# A character role is an actor's real name **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384 "2009-05-14T04:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/1 "2009-05-14T04:16:47Z")
This is a tough one to get into a sentence. But think about this. Kirk Douglas never played a character named Issur Danielovitch Demsky. It would be funny if he did because that was his real birth name. Weirdly, some guy named Alex Menglet played the role of Issur Demsky in an obscure movie named The Long Lunch. George Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum, never played either a Nathan or a Birnbaum, although a real life Nathan Birnbaum was the composer of a couple of movie scores. Cyd Charisse knew more than well that she should never take a role as Tula Ellice Finklea, even if she had been born with the name. Lots of other woman have played characters named Tula, including Kate Winslet. So why would Jean Byron, possessor of a classic anglo-saxon white bread poetically referential stage name ever want to play a character who went by Imogene Burkhart? Yet she did. Her character on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was called Dr. Imogene Burkhart, her real birth name. We’ve done characters named the same as the actor before. But those were always current names. Has there ever been another case where an actor for fun played his or her old discarded name? Jean Byron was a friend of show creator Max Shulman, which explains the in joke. You’d think that another pair would pull the same joke sometime somewhere. Any takers? ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/2 "2009-05-14T04:26:31Z")
All I could come up with is a character named after the real name of an actor but the role is played by another actor: John Cleese played barrister Archie Leach in _A Fish Called Wanda_. Archibald Leach was the real name of Cary Grant. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/3 "2009-05-14T06:41:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Has there ever been another case where an actor for fun played his or her old discarded name? Not exactly what you’re looking for, but in 1988, Elton John (real name: Reginald Dwight) released an album called _Reg Strikes Back._ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/4 "2009-05-14T07:11:58Z")
Not quite the same thing, but Karl Malden (born Mladen Sekulovich) regretted having to change his name and tried to get a character with that name in each of his movies. In _Patton_, for example, Gen. Bradley is dodging fire and says to another soldier “give me that helmet, Sekulovich!” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/5 "2009-05-14T11:55:27Z")
Then there’s that actor who provides the voice for Quahog mayor Adam West in _Family Guy_. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/6 "2009-05-14T12:22:08Z")
John Malkovich played John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for, since his character actually _was_ John Malkovich. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/7 "2009-05-14T12:37:16Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > All I could come up with is a character named after the real name of an actor but the role is played by another actor: John Cleese played barrister Archie Leach in _A Fish Called Wanda_. Archibald Leach was the real name of Cary Grant. And in Rat Race, he played Donald Sinclair, the real name of the hotel owner that inspired Basil Fawlty. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/8 "2009-05-14T12:45:29Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > John Cleese played barrister Archie Leach in _A Fish Called Wanda_. Archibald Leach was the real name of Cary Grant. Grant got off a “Sekulovich” of his own. > [@](#): > > The last man that said that to me was Archie Leach, just a week before he cut his throat. > –CG as Walter Burns in _His Girl Friday_, 1940 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/9 "2009-05-14T12:55:34Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Not exactly what you’re looking for, but in 1988, Elton John (real name: Reginald Dwight) released an album called _Reg Strikes Back._ One of Janis Ian’s early albums was titled _The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink_, Janis Eddy Fink being her real name. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/10 "2009-05-14T15:20:52Z")
Not exactly the actor playing his own name but Michael Knight is an actor and the name of the lead character on Knight Rider that is not a car. The current lead in the new Knight Rider played the son of the character played by actor Michael Knight on the soap opera, All My Children. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/11 "2009-05-14T15:25:20Z")
Actor Creed Bratton plays Creed Bratton on _The Office_. The character once said that he transfers his debt to false identity he created named William Charles Schneider. William Charles Schneider is Bratton’s real name. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/12 "2009-05-14T15:37:43Z")
I can’t believe this wasn’t the first response: Troy Donahue played “Merle Johnson” in _Godfather Part II_. (Actual birth name: Merle Johnson Jr.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/13 "2009-05-14T15:52:12Z")
I can only wish that Johnny Hardwick’s birth name was Rusty Shackleford. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/14 "2009-05-14T16:26:56Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > John Malkovich played John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. > > Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for, since his character actually _was_ John Malkovich. Yes, but he was playing John _Horatio_ Malkovich, whereas the actor’s name is John _Gavin_ Malkovich. “Hey, weren’t you in that jewel thief movie?” In a similar vein, while he didn’t play the character, _Being John Malkovich_ screenwriter Charlie Kaufman wrote himself into the movie _Adaptation_ as a screenwriter struggling to adapt the Susan Orlean’s _The Orchid Thief_ into a movie and failing, instead writing a movie about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman trying to write an adaptation of _The Orchid Thief_ into a movie, ad nauseam. He also writes of his fictional twin brother, Donald Kaufman, who is essentially Charlie’s unrestrained id. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/15 "2009-05-14T16:33:20Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Actor Creed Bratton plays Creed Bratton on _The Office_. The character once said that he transfers his debt to false identity he created named William Charles Schneider. > > William Charles Schneider is Bratton’s real name. Good one! I can’t believe I forgot that. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/16 "2009-05-14T17:23:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I can’t believe this wasn’t the first response: Troy Donahue played “Merle Johnson” in _Godfather Part II_. (Actual birth name: Merle Johnson Jr.) This was exactly what I was looking for. Hollywood is noted for playing in-jokes like this, so I’m surprised this isn’t done more often. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/17 "2009-05-14T17:32:07Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > One of Janis Ian’s early albums was titled _The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink_, Janis Eddy Fink being her real name. Apparently this is becoming more & more common: witness Eminem’s _The Marshall Mathers LP_, and Queen Latifah’s _The Dana Owens Album._ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/18 "2009-05-14T19:14:28Z")
Another recent example, done as a spoof: [Jean-Claude Van Damme - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JCVD) ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/19 "2009-05-15T03:16:40Z")
On _The Wire_, Delaney Williams plays Baltimore homicide sergeant Jay Landsman. Former Baltimore homicide detective Jay Landsman has the minor but frequently-recurring role of Lieutenant Dennis Mello on the same show. In the DVD commentaries he is invariably referred to as “The Real Jay Landsman”. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384/20 "2009-05-15T08:43:21Z")
It would have been really cool to have Charlton Heston play that captain from Virginia, the Warlord of Barsoom and husband of Dejah Thoris. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-character-role-is-an-actors-real-name/496384.md?page=2)