This is the End is one of the most ambitious comedies ever filmed, as least as far as its gimmick is concerned. The film stars some of Hollywood’s most popular comedians – including Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson – against the backdrop of the Biblical apocalypse. The gag is that they’re all playing themselves, and act either in accordance to or directly against the audience’s perception of their celebrity. That’s an easy gag to pull off in a cameo, but a tough joke to make work for an entire feature film without dipping into shallow self-indulgence or wanton disregard for the public’s opinion of these popular celebrities.
But This is the End is far from the first movie to star a celebrity, or even a group of celebrities, as themselves, so CraveOnline is taking a look back at The Top 11 Movies Where Celebrities Play Themselves. From ironic cameos to absolute reverence, from totally random to note perfect, these are the films that wouldn’t have worked unless a famous person had been willing to lend their celebrity to the whole shebang, and either own up to their public perception or destroy it in front of millions.
REVIEW: William Bibbiani says “the makers of This is the End deserve a medal.” Find out why.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jay Baruchel explains why no one makes fun of his movies in This is the End.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: This is the End co-director Evan Goldberg explains why all penises are funny.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
Top 11 Movies Where Celebrities Play Themselves
This is the End isn't the first film where famous people played themselves. Here are our picks for the best celebrity cameos (and starring roles) ever.
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11. Mallrats (1995)
Celebrity: Stan "The Man" Lee, Comic Book Creator
What Is It? A slacker comedy - back when that was a genre - about layabouts avoiding their relationship problems at a local mall.
Why Stan Lee? Writer/director Kevin Smith treats creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men as a wise sage character who teaches Brody (Jason Lee) how to find wisdom in the popular culture his generation consumes regularly.
Is He Any Good? Stan Lee isn't asked to do much but stand around and be nice to his fans, a talent he'd already mastered. And kudos for taking Smith's famous comic book sex jokes in stride.
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10. Airplane! (1980)
Celebrity: Baseketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
What Is It? A broad comedy parody of the then-popular disaster genre, starring Leslie Nielson and Lloyd Bridges. Now considered one of the all-time comedy classics for its non-stop, rapid-fire gags.
Why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? At 7'2" he really stands out on-screen, making his cameo as a co-pilot intensely distracting until a small child (Rossie Harris) recognizes him from the court. Abdul-Jabbar tries to stay in character but finally breaks the fourth wall to defend himself from the kid's criticisms.
Is He Any Good? Not particularly, but he's not supposed to be. He's a pointless celebrity cameo on purpose, and a very funny one.
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9. Zombieland (2009)
Celebrity: Bill Murray, Oscar Nominee and comedy superstar
What Is It? A zombie comedy about loners overcoming their survival instincts to develop a makeshift family after the zombie apocalypse.
Why Bill Murray? No particular reason. The cast of Zombieland decides to hide out in the mansion of a Hollywood celebrity, and that celebrity makes a funny cameo as themselves. It could have been anybody. In an early draft the celebrity was a (then alive, and seemingly well) Patrick Swayze.
Is He Any Good? He's Bill Murray. He's always good.
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8. Happy Gilmore (1996)
Celebrity: Bob Barker, the host of TV's "The Price is Right"
What Is It? A wacky comedy starring Adam Sandler as a amateur golfer with anger issues and a wicked drive.
Why Bob Barker? Happy Gilmore gets a random celebrity partner during a golf tournament, but when Bob Barker says he sucks, a fight breaks out, and the septuagenarian unexpectedly cleans Sandler's clock.
Is He Any Good? Barker only has one joke - that the likable family game show host is an unexpected badass - and he sells it well, but the surprise reveal is the funniest part of his cameo.
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7. The Harold & Kumar Trilogy (2004-2011)
Celebrity: Neil Patrick Harris, then best-known for playing TV's "Doogie Howser, M.D."
What Is It? A trilogy of stoner comedies starring John Cho (Star Trek) and Kal Penn ("House M.D.") as lovable dudes in way over their pot-heads.
Why Neil Patrick Harris? A seemingly innocuous, likable celebrity, NPH played completely against type as a dangerous, drug-addicted nymphomaniac womanizer who loves a good party. Again, the contrast between a celebrity's perceived image and their portrayal on-screen is most of the joke.
