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12 Times Celebrities Showed Up In Movies As Themselves, And We Loved It
We're used to celebrities showing up as different characters in movies and TV, but the absolute best are when they appear as fictional, almost ridiculous versions of themselves. In particular, these 12 were especially great.
David Bowie - Zoolander
He judges a male model walk-off between Ben Stiller's Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson's Hansel, and comes off like a total badass in the process.
Adam West - Family Guy
The late West played himself as the eccentric, genuinely insane mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island. He was one of the most consistently funny characters on the show.
Neil Patrick Harris - Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
The multi-talented actor appeared as a version of himself obsessed with cocaine, theft, and prostitutes. It was so ridiculous and well-performed that it actually rekindled his career!
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon - Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
As a favor to director Kevin Smith, who cast them in several movies at the outset of their careers, the dynamic duo appeared as themselves while filming the fictional Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. The results are hilarious.
The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
It was the first of the Fab Four's several movie appearances, and while it could have been a simple documentary, it instead becomes a comedy about The Beatles' lives as troublemaking miscreants who are as funny as they are talented.
Peter Falk - Wings of Desire
The man best known as both Columbo and the grandfather in The Princess Bride appeared as a version of himself who talks to an angel that has come to watch humanity first-hand. He talks about his views on humanity, and even implies he's an angel himself, which we'd honestly believe.
Click to the next page for even more celebrities who played themselves!
Alice Cooper - Wayne's World
The nicest man in shock rock shows up to school Wayne and Garth on the history of Milwaukee, and the results are comedic gold.
Hulk Hogan - Gremlins 2
When the titular critters start terrorizing a local movie theater, it's a good thing for the audience that The Hulkster is among them, who rips his shirt off and yells at them. Great stuff.
Bob Barker - Happy Gilmore
An appearance possibly even more beloved than his time on The Price Is Right, Bob Barker teams up with Happy for a celebrity golf tournament, only to get enraged when our hero can't cut it. The resulting fight is the stuff of movie legends.
Robert Englund - Wes Craven's New Nightmare
The final movie in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has a weird premise; it turns out that Freddy Krueger is real, and he begins to stalk the cast of the original movie. Not only do Craven himself and original star Heather Langenkamp appear as fictional versions of themselves, but Robert Englund pulls triple-duty as himself, movie Freddy Krueger, and "real" Freddy Krueger.
Michael Jordan - Space Jam
After appearing alongside Bugs Bunny for a series of massively popular Nike ads, Jordan returned for the full-length smash hit Space Jam, where he took on a group of aliens in a basketball game alongside the Looney Tunes.
Chuck Mangione - King of the Hill
The Jazz musician is the official spokesperson for the series' Mega-Lo Mart franchise, and frequently appears in the show but rarely says anything.