Same Actor/Actress In Same TV Show, But Now A Different Character

[Markxxx]

Often times in TV shows you will have an actor come one a play a one time part then go away only to later appear on the same TV show but as a totally different character.

I have heard this happens all the time in Soap Operas.

Most of the time I really don't notice but every once in awhile it will really bug me a lot

For instance, Richard Schaal played Howard Arnell, who Mary didn't like, and his brother Paul Arnel, who Mary liked and also played Chuckle's the clown etc etc (Of course at the time he was married to Valarie Harper so that may have got him the part).

My question is are there any times this happens on TV shows where one actor/actress plays a character and comes back later on as a totally different character and you just can't accept the old actor/actress in the new role of a different character?

[Tim R. Mortiss]

I seem to recall that Dennis Franz played two different characters on "Hill Street Blues." But I don't think the characters were all that different. I think that the first character was killed, so they had to give him a different identity to bring him back in a very similar roll. Of course, I've killed a lot of brain cells since that show aired, so I could be way off on this memory......TRM

[Robot Arm]

I think the record may be held by Jack Garner (brother of James) who played at least 19 different characters during the six seasons of The Rockford Files. He eventually settled into the role of police captain McEnroe, which he also played in the reunion movies in the 90's.

[DMark]

You are correct about soap operas.
One of my guilty pleasures is General Hospital - hey, got hooked in Berlin watching AFN when it was all that was on the air in the afternoons when I was home.
At any rate, quickly learned that when someone "dies" on a soap, that doesn't mean they can't come back a few years later as the "evil twin".
For instance - the character "Carly" has been cast many times, and most recently the original actress came back into the show under a new name and character and once again married the guy she was married to years ago...but she was killed last week which means, well, she might appear next year as his cousin - who knows - hey, it is a soap.

[Sampiro]

Different TV shows but same continuity so I think it counts: John Mahoney played a hack jingle writer on an episode of Cheers in which he appeared with Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane. Later he starred as Frasier's dad on Frasier.

Mark Lenard played the Romulon Commander in an episode of STAR TREK before returning to play Spock's father Sarek in another episode, a role he also played in the movies and Next Generation.

Harry Morgan played a senile (or at least demented) officer in an episode of M*A*S*H. The cast actually had a hard time filming the episode because they were so used to him as the deadpan detective opposite Friday in Dragnet and he was cracking them up with his perfect comic timing as the character made increasingly bizarre comments. Soon after he replaced Henry Blake as the much more sane and avuncular Sherman Potter.

Matthew Laborteaux played Charles Ingalls as a child on flashback episodes of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE before being brought on as a regular as the adopted waif Albert (technically no blood relation though I think Charles was fooling around- Albert looked exactly like Charles as a boy).

All of these are jarring when you see them in repeats. "That's not a Romulon, that's Spock's daddy!"

[ZipperJJ]

This happens in Law & Order. Only the characters are just there for one show, then they become recurring characters. I know S. Epatha Merkerson was on an earlier episode (maybe two?) and now she's the lieutenant.

I am pretty sure other actors have done this in the L&O franchise.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

Good comment re: L&O. If you look up just about any currently working actor on IMDb, you'll see several L&O credits to their name.

[Robot Arm]

Originally Posted by ZipperJJ

I am pretty sure other actors have done this in the L&O franchise.

Diane Neal was on SVU in 2001 as a woman who raped a male stripper. She came back for a four-year stint as ADA Casey Novak.

[Sampiro]

I didn't watch enough of STAR TREK TNS to know personally, but didn't Denise Crosby play Tasha Yar and then later (after the character was killed) return as Yar's same age daughter somehow? (I think a time warp was involved.)



Many many years ago there was a TV western mini-series that became a TV series called THE CHISHOLMS. It starred Robert Preston and Rosemary Harris as the mother and father of a family that goes west on the Oregon Trail. On the first series they lost their teenaged daughter, Annabel, in an Indian attack. In the second series they adopt a girl, played by the same actress, because she's been orphaned in an Indian attack and reminds them so much of Annabel.

