# Actors always associated with two separate roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721 "2010-09-14T13:59:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/141 "2010-09-21T13:37:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > > [@Raguleader](#): > > > > Arnold Schwarzenegger is The Terminator and the Governor of California.😃 > > > > Actually, I think he’s pretty much The Terminator, and Arnold Schwarzenegger poking fun at Arnold Schwarzenegger (which would be most of his movies from the late 80’s onwards, and damn if he isn’t better at it than anybody else). > > Dude, you forgot Conan. You’re lucky Crom doesn’t generally bother with all that smiting stuff… I think Crom’s style would be more sending Ahnold to kick my door in. Which, let’s face it, would be the awesomest ass kicking I’d ever suffer. I’ve got that movie on my hard drive right now, I’ll probably watch it after I finish the first season of Castle. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/142 "2010-09-21T13:39:15Z")
Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman and his theatre escapade. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/143 "2010-09-21T22:49:30Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > John Astin as Gomez Addams and Buddy from Night Court. You could also replace Buddy with the 2nd Riddler from Batman. Mainly for wtf factor (why is Gomez the Riddler? where the hell is Frank Gorshin?) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/144 "2010-09-22T05:05:17Z")
Ted Danson as Sam Malone and Dr. John Becker. His “Becker” co-star Terry Farrell as diner owner Reggie Kostas and as Jadzia Dax from DS9. Rene Auberjoinois as Benson’s Clayton Endicott III and as DS9’s Constable Odo. Ethan Phillips as Benson’s Pete Downey and as Neelix from Voyager. Allyson Hannigan as Willow on Buffy and Lily on How I Met Your Mother. Avery Brooks as Hawk from Spenser and Captain Benjamin Sisko from DS9. Dirk Benedict as Starbuck on the original Battlestar Galactica and Templeton “The Face” Peck on A-Team. As long as we’re on an A-Team and Star Trek roll, Dwight Schulz as H. M. “Howling Mad” Murdock and ST: TNG’s (and Voyager’s) Lt. Reg Barclay. Lorne Greene as Bonanza’s Ben Cartwright and Commander Adama from BSG Three for Michael Landon: Little Joe Cartwright, Charles Ingalls, and Jonathan Smith (from Highway to Heaven, not the Lost In Space baddie). June Lockhart as Ruth Martin, Timmy’s mother on Lassie and Lost In Space’s Maureen Robinson. She also had a brief role as Dr. Craig on Petticoat Junction after Bea Benederet passed away. I could go on all night. As soon as I think of one, I keep making connections to others. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/145 "2010-09-22T13:33:29Z")
Adam West as Batman and the mayor of Quahog. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/146 "2010-09-22T14:00:24Z")
Angela Cartwright as Penny Robinson and Linda Williams. Bill Mumy as Will Robinson and Lennier. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/147 "2010-09-22T15:43:59Z")
Guys, this isn’t a thread about people who have starred in lots of movies. It’s about how an actor is associated with one particular role that overshadows all others, and when they die they’ll be remembered for that role, plus “some other stuff”. Except in this case, we’re looking for people who have two such roles. So Mark Hamill has been Luke Skywalker, plus some other stuff. That’s the role he’ll always be remembered for, it doesn’t matter that he did the voice for Musca in the English dub of “Castle in the Sky”, or was in “Corvette Summer”. He’s an example of a guy who had one role that defined his career. And William Shatner is Captain Kirk. He’s been TJ Hooker and Denny Crane and so on, but come on. Shatner is Kirk, Kirk is Shatner. Sylvester Stallone is the canonical example of someone indelibly associated, not with one role, but with two, as Rocky and Rambo. Yeah, he’s been in dozens of movies, but that doesn’t matter. So mentioning actors who have been memorable in dozens of roles, like Alan Rickman or Gary Oldman or Samuel Jackson, is missing the point. Alan Rickman isn’t associated with one breakout role, or two, he has dozens of roles like that. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/148 "2010-09-22T18:26:50Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Even though Susan Sarandon’s had a double handful of memorable roles, I’m willing to bet that the main two that people will mention when she dies are Janet Weiss from Rocky Horror and Louise from Thelma &. I don’t think those two stand out so completely that all others are forgotten. There’s \*Bull Durham \*and SNL’s “MotherLover” video, for two. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/149 "2010-09-22T20:06:34Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Guys, this isn’t a thread about people who have starred in lots of movies. > > It’s about how an actor is associated with one particular role that overshadows all others, and when they die they’ll be remembered for that role, plus “some other stuff”. Except in this case, we’re looking for people who have two such roles. > > \ > > And William Shatner is Captain Kirk. He’s been TJ Hooker and Denny Crane and so on, but come on. Shatner is Kirk, Kirk is Shatner. I think Bill Shatner would fit. T.J. Hooker is as much an iconic role for Shatner as Kirk is, though I do agree he’ll be remembered as Kirk first. And he played Hooker for two seasons longer than he did Kirk (seven motion pictures notwithstanding). I’m sure his obituary (I don’t have him