# Actors playing the same character in different TV shows/movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401 "2009-12-08T02:48:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/41 "2009-12-31T13:45:56Z")
Richard Paul was Jerry Falwell in the TV movie about the Bakkers “Fall From Grace” and in “The People Vs. Larry Flynt”. Way back when he was the Mayor in “Carter Country”, Dad said that if there was ever a show with Falwell as a character, RP’s be a perfect fit. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/42 "2009-12-31T16:52:46Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Richard Paul was Jerry Falwell in the TV movie about the Bakkers “Fall From Grace” and in “The People Vs. Larry Flynt”. > > Way back when he was the Mayor in “Carter Country”, Dad said that if there was ever a show with Falwell as a character, RP’s be a perfect fit. Richard Paul also played a very Falwell-like character in an episode of _WKRP in Cincinnatti._ ---
**Author:** ![McGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@McGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McGeek)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/43 "2009-12-31T17:11:42Z")
My favorite was Carl Reiner’s appearance as Alan Brady on “Mad About You”. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/44 "2009-12-31T22:08:58Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Christopher Lee famously played Dracula in several films, beginning in 1958. Some of the subequent films were direct sequels, but some of them were unrelated other than ultimately stemming from the same source material. This is a bit off-topic, but what the hell… According to IMDB, Susannah Harker, the actress who played vampire hunter Angela Marsh in the British TV serial **Ultraviolet** , is actually a descendant of the real-life Jonathon Harker, a friend of Bram Stoker, who was immortalized in Stoker’s novel “Dracula”. Kinda neat. (If you haven’t seen this serial, do so.) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/45 "2010-01-11T18:46:19Z")
In addition to “The Beverly Hillbillies,” Irene Ryan played “Granny” in “Petticoat Junction,” “Mr. Ed,” and the movie “Don’t Worry, We’ll Think of a Title.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/46 "2010-01-11T19:07:34Z")
[Bobby Watson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914520/) played Hitler a bunch of times. [Andrew Duggan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0240887/) played Ike three times. (He was also married IRL to the cutie seen running along the beach and turning to the camera in the opening credits of “Hawaii Five-O” [Bryan Clark](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0093546/) played Ronald Reagan four times. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/47 "2010-01-11T19:16:22Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > [Michael Sheen](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790688/) has played Tony Blair three times. But with the same writer/director, those are practically sequels! 😃 Speaking of Sheens, Martin played both Jack and Bobby Kennedy. CLOSE! ---
**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 18, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/48 "2015-05-18T15:20:43Z")
Bumped. Gary Lydon played Gerry, an Irish beat cop, in the 2000 short film _The Second Death_. He played Insp. Gerry Stanton - clearly the same character, moved up in the ranks - in the 2011 dark comedy _The Guard_, and again in the religious drama _Calvary_ in 2014. (Brendan Gleeson was also in the latter two movies, as another cop in _The Guard_, and as a priest in _Calvary_). The movies are very different, but have some shared elements and actors - all are worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/49 "2015-05-18T16:21:54Z")
Prior to Det. Munch being the superglue that holds the entire universe together, David Clennon played “Miles Drentell” in\* thirtysomething \*and then later in the show _Once and Again_. Though created by the same people, I don’t think the two shows are meant to be related, like a spin off or something. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/50 "2015-05-18T16:41:40Z")
Jerry Haleva has played Saddam Hussein 5 or 6 times in movies. In fact, it’s the only part IMDB shows him playing. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/51 "2015-05-18T16:57:11Z")
Will Jordan has played Ed Sullivan in a whole bunch of really big shooos > **[Will Jordan - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0430220/)** > > Will Jordan. Actor: The Doors. Will Jordan was born on 27 July 1927 in Bronx, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Doors (1991), Down with Love (2003) and I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978). He died on 6 September 2018 in Manhattan,... ---
**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:** [May 18, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/52 "2015-05-18T16:58:54Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The classic example may be Raymond Massey, who played Abraham Lincoln in the movie _Abe Lincoln in Illinois_, then in two different TV productions of the screenplay, then in _The Day Lincoln Was Shot_ and finally in _How the West Was Won_ – a 22 year stretch. William Daniels played John Quincey Adams in 1954 and again in 1976-1981 – a 24-29 year stretch. He didn’t play that Adams in between, but he was more famously John Adams more than once, and Sam Adams. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/53 "2015-05-18T17:07:03Z")
Ian Holm played Napoleon Bonaparte in the TV miniseries _Napoleon in Love_ in 1975 and in the film _Time Bandits_ in 1981. ---
**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 18, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/54 "2015-05-18T17:21:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ian Holm played Napoleon Bonaparte in the TV miniseries _Napoleon in Love_ in 1975 and in the film _Time Bandits_ in 1981. See post 17. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/55 "2015-05-18T21:08:47Z")
Bob Hoskins played Smee in both the Robin Williams movie Hook and the unrelated (other than from the same source material, duh) Syfy miniseries Neverland. And I could swear I posted that same factoid in a very similar topic here a few months ago. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/56 "2015-05-18T22:39:15Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > HE was FDR?! Man, I always knew there were a lot of surprisingly famous people in Annie (Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, and of course Carol Burnett), but I didn’t know about him. Have to rewatch that one. Shortly before he died, Herrmann also read all of FDR’s lines in Ken Burns’ _ **The Roosevelts** _. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/57 "2015-05-19T15:51:58Z")
Christopher Lloyd played _Doc Brown_ in the _ **Back to the Future Trilogy** _ and in a cameo appearance in _ **A Million Ways to Die in the West** _. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/58 "2019-01-02T05:47:35Z")
Bumped. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Gary Lydon played Gerry, an Irish beat cop, in the 2000 short film _The Second Death_. He played Insp. Gerry Stanton - clearly the same character, moved up in the ranks - in the 2011 dark comedy _The Guard_, and again in the religious drama _Calvary_ in 2014… Just saw _Six Shooter_, the 2004 Oscar winner for Short Film, and there’s Lydon, once again as an Irish cop (listed in the credits only as “Chief Guard”). He’s like the Irish Dennis Franz. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/59 "2019-01-02T14:33:52Z")
as I’ve remarked in the past, several actors reprised their roles in remakes of their own originals Jimmy Stewart played Elwood P. Dowd in both the original movie **Harvey** and its later TV remake Clark Gable played the same role in **Red Dust** and its 1953 remake **Mogambo**. Sean Connery played James Bond in **Thunderball** and its virtual remake **Never Say Never Again** Alastair Sim played Ebenezer Scrooge in both the 1951 version of **A Christmas Carol** and again twenty years later in the Chuck Jones-produced animated TV version. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401/60 "2019-01-03T02:07:05Z")
This is the supposedly complete list of all crossovers in American television. This is all cases where the same actor played the same character in more than one American television series. This is then organized into crossover universes. The largest one is Group 2: [http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-playing-the-same-character-in-different-tv-shows-movies/520401.md?page=4)