who resembles the “real” Julia Roberts and chooses to impersonate (and who is mistaken for) the famous actress. But IIRC, “Julia Roberts” (the character) never appears in the film. Bruce Willis, however, does count in _Ocean’s 12_. He also played “himself” in _The Player_, which also featured many other actors (including Julia Roberts) playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Oh, and as long as we’re talking about Garry Shandling, there were plenty of actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves as guests on _The Larry Sanders Show_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/27 "2009-08-27T17:07:49Z")
[Creed Bratton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_Bratton), while not exactly a household name, was a member of the mid-60s band the Grass Roots, and now plays [himself](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_Bratton_(character)) on the U.S. version of “the Office.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/28 "2009-08-27T17:16:51Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Isn’t that the very definition of a “fictionalized version of themselves”? > > He’s the actor from Doogie Houser (in reality) but fictionalized in his behavior. Sort of. But Neil Patrick Harris is very adament about describing his role in Harold & Kumar as “a character very much like me, who has the same name as me, and starred in the same TV show I did as a kid, but I’m not playing _myself_.” ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/29 "2009-08-27T17:24:28Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > William Shatner in **Fanboys.** He also plays himself in **Free Enterprise**. I love that movie. They’re so excited to meet him, and then they gradually realize he’s insane. Topher Grace and a few other people whose names I don’t know played themselves in **Ocean’s 11**. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/30 "2009-08-27T17:46:34Z")
In [Hamlet 2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/), Elisabeth Shue plays Elisabeth Shue, except that she’s given up acting and become a nurse. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/31 "2009-08-27T17:53:40Z")
I’m gonna go with Bob Saget in Huff (Played a cocaine addicted actor on a show called “America’s Favorite Dad”) and most of the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/32 "2009-08-27T18:06:39Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > In [Hamlet 2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/), Elisabeth Shue plays Elisabeth Shue, except that she’s given up acting and become a nurse. And Molly Ringwald playing herself working as a flight attendant (or some sort of airline employee anyway) in Not Another Teen Movie. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/33 "2009-08-27T18:10:52Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Not just her–dozens of actors and directors on that show have done the same thing.Actually, Julia Roberts plays another character (Tess) who resembles the “real” Julia Roberts and chooses to impersonate (and who is mistaken for) the famous actress. Oh, that reminds me. Former tennis tantrum star John McEnroe played both himself and his almost doppelganger on _CSI:NY_ in the same way. He had a prosthetic nose for the guy who looked a whole lot like John McEnroe and would pretend to be him in order to sleep with girls who were otherwise out of his league. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/34 "2009-08-27T18:29:20Z")
My favorite underappreciated comedy, The Tall Guy, was written by the one-time straight man for Rowan Atkinson’s live show. The titular character is the straight man for an obnoxious comedian named Ron Anderson, played by Rowan Atkinson. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/35 "2009-08-27T19:09:33Z")
Many of the guest stars in [Extras](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4699253.stm) played fictional versions of themselves. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/36 "2009-08-27T19:19:17Z")
Audie Murphy played himself in **To Hell and Back** , his autobiography (which probably had some fictionalized elements). Oliver Stone played himself in the miniseries **Wild Palms** , where it’s mentioned that he had underestimated the size of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy. Matt Lauer played himself in **Land of the Lost.** Larry King often plays himself in movies and TV. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/37 "2009-08-27T19:25:01Z")
Tom Jones played himself in “Mars Attacks,” and pilots the plane that helps a party of people escape from the Martians. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/38 "2009-08-27T19:26:02Z")
I think Adam Sandler in _Funny People_ qualifies, even though the character is named “George Simmons.” It’s pretty blatantly supposed to be a caricature of Sandler himself; I’m not sure how “fictionalized” it is, actually, although I would certainly hope that the real Adam Sandler is not as depressing as “George Simmons” was. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/39 "2009-08-27T19:26:23Z")
Oh, and Reggie Jackson played a fictionalized version of himself, in “The Naked Gun.” He’s the guy hypnotized into assassinating Queen Elizabeth. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911/40 "2009-08-27T19:50:59Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Garry Shandling played Garry Shandling, the fictional host of a talk show on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show." It get’s a little more complicated because it’s a show-within-a-show, which means that Garry Shandling the actor played Garry Shandling the narrator who was talking about Garry Shandling the talk show host. He wasn’t a talk show host on “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”. That was “The Larry Sanders Show.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-played-a-fictionalized-version-of-themselves/507911.md?page=3)