Ever notice how some actors play themselves in every movie that they star in?  This occurred to me last night as I clicked through an endless sea of movie channels and found Matt Damon on every channel at once.  And in each movie, to his credit, MD was playing a completely different character.

Brilliant and undirected in Good Will Hunting.
Scared yet resolute in Saving Private Ryan.
Resourceful shitk*cker in The Bourne Identity.

Unique roles, good acting = Matt Damon.

But there are other actors who are revered for their skills who seem to take on the same role on an annual basis.

Julia Roberts as the likeable fish out of water.
John Cusack awkwardly navigating a relationship.
Jennifer Aniston looking for love in all the wrong places.
Ben Stiller snarkily keeping his anger in check.
Katharine Heigl (see Jennifer Aniston)

What fun is acting if you are either playing yourself or always playing the same role?

Are there any actors you’d like to call out for recycling a part?