# Actors who got the part because of their names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [September 2, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835 "2022-09-02T19:44:40Z")\ **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:** [September 2, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/1 "2022-09-02T19:44:40Z")
It might not be the name alone that got them the part, but it might have helped nudge the judgement of whoever was casting. I’ve long wondered about whether Michael Lonsdale was cast as Hugo Drax in the James Bond movie _Moonraker_ because Drax is described in the book as “aa Lonsdale sort of character”. I’m sure , if this tipped the scales, it wasn’t the only reason, but the coincidence is striking. I just noticed today that the first person to portray Flash Gordon on the radio was character actor Gale Gordon. And it seems odd that Christopher Reeve should be chosen to play the roles of Clark Kent and Superman, which were famously played in the 1850s by George Reeves. Finally, the part of The Lone Ranger in 1981 went to the otherwise unknown Klinton Spilsbury, playing a part most famously played by Clayton Moore. They even had to dub all of his lines. Certainly one would expect coincidences by chance to occur. My point is that human beings still had to approve the roles, and people are ruled in part by such similarities. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/2 "2022-09-02T19:58:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > famously played in the 1850s by George Reeves one of the longest roles, over a century in length. I don’t think Reeve/Reeves is anything but a small coincidence. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/3 "2022-09-02T20:28:57Z")
The TV show, _The Pretender_ had Andrea Parker playing Miss Parker. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/4 "2022-09-02T20:30:46Z")
I’ve often wondered if Woody Harrelson got the role of Woody Boyd on “Cheers” because of his name. (From what I understand, the character was not named after the actor, the name was already set before casting began.) ---
**Author:** ![SomeDeadSinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@SomeDeadSinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SomeDeadSinger)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/5 "2022-09-02T20:39:38Z")
John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/6 "2022-09-02T20:45:35Z")
How about Bela Lugosi in **Plan 9 From Outer Space**? Bela Lugosi was Ed Wood’s good friend and since his movie called for a vampire his name probably came up right away. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/7 "2022-09-02T21:15:44Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > I don’t think Reeve/Reeves is anything but a small coincidence. It’s a coincidence. They auditioned numerous actors, including many famous ones. They settled on Chris Reeve because: 1. He looks the most like Clark Kent and Superman. 2. He really was amazing in his audition. And in the movie, once it was made. 3. He’s cheaper since he was not famous. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/8 "2022-09-02T22:02:39Z")
_Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff_ (1949) - Karloff also played himself in several TV series episodes, and was the obvious inspiration for his part as old-time horror star Byron Orlok in _Targets_ (1968). _Bela Lugosi Meets Brooklyn Gorilla_ (1952) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/9 "2022-09-02T22:24:40Z")
Australian actor John Howard played himself representing [to others who did not know the difference] the then serving Australian Prime Minister John Howard in one episode of the TV series The Games. This was not a coincidence but required as part of the plot. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/10 "2022-09-02T22:39:00Z")
Mark Lindsay Chapman was originally supposed to play John Lennon in a film biography, but lost the role because he shared a name with Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman. Twenty-two years later, Mark Lindsay Chapman was finally cast as Lennon in a movie about Lennon’s murder. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/11 "2022-09-02T22:53:08Z")
Not quite the same name, but on an episode of the Murdoch Mysteries with the PM of Canada at the time, the real PM had a cameo. But not as the PM, as a desk clerk IIRC. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/12 "2022-09-02T23:48:26Z")
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the name and characteristics of judge Harry Stone from _Night Court_ were set before Harry Anderson was chosen to play the role. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/13 "2022-09-03T00:00:02Z")
Pretty sure this isn’t what the OP is looking for, but when thee producers of the _Mary Tyler Moore_ show were developing the character of Sue Ann Nivens, they had in mind “a Betty White type.” After considering various actresses, someone finally said, “How about Betty White?” ---
**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:** [September 3, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/14 "2022-09-03T00:13:16Z")
Geraldine Chaplin played Hannah Chaplin in _Chaplin._. Hannah was Geraldine’s grandmother. I’m sure the casting was deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/15 "2022-09-03T00:13:41Z")
Absolutely the opposite of the OP, but Margaret O’Brien’s name was changed to Margaret when she was cast for the role of Margaret in “Journey for Margaret” when she was 5 years old. Her real name was Angela Maxine O’Brien. Similarly, '30’s actress Anne Shirley took that name when she starred in Anne of Green Gables, having worked in many movies under other stage names. StG ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/16 "2022-09-03T00:30:42Z")
'm not sure what is being requested in the OP, but I think what is being described is the classic actor’s career arc: 1. “Who’s Quigley Edwards?” 2. “You know who would be perfect for this part? Quigley Edwards.” 3. “This part was written with Quigley Edwards in mind.” 4. “We need a Quigley Edwards type for this part.” 5. “Who’s Quigley Edwards?” ---
**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:** [September 3, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/17 "2022-09-03T01:35:09Z")
Pelle Hvenegaard was cast in the lead of the film _Pelle the Conqueror_. He was named after the protagonist of the novel that was the source of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/18 "2022-09-03T02:09:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve long wondered about whether Michael Lonsdale was cast as Hugo Drax in the James Bond movie _Moonraker_ because Drax is described in the book as “aa Lonsdale sort of character”. Didn’t work that way for any of the Bonds. He was described, at least twice, as looking like [Hoagy Carmichael](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoagy_Carmichael) > [@Gala Brand in \*Moonraker\*](#): > > Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold. Mind you, having been born in 1899, he was a little too old for the part by the time the movies came around. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/19 "2022-09-03T17:21:43Z")
Tori Spelling in _Beverly Hills, 90210._ ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835/20 "2022-09-03T18:17:04Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Pretty sure this isn’t what the OP is looking for, but when thee producers of the _Mary Tyler Moore_ show were developing the character of Sue Ann Nivens, they had in mind “a Betty White type.” After considering various actresses, someone finally said, “How about Betty White?” Similar situation in “Love Actually”. Director kept saying he wanted an actress like “Laura Linney” for the role of Sarah . Someone finally said, “Well, why not just get Laura Linney?” And they did. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-got-the-part-because-of-their-names/970835.md?page=2)