# Actors appearing in different roles in different versions of films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168 "2018-10-18T19:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/1 "2018-10-18T19:46:58Z")
I’m pretty sure I’ve done this before, but I found new stuff. I’s like to ignore cameos, if possible. There are a LOT of those, but I want to restrict this to actors who had substantive different roles in at least two films. **Klaus Kinsky** played Renfield in Jess Franco’s _Dracula_, but played the Count (Count Orlak) in Werner Herzog’s _Nosferatu_ (I don’t think it’s a stretch to equate Dracula and Nosferatu) **Vincent Price** played Clifford Pyncheon in the 1940 _House of the Seven Gables_ and Gerald Pyncheon in the “House of the Seven Gables” segment of Roger Corman’s 1963 _Twice-Told Tales_. **Michael Caine** plated Milo Tindle in the original 1972 film of Anthony Shaffer’s _Sleuth_, and Andrew Wyke in Harold Pinter’s 2007 rewrite. He thus is the only actor I know to play all parts in a show having more than one character **Jeremy Brett** played Dorian Gray in the 1961 “Armchair Theater” version of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ (the version with the Dick Smith makeup). In the 1976 TV version (with the John Osborne script) he played painter Basil Hallward. (Speaking of Brett, they’re not exactly versions of the same work, but he played Dr. Watson to Charlton Heston’s Sherlock Holmes in the LA production of _Crucifer of Blood_, which was sort-of adapted from _The Sign of Four_, and was filmed. Brett, of course, played Holmes himself on BBC/WGBH, including an adaptation of _The Sign of Four_.) **Tony Curtis** played Joe/“Josephine” in _Some Like it Hot_ in 1959. Much later, in the stage musical (originally called _Sugar_, but later rechristened _Some Like it Hot_, he played Osgood Fielding, the Joe E. Brown part in the movie. Again, not exactly what I originally asked for, but **Bela Lugosi** played the villain, Roxor, in the 1932 _Chandu the Magician_, but went on to play Chandu himself in _The Return of Chandu_ (1934) and _Chandu on Magic Island_ (1935). Similarly, **Boris Karloff** famously played the Frankenstein monster in three films, the original 1931 James Whale _Frankenstein_, _The Bride of Frankenstein_, and _The Son of Frankenstein_. He played Baron Victor von Frankenstein in the 1958 film \* Frankenstein 1970\* (He had previously played several Mad Scientists, most notably Dr. Gustav Nieman in 1944’s _House of Frankenstein_ at the same studio where he’d played the monster.) ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/2 "2018-10-18T19:57:08Z")
Sorry for distorting your premise on the first reply, but the ones I thought of relate to stage versions. Some of yours kind of did, so maybe it’s OK. Louis Jourdan played Gaston in the movie of Gigi, but later toured with the play doing Gaston’s uncle Honoré, done by Maurice Chevalier in the movie. Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch were in a London production of Frankenstein, for which they switched roles on alternate nights, each playing both the Doctor and the Monster. Curiously, both ended up later playing modernized Sherlocks on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/3 "2018-10-18T20:05:12Z")
Off the top of my head… Vin Price plays Duke of Clarence in _Tower of London_ (1939) and the future King Dick III in _Tower of London_ (1962). Finlay Currie plays different roles in _Rome Express_ (1930) and its superior remake _Sleeping Car to Trieste_ (1948). Albert Popwell appears in four of five _Dirty Harry_ films as different characters. I think he dies in two of them and gets arrested in the other two. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/4 "2018-10-18T20:13:18Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Sorry for distorting your premise on the first reply, but the ones I thought of relate to stage versions. Some of yours kind of did, so maybe it’s OK. > > Louis Jourdan played Gaston in the movie of Gigi, but later toured with the play doing Gaston’s uncle Honoré, done by Maurice Chevalier in the movie. > > Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch were in a London production of Frankenstein, for which they switched roles on alternate nights, each playing both the Doctor and the Monster. Curiously, both ended up later playing modernized Sherlocks on TV. Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier switched off the roles of Henry II and Thomas Becket during the original Broadway run of Jean Anhouilh’s **Becket, or the Honour of God** in 1960 ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/5 "2018-10-18T20:31:02Z")
Bruce Spence plays The Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2 and Jedediah the Pilot in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, I didn’t realise they weren’t the same character until it was mentioned in a thread on the SD. They’re such similar characters that having the same actor play them is a casting choice so bizarre its hard to credit. Edit: sorry on re-checking this isn’t what you’re asking about, but I’ll leave it up so other people can have the same _wtf_ moment I had on first learning this fact. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/6 "2018-10-18T20:41:07Z")
Annette O’Toole played Lana Lang in the movie _Superman III_ with Christopher Reeve and played Martha Kent on the tv series _Smallvill_e. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/7 "2018-10-18T21:20:15Z")
