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1Actors are prone to having their own personality... surprise! They may be gifted in being able to portray someone else, but often that baggage of their own distinct personality can cross over into the minds of the general public. There are also past roles that they will [[TypeCasting be eternally known for.]]
2
3The use of Meta Casting is taking an actor and crafting a role that utilizes their known history to create a resonance between the performance and the audience that makes the whole thing far more dynamic than it could have been in any other way. As an example, take an actor who is famous for having altercations with obnoxious tabloid reporters. Take that same actor and cast them in a role of a famous businessman who kills a reporter for harassing him constantly. In some cases the actual role is almost an {{expy}} of themselves, as in they're playing an ''actor'' with a suspiciously similar history.
4
5This can come in multiple ways:
6* ActorSharedBackground -- The role is written with the actual (non-acting) history of the actor in place. A few former criminals with jail time (read: the likes of Creator/DannyTrejo) have gained a history of playing hardened criminals.
7* AdamWesting -- Using an actor's famous role in a form of self-parody. ContractualPurity often results in formerly child-friendly actors behaving in very much "family unfriendly" behavior.
8* CastingGag -- Using their history with another actor or an older franchise incarnation. Possibly in a RemakeCameo they use TheHero of the original to be a mentor or give their blessing to the new crew.
9* TheCastShowOff -- The skills and talents of the actor are integrated into the character, helping the actor feel more comfortable and giving the character more depth. An episode might be written to show a previously non-singing character to have the same vocal abilities as their actor.
10* CastTheExpert -- Rather than hiring an actor to portray a professional in some field, they hire someone who actually ''is'' in that field, which gives the performance an additional air of credibility with ShownTheirWork. Martial artists are among the first people chosen to headline action movies, see Creator/BruceLee.
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12In many cases this can be SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced; the fans latch on to that resonance and appreciate it.
13
14Compare ActorAllusion (a nod to other roles they played), InkSuitActor, CelebrityParadox, RealitySubtext, ActorInspiredElement and EnforcedMethodActing.
15
16----
17!!Examples:
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19[[foldercontrol]]
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21[[folder:Anime]]
22* Futaba, Ichigo, and Rin from ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' were all voiced by relatively new voice actresses since the characters are also rather new to the industry (well, Futaba and Ichigo are).
23** There's also an in-universe example. Rin was cast as Mina in ''Weekend Patissier'' because the director wanted someone who could naturally play a normal 15-year-old girl. Unfortunately, Rin has been acting almost her entire life and doesn't have much experience with being normal.
24* The up-and-coming IdolSinger characters in ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' are usually voiced by real-life up-and-coming singers/voice actresses. Examples include Mari Iijima playing Lynn Minmay in ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', Creator/MegumiNakajima voicing Ranka Lee in ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'', and Minori Suzuki portraying Freyja Wion in ''Anime/MacrossDelta''.
25* ''Anime/PompoTheCinephile'': first-time director Gene Fini and aspiring actress Nathalie Woodward are voiced by newcomer voice actors with no other major roles on their resumes, while retired actor Martin Braddock (implied to be "the world's best actor" and named after Creator/MarlonBrando) is voiced by respected veteran voice actor Creator/AkioOtsuka.
26[[/folder]]
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28[[folder:Film]]
29* ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'': Creator/NatalieWood as a budding entertainment artist whose life is made hell by her StageMom. Just like her early years in the business in real life.
30* In ''Film/TheKillingFields'', UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}}n genocide survivor and journalist Dith Pran was played by Creator/HaingSNgor, himself a survivor of said genocide. He was [[NonActorVehicle not an actor before being cast]], and went on to win an Academy Award for his performance.
31* Creator/RobertDowneyJr
32** He was cast as ''Film/IronMan'' not only because he is a good actor, but has had problems in the past with drug abuse. That added extra weight to a man who is struggling to redeem himself for past mistakes; a man who is also known for having problems with alcohol. It is also worth noting that ''Film/IronMan2'' was originally going to be an adaptation of the "Demon In A Bottle" storyline, but Downey nixed it on the grounds that he was afraid that getting into that headspace would take him back down the bottle. On a lighter note, he did quip once or twice that his wife was exasperated at finding herself married to Tony Stark.
33** Downey did it again in ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', playing the titular ace detective with drug and adjustment problems. In fact, this seems to happen to Downey a lot. In ''Film/CharlieBartlett'' he plays a high school principal with an alcohol problem. ''Film/{{Zodiac|2007}}'' as well and ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'' (mentioned below) natch.
34*** ''Film/LessThanZero'' actually inverted the pattern, as Downey has stated that it was during shooting that he became a hardcore addict. To quote ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', knowing that as you watch ''Less Than Zero'', you are witnessing an actual addiction form, it's hard not to stay riveted.
35---->''Until that movie, I took my drugs after work and on the weekends. That changed on ''Less Than Zero'', the role was like the ghost of Christmas future. The character was an exaggeration of myself. Then things changed and, in some ways, I became an exaggeration of the character.''
36** Shortly before his CareerResurrection with ''Iron Man'', he did ''Film/AGuideToRecognizingYourSaints'' as a man confronting his past demons.
37* Also for ''Film/IronMan'', Creator/JeffBridges is also a great choice to play Obadiah Stane, because it plays against the roles he is normally typecast as. Stane comes across as [[AffablyEvil friendly and likable]], albeit a bit of a smooth talker. And when we learn he was behind everything, we empathize with the betrayal Tony is feeling, because we're feeling it as well.
