was short an actor for the film `` The Lodger '' -RRB- , Hitchcock soon made it his egotistical trademark to appear in his own films , amassing a total of 37 cameos throughout his career . Ayn Rand The egotist 's egotist , author Ayn Rand -LRB- born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum -RRB- is the patron saint of Thinking You 're Better Than Everybody Else . Her most famous novels , The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged , are massive dramatizations of Objectivism , her self-spun Oscar-the-Grouch philosophy for success . Objectivism champions ego and accomplishment , shuns all religion as folly , and condemns any form of charity or altruism as counterproductive to society . Rand 's novels often focus on protagonists -LRB- invariably men -RRB- who are shunned by others because of their genius , but then persevere over the foolishness of morons to prove said genius and emerge triumphant . Not surprisingly , she saw humility as a weakness and regarded laughing at yourself as `` spitting in your own face . '' So , just how much did Rand believe in her own philosophy ? Let 's just say a lot . With signature modesty , she
-LRB- Mental Floss -RRB- -- They say a lot of artistic expression is motivated by self-loathing . But not for these folks ! Long before the Material Girl ordered papa to stop preaching , these six puffed-up virtuosos knew darn well how to strike a pose . Alfred Hitchcock did n't leave people in suspense about how he felt about actors . Here 's to the creative types who managed to raise egotism to an art form . Alfred Hitchcock Hitchcock was , without question , one of the towering geniuses of cinema . And , like many greats , he was n't exactly the best collaborator . Hitchcock was particularly trying for screenwriters , who felt he never properly credited them for their work . But he was notoriously hard on actors . He was once quoted as saying , `` Actors are cattle '' -- a quip that stirred up a huge outcry -LRB- actors can be so touchy -RRB- . In response , he issued this correction : `` I have been misquoted . What I really said is , ` Actors should be treated as cattle . ' '' Although it began accidentally -LRB- when he