You're the star of your own show, and playing the starring role would seem natural, but not all of us are raised to believe we can be heroes, making our Causa-sui and heroism projects far more perplexing than clear. Living in your own private Hollywood turns life into a movie filled with great accomplishments or terrible disappointments.

This Celebrity Paradox arises when a movie or television star has their career referenced or appears as themselves in a fictional work, creating a paradox for the audience where the actor takes on the role of a fictional character or version of themselves. This paradox extends beyond the screen into the lives of celebrities branding and publicizing as they play the staring role in the versions of themselves needed to maintain the image, thus dividing the person into many roles that risk inauthenticity, even to themselves.