38* Creator/SamuelLJackson was cast as ComicBook/NickFury because [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] Nick Fury's character design was [[ComicBookFantasyCasting based on him anyway]], and part of the contract letting them use his likeness stipulated that he play Fury in any live-action film using the character.
39* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'':
40** The film has martial arts-themed mercenary Georges Batroc ([[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames Batroc the Leaper in the comics]]) played by [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mma/ufc/ufc-wl.html UFC World Welterweight Champion]] Georges St.-Pierre.
41** More dramatically, it has [[spoiler:Creator/RobertRedford as, not [[Film/AllThePresidentsMen the unraveler]] this time, but the ''architect'' of a massive (quasi-) government conspiracy. The Watergate Complex is even visible from his office window]].
42* Creator/BruceWillis:
43** In ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'' as a man who is struggling with the idea that he might be MadeOfIron and no one else is. Thinking about John [=McClane=] while watching the movie makes it that much [[{{Deconstruction}} more thoughtful.]]
44** Subverted for great effect in ''Film/TheSixthSense'' - the audience expects a Bruce Willis character to [[JustAFleshWound shrug off being shot]], so when TheReveal comes around, it's a big shock ([[ItWasHisSled if you manage to not be spoiled, anyway]]).
45* Creator/JohnWayne in ''Film/TheShootist'' playing an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in a world where he realizes he's an anachronism. What's more, most everyone expected this to be his last film, and it was, as he was indeed fighting cancer and his brand of western (and war) film hero had become an anachronism.
46* ''Everyone'' in TheFilmOfTheBook ''Literature/AScannerDarkly''. Creator/KeanuReeves as a drug-addicted cop is just DullSurprise'd enough to seem plausible as a guy whose mind is slowly deteriorating from substance D. Then there's Creator/RobertDowneyJr, Creator/WoodyHarrelson, Creator/WinonaRyder, Rory Cochrane. What a cast to play a bunch of stoners!
47* [[Series/LizzieMcGuire Hilary Duff]] in ''Film/WarInc'' where she plays a [[IdolSinger pop star]] who is overly saturated as a sex symbol, which while not exactly descriptive of Duff's life and career it does come fairly close to use this trope.
48** Perhaps it is a CastingGag TakeThat to [[{{Music/Madonna}} some]] [[Music/BritneySpears of]] [[Music/JessicaSimpson her]] [[Music/JanetJackson raunchier]] [[Music/ChristinaAguilera predecessors]].
49* Creator/ChristopherReeve appeared in the ''Film/RearWindow'' remake after the accident that left him a quadriplegic. He played the role originally performed by Creator/JimmyStewart.
50* Creator/AudieMurphy enlisted in the US Army at 16 by falsifying his birth records and proceeded to win more medals than he had places to put them in WWII. This included every single medal awarded by the US at the time, several more than once, along with medals from the French and Belgian governments. He then came home and starred in several war movies as a young recruit who performed heroic deeds on the battlefield, including ''Literature/TheRedBadgeOfCourage'' and a movie based on his own war experiences.
51* ''Film/SchoolOfRock'' cast several child musicians, rather than child actors, to play the young musician characters. Creator/JackBlack himself is part of Music/TenaciousD. Bonus points for the fact that Robert Tsai, who played Larry (the keyboardist) had to go through the same classical-to-rock transition that the character did.
52* ''Film/DickieRobertsFormerChildStar'' had the main character go for a role in a Rob Reiner film and he was considered perfect for the role in every regard except that he never had a normal childhood. So he goes off to quickly get a normal childhood. Essentially he is working to invoke this trope InUniverse to get a role.
53* Creator/NicolasCage manages to convey a sense of being out of his depth in most of his roles, so he managed to do a marvelous job of portraying [[ActionSurvivor a chemical weapons expert dragged along on a SEAL mission]] in ''Film/TheRock''.
54* Ben Stein as a high school economics teacher in ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff''.
55* ''Film/TheWrestler'' casts Creator/MickeyRourke, a down-on-his-luck actor looking for a comeback, as a down-on-his-luck wrestler looking for a comeback.
56* ''Film/TheRunningMan'':
57** Wrestling/JesseVentura; Retired hunter becomes play-by-play commentator.
58** And that's to say nothing of Richard Dawson playing an established game show host who was loved by the fans but was a real jerk when it came to backstage politics. Not surprisingly, Dawson made the film in a period during which he was ''not'' hosting ''Series/FamilyFeud'' (though he later returned to the show).
59* In-universe use: In ''Film/MrSaturdayNight'' there was a part in a film based on Buddy Young Jr. (the protagonist), but he didn't get the role because the writer/director thought he was dead so he cast Creator/WalterMatthau instead. Buddy auditions for another part, but stops and says "this isn't me."
60* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' films:
61** Creator/MrT and Wrestling/HulkHogan in ''Film/RockyIII''.
62** Scandinavian double black belt Creator/DolphLundgren as Drago in ''Film/RockyIV''.
63** The casting of Tommy Morrison as Tommy "Machine" Gunn in ''Film/RockyV''.
64** ''Film/RockyBalboa'' cast a real-life boxer to play Mason Dixon because according to Stallone it is easier to teach a boxer how to act than to teach an actor how to box.
65* Creator/RLeeErmey started as a consultant for ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' and was eventually cast in the role of [[DrillSergeantNasty Gunnery Sgt. Hartman]]. He was a Marine, after all. Legend has it Creator/StanleyKubrick didn't bother writing most of Ermey's iconic drill sergeant patter and let Emery be one of the few actors he ever allowed to go off-script.
