Surreal Star Power - Hollywood Actors in Japanese TV Commercials

I'm not much of a fan of Japanese TV, with the majority of its prime-time programs consisting of annoying "variety" shows populated by a rotating cast of so-called "talentos" (who mostly seem to lack any kind of talent). In between the programs, however, the TV commercials here are often pretty entertaining, not to mention downright weird, viewing. This is particularly true when it comes to the range of CMs featuring A-list Hollywood actors. While they usually wouldn't be seen dead plugging products on TV in their home countries, they seem more than willing to whore themselves to Japanese advertisers, presumably thinking that the rest of the world will remain largely ignorant of the fact. Well, I am here to try and clear up a bit of that ignorance, by naming and shaming a select few of these (previously) respected actors below. This is my personal selection of Japanese TV commercials featuring Hollywood celebrities - the more bizarre and embarrassing the better!

Tommy Lee Jones - Boss Coffee

Over the past few years, gravelly-voiced veteran actor Tommy Lee Jones has been starring in a series of CMs for this popular brand of canned coffee. The premise is that he is actually an alien disguised as Mr Jones, who is visiting Earth to observe human behaviour. They're all genius, but my particular favourite is the one where he tries his hand at working in a host bar and gets carried away at the tanning salon.

Nicholas Cage - Sankyo Pachinko

Admittedly, Nick Cage's shame threshold seems to be pretty high among Hollywood actors - witness the number of god-awful films he's starred in over the last few years. However, I'd never have thought he'd be  prepared to embarrass himself like this, by adopting a cringeworthy "hick" accent and dancing around with a bunch of human pachinko balls. Incidentally, for those who aren't familiar with pachinko, it's a popular form of gambling in Japan, involving silver balls that randomly drop through a machine.

Brad Pitt - Softbank

Brad Pitt is usually the epitome of cool, but he's totally dropped that image in this CM for cell-phone company Softbank, where he portrays a geeky tourist in France, kindly helping some locals get their car started. Amazingly, it was directed by Wes Anderson, who's responsible for some of my favourite films such as Rushmore and The Life Aquatic. Though this doesn't quite live up to those cinematic gems, it certainly exhibits some of Anderson's trademark quirkiness.

Kiefer Sutherland - Calorie Mate

This expensive-looking commercial spoofing "24" reveals the secret behind all-action hero Jack Bauer's incredible fitness and energy levels - he eats healthy Japanese snack bar Calorie Mate!

Sean Connery - Suntory Whisky

Not a particularly weird or amusing effort, but a classic of the genre nonetheless, mainly for being an inspiration for the charming film "Lost in Translation," in which Bill Murray's character travels to Japan to do a very similar commercial for the same product.