Some say politics is just Hollywood for ugly people — but today the lines are more blurred than ever. Beloved Hollywood figures run for political office as easily as politicians jump in front of the cameras these days.

Sometimes it’s all a little cringe-inducing, and sometimes it’s rather amusing. Here’s a look at some of the worst and some of the best political cameos ever in television and film.

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Ron Paul, “Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt?” (2013). Former Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) has arguably been the biggest influencer on modern libertarianism next to novelist Ayn Rand, whose 1,000-plus-page 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged” is reportedly the second highest-selling book after the Bible.

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So when producers John Aglialoro and Harmon Kaslow adapted Rand’s novel into three films, it was only natural they’d reach out to Paul to do a cameo as himself. Fox News host Sean Hannity also appeared in a collection of segments showing real-life political figures reacting to a fictional speech made by John Galt, the man working to “stop the motor of the world.”

It was a fitting moment for Paul, as he’s often said the book was a major influence on him. “Shrugged” follows a world in which the concept of the individual is quickly eroding and the public and government are more violent and angry toward entrepreneurs and creators than ever. When various business leaders and artists begin disappearing, business leaders and free market believers Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden begin down a road that leads them to the mysterious John Galt — and the ideal world he’s working to build away from government.

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