# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/21 "2018-10-19T13:28:39Z")
James Garner starred as Bret Maverick for the 50s TV show but appeared as Marshall Zane Cooper in the 1994 film treatment. ---
**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 19, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/22 "2018-10-19T14:05:01Z")
**Vanessa Redgrave** played Anne Boleyn in the original film of \* A Man for All Seasons\* and played Thomas More’s wife in the TV (HBO?) remake. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/23 "2018-10-19T14:14:53Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > 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. The OP excluded cameos. If we include cameos we’ll have hundreds of examples. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/24 "2018-10-19T14:15:05Z")
Has anyone mentioned Ghostbusters? All four Ghostbusters plus Sigourney Weaver have cameos in the new movie. The late Harold Ramis appears as a bust. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/25 "2018-10-19T14:56:30Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Annette O’Toole played Lana Lang in the movie _Superman III_ with Christopher Reeve and played Martha Kent on the tv series _Smallvill_e. In Supergirl the title character’s adopted mother is played by Helen Slater who was Supergirl in the movie. Her father is played by Dean Cain. The Arrowverse is full of these. John Wesley Shipp plays the father of the Flash and also an alternate version of the Flash. In the cheesy series from the early 90s he was the Flash. Amanda Pays was his love interest and plays a character of the same name now. Mark Hamill played the villain The Trickster in the old Flash series. He plays an older updated version of The Trickster in the new series. None of those are cameos. All have been in multiple episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/26 "2018-10-19T15:01:03Z")
Colm Wilkinson plays the Bishop in the Wolverine version of Les Miz. He originated the role of Jean Valjean in the English version of the play. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/27 "2018-10-19T15:04:17Z")
Not exactly what you’re looking for, but Ian Holm was Frodo in the BBC Radio adaptation of _The Lord of the Rings_, and then Bilbo in the Peter Jackson films. ---
**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, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/28 "2018-10-19T15:26:26Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > James Garner starred as Bret Maverick for the 50s TV show but appeared as Marshall Zane Cooper in the 1994 film treatment. Technically disqualified. Cooper is revealed to be Maverick’s father, a role Garner played in the TV show. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/29 "2018-10-19T15:43:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **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) Actually, unlike the Murnau original, Herzog’s _Nosferatu_ actually calls the character “Dracula.” So no stretching involved. 🙂 **Dean Stockwell** played Wilbur Whateley in the 1970 AIP film version of _The Dunwich Horror_. He played Dr. Henry Armitage in the 2009 TV movie remake. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/30 "2018-10-19T15:44:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Technically disqualified. > > Cooper is revealed to be Maverick’s father, a role Garner played in the TV show. True… except it is never established that James Garner is Bret Maverick Sr. or possibly Beau “Pappy” Maverick. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/31 "2018-10-19T16:36:02Z")
What, nobody’s mentioned Keven McCarthy, who was in both the 1956 and 1978 versions of _ **Invasion of the Body Snatchers** _ (albeit only briefly in the latter)? It was a big thing at the time! I see Don Siegel was in the latter as well (also briefly, I think). He directed the original version. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/32 "2018-10-19T17:33:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What, nobody’s mentioned Keven McCarthy, who was in both the 1956 and 1978 versions of _ **Invasion of the Body Snatchers** _ (albeit only briefly in the latter)? It was a big thing at the time! > > I see Don Siegel was in the latter as well (also briefly, I think). He directed the original version. Not the same but Lloyd Bochner is the lead in the Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man.” In Naked Gun 2 1/2 his character is later seen in a panicked crowd yelling “It’s a Cookbook!” Warning: OJ: [https://youtu.be/TW8BTeeg6A0](https://youtu.be/TW8BTeeg6A0) ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/33 "2018-10-19T18:02:50Z")
Bill Mumy was Will Robinson in TV’s Lost in Space, and played Dr. Zachary Smith in the Netflix reboot. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/34 "2018-10-19T18:04:37Z")
Also, Jonathan Frid was Barnabus Collins in the TV version of Dark Shadows, and played a party guest in the Johnny Depp movie version. ---
**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 19, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/35 "2018-10-19T18:06:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What, nobody’s mentioned Keven McCarthy, who was in both the 1956 and 1978 versions of _ **Invasion of the Body Snatchers** _ (albeit only briefly in the latter)? It was a big thing at the time! > > I see Don Siegel was in the latter as well (also briefly, I think). He directed the original version. Yeah, but he was basically playing the same character – the Guy On the Highway TRyinmg to Warn Everyone About the Invasion. I thought about it when I wrote the OP, but didn’t think it counted. By the way, he played the same role AGAIN in _Looney Tunes…Back in Action_ (2003). I’m not looking for actors who played the same part in multiple versions of essentially the same film – I’ve done that thread already, and it has lots of entries. Here are a couple that don’t quite fit, but are noteworthy. **Phil Silvers** didn’t want to play Pseudolus, the lead character in _A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum_ on Broadway because he thought it was too similar to his “Sergeant Bilko” character. And besides, nobody would buy a Romanm with glasses. Zero Mostel played tha character onstage and in the film.When they made the film, though, he played Marcus Licus (without glasses). Eventually, though, he did play Pseudolus in a stage version. Lon Cheney, Jr. has the distinction of playing most of the Universal Classic Monsters . He originated The Wolfman (although Henry Hull had previously been The Werewolf of London), played The Mummy three times, the Frankenstein Monster once, and , if not Dracula, at least the Son of Dracula. He didn’t appear in a second version of a film he’d appeared in, though. He does come close, however, for taking on the role of the Frankenstein monster in _Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein_ on a day that Glenn Strange was unable to do the part. He was, of course, also playing Lawrence Talbot and The Wolfman in the same film, so he played multiple parts in the one movie. ---
**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 19, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/36 "2018-10-19T20:30:26Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > 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. I didn’t know that, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/37 "2018-10-19T21:04:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Michael Caine** plated Milo Tindle in the original 1972 film of Anthony Shaffer’s _Sleuth_, and Andrew Wyke in Harold Pinter’s 2007 rewrite. Michael Caine played Carter in the original “Get Carter”. And then played one of the guys Carter is after in the Sly Stallone remake of “Get Carter”. Not a huge role, but more than just a cameo. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/38 "2018-10-19T21:46:17Z")
Legendary martial arts actor Chia-Hui Liu (a.k.a. Gordon Liu) played masked gangster Johnny Mo in _Kill Bill, vol. 1_, but returned as a-hole master Pai Mei in _Kill Bill, vol. 2_. I found him not credible in the former role because I could not suspend my disbelief when Uma Thurman kicked his ass. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/39 "2018-10-19T23:38:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **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 And I saw a production where he played Inspector Doppler. ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168/40 "2018-10-21T19:16:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > 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). Does Peter Capaldi qualify? - from Caecilius in “The Fires Of Pompeii” to the 12th Doctor himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-appearing-in-different-roles-in-different-versions-of-films/823168.md?page=3)