10 Best Times Actors Played Themselves

It’s hard to remember now that he’s an Oscar winner and one of the finest actors in the world, but there was a time when it seemed like Joaquin Phoenix had truly lost the plot. In 2008, Phoenix announced that he was quitting the world of acting to embark on a rap career. He made dishevelled appearances on late night TV, released a few tracks that were bad but not dreadful, and otherwise retreated from public life.

A few years later it turned out it was all a big gag, a longform performance piece for the benefit of 2010 film I’m Still Here, directed by his then-brother in law Casey Affleck. Everyone had a good laugh and then moved on pretty quickly, and Phoenix’s run of exceptional films and performances overshadowed the project.

It’s a shame, because I’m Still Here is well worth a watch. For a prank it’s surprisingly hard hitting, examining the loneliness and pressure of the artistic temperament and the challenging life of its star. Phoenix is superb, happy to send himself up on camera as a real jackass, but with sensitivity and pathos. It’s a deeply strange film, but Phoenix, as ever, is utterly captivating.