66* ''Film/TropicThunder'' runs entirely on this fuel, because it plays with the actual personalities of the actors portraying fictional actors. Robert Downey Jr plays an obsessive method actor who goes to extremes to play a role, to the detriment of his peers. Jack Black plays a comic who ''only'' plays obnoxious buffoons in ToiletHumor movies. In fact, some people expressed disappointment that Creator/BenStiller wasn't an {{expy}} of himself (A [[TheWoobie sympathetic]] [[TheEveryman everyman]] who is a CosmicPlaything) instead of the Stallone-like action hero he was in the movie. Jay Baruchel plays the little-known actor who isn't even mentioned on the poster, which is often what he is in real life. Stiller's part was originally going to go to Keanu Reeves. One of the plot points is that he has trouble expressing emotions, which would've made it this trope.
67* Creator/DonaldSutherland's right-hand man in ''Film/{{Outbreak}}'', Dale Dye, was a captain in the Marine Corps. He has made a secondary career out of playing military officers.
68** His tertiary career is teaching actors how to play military officers.
69** In his spare time, he also acts as a military advisor for first-person shooters. ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' names its HarderThanHard modes after him.
70* Creator/ParisHilton in ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' appears to be this - she plays a bitchy, slutty, egotistical heiress, which matches at least her public image perfectly - but she was initially not even allowed to audition and had to fight to win the part. Still a case of QuestionableCasting.
71* The holographic operator of the Decepticon vehicles in ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}'', "Moustache Man", is an actual pilot for the US military who was qualified to fly the various vehicles he appeared in. He even delayed his wedding to play [[CorruptCop Barricade's]] Moustache Man at the request of Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.
72* Creator/PeterSellers took this trope into his own hands and put a twist on it. He often commented in interviews that he had no real personality and was nothing beyond the [[Radio/TheGoonShow many]] [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther colorful]] [[Film/DoctorStrangelove characters]] he played. After he read ''Film/BeingThere'', he contacted author Jerzy Kosinski about getting a film adaptation made because he saw in it the role he was meant to play all along. That would be Chance the Gardener, a mentally-challenged man whose personality is so underdeveloped that he can only reflect other people's assumptions and desires, which makes each one of them see him as everything he or she ever wanted -- a passionate-yet-discreet lover, a brilliant thinker, etc. The resultant performance is regarded as one of the greatest, if not ''the'' greatest, of his career, even though it is worlds removed from most of his other work tonally.
73* Creator/RobertRodriguez-favorite Creator/DannyTrejo, a Mexican-American ex-con who got into acting after leaving his past behind. As a result of his past, he almost always plays TheBrute-type characters, like in ''Film/{{Desperado}}'', ''Film/{{Heat}}'', ''Film/{{Predators}}'', ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', and ''Film/{{Machete}}''.
74** On one of his first jobs, the casting director asked, "Can you act like a convict?", to which Trejo responded [[DeadpanSnarker "Yeah, I think I can give it a shot."]]
75** Trejo wasn't the only actor in the ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films who was cast like this. Former Disney star turned tabloid trainwreck Creator/LindsayLohan as a {{naughty nun|s}}, famed playboy Creator/CharlieSheen as [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent a self-absorbed, hedonistic US President]], post-meltdown Creator/MelGibson as an utterly despicable villain (i.e. the sort of role that he ''never'' played at the height of his career)... really, it's easier to list the cast members who ''aren't'' either this trope or AdamWesting.
76* To a lesser extent, Charles S. Dutton, who took up acting while serving a prison sentence for a gang-related murder, is often cast as a murderer or tough guy.
77* After her infamous Saks Fifth Avenue shoplifting debacle, Winona Ryder played in a movie called ''Film/TheTen'', which was an AnthologyFilm that riffed on ''Film/TheTenCommandments1956''. The subject of Ryder's segment? [[ShouldntYouStopStealing "Thou Shalt Not Steal."]]
78* ''Film/{{Memento}}'' required a SmugSnake type character for the antagonist, so they hired Creator/JoePantoliano, whose career is virtually nothing but. [[spoiler: Except, of course, that his character is innocent of the crime he's killed for in the film's opening. The role relies heavily on his typecasting to make the audience assume he's the bad guy when he's the closest thing the protagonist has to a real friend. Virtually anyone but a typecast actor would have given the audience room to doubt.]]
79* In ''Film/TheKarateKid2010'' a lot of people initially scoffed at casting Creator/JackieChan as the Mr. Miyagi counterpart, Mr. Han, largely because it sounded like a fanboy's wish list. But when the movie itself came out, people noted that Chan's reputation as a martial arts master gave a great deal more validity to him as a teacher and to the idea of 'Dre becoming so good in such a short period of time. InstantExpert? He was trained by Jackie Chan!
80* T.I. took this route in his movie ''ATL'', in which he plays a struggling artist in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}. He himself grew up in a poorer part of Atlanta.
81* Creator/GeorgeClooney's character in ''Film/UpInTheAir'' is a charming bachelor with no plans of marriage. You'd think the part was specifically written for him (but he did later marry and have a child).
82* Music/MileyCyrus in ''Film/{{LOL}}'', an American 2012 remake of a French BlackComedy. She plays the role of a BrattyTeenageDaughter who is seen by her mother as perfect and goody-two-shoes but in private leads an active sex life, smokes, drinks, does drugs, and has a raunchy mouth. The tables are turned as her mother reads her Website/{{Facebook}} page and learns of her sordid sexual posts. Though the role was not written expressly for her, it has interesting subtext as Miley in RealLife has moved on from her ''Series/HannahMontana'' days (to a degree that would make even her character in the film go pale with shock), to the ire of MoralGuardians.