[Alessan]

Originally Posted by Tim R. Mortiss

Good comment re: L&O. If you look up just about any currently working actor on IMDb, you'll see several L&O credits to their name.

These are known as "repeat offenders". My favorite RO is Michael O'Keefe, who has played 5 different characters in 3 different L&O series (6 if you count the episode where he played identical twins).

O'Keefe, incidentally, also played the kid (and nominal star) in Caddyshack.

[Icerigger]

Originally Posted by Tim R Mortiss

I seem to recall that Dennis Franz played two different characters on "Hill Street Blues." But I don't think the characters were all that different. I think that the first character was killed, so they had to give him a different identity to bring him back in a very similar roll. Of course, I've killed a lot of brain cells since that show aired, so I could be way off on this memory

You are correct. Dennis Franz played Sal Benedetto in an early season then Norman Buntz in the later seasons.


Lisa Hartman in Konts Landing played Ciji Dunne and then Cathy Geary.

[Neidhart]

Jeffrey Tambor was in a bunch of Three's Company episodes, playing a different character in each. Then he played the landlord on The Ropers.

[SoulFrost]

Sheryl Lee played Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks, and also played her cousin, Maddie. If the series had continued, Lynch would have created yet another role for her to play.

[BrotherCadfael]

I think a number of the citizens coming into the station on Barney Miller were played by the same actors.

[ftg]

Here's an early one. On "My Three Sons" Tina Cole played a high school student named Joanne and then later played Katie, Robbie's wife.

(BTW: Barry "Ernie" Livingston is the most active old M3S cast member. He has appeared on "Lie to Me", "Monk" and even "Mad Men". But no L&Os.)

[jayjay]

Martin Mull played wife-beater Garth Gimble on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, until the character died by impalement with an aluminum Christmas tree. He then returned as Garth's twin brother, Barth, who hosted a local talk show, Fernwood 2Nite.

[Labrador Deceiver]

Aloma Wright on Scrubs. Played a nurse named Laverne, who died after a car accident. She came back as a different nurse named Shirley.

[zamboniracer]

On Home Improvement Debbe Dunning played Heidi the Tool Time Girl after previously guest-starring as Kiki Van Fursterwallenscheinlaw (a beautiful girl Tim had scoped out while out to dinner with his wife Jill.)

[Northern Piper]

Originally Posted by ZipperJJ

This happens in Law & Order. Only the characters are just there for one show, then they become recurring characters. I know S. Epatha Merkerson was on an earlier episode (maybe two?) and now she's the lieutenant.

I remember one episode where she played a cleaning lady in big office tower whose little baby got shot by a drive-by shooting while she was at work.

And Jerry Orbach played a defence lawyer in one early show before he became Lennie.

[jonesj2205]

For Dragnet, Jack Webb pretty much used the same staple of actors over and over again for guest roles. Not sure if that entirely counts since even Joe Friday and Bill Gannon changed jobs pretty much every week too.

[RealityChuck]

Several on Doctor Who, most notably Lalla Ward, who played the princess in "The Armageddon Factor," and then Romana (the Doctor's companion) in the very next series, "Destiny of the Daleks" (the resemblance was commented upon as a choice of regeneration, a change in the concept -- the doctor had no control over his regenerations either before or since -- written by Douglas Adams).

Also of note was Colin Baker, who played a guard in one episode before being named the Doctor a little later, and Ian Marter, who played part a part in the guest cast of "Carnival of Monsters" before becoming Harry Sullivan, another companion. Philic Madoc appeared in both "The Brain of Morbius" and "The Power of Kroll."

[Bricker]

Originally Posted by jonesj2205

For Dragnet, Jack Webb pretty much used the same staple of actors over and over again for guest roles. Not sure if that entirely counts since even Joe Friday and Bill Gannon changed jobs pretty much every week too.

This is the one I was going to mention. Virginia Gregg, who played at least fifteen different roles on various incarnations of "Dragnet," not to mention her appearances on other Webb productions like Emergency! and Adam-12.

