In a movie or series story, normally an actor will play a character, but there are also actors who play themselves. Playing a character in a film or series project is the job or duty of the actors or actresses. His acting skills make these characters come alive in the story.
Even so, there is a shortlisting process regarding which actors will play a character. However, in the Hollywood film industry there is something interesting where various actors have played themselves. In fact, this could be due to the story of the film. Who are these actors?
Keanu Reeves
Always Be My Maybe is a romantic comedy movie released in 2019. The story is deliberately made as modern as possible. The story itself centers on two characters, Marcus and Sasha. They were best friends from childhood, until they separated. After decades of not seeing each other, they meet again.
What’s interesting is the situation that brought Marcus and Sasha together when it was a double date. And who later became Sasha’s date at the restaurant turned out to be Keanu Reeves. This was a huge surprise, not only for the characters in the story, but also for the audience of the film.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon started their acting careers in Hollywood from the bottom up. They did it together, until a movie managed to catapult their name, Good Will Hunting. In this comedy movie starring Kevin Smith, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, we see quite an interesting scene.
Jay and At the time, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck appear to be playing themselves. They were seen in the process of filming the fictional sequel to Good Will Hunting, namely Good Will Hunting 2: Season of the Hunt. This Kevin Smith written movie is famous for its satirical comedy of various things that happen in Hollywood as well as other popular movies.
margot robbie
The financial crisis that occurred in the 2007-2008 era caused four different people from different backgrounds to have their own way of dealing with it. The four people also did something about how they could benefit when the financial crisis hit. This movie is an adaptation of a true story that happened at that time.
The interesting thing is that in addition to the big names that are the main stars, such as Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, there are several cameo appearances by actors and actresses in this movie. Some examples are Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, Anthony Bourdain and others. Margot Robbie even explained about the pawn scheme.
David Bowie
David Bowie’s name may be better known as a legendary musician than an actor. However, it turns out that Bowie himself has demonstrated his acting skills in several films, for example, in the 2016 film The Prestige. Even so, David Bowie has done one thing that he rarely does: play himself.
This happened in the comedy film Zoolander, which was released in 2001. Written by and starring Ben Stiller, David Bowie appears in a runway scene. Apart from music, Bowie is also known for his eccentric appearance. So it makes sense that Bowie appears in that scene.
Neil Patrick Harris
Harold and Kumar is a comedy film that features mature themes and satirical jokes. The story centers on Harold Lee and Kumar Patel, who have various adventures in their three films. The interesting thing is that in all three of his films there is always an actor playing himself, namely Neil Patrick Harris. Harris is not just a cameo in three movies.
In the story, Haris is described as an actor who is also a heavy user of illegal drugs. He also frequently changed female partners. Ironically, shocking news emerged that Harris was a same-sex lover whose real-world partner, David Burtka, also made a cameo appearance in the film. The character of Neil Patrick Harris is very loved by the people and this has led to plans to make a spin-off. Unfortunately this never materialized.
joaquin phoenix
I’m Still Here is a mockumentary parody centered on Joaquin Phoenix. In the story, Joaquin Phoenix is shown to be experiencing mental shocks and decides to quit the movie industry and acting career. It was also shown that Phoenix underwent changes in attitude and appearance, where he even tried to break into the hip hop industry.
However, many have asked the director, Casey Affleck, if everything in the film is real or fake. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer regarding this. Reports also mention that Phoenix laughed during the screening of the film. However, five years later, Phoenix really did rehab and began to reorganize his life after this movie.
Hollywood actors
What is extraordinary about the movie This is the End is that it not only features one or two stars making cameo appearances, but also many big names appear in the movie. Basically, the entire cast that appears in this movie is actually playing themselves, in the comedy version. They are shown attending a small party being held at James Franco’s house.
In this movie, geeks will see a number of big Hollywood names like Emma Watson, Channing Tatum, Kevin Hart, and even Rihanna. They play themselves. Aside from the story aspect, what makes this movie epic and full of comedy is how the cast actually plays themselves. And his reaction was genuine.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray appears as himself in Ruben Fleischer’s zombie comedy Zombieland. In the story, the main characters of the film go to the elite Hollywood housing complex where the actresses and actors live. They chose which house to spend the night in, until they had a big house that belonged to Bill Murray.
At first, they thought Bill was dead. The reason is that Bill appears in a zombie-like costume and appearance. However, it turns out that Bill admitted that it was a trick and his secret to survive all this time. He knows all about special makeup and learns it on set. Ridiculously, Bill Murray was eventually told to die as a result of an accidental gunshot.
Nicholas Cage
The most recent film in which the actors play themselves is The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. In this movie, Nicholas Cage plays himself. The story centers on Cage’s attempts to revive his fading acting career. One way is to go to a special invitation from a billionaire.
A billionaire living in Mallorca deliberately invites Cage for the sake of a mission he is currently carrying out. The reason is that the billionaire is, in fact, a spy for the CIA group. In the story, Nicholas Cage also meets Javi Gutierrez, played by Pedro Pascal, where Javi scripts a story when he uses illegal drugs. Cage was forced to follow Javi and the result was a comedy scene that even became an internet meme.
Being John Malkovich
One of the movies that has a strange and confusing story. This satirical film stars John Malkovich. In the story, a jobless puppeteer, Craig Schwartz, finds a new job in an unlikely office. The strange office has a secret door, which is the portal into the mind and body of John Malkovich.
However, it only lasted 15 minutes before his body was dumped. What’s crazy again is that when Malkovich himself entered the portal, he then came to a dimension where everyone around him had similar faces and could only speak “Malkovich” continuously.
Playing themselves is a rare thing and opportunity for an actor. The reason is that they are usually “forced” to play other people’s characters or transform into other people. Of course, it’s interesting to see them being themselves. However, of course, good calculations are needed to present such a story.