83** The original French film that ''LOL'' remakes (also with the same title) stars Creator/SophieMarceau as the lead character's mother. Marceau's breakout role was in ''La Boum'', another coming-of-age film that was a heavy influence on ''LOL''.
84* In ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'', the character of Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent film star was played by Creator/GloriaSwanson, a forgotten silent film star. Her butler, Max von Mayerling who used to be a leading silent film director is played by Creator/ErichVonStroheim, who used to be a leading silent film director. Norma used to work with Creator/CecilBDeMille, who used to work with Swanson and appears in the film playing himself. (Needless to say, Swanson took her fall from stardom with ''much'' more grace and sanity than Norma.)
85* In ''{{Theatre/Dreamgirls}}'', Music/{{Beyonce}} plays Deena, one of the members of a [[TheSixties '60s]] GirlGroup who ends up getting promoted more than the other band members (partially because of her relationship with the manager) and even leads to original lead singer Effie being fired from the band. In real life, Beyonce was the most prominent member of Music/DestinysChild and is the one who had the most successful solo career afterward. Some people feel that the only reason that's true is that Beyonce's father was the manager. What takes this to another level of meta is that Beyonce actually got top billing over Music/JenniferHudson, who plays Effie, the main character of the story.
86* Part of the reason Creator/GalGadot was cast as Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}} was that she had been a fight trainer in her time in the Israeli Defense Forces. The only fight technique they had to teach her was how to use the lasso.
87* In ''Flashback'', Dennis Hopper, who had played radical characters, most famously in ''Film/EasyRider'', plays a former 60s radical under arrest for crimes committed back then.
88* Director Nicholas Roeg got the idea to cast rock musician Music/DavidBowie as the title character in ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'' after seeing the BBC documentary profile ''Cracked Actor''. The program followed Bowie on his 1974 U.S. tour, both on and offstage, and Roeg realized that the singer (who frequently incorporated science fiction elements and imagery into his work throughout his career) had exactly the stranger-in-a-strange-land aura the role of Thomas Jerome Newton -- an actual alien trying to save his dying race by masquerading as a human businessman and rising to the top of American industry -- required.
89* Jack Palance, after playing MemeticBadass Wilson in ''Shane'', was cast as Curly Washburn in ''Film/CitySlickers'' because of the mystique around his portrayal of the earlier character.
90* During an interview on the ''Travis Smiley'' show, Creator/DenzelWashington admitted that his first villain role in the film ''Film/TrainingDay'' (which got him the Best Actor UsefulNotes/AcademyAward) was the easiest role he ever played. This was because the character he played: a corrupt cop named Alonzo, was based on his real off-screen personality. However, he made it clear that the evil deeds were solely movie based.
91* In ''Film/SpringBreakers'', Music/SelenaGomez, one of the few remaining tween superstars of the 2000s not to have transformed into a raunch queen, need rehab, or otherwise spark controversy (other than dating Music/JustinBieber) was cast, appropriately as the innocent member of the female gang in the film. Most tellingly, her character disappears from the narrative when things get serious and the other girls start getting out of control. After all, we couldn't have Selena Gomez engaging in a three-way or killing people.
92* The French film ''Grosse Fatigue'' (English subtitle: "Dead Tired"). All the leading actors, ''extremely'' well known in France, play themselves—still just as famous but in a fictitious scenario. The only character who ''isn't'' portrayed as the actor playing him is played by [[spoiler: the film's maker, Michel Blanc]], but that's only because said actor is playing two roles, himself and someone who isn't famous but looks exactly like him, a fact that provides the motor for a very clever plot.
93* In ''Film/LaHorse'', Creator/JeanGabin played an aging landowner who owns cattle. Which he was for real.
94* ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'':
95** Creator/MichaelKeaton plays Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor remembered only for playing a superhero. Keaton's biggest and most remembered role is [[Film/Batman1989 a certain superhero]], and he had difficulty finding high-profile roles afterward.
96** Fitting with the superhero theme, [[Creator/EmmaStone Gwen Stacy]] and the [[Creator/EdwardNorton Hulk]] were also cast in supporting roles. Additionally, Edward Norton's casting as a prima donna actor set on [[WagTheDirector undermining the director's vision]] is fitting, given Norton's own history as a perfectionist who would come into conflict with directors and executives of films he starred in. The most notable examples include his CreativeDifferences with Tony Kaye over the editing of ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'' and his decision to leave the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse after disagreements with Marvel on the development of his character (hence why Creator/MarkRuffalo was cast as the Hulk in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'').
97** Creator/NaomiWatts plays an aspiring actress who, at one point, shows romantic interest in a dark-haired woman. [[Film/MulhollandDrive 'Cause that doesn't sound familiar, does it?]]
98* The film ''Film/FiftyFifty2011'' is partially autobiographical on the screenwriter's own experiences when he was diagnosed with cancer - and Seth Rogen is his best friend. So Rogen is essentially playing himself doing what he did in real life.
99* In a similar vein, ''Film/Thirteen2003'' is based partially on actress Nikki Reed's own experiences at that age. Though the character that is based on Reed - Tracie - is played by Evan Rachel Wood, Reed playing the best friend Evie instead.
100* ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' revolved around two sisters who were bitter rivals. They cast Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, two actresses with a heated rivalry. Likewise, Davis' character Jane Hudson struggles to make it as an actress in Hollywood, with a scene of producers complaining about her performance. The clip was from one of Davis's own movies, [[SelfDeprecation supplied by the actress herself]].
101* ''Film/MagicMike'': Michael "Mike" Lane is portrayed by Creator/ChanningTatum, who worked as a male stripper in Florida just like his character.
102* In the French movie ''Le Mouton à Cinq Pattes'' (''The Five-Legged Sheep''), famous French actor Fernandel plays five quintuplets who have had very different lives. One of them is a priest whose life was ruined because (being Fernandel in a priest suit) he looks just like the priest from another popular comedy in which Fernandel played a priest, ''Don Camillo'', and that consequently, no one takes him seriously anymore.
103* Ben Johnson was a real cowboy and expert horseman prior to getting into acting. After a stint working as a stunt man and horse wrangler on set, he went on to appear in many westerns where his riding skills were often highlighted.
104* In the film ''Film/{{Targets}}'', Creator/BorisKarloff, a horror icon approaching the end of his career, plays Byron Orlok, a fictional horror icon about to retire who becomes involved when a psycho sniper attacks the audience at a drive-in cinema showing his last film. The film has a strong metafictional element referring to the eclipse of the traditional supernatural horror movie in favor of the more naturalistically disturbing PsychologicalHorror.
105* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'':
106** "Karen", the onboard AI in Peter's Spider suit, is voiced by Creator/JenniferConnelly, who is married to Creator/PaulBettany, who voiced JARVIS (Tony's first AI) and now plays The Vision.
107** Creator/MichaelKeaton is Adrian Toomes, AKA the Vulture. Again, ''Film/{{Birdman|OrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance}} [[ActorAllusion is the Vulture]]''. (Also, this film could be considered ''Film/{{Batman|1989}} vs. ComicBook/SpiderMan'', except [[Film/MeAndEarlAndTheDyingGirl not made by high schoolers.]] And most likely [[WebAnimation/DeathBattle not to the death]].)
108*** Not only that but the reveal that Adrian Toomes is [[spoiler:Liz Allan's father]]. Because in ''Birdman'', Riggan's daughter Samantha was played by Creator/EmmaStone, who played Gwen Stacy in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. So not only is Michael Keaton playing another bird-themed costumed character but [[spoiler:he's also playing the father of Spider-Man's love interest again]]!
109* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': Early on, we see a stage play put on by Loki (as Odin) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2h8eM-GhGY depicting his supposed "death"]] in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. Loki took great care with casting, seeing as he made sure he was played by A-lister Creator/MattDamon while casting Creator/SamNeill as Odin, and Creator/ChrisHemsworth (Thor)'s older brother [[Creator/LukeHemsworth Luke]] as Thor.
110* Creator/TomHanks is dubbed "The Nicest Man In Hollywood", so ''of course'' he is cast to play the ultimate NiceGuy himself, [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Mr. Rogers]] in the {{Biopic}} ''Film/ABeautifulDayInTheNeighborhood'' (even though the two [[Main/AbilityOverAppearance look nothing alike]]).
111* ''Film/StrategicAirCommand'' featured Creator/JimmyStewart, a decorated UsefulNotes/WorldWarII bomber pilot and U.S. Air Force Reservist, playing Colonel "Dutch" Holland, [[ActorSharedBackground a decorated World War II bomber pilot and U.S. Air Force Reservist]]. The main difference between actor and character is Stewart was an actor, and Dutch a baseball player.
112* ''Film/AfterEarth'' is an interesting case. It mostly centers around a legendary badass and his son who is trying (perhaps a little too hard) to follow in his footsteps. While the father/son casting of [[Creator/WillSmith Will]] and Creator/JadenSmith was certainly intentional, viewers noticed plenty of additional subtext that probably wasn't.
113* French actor Creator/PatrickDewaere played a lot of misfit, fragile, drugged, neurotic individuals. Which he was in RealLife.
114* ''Film/TheUnbearableWeightOfMassiveTalent'' stars Creator/NicolasCage as a fictionalized version of himself, attending a wealthy LoonyFan's birthday party. Said fan is played by Creator/PedroPascal, who's cited Cage as one of his inspirations as an actor.
115* ''Film/TheMisfits'':
116** The film was conceived as a rare dramatic vehicle for Creator/MarilynMonroe, who wanted to transition out of her DumbBlonde persona in comedies. Indeed, as filming went on, the character Roslyn kept being rewritten to more closely resemble her; in the short story it's adapted from, Roslyn was college educated, but became a high school dropout and also had a difficult relationship with her mother. She's at one point told by the male lead that she's "the saddest girl I ever met", and responds that men usually tell her how happy she is; this was based on an actual conversation between her and then-husband/screenwriter Creator/ArthurMiller. There's also a scene where another character finds old photos of Roslyn, and they use some of Marilyn's famous pin-up pictures.
117** This LeaningOnTheFourthWall extends to the character of Perce, played by Creator/MontgomeryClift. He's presented as a disaster, with a nasty drinking problem and doing whatever he can to make a living; referencing how a nasty car accident in 1956 had led to him self-medicating and his career suffered. His introductory scene has him assuring his mother that his face is "all healed up", again referencing the accident that destroyed his PrettyBoy good looks.