[justrob]

Catherine Bell on JAG. Originally she played a love interest of the lead character (Harm) that was killed off. She was so popular thought that they brought her back as a main character (Sarah MacKenzie). They used the fact that she looked like the killed off character (duh) a few times to create angst in the show.

[Freudian Slit]

Jeeves and Wooster did this all the time--it got so confusing.

I'm not sure this counts but Sherman Hemsley guest starred on "Fresh Prince" both as Uncle Phil's former mentor and then later opponent when he runs for judge, and then again as his old role of Mr. Jefferson.

[Bryan Ekers]

Law & Order: Repeat Offenders listing guest actors who've appeared numerous times, often playing unrelated characters.

I'm somewhat amused by Bradley White, who played three different characters, two of them stalkers.

[Small Hen]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Jeeves and Wooster did this all the time--it got so confusing.

Oh God, that cast was stuck in revolving doors or something.

Buffy did this a few times, I think, though the only one I remember straight out was that Tom Lenk played one of Harmony's vampire minions before coming back to play Andrew in season six and seven.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Not the same series really, but a spinoff:

Eve Myles was in the Dr. Who episode "The Unquiet Dead" as Gwyneth, a clairvoyent maid, and later went on to play the main character of Gwen in Torchwood, a spinoff of Dr. Who. Gwen was also in the final episode of series 4 of Dr. Who.

[The New and Improved Superman]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

Several on Doctor Who, most notably Lalla Ward, who played the princess in "The Armageddon Factor," and then Romana (the Doctor's companion) in the very next series, "Destiny of the Daleks" (the resemblance was commented upon as a choice of regeneration, a change in the concept -- the doctor had no control over his regenerations either before or since -- written by Douglas Adams).

Also of note was Colin Baker, who played a guard in one episode before being named the Doctor a little later, and Ian Marter, who played part a part in the guest cast of "Carnival of Monsters" before becoming Harry Sullivan, another companion. Philic Madoc appeared in both "The Brain of Morbius" and "The Power of Kroll."

A couple more from "Doctor Who" - Jean Marsh played Lady Joanna (a.k.a. Joan of Plantagenet) in the early serial "the Crusades." A year later, she became a companion (albeit a temporary one) named Sara Kingdom in "the Dalek Master Plan." Another secondary character in "Master Plan" was Brett Vyon, who was played by Nicholas Courtney - who became the long-running semi-companion character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

The highwater mark for actors with multiple roles in series has got to be the soap opera "Dark Shadows." The series began routinely enough - one character per actor, but radically changed after the vampire storyline was introduced. Barnabas was an ancestor of the central Collins family who simply emerged from his coffin as a vampire 200 years after he was supposed to have died. He quickly became the dominant character in the show, and fans kept clamoring to know HOW he'd become a vampire in the first place. So, the show's principle heroine got transported back in time to the 1700s and met the residents of Collinwood manor from that time period - and apart from her & Barnabas, every other actor on the show was recast as a new character. Along the way, TPTB brought back some actors who'd been let go after their modern-day characters had been killed off or written out.

The 1700s storyline was always intended to be a temporary shift, and when the storyline was wrapped up - the heroine Vicky was sent back to her rightful place in time. All the other actors resumed playing the modern day character roles they'd originally had. However, the time travel storyline was wildly popular with fans, and if there's already a vampire, the writers figured why not a few ghosts? So characters from the 1700s began travelling from that time to the present on an almost routine basis. Almost every actor had two roles (their normal role, and the ghost of the character they'd played in the 1700s storyline.)

Eventually, the ratings began dipping, so the writers had Barnabas travel back in time to the 1800s, and once again, every other actor was recast with a new part in this storyline. This time, the storyline lasted long enough that they were able to perform the usual soap trope of having characters die, only to have an exact physical double (played by the actor, natch'.) Of course, eventually, Barnabas got back to the present day, and now there was a whole new host of ghosts who looked exactly like characters from the present day starting appearing.

