Some completely missed the mark
In 'Knocked Up' (2007), a movie about a one-night stand between a career driven woman and a slacker, Seacrest pokes fun at his TV persona by dropping a lot of f-bombs. In the movie he also claims to be more famous than the celebrities he interviews.
Directed by Casey Affleck, the Oscar winner plays a scraggly-bearded, rapper-from-hell reinvention of himself. The movie is supposed to be a satire of the relationship between celebrity and the media.
In this movie, Cage plays an even more over-the-top version of himself, who, in need of money, agrees to attend a fan's birthday party. The problem is, that fan (played by Pedro Pascal) is wanted by the CIA for an alleged kidnapping.
In this rom-com, two self-proclaimed geeks are each experiencing midlife crises, until they come across 'Star Trek' legend Shatner in a bookstore. Shatner plays an exaggerated version of himself.
In 'Happy Gilmore' (1996), Adam Sandler's character is a hopeful hockey player who discovers he has a talent for golf. When he qualifies for a professional-amateur tournament, he's partnered with 'The Price Is Right' host Bob Barker, who gets overly competitive.
In 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' (2001), the main characters, Jay and Silent Bob wander onto the set of 'Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season,' where they meet Affleck and Damon.
'Tropic Thunder' (2008) is about a group of actors who get stranded in Vietnam while filming a war epic. When establishing the careers of each actor, they all get a fake trailer of a movie that they starred in. Robert Downey, Jr.'s character, Kirk Lazarus, stars in 'Satan's Alley,' a melodramatic romance between two monks. One of the monks is Lazarus, and the other is Maguire.
The sequel to 'Zoolander' (2001) is just as full of celebrity cameos as the first one. In this one, we get to see Bieber as a secret agent version of himself.
In one of the funniest and most unexpected cameos, Murray stars as himself as one of the lone survivors in a zombie apocalypse.
A puppeteer (played by John Cusack) finds a portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich, played by none other than Malkovich himself. Anyone who enters the portal can take over Malkovich's body, but when Malkovich crawls in there himself, things get a little weird.
Eminem was interviewed in 'The Interview' (2014) and he nonchalantly came out as gay, which is probably in response to accusations of his homophobia. An already controversial movie, Eminem makes fun of his public persona.
Bowie only appeared in one scene of 'Zoolander' (2001), but he still played an important role. He judged a walk-off between the two main characters. Ben Stiller, the film's star, writer, and director, called working with the rock star "a high point in my career."
Cruise appears in the final 'Austin Powers' movie, which, as usual, parodies multiple 'James Bond' movies. He appears in a movie-within-a-movie, as he plays himself playing Powers.
Harris makes his first appearance high on ecstasy, as he begs Harold and Kumar for a ride. He then goes on to steal their car. In real life, Harris is a happily married man with two children, and no ecstasy habit!
Messing plays herself as a potential sponsor for the LGBTQ+ museum the film's lead character, Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner) is trying to open. Clearly joking about her time on 'Will & Grace,' she freaks out when Bobby tries to talk to her about his personal life, and she affirms that she's not her character Grace.
Gomez also appears as herself in 'The Big Short' (2015) but at a blackjack table next to Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler. She explains what a synthetic CDO is, by using the simple metaphor of a blackjack game.
'The Big Short' (2015) which details the events leading up to 2008's financial crisis, features a number of complex financial terms and situations. Robbie's scene is her in a bubble bath drinking champagne, and explaining what exactly the mortgage crisis was.
While he doesn't play the "real" Firth, the characters in this rom-com make it a point to call him Colin, and the name of his place of employment, Love Guac'tually, is a clear nod to Firth's holiday classic 'Love Actually' (2003).
Also in Judd Apatow's comedy horror, Rogen and Franco's fictionalized versions have to dodge everything from sinkholes to demonic possession.
'Private Parts' (1997) is an adaptation of the autobiographical 1993 book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern. And of course, he played himself!
Schwarzenegger plays an invincible, but entirely fictional, LAPD cop whose movie world bubble gets burst by a teenage moviegoer propelled into the screen. But then the pair travel back into the real world to save the real Schwarzenegger from being assassinated at the premiere of the film they've just escaped from.
The "Muscles from Brussels" surprised everyone when he played a self-pitying version of himself, even rejected by his own daughter. Van Damme also gets to briefly show off his martial arts skill!
In an existential and surrealist comedy-drama, Giamatti plays an actor named Paul Giamatti who has trouble preparing for the title role in Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya.'
Known as one of the toughest guys in Hollywood, Pacino gives us a different side of himself as he falls in love with Jill, played by Adam Sandler. He also gets a good jab in at his own expense, when he makes fun of his lone Oscar win.
When it's revealed that John Wick himself is Sasha's (Ali Wong) new boyfriend, it's understandable why her best friend Marcus (Randall Park) would be a bit shocked.
A horror comedy, the cult filmmaker favorite produced, directed, and starred in this tale. Campbell stars as a washed-up B-movie star tasked with saving a mining town from an evil force by fans who can't separate fact from fiction.
Sources: (Insider) (Time) (Mental Floss)
There's something really amusing about seeing that your favorite actors are able to make fun of themselves. The self-referential irony of playing oneself in a performance shows the actor's audience that they're a real person. It proves they're able to joke around, increasing their likability. From horror-comedies to existential thrillers, some films feature interesting performances by actors who played themselves: be it an exaggerated version, or one where they poked fun at their celebrity personas.
Click on to find out which celebs played versions of themselves in movies.
'This Is the End' (2013) depicts what would happen to a bunch of Hollywood stars during the apocalypse, and Cera plays a hilarious cocaine-fueled monster.
Celebs who played versions of themselves in movies
The scenes with these celebs are hilarious
MOVIES Acting
There's something really amusing about seeing that your favorite actors are able to make fun of themselves. The self-referential irony of playing oneself in a performance shows the actor's audience that they're a real person. It proves they're able to joke around, increasing their likability. From horror-comedies to existential thrillers, some films feature interesting performances by actors who played themselves: be it an exaggerated version, or one where they poked fun at their celebrity personas.
Click on to find out which celebs played versions of themselves in movies.