118* In ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', Lucas Lee (played by Creator/ChrisEvans) is an action movie star [[WolfpackBoss who fights with his cadre of stuntmen]]. Whether out of deliberately reaching this trope or simple convenience, said stunt doubles happen to be Chris Evans' actual stunt team.
119* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', former leading man Rick Dalton, played by Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, struggles with playing a hardened villain, but eventually turns in an over-the-top performance going triumphantly above the script's demands. This parallels how [=DiCaprio=] handled his role as the villainous plantation owner in ''Film/DjangoUnchained''.
120* ''Film/{{Fan}}'': Aryan Khanna ''is'' Creator/ShahRukhKhan, to the point that the montage at the start of the film showing Aryan's rise to stardom uses several unaltered and barely-altered clips of SRK's own early films, awards, and interviews. This ties in deeply with the themes of the film, which explores the nature and perils of Bollywood celebrity with his IdenticalStranger and LoonyFan Gaurav.
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123[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
124* Creator/ChristopherReeve in his role in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' as Virgil Swann. The past Superman is telling the current Superman where he came from and who he is. Often considered the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome crowning moment of awesome]] for the show. Punctuated by the use of music from his Superman movies during his scenes.
125** Creator/MargotKidder also appeared in one of Reeve's episodes, and again after he died--where she shared scenes with [[Film/SupermanIII Annette O'Toole]].
126** O'Toole herself was said to have been cast for her interpretation of Martha Kent, not for her resonance with ''Superman III''--a film Superman fans [[CanonDiscontinuity like to forget]], and anyway the show creators were outsiders to the Superman ethos. But it wasn't entirely a coincidence, and fans loved the connection.
127* In the third season of ''Series/SlingsAndArrows'', William Hutt's character is enticed out of retirement to play at the New Burbage theater festival while dying of cancer. Hutt himself had several "retirements" from the Stratford Festival (on which New Burbage is based) and died of leukemia shortly after ''Slings And Arrows'' was filmed.
128* ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'' inverted this trope where the characters' personalities, and even their home city/country, were based on the actors they hired. The DVDCommentary would frequently point out that a recurring actor really did have that kind of slightly-off personality.
129* Creator/KumailNanjiani admitted that his character, Dinesh, in ''Series/SiliconValley'' was partially based on his experience working in IT before becoming an actor and comedian. Both are from Pakistan and moved to America to get a computer science education and profession. Subverted because it worked out differently for the two.
130* Virtually every actor to have played the Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' has incorporated a lot of their own personality quirks and idiosyncrasies into the role, although some more than others.
131** Although Creator/PatrickTroughton did not play the character as a version of himself, his natural personality still formed the backbone of the Second Doctor's. There was a lot of despair over the first [[TheNthDoctor actor switchover]]. Should he play the character as the same as Creator/WilliamHartnell's Doctor? Should he go with Sydney Newman's Creator/CharlieChaplin-inspired 'cosmic hobo' idea? Should he go psychedelic as Gerry Davis wanted? What about the sea captain gimmick or making him a Literature/SherlockHolmes {{Expy}}? It was all up in the air until one very important meeting to discuss this, when Gerry Davis noticed that despite everyone else shouting at each other Troughton was sitting in the corner, [[TheSocialExpert quietly puzzling out all the power dynamics between the writers and executives with an expression of obvious interest]]. This immediately inspired Davis and he asked everyone else to leave so he could tell Troughton what he'd observed. "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks The Power of the Daleks]]", Troughton's first story, includes a scene inspired by this where he explains to Polly that he's mapped the power dynamics among the colony officials just by watching their faces.
132** Creator/JonPertwee was cast as a comic actor and was intended at first to be a comedy character, but eventually, they settled upon basing the Doctor's personality on Pertwee's just, enthusiastic, serious and elegant natural one. This came as a big shock to people used to his comedy roles. Another bit of meta came out after his death. Three's secret agent antics and love of gadgets? Turns out Pertwee ''was'' in British Intelligence during World War II, as part of the SOE a.k.a. 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', instructing spies on the latest and greatest espionage gear of the era and working alongside Creator/IanFleming and Creator/ChristopherLee (which means he served as a partial inspiration for James Bond, who Fleming based on his wartime colleagues).
133** The most extreme example is Creator/TomBaker, who played the Fourth Doctor. He insists ([[TrollingCreator although there's ample evidence against it]]) that he just performed his lines as himself at first and was surprised that people kept sending him fanmail [[RealityIsUnrealistic praising his outrageous and over-the-top persona]]; when asked in an interview by Horror Channel to describe his Doctor in a word, answered "I can do it in two: Tom Baker". He was cast in the role due to Creator/BarryLetts being impressed by Baker's naturally loopy personality and, as neither Terrence Dicks nor Creator/RobertHolmes had much of an initial direction for the Fourth Doctor's personality, both of them admitted to having just written the character to be like the actor. This, combined with AlterEgoActing (he disliked appearing publicly as himself while playing the role and tried to stay in character as much as possible) did lead to him becoming LostInCharacter, so none of the others have done it to quite the same extent.
134** The Eleventh Doctor's actor Creator/MattSmith bought his own... astonishing physicality to the role. Behind the Scenes stuff shows that he's even more of a clumsy loon than his character. He broke sonic screwdrivers on a regular basis and impulsively kissed his co-star Arthur Darvill in a ThrowItIn moment, and as a boy, he was on the books of UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball teams Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, captaining the latter's youth team before injury forced him out of football - though he [[TheCastShowOff did demonstrate his skills during one episode]].