in a death pool or anything. May he continue to live long and prosper.) would open with something like: “William Shatner, the Canadian-born actor who was iconic to millions as Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise died today. He was also known for his portrayal as the title character of TV’s T.J. Hooker series as well as several other roles.” I believe if he had never played Kirk, he would still be remembered for T.J. Hooker above everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/150 "2010-09-23T13:39:19Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Guys, this isn’t a thread about people who have starred in lots of movies. > > It’s about how an actor is associated with one particular role that overshadows all others, and when they die they’ll be remembered for that role, plus “some other stuff”. Except in this case, we’re looking for people who have two such roles. > > So Mark Hamill has been Luke Skywalker, plus some other stuff. That’s the role he’ll always be remembered for, it doesn’t matter that he did the voice for Musca in the > English dub of “Castle in the Sky”, or was in “Corvette Summer”. He’s an example of a guy who had one role that defined his career. > > And William Shatner is Captain Kirk. He’s been TJ Hooker and Denny Crane and so on, but come on. Shatner is Kirk, Kirk is Shatner. > > Sylvester Stallone is the canonical example of someone indelibly associated, not with one role, but with two, as Rocky and Rambo. Yeah, he’s been in dozens of movies, but that doesn’t matter. > > So mentioning actors who have been memorable in dozens of roles, like Alan Rickman or Gary Oldman or Samuel Jackson, is missing the point. Alan Rickman isn’t associated with one breakout role, or two, he has dozens of roles like that. I guess my OP wasn’t very clear, particularly the “Sylvester Stallone Award.”:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/151 "2010-09-23T14:07:01Z")
answers to the question could be from two points of view; an actors full career to date, what you experienced. a younger person in a non-media rich environment (no cable TV, netflix, streaming) might not know Kirk or Hooker. there are actors mentioned whose major tv roles are spaced by 15 years which makes them generational stars in particular roles. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/152 "2010-09-23T14:14:51Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I think Bill Shatner would fit. T.J. Hooker is as much an iconic role for Shatner as Kirk is, though I do agree he’ll be remembered as Kirk first. The number of people who have _heard_ of TJ Hooker is pretty miniscule compared to Star Trek, which even people who’ve never seen an episode are familiar with. Hooker may well be Shatners second most iconic role, but its dwarfed by Kirk. Or to put another way, what was the last time you heard a TJ Hooker reference or saw a Hooker spoof or joke on TV or in a movie? Compare that to Kirk references, and I think you’ll get a pretty good comparative measure of how ‘iconic’ the two roles are. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/153 "2010-09-23T16:27:12Z")
Now he’s going to be known for [just saying shit](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1612578/). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/154 "2010-09-23T18:50:21Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > > [@cochrane](#): > > > > I think Bill Shatner would fit. T.J. Hooker is as much an iconic role for Shatner as Kirk is, though I do agree he’ll be remembered as Kirk first. > > The number of people who have _heard_ of TJ Hooker is pretty miniscule compared to Star Trek, which even people who’ve never seen an episode are familiar with. Hooker may well be Shatners second most iconic role, but its dwarfed by Kirk. > > Or to put another way, what was the last time you heard a TJ Hooker reference or saw a Hooker spoof or joke on TV or in a movie? Compare that to Kirk references, and I think you’ll get a pretty good comparative measure of how ‘iconic’ the two roles are. Well, **johnpost** said, > [@johnpost](#): > > answers to the question could be from two points of view; an actors full career to date, what you experienced. So, I have memories of T.J. Hooker. It was Shatner’s second major role, and at the time, it debuted soon after the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, so he was closely linked with both roles in my mind. There is no absolutely correct answer to this question. T.J. Hooker was internationally syndicated, so I’d like to see a cite that the number of people who have heard of the show is miniscule. I remember him for both roles, and no one’s opinion (including mine) is absolutely representative of the public at large. It is my point of view, but that does not make it incorrect. It just means we have differing opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/155 "2010-09-23T23:16:57Z")
Speaking as 20-something, Shatner is Kirk, Priceline Negotiator, Denny Crane, “there’s a thing on the wing!” man, the guy from that show based on that Twitter thing, The Big Giant Head, TJ Hooker, and all his other roles, in that order. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721/156 "2010-09-23T23:21:03Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Allyson Hannigan as Willow on Buffy and Lily on How I Met Your Mother. I ruled her out because she’s got an easy third “always associated with” role. The band camp girl from American Pie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-always-associated-with-two-separate-roles/553721.md?page=7)