The year after that, Barnabas made a jump to Parallel Time, an alternate universe along the lines of Earth-2, so that now there was ANOTHER set of physically similar characters. The year after that, the show went back to the 1800s, but the early 1800s. And after that storyline finished, characters went back to the Parallel Time, but in the 1800s! By this point, the constant timeline (and character) changes had become so confusing that most of the fans had abandoned the show and it got cancelled. But by the show finished its' five year run (not a long time for soaps), almost every major actor had played at least five different roles on a regular basis. One actor played at least EIGHT different characters during the run.

[Bryan Ekers]

William Utay play Dan's minion Phil on several episdes of Night Court, and later Phil's evil twin Will after Phil got killed.

Jeff Mackay played Mac, a buddy of Magnum P.I. who got killed by a car bomb (leading to the whole "Did you see the sunrise?" story arc), and later returned as an unrelated con artist who just happened to look exactly like Mac.

In both cases, other characters thought Dan/Magnum was delusional for reporting that he kept seeing his dead friend, until they met the replacement for themelves.

[Sr Siete]

In Deadwood, the excellent Garret Dillahunt played Jack McCall, the weasel who shot Wild Bill, and later played the seriously creepy sadist Francis Wolcott.

[What Exit?]

In Barney Miller the same character actor frequently returned as a different character in later episode but Steve Landesberg first played a fake priest and later became regular Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich for the bulk of the show.

Florence Halop who was probably best known as the second old lady Bailiff on Night Court had 6 appearances as 6 different characters in Barney Miller. I think she had the most different characters on Barney Miller.

[Raygun99]

Garrett Dillahunt has to be the king of this, having done it on at least three shows:

Deadwood, where he played Jack McCall, assassin of Wild Bill Hickock, and Francis Walcott, Hearst's right hand man and early serial killer;
Terminator: TSCC, where he played a struggling actor and two separate Terminators;
and apparently, but unseen to me, has appeared on CSI in two separate guest spots.

[DigitalC]

On Deadwood Garret Dillahunt played both the coward Jack McCall who murdered Wild Bill Hickock and Francis Wolcott the guy who murdered whores.

[Icerigger]

Vito Scotti

He played The Japanese Sailor on Gilligan's Island and also Boris Balinkoff.

[dwc1970]

Dana Elcar appears in the pilot episode of MacGyver, but not as Pete. Instead, he is one of several scientists working in an underground laboratory. His character name in that episode was Andy Colson.

[Steve MB]

Originally Posted by The New and Improved Superman

The year after that, Barnabas made a jump to Parallel Time, an alternate universe along the lines of Earth-2, so that now there was ANOTHER set of physically similar characters.

If we're including alternate-universe versions of characters, then all the Mirror Universe and alternate-timeline episodes of the various Trek series would be examples for most of the respective main casts.

[joebuck20]

Joe Gannascoli, the guy who played Vito in the later seasons of the Sopranos, had a bit part as a bakery customer in the first season. He's waiting in line while the cashier is copping an attitude with Chris. Chris gets mad, tells Gannascoli to leave and then shoots the cashier in the foot.

[Lute Skywatcher]

Whenever a series needed a male Asian character in the '70s, the role was typically filled by one of a handful of Asian actors. Most notalble of these was Soon-Tek Oh. Also Tad Horino and Richard Lee-Sung; in the '60s it was Mako.

[Bridget Burke]

Apparently there are only so many actors in New Zealand. The casts of Hercules & Xena, Warrior Princess definitely proved their versatility.

I think Lucy Lawless appeared on Hercules (as a non-Xena character) before she was Xena. When the Hollywood actress tagged for that role couldn't make it, they let Lucy do the job. The late Kevin Smith was Ares, God of War--and he also played the brother of Hercules.

Karl Urban appeared as a king's elder son, jealous of his younger brother, who almost convinced the old guy to sacrifice the little boy, by pretending to be "God"--what a sick concept! He made many appearances as Julius Caesar on both shows. Blonde & buffed, he also showed up as Cupid--several times.