135** Creator/PeterCapaldi (the Twelfth) has said that the Doctor has a lot more of his natural personality in him than his other famous role, [[Series/TheThickOfIt Malcolm Tucker]].
136* Everyone's favorite goth girl, ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' lab tech Abby Sciuto, has a lot in common with her actress, Pauley Perrette. Not just the tattoos, but the story Abby tells Kate in the first episode, about poking around in an old junkyard being the start of her forensics path, is actually straight out of Perrette's life.
137** In another example from the same show, Creator/MichaelWeatherly plays Tony [=DiNozzo=], who comes from a rich family but has been cut off. This is actually true of Weatherly's own family, as his own father cut him off when he dropped out of college and became an actor. Various other bits of his real-life history have been used as gags (including how his family made their money and that he was once engaged to Jessica Alba) and Tony's movie references became a character element after a few too many of his ad-libs were movie-based.
138*** A meta-meta example. Creator/RobertWagner has appeared in numerous episodes as Tony's father. Weatherly once portrayed Wagner in a TV movie and does an eerily accurate impression of the actor which has been posted to Website/YouTube among outtakes from a CBS promo bumper he recorded.
139** Creator/SeanMurray is also almost as much of a geek as [=McGee=].
140* In ''Series/TheITCrowd'', the socially-awkward and nerdy character, Moss, who has no people skills, is played by Creator/RichardAyoade. In RealLife, Ayoade is also something of a socially awkward, shy geek, who is open about his social anxiety issues. He has often stated that he hates the limelight and hates being interviewed, and when appearing on British panel shows he often plays up this persona. According to Ayoade, Graham Linehan wrote the character specifically for him, having met him at university and knowing his personality quirks.
141* Creator/DennisFarina usually played cops and mobsters, which maybe wasn't surprising considering he was a Chicago police officer for almost 20 years before taking up acting. His ''Series/LawAndOrder'' character was even mentioned as previously being a Chicago cop.
142* Creator/MichaelJFox on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' was cast to play Dr. Kevin Casey, a double certified (medical/surgical) visiting doctor with ''extreme'' UsefulNotes/ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder. While he proceeded to show-up everyone in the cast with his skills, and despite his genius and generally positive outlook, his OCD is a very powerful demon that he can never truly ignore. Fox's bodily tics from Parkinson's added weight to the performance and the message.
143* ''Series/TheMichaelJFoxShow'' has even more of a RealitySubtext, since he's playing a beloved television personality with Parkinson's who returns to TV after a long retirement.
144* Creator/CharlieSheen's first episode on ''Series/SpinCity'' showed that his character [[TheDanza Charlie Crawford]] has had many social issues in the past, including wild womanizing and drugs. At the end of the episode, he very publicly apologized to a past fling explaining that he has entire weeks he doesn't remember, one where he ended up in a tour bus with a bunch of groupies "And I wasn't even in a band!"
145** Sheen's more recent issues make this a very cyclical ordeal. His current series, ''Series/AngerManagement'', is overflowing with references to his sometimes bizarre past behavior while under the influence of narcotics.
146* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' often searches for skilled martial artists, to begin with, but along the way often integrates the background of the actor into the actual character. The most famous being Kimberly's gymnastics, where Creator/AmyJoJohnson was an Olympic hopeful at one point, and Zach's [[DanceBattler hip hop kido]], which was designed and performed by Walter Jones.
147* The creators of Series/ParksAndRecreation developed the role of April Ludgate basically because they wanted an Creator/AubreyPlaza-type character after meeting the actress.
148* ''Series/TheFallGuy'': Creator/LeeMajors plays a stuntman and was also roped into actually singing the show's theme song, in which his character proclaims he's been seen on screen with [[Creator/FarrahFawcett Farrah]]. Farrah Fawcett was formerly known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors and had in fact divorced Majors by the time ''Fall Guy'' came along. Another episode had a meta moment where Majors' character, Colt Seavers, has to break into a bad guy's lair and does so using the same catapult device used to simulate bionic jumps for Majors' own stuntmen in ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''.
149* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', neurobiologist Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler is played by Creator/MayimBialik, a [[FormerChildStar child star]] on ''Series/{{Blossom}}'' who became famous for earning a Ph.D. in neuroscience and fading from acting for much of her adult life. It becomes straight on CelebrityParadox as, while not identified by name, she was referred to in a previous episode. When auditioning for the role the casting department did a double-take at her Ph.D., Mayim expressed amusement that we knew nothing of Amy when she first appeared and it wasn't until later she was given a specialty that reflected her degree.
150* Creator/JenniferGrey was known for her distinctive nose and when she got a rhinoplasty, she immediately lost work. So in the TV show ''It's Like, You Know'' she plays herself - out of work because she got a nose job.
151* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' managed a two-fer. Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Creator/JenniferMorrison were long noted to have a distinct resemblance - to the point where they began signing autographs and giving interviews as each other. So it was a bit of a CastingGag for them to play mother and daughter respectively. Additionally, many other cast members have said that Goodwin is ThePollyanna in real life - so it's incredibly appropriate that she be picked to play Snow White.
152* While she wasn't cast specifically for it, Creator/AshleyJohnson incorporated a lot of her own love of board games and geek culture into her character on ''Series/{{Blindspot}}''. In fact, the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' character Dr. Patterson rattles off in an early episode is Ashley's own character from the web series ''WebVideo/CriticalRole''
153* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
154** Creator/{{Deborah Ann Woll}} plays [[SexySecretary Karen Page]], the [[OfficialCouple official love interest]] of [[BlindJustice blind lawyer]] Matt Murdock. Her husband EJ Scott is going blind as a result of choroideremia, and she raises public awareness of the disease as a pet cause. This was lampshaded by Woll, [[https://twitter.com/Daredevil/status/583815587018579969 as EJ actually dressed up as Matt for the season 1 premiere]]. And the show takes this full circle partway through season 2, once [[RelationshipUpgrade Matt and Karen start dating]].
