Some actors are cast explicitly to play themselves. And I don't mean in a... I'm a rapper playing a rapper kind of way. But Ina way where the actor is not required to dig deep or show any kind of range to portray what the director is looking for.

See Fredro Starr in the Wire, Method Man in The Wire, DMX in any of his feature films. They are all doing them, regardless of the character's archetype.

I look at Commons career as an actor and wonder how he's gone beyond random cameos and been successful at it.

That Comm/Queen Latifah flick- it's just Common in basketball shorts

He'll On Wheels- Common in western gear.

and the flick that prompted this post- RIPD... Common in a suit, with the same mannerisms, inflections, and accent that we've known him for since the 90s.

So I guess my "no shit" moment of the day comes from realizing that while some successful actors don't have very good acting chops at all...a great natural build, look, and voice encompass something that directors can repeatedly use for a myriad of characters without asking much of the actor themselves....