It turned out that Xena had a couple of "doubles"--wackiness ensued. The actors also got to play versions of themselves in "alternate" worlds. And as descendants or reincarnations, appearing in the modern world.

...These just came off the top of my head. I'm sure there were more. (Like Michael Hurst, Hercules' sidekick, appearing as Widow Twonky in a takeoff of Strictly Ballroom.)

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

In Barney Miller the same character actor frequently returned as a different character in later episode but Steve Landesberg first played a fake priest and later became regular Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich for the bulk of the show.

Ron "Levitt" Carey also had a unrelated guest appearance before joining the cast as a regular character.

Originally Posted by Raygun99

Terminator: TSCC, where he played a struggling actor and two separate Terminators

Heck, Arnold played three different (albeit identical) characters in three different Terminator movies. Arguably the fourth too, kinda-sorta.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Originally Posted by Lute Skywatcher

Whenever a series needed a male Asian character in the '70s, the role was typically filled by one of a handful of Asian actors. Most notalble of these was Soon-Tek Oh.

Trivia note: In the long-running TV Series "Hawaii Five-O," the first face you ever see when the series begins belongs to Soon-Tek Oh.

Also, since Hawaii was so isolated, they used the same pool of locals over and over for bit parts. . . literally! Two of the people having multiple appearances were the late Josie Over and her late husband Lance Over.

[Wheelz]

Originally Posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

Also, since Hawaii was so isolated, they used the same pool of locals over and over for bit parts. . . literally! Two of the people having multiple appearances were the late Josie Over and her late husband Lance Over.

So you're saying these two were Over-used?

[Colibri]

In The Sopranos, Dan Grimaldi first played Philly Parisi. When Philly got whacked, he came back as his identical twin brother Patsy.

[BrotherCadfael]

Originally Posted by Small Hen

Buffy did this a few times, I think, though the only one I remember straight out was that Tom Lenk played one of Harmony's vampire minions before coming back to play Andrew in season six and seven.

Harmony has minions???!!!!????!!!!

[RealityChuck]

Originally Posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

Also, since Hawaii was so isolated, they used the same pool of locals over and over for bit parts. . . literally! Two of the people having multiple appearances were the late Josie Over and her late husband Lance Over.

Were they in Airplane!?

[blondebear]

I'm in the middle of watching Route 66. Many actors had multiple appearances as different characters.

[bup]

Allan Melvin (Sam the Butcher), played 8 different characters on 8 different episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Then he had a recurring character (a sergeant) on Gomer Pyle, USMC, which is the same universe.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

In Star Trek TNG Michelle Forbes played an ensign before becoming Ro Laren.

Suzie Plakson also played a Vulcan doctor before becoming K'Ehleyr.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Originally Posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

Trivia note: In the long-running TV Series "Hawaii Five-O," the first face you ever see when the series begins belongs to Soon-Tek Oh.

Eh, that is, once the credits finish. In the original pilot sequence, he would be preceded by 1) Jack Lord, 2) hula dancer *Helen Kuoha-Torco, 3) Elizabeth Logue (the babe), and 4) Mel Kinney (the boy).
Then, once the action starts, you see Oh.

*In the series credits montage, all you see are Ms. Kuoha-Torco's swiveling hips. In the unedited pilot montage, you actually get to see her face, which is culled from a dance sequence in the pilot. In the two-part syndication copies of the pilot, her scene is cut to the hips-only sequence.

[Morbo]

Carolyn Seymour played three different characters in Next Generation.

She was the Romulan commander in the episode where counselor Troi wakes up on a Romulan ship, altered to look like a Romulan.

She was also the Romulan commander from the episode where a seemingly dead planet in the Neutral Zone causes computer malfunctions due to a probe that attacks - turns out the race of people had a transporter that let them all escape to distant worlds.

And she was the alien science officer in the episode where Riker has been injured on a planet while secretly disguised as a local, and has sex with alien Bebe Neuwirth.