One CNN host has a secret Hollywood career – and has even starred in the James Bond franchise. Wolf Blitzer, best known for his anchoring role on the US news channel, appeared alongside Daniel Craig in 2012’s Skyfall, along with movies including Mission Impossible Fallout with Tom Cruise and DC hit Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Along with his extensive Hollywood record, Blitzer has appeared in Netflix’s House of Cards, 2015 series The Brink and 2011 release The Adjustment Bureau. But he’s not an actor – instead, he’s playing himself in all of the roles, usually as a CNN news reporter detailing fictional footage in the background of shots or to alert the main characters to something urgent happening on TV.
Blitzer has discussed his cameos, boasting: “Daniel Craig, James Bond and Wolf Blitzer. You’ll have to see it! This acting thing, maybe I’ve got some potential. You never know.”
Showbiz 411 reported at the time of the 007 film’s release: “Wolf Blitzer is in the film. So is CNN. Instead of using a fake newscaster or a retired or sidelined one, director Sam Mendes puts Blitzer reporting from CNN on news about Bond’s agency, MI6.
“It’s a good commercial plug for CNN, to go along with a few others from the likes of Volkswagen Beetles, Jaguar, Sony VAIO computers, and Caterpillar tractors.”
He’s not the only one. He went head to head with Piers Morgan in 2012 with the release of Skyfall, as the former Good Morning Britain star was appearing in the Denzel Washington movie Flight, playing himself as a news anchor.
Piers tweeted at the time: “So I’m in the new Denzel movie #Flight and @wolfblitzer’s in the new Bond movie #Skyfall – both out this week. This is… #CNNThespianWar.”
Fans couldn’t believe their eyes when they spotted Blitzer in the movie, with one tweeting: “Watching Skyfall, realising Wolf Blitzer is on what must be a fairly short list of people who have been in both a Bond and a Mission Impossible!”
Someone else agreed: “Mission: Impossible and the Daniel Craig Bond films are set in the same universe. What ties the two franchises together? Wolf Blitzer.” And another joked: “It’s always funny when real life journalists do cameos in movies. Like Wolf Blitzer saying ‘thanks Bob, we are checking in on James Bond’s condition right now. More coming up after the break.’”