Have you heard of the movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent? It’s a relatively new Nicolas Cage movie about the actor playing a version of himself. He’s invited by a wealth Spaniard (delightfully played by Pedro Pascal) to hang out with him for a few days on the Mediterranean, which leads to a whole series of hijinks.
I haven’t seen a Nick Cage movie in a while, but I kept hearing great things about this movie. I’m really glad we watched it! It’s a lot of things–a family drama, an action-buddy comedy, a thriller, and more.
And at the heart of the film is Nick Cage, playing a version of himself. It’s a delight to see him in this role, and at times he even plays a younger version of himself talking to his future self, overacting and all.
It made me think about other movies–and more often shows–where an actor plays a version of themselves. Keanu Reaves did this in Always Be My Maybe a few years ago, and he was amazing. Oh, and remember Oceans 12 when Julia Roberts is a different character who briefly pretends to be Julia Roberts? Incredible. Let me know if you can think of any others.
I loved the Julia Roberts example from Ocean’s 12! That’s a double example because they were doing it to trick Bruce Willis who was also playing himself in the movie.
Would Michael Jordan/Lebron James in the Space Jam movies count? I enjoyed the first one a lot in the 90s. Other than that, Being John Malkovich is probably the most famous example. Bill Murray in Zombieland was also great. Oh! and Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Action Hero. This is a fun topic!
Those are such great examples! Bill Murray in Zombieland is amazing.
EVERYONE in This is the End, playing ridiculous versions of themselves – Michael Cera completely upending the perception of him as a nice, decent guy and playing a coked-out womanizer jerk.
Brilliant! 🙂
James Van Der Beek is amazing in Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 – he plays a fictionalized version of himself as a main character throughout the series.
It’s an amazing show on its own, with a fantastic overall cast, but JVDB is particularly excellent.
I wasn’t aware of that one! Thanks for the recommendation.