10 Actors Who Can't Help But Play Themselves

7. Danny Dyer

I first came across Danny Dyer as Moff (above) in 1999's Human Traffic. At the time, he added a fantastically comical and charming element to an already entertaining film. The boy Dyer was looking like quite the prospect. That was until it became painfully clear that his acting range went from cheeky cockney rascal to cheeky cockney wide-boy. It can be argued that nobody else on this list is more guilty of simply playing themselves than Danny Dyer. Need a rent-a-cockney? Danny's your guy! It's at the stage now where the man and his performances just seem to be an embarrassing parody of himself. The only real distinguishing difference between any of his roles and the real Danny Dyer seems to be that he's portrayed as a Chelsea fan in 2004's Football Factory, whereas in real life he actually supports West Ham. Firmly embracing the 'lad culture' that came out of the late 1990s, Dyer has become an icon for certain people yet is massively despised and ridiculed in other sectors, particularly among critics. It's safe to say, the artist formerly known as Malcolm Smith is one of entertainment's true Mr. Marmites. Exception To The Rule: Err, help? Anyone? Any ideas? Yeah, me neither. I'm all out on this one.
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.