I’m sure I remember there being some actor from the original _Battlestar Galactica_ who played a different character in the 2003 version, but I can’t remember who it was. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/8 "2018-10-18T21:32:28Z")
Yeah, this has been done before. A suitable search for Patty Duke and _The Miracle Worker_ might find them. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/9 "2018-10-18T21:33:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m sure I remember there being some actor from the original _Battlestar Galactica_ who played a different character in the 2003 version, but I can’t remember who it was. Richard Hatch, who starred as Apollo in the original, played Tom Zarek in a number of episodes in the reboot. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/10 "2018-10-18T22:04:01Z")
Derek Jacobi in _Hamlet._ 1980 BBC TV version, playing Hamlet. 1996 film version, playing Claudius. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/11 "2018-10-18T23:46:42Z")
Back to the stage versions, years ago I saw Robert Goulet play King Arthur in Camelot. (He was Lancelot in the film). Matthew Poretta was Will Scarlet O’Hara in Men in Tights. He was later promoted to Robin Hood for The New Adventures of Robin Hood TV series. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/12 "2018-10-19T00:16:08Z")
Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck were in both versions of Cape Fear as different characters. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/13 "2018-10-19T00:22:20Z")
Faye Dunaway in both versions of _The Thomas Crown Affair._ ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/14 "2018-10-19T00:32:02Z")
Jeff Conaway played the lead Danny Zuko in the Broadway run of Grease but played Kenickie in the film version. John Travolta played Zuko in the film, but played the r Doody in the same Broadway production. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/15 "2018-10-19T00:38:29Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > Bruce Spence plays The Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2 and Jedediah the Pilot in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, I didn’t realise they weren’t the same character until it was mentioned in a thread on the SD. They’re such similar characters that having the same actor play them is a casting choice so bizarre its hard to credit. > > Edit: sorry on re-checking this isn’t what you’re asking about, but I’ll leave it up so other people can have the same _wtf_ moment I had on first learning this fact. Although technically not different versions of the same film, Hugh Keays-Byrne played Immorten Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road and the Toecutter in the original Mad Max. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/16 "2018-10-19T01:35:45Z")
I figured \*Doctor Who \*might yield some examples, and I was right. Best known actor would seem to be Geoffrey Palmer who was in two classic Who episodes and also in “Voyage of the Damned.” Clive Swift played Jobel in “Revelation of the Daleks” (classic) and Mr. Copper in “Voyage of the Damned” (new Who). Sheila Reid was Etta in “Vengeance of Varos” and Clara’s gran in two new Who episodes. David Troughton was King Peladon in “The Curse of Peladon” and Professor Hobbes in “Midnight.” Pauline Collins was in “The Faceless Ones” (classic) and “Tooth and Claw” (new). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/17 "2018-10-19T09:20:27Z")
I think quite a number of actors have done different bit parts in the same soap operas over the years, particularly Coronation Street - I’ve seen several mentions in recent obits. One that I noticed for myself is that Robin Ellis (who played Ross Poldark in the original BBC TV series decades ago) turned up as the hanging judge in the current revival. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/18 "2018-10-19T10:35:16Z")
Charlton Heston was in _Planet Of The Apes_ from 1968 playing Taylor. He also was in _Planet Of The Apes_ from 2001 playing Zaius, an ape this time, and uncredited, intended as a cameo. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/19 "2018-10-19T13:11:35Z")
Kirk Alyn and Noel Neil had a cameo in Superman the Movie. Adam West has played various non-Batman characters in various Batman animated TV shows. Burt Reynolds had a cameo in he Adam Sandler version of The Longest Yard. Lou Ferrigno had a cameo as a security guard in The Incredible Hulk Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson all had supporting roles in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/20 "2018-10-19T13:17:20Z")
_Dragnet_ is fertile ground for examples. Jack Webb liked using certain actors over and over, and the show was a parade of characters, so actors often played different roles in different episodes. Some examples: Ralph Moody appeared (as different characters) in 15 episodes of the 1950s _Dragnet_ and in five of the 1967 revival. Virginia Gregg topped that; she was in the original series, the 1966 TV movie, and the 1967 series, playing different characters in each episode. Gregg’s career consisted mostly of playing one-off characters. Same for Vic Perrin. There are many others. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168.md?page=2)