# Famous actors who have played their eponyms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 7, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506 "2025-12-07T22:31:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/21 "2025-12-08T13:49:02Z")
Agreed. I was going to nominate John Malkovich playing _a version_ Of John Malkovich, in [Being John Malkovich,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_John_Malkovich) but then I saw the post immediately ahead of mine. So, I ‘never minded’ it. Tripler John Malkovich. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/22 "2025-12-08T15:19:12Z")
Michael Douglas (Kirk’s son) never plated talk show host Mike Douglas Saturday Night Live once had Senator Paul Simon meeting songwriter/performer Paul Simon, but neither played the other. There’s famous recording of Orson Welles talking with H.G. Wells, but to my knowledge Orson never played H.G. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/23 "2025-12-08T15:20:57Z")
It would be neat if Harrison Ford ever played the _other_ Harrison Ford. There’s still time – he could do it yet. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/24 "2025-12-08T15:24:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Michael Douglas (Kirk’s son) never plated talk show host Mike Douglas You could hire Michael Keaton to play either of ‘em! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/25 "2025-12-08T15:30:12Z")
Did Engelbert Humperdinck ever act? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/26 "2025-12-08T15:31:34Z")
If we could get directors John Madden or Steve McQueen to start acting… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/27 "2025-12-08T15:34:47Z")
I suppose [Brian Cox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(actor)) could play B[rian Cox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist)) but why would anyone want him to? > [@Telemark](#): > > Did Engelbert Humperdinck ever act? Or John Paul Jones? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/28 "2025-12-08T15:36:14Z")
If it matters, the director Steve McQueen looks nothing like the actor Steve McQueen. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/29 "2025-12-08T15:39:07Z")
Spike Jonze looks like he could play Spike Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/30 "2025-12-08T15:44:35Z")
Russel Crowe could play a thief who steals a flock of crows Could all five members of Frank Ferdinand fit in the back seat of a 1910 Gräf & Stift phaeton? ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/31 "2025-12-08T15:46:22Z")
Bruce Li played Bruce Lee, that might be the closest we can get. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/32 "2025-12-08T15:46:39Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Saturday Night Live once had Senator Paul Simon meeting songwriter/performer Paul Simon, but neither played the other. More recently, they made a spoof trailer for a biblical film with Adam Driver (played by Tarran Killam) as Adam. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/33 "2025-12-08T15:50:25Z")
Actually, if biblical mononyms count, _The Greatest Story Ever Told_ had Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter) as John the Baptist. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/34 "2025-12-08T16:07:04Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Bruce Li played Bruce Lee, that might be the closest we can get. I don’t think that counts. Bruce Li is the name Ho Chung-Tao (also known as James Ho) took to play Bruce Lee in multiple movies. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/35 "2025-12-08T16:10:18Z")
Oh, like [Tom Crooze](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2vPP4GHIRk). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/36 "2025-12-08T16:31:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If it matters, the director Steve McQueen looks nothing like the actor Steve McQueen. Yeah, I thought that might be a stretch. He’s also British, and probably can’t do a decent American accent. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/37 "2025-12-08T16:32:38Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > And Richard Burton. SCTV had a trailer for a fake movie which featured, “Sir Richard Burton, as Sir Richard Burton”. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/38 "2025-12-08T16:42:12Z")
How about Fannie Flagg as Patricia Neal? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/39 "2025-12-08T18:05:03Z")
Pelle Hvenegaard was cast in the lead of the movie _Pelle the Conquerer_ as Pelle Karlssen. Hvenegaard was named after Pelle Karlssen. His parents were fans of the original novel and chose that name. Hvenegaard was the right age for the role when the movie was shot. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/40 "2025-12-08T18:54:15Z")
This reminds me of this bit from the end of Spinal Tap, where [David St. Hubbins talks about being in an audiobook club of books by famous authors being read by people with the same last name](https://youtu.be/jg2AAN7o33o?si=wFy0U7TsKdDrKnf6&t=29). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506.md?page=3)