155** Just like Matt Murdock, Creator/CharlieCox was raised Catholic.
156** Creator/VincentDOnofrio incorporates a good amount of his own social anxieties into his portrayal of Wilson Fisk, like difficulty maintaining eye contact, odd speech inflections, and, despite taking precautions, having a set routine. He has trouble "clearing his head" at times, and is insecure when out in public.
157** A lawyer like Marci Stahl makes sense being played by Amy Rutberg, whose dad is a judge.
158* ''Series/IronFist2017'': Given the duality motif of [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Typhoid Mary]], it only seems appropriate that for her live-action portrayal, she's played by Creator/AliceEve, who sports heterochromia (her left eye is blue and right eye is green).
159* ''Series/TheWire'':
160** Edward Norris, a former Baltimore Police Commissioner who had a somewhat controversial career that ended in an indictment and a felony conviction, plays [[AdamWesting a fictionalized version of himself]] that is a Homicide detective. His lack of respect for the current Commissioner is a running gag. And since the first season was shot while he was still in office, many things he says cross into borderline SelfDeprecation:
161-->'''Ed Norris:''' I kid you not. I swear, you show me the son of a bitch who can fix this police department I'd give back half my overtime.
162** Sgt. Jay Landsman is the supervisor of the Homicide unit. He is named after a real guy, who was a subject in David Simon's book ''Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets''. The real Jay Landsman also appears in ''The Wire''...as Lt. Dennis Mello, Major Colvin's NumberTwo in the Western District. This results in even more MindScrew in a season 5 scene that features Mello with JustForFun/JohnMunch (who was based on the real Landsman) and Gus Haynes (Creator/ClarkJohnson, Richard Belzer's former castmate from ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'').
163** Anthony Collichio is a Western District plainclothes officer who takes the soldier's mentality to policing that Bunny Colvin decries as detrimental to the job. He's played by Benjamin Busch, who is a United States Marine Reserve Corps officer.
164** Melvin Williams, a former gangster arrested by co-creator Ed Burns, was one of the inspirations for Avon Barksdale. Williams himself appears in seasons 3 and 4 of ''The Wire'' in the recurring role of the Deacon, a community pillar in West Baltimore who is closely involved in Cutty's and Colvin's storylines.
165** Donnie Andrews, a criminal whose real-life exploits inspired much of Omar Little's character, and who worked as a consultant for ''The Wire'', got to appear in seasons 4 and 5 as one of Blind Butchie's musclemen.
166* ''Series/Supergirl2015'': Nia Nal turns out to be transgender, just like her actress Nicole Maines. The casting was planned this way to begin with, in setting up the first transgender superhero.
167* ''Series/WandaVision'': Episode 5, "[[Recap/WandaVisionEpisode5OnAVerySpecialEpisode On a Very Special Episode...]]", takes a lot of visual inspiration from ''Series/FullHouse''. Creator/ElizabethOlsen (Wanda) is the younger sister of [[Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen the twins]] who played Michelle Tanner.
168* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' sees the United States government appoint US Army captain John Walker as the new Captain America. Walker is played by Creator/WyattRussell, who screen-tested for Steve Rogers during casting for ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' but got passed over in favor of Creator/ChrisEvans.
169* ''Series/{{Gunpowder}}'' stars Creator/KitHarington as his matrilineal ancestor Robert Catesby.
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Western Animation]]
173* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Creator/AdamWest ([[AdamWesting but of course]]) plays a washed-up actor who is frustrated that nobody can think of him as anything but his most famous role. Other actors might have been able to portray it better, but no one else could have given it that added level of irony. And then producer Bruce Timm playing the crazy fan in the episode (complete as an InkSuitActor) really hits it home. While the episode wasn't written specifically for West - The producers originally planned to cast Gary Owens as the Gray Ghost until series director Dan Riba suggested casting West instead - everyone agreed that West was the perfect choice.
174* Creator/NeilPatrickHarris played a washed-up child actor in ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock''. Given his career path after ''Series/DoogieHowserMD'' (before his comeback role in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''), this was likely intentional.
175* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
176** In TheMovie the role of President Schwarzenegger was "played" by Rainier Wolfcastle, TheVerse's resident NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
177** In the series proper, Professor Frink is very much a homage to Jerry Lewis' ''Film/{{The Nutty Professor|1963}}''. When Frink's father appeared in one Halloween episode, he was, of course, voiced by Jerry Lewis himself.
178* In the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 first two episodes of Season 2 of]] ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', the villain, Discord, was designed to resemble Q from ''Star Trek''. They tried to think of a voice actor who would play the role as well as John de Lancie before they decided to get John de Lancie himself. De Lancie, in turn, became a champion for the show, to the point of producing a documentary on its [[PeripheryDemographic male adult fanbase]].
179* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Creator/MarkHamill plays [[BigBad Firelord Ozai]], superpowered EvilOverlord with a rebellious son, who mutilates said son during a battle in a twisted attempt to teach him something. Oh, and he shoots lightning from his fingertips. Basically, [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker has become a composite of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.]]
180[[/folder]]
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