Is He Any Good? NPH was so hilarious in the first Harold and Kumar that it jumpstarted a new career for the actor, who went on to a hit sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother," celebrated awards show hosting gigs and the cult hit web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
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6. Grindhouse (2007)
Celebrity: Zoe Bell, the stuntwoman for Kill Bill and "Xena: Warrior Princess"
What Is It? A one-film double feature, with installments by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Robert Rodriguez made the outlandish zombie epic Planet Terror, while Tarantino made a low-budget car chase thriller named Death Proof. Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie also contributed fake trailer to play between the films.
Why Zoe Bell? Though hardly a household name, Zoe Bell is one of the best-known stuntpersons in the world, and she plays herself to justify why her character would willingly strap herself onto the hood of a speeding car, and how she could survive the absolutely insane car chase at the end of Death Proof.
Is She Any Good? She's better than good. Likable, funny and tough as nails, and the actual stunts she pulls off are some of the best around. She's gone on to a smallish acting career outside of the stunt world, and frankly we're amazed she hasn't become a bigger star.
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5. Free Enterprise (1998)
Celebrity: William Shatner, star of "Star Trek"
What Is It? An independent comedy about grown-up geeks learning to balance their formative passions with the maturity of age.
Why William Shatner? There aren't many geek icons as famous and respected as Captain James T. Kirk, so when the cast of Free Enterprise meet and befriend the real William Shatner they come face-to-face with the difference between inspirational fiction and sobering reality.
Is He Any Good? William Shatner is adorable as a modest caricature of his celebrity persona: appreciative of his fans, but eager to partake in any project that doesn't involve "Star Trek." You know, like a one-man musical production of Julius Caesar.
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4. Being John Malkovich (1999)
Celebrity: John Malkovich, Oscar-nominated star of Dangerous Liaisons and In the Line of Fire
What Is It? That's a good question. The Oscar-nominated oddity from director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman stars John Cusack as a puppeteer who takes a day job and finds a portal leading to John Malkovich's consciousness in his tiny office.
Why John Malkovich? That's a good question. He's famous but not instantly familiar to everyone in the world. He's talented but not terrifically popular. He's intellectual but willing to self-efface. He's, you know, John Malkovich.
Is He Any Good? Oh god, yes. John Malkovich does an exceptional job of playing a celebrity in a strange type of existential crisis, used to surreptitiously fulfill the desires of other people. His enigmatic persona plays beautifully off his dramatic frustrations.
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3. Wings of Desire (1987)
Celebrity: Peter Falk, Oscar-nominated star of Pocketful of Miracles, The Princess Bride and TV's "Columbo"
What Is It? Wim Wender's sad romance about an angel who falls in love with a mortal woman, and must decide whether to fall from grace to be with her. (Later remade, not very well, as City of Angels in 1998.)
Why Peter Falk? The actor's existence, as himself, in Wings of Desire lends the fantasy an air of credence, since if Peter Falk exists in this reality, surely the angels must be real. But really it's the actor's conversational, unassuming style that makes his supporting role - as a former angel himself, who only happens to be actor Peter Falk - such an important part of the classic arthouse film. He's the link between worlds, and the most human of all. And he's Peter Falk!
Is He Any Good? He's heavenly.
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2. JCVD (2008)
Celebrity: Jean-Claude Van Damme, star of Bloodsport and Hard Target.
What Is It? A heist drama starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself, taken hostage in a bank robbery, and used as the scapegoat for the real criminals.
Why Jean-Claude Van Damme: Still recognizably famous but fallen on hard times, and making straight-to-video movies that nobody sees, JCVD plays off the charisma and desperation of the title character to transform a Tarantino-esque indie crime thriller into a meaningful character piece.
Is He Any Good? He's a revelation. Jean-Claude Van Damme has been fun on camera before, but as a fictitious version of himself he finally proves he can be a vulnerable, thoughtful and complex performaer. In particular, watch for the unexpected, fourth wall-breaking monogue in the final act... Where has this JCVD been all these years?
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1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Celebrities: The Beatles, the most popular rock band of all time.
What Is It? A quasi-French New Wave black-and-white comedy about The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - getting into misadventures on their way to a TV gig.
Why The Beatles? Because they were the most popular people on the planet in the 1960s, and could carry an entire film just by being their whimsical selves in a series of barely connected comic vignettes.
Are They Any Good? They're a little rough around the edges, but they're fantastic. The Beatles each play into the public's expectations of who they are, but allow for moments of honesty and even unexpected pettiness, confirming their star power but also proving that they're real human beings who just happen to have extraordinary talent.
