No Celebrities Were Harmed/Sandbox

A character who is a thinly disguised imitation of a celebrity. The more overt examples will often have a parody of that celebrity's name. Such characters serve as a homage and/or spoof, are there to make a wider political point or simply because the creators think that it would be cool to have a character like that.

Common impressions include Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone for tough-guy characters, Peter Lorre for creepy characters, R. Lee Ermey for Drill Sergeant Nasties, Paul Lynde for Flamboyant Gay characters and Mae West for vamps. Jacques Cousteau turns up as a Mock Cousteau and Walt Disney gives us Mr. Alt Disney.

May double as a Parental Bonus, in works aimed at kids. If such a work is popular and stays around enough, the Weird Al Effect can occur.

There is a long tradition of this trope in animation, which is a natural medium for it. Compare Ink Suit Actor, where a celebrity voices an animated caricature of himself. Comic Book Fantasy Casting is a much milder version of this, where a real actor or other celebrity is used as a guide for a character's appearance but with no attempt to caricature their persona. See also Lawyer-Friendly Cameo, No Communities Were Harmed, Adam Westing. Tuckerization is the inverse.