Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey cast in Apple TV+ series as themselves - others who did the same

Prepare for some more meta-referential entertainment once more from Hollywood, where it seems performers are more than happy to send themselves up. Variety have reported that Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson and Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey will appear in an as-of-yet untitled 10-episode half-hour comedy by writer David West Read.

Apple TV+ have described the series as, "a heartfelt odd couple love story revolving around the strange and beautiful bond between Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson", as the pair - along with their families - attempt to live together on McConaughey’s Texas ranch. Despite the close relationship the two actors have, we all know after lockdowns during the pandemic that close confines can put even the sturdiest of friendships under pressure.

The show is set to be the second collaboration between Apple TV+, Read and his production company Skydance Television; Read will see his debut on the streaming platform come in the form of The Big Door Prize, starring Chris O’Dowd and scheduled to premiere on the platform later this month.

Read’s name may also be familiar with fans of the hit series Schitt’s Creek, as he was part of the writing team that led to the show receiving an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 2020, with Read being singled out himself for a nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series that same year.

This marks the third time that Woody Harrelson will play a fictional version of himself; his first time was a brief cameo role in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 and then in 2017’s Lost in London, alongside Owen Wilson playing Owen Wilson.

Meta-humour has seemed to become par for the course now in Hollywood, but Woody and Matthew aren’t the only actors happy to exaggerate their public personas for the sake of our entertainment…

Nic Cage

When it was announced that Nic Cage would play an exaggerated version of himself, we all asked the question - how much more exaggerated can he get? But with his starring role in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, we got not only the cool, calm and collected Nic Cage of the present, but the wild, leather jacket, reckless Nic Cage of the ‘80s. How could this film get any better, we asked? Peopleworld favourite Pedro Pascal co-starring alongside Cage and sharing scenes - that’s how.

John Malkovich

Spike Jonze has long been a creative force happy to eschew normal cinematic conventions, and this was non more apparent than his work on the 1999 film Being John Malkovich. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener all found themselves being John Malkovich, with the usually serious actor playing a bewildered version of himself coming to terms with sharing his body with the characters in this cult classic

Anna Faris 

Never one to take herself seriously, Anna Faris’ portrayal of herself in the Key and Peele vehicle, Keanu, reached Neil Patrick Harris levels of ridiculousness. Much like Harris in the Harold and Kumar series, Farris played a loud, obnoxious, drug addicted version of herself and nearly stole the film away from Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele and a voice-over cameo from the man himself - Keanu Reeves.

Zoe Bell

When she was cast in Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 film Death Proof, many wondered who she was. However, though she never revealed her last name, those in-the-know would come to realise that the New Zealand born stunt actress was, in fact, playing a cinematic version of herself - complete with undertaking her own stunts.

Such has been the affinity that Tarantino has had for Zoe Bell that he went on to cast her in an acting role in his 2015 film The Hateful Eight - where she also undertook her own stunts, funnily enough.

The entire cast of This Is The End

We couldn’t complete this list without talking about the entire cast of This Is The End, with Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Jay Baruchel all portraying exaggerated versions of themselves, though also using hints of their real-life issues as part of its narrative (for example, Jay Baruchel not being a fan of the Hollywood lifestyle.)

Jonah Hill, however, stole the show playing the most disingenuous version of himself possible, especially after receiving a raft of award nominations for his role in Moneyball, opposite Brad Pitt.