# Actors who killed (or very nearly so) their careers by taking \*too\* memorable a role. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631 "2004-08-26T17:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/181 "2007-09-02T07:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] I think Tom Baker pretty much killed his career after being the most memorable Doctor Who. Last I saw of him was the fat, camp Elf king in Dungeons And Dragons. [/QUOTE] I dunno, at this point I can’t help but see him as Captain Rum from the Blackadder II episode _Potato_. EB: There’s no need to panic. Someone in the crew will know how to steer this thing. Rum: The crew, milord? EB: Yes, the crew. Rum: What crew? EB: I was under the impression that it’s common maritime practice to have a crew. Rum: Opinion is divided on the subject. EB: Really? Rum: Yes. All the other captains say it is, I say it isn’t. EB: Oh, God. Mad as a brush. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/182 "2007-09-02T17:31:01Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark] Frankly, when I see Ned Beaty, I think first of Otis, Lex Luthor’s sidekick in the Superman flicks. Then there’s another half-dozen other roles before I think of Deliverance. I don’t think he was typecast at all. My first thought was Christopher Reeves from Superman, but there are a few other roles that were very memorable (Mousetrap, Somewhere in Time) that allowed him to break the casting. Now of course, people think of him quite differently. [/QUOTE] To me, he is forever Det. Stanley Bolander, from _Homicide: Life on the streets._ ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/183 "2007-09-02T17:59:49Z")
Neil Patrick Harris may not have killed his career playing Doogie Howser, but more people seem to remember his character’s name than his own. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/184 "2007-09-02T18:38:34Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] Neil Patrick Harris may not have killed his career playing Doogie Howser, but more people seem to remember his character’s name than his own. [/QUOTE] I dunno, his role as what’s his face on “How I Met Your Mother” was/is pretty good. Probably isn’t the same kind of role, either, as presently he’s playing an egotesticle player who’s actually an okay guy some of the time. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/185 "2007-09-03T09:37:33Z")
This again? Hmm… Since The Cosby Show, Full House, and A Different World have already been cited, I’ll nominate a key member of Murphy Brown, Charles Kimbrough. The remarkable thing, IMO, is that there never really was anything memorable about Jim Dial. He was pretty much just an uptight, cynical straight arrow (in fact, there was an entire episode devoted to how unremarkable a life he led). If anything, I expected Grant Shaud and Joe Regalbuto to get hit the hardest, and they’ve both had at least fairly respectable post-Murphy careers. For Kimbrough, it’s been pretty much just voices and bit roles. How about Ellen Degeneres? Man, don’t know about her, but if I was in her position, that megahyped coming out on Ellen is definitely one I’d like to have back. Think about it: It was **so** huge, **so** publicized, that in her next major role, she played _another_ character with the same first name (who’s also a lesbian, BTW). Crumbs since. I’d like to give an special mention to Lorenzo Music for doing the opposite of the OP; it was his remarkable career that killed a role, the voice of the cartoon Garfield. Think about it: Why has there not been even one Garfield TV cartoon of _any_ kind after the insanely popular Garfield And Friends? I’m almost certain that the reason Jim Davis insisted on CG for the movie is that he knew, in his heart, that replacing Music was just not possible. Note that the upcoming Garfield Gets Real is also going to be CG. Other than the Professor Garfield website, I’m pretty certain that non-CG cartoon Garfield is long gone. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/186 "2007-09-03T11:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] I dunno, at this point I can’t help but see him as Captain Rum from the Blackadder II episode _Potato_. [/QUOTE] So you don’t know the way to France either? ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/187 "2007-09-03T14:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] > [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Rafe Fiennes will always be the nazi in Schindeler’s List. I thought he did a great job as Charlie Van Doren in _Quiz Show_ [/QUOTE] Ralph Fiennes looks to be an interesting one. After _Quiz Show_ there was _The English Patient_ and more recently _Lord Voldemort_ in the Harry Potter movies. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/188 "2007-09-03T17:10:02Z")
For your consideration, Jason Biggs in Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, making fun of himself: Jason Biggs: I’m a teen idol, dammit! Don’t you recognize me? Look at me. I’m the pie fucker! (Making fun, of course, of his success in American Pie and all its sequels) ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/189 "2007-09-03T20:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] How about Ellen Degeneres? Man, don’t know about her, but if I was in her position, that megahyped coming out on Ellen is definitely one I’d like to have back. Think about it: It was **so** huge, **so** publicized, that in her next major role, she played _another_ character with the same first name (who’s also a lesbian, BTW). Crumbs since. [/QUOTE] Crumbs? Ellen’s talk show won 15 Emmy awards in it’s first 3 seasons, won a few People’s Choice Awards, hosted the Academy Awards, got rave reviews for her voice of Dory in Finding Nemo, and her net worth is about $65 million dollars… I’ll take crumbs like those **any** day! ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/190 "2007-09-03T23:00:08Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] … egotesticle … [/QUOTE] This coinage was worth bringing a thread back from the dead. I laughed, I cried … ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/191 "2007-09-03T23:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] Neil Patrick Harris may not have killed his career playing Doogie Howser, but more people seem to remember his character’s name than his own. [/QUOTE] Reminds of one of jokes from Marc Price’s stand-up routine. "It’s going to be on my goddamn tombstone after I die: 'Here Lies Marc Price [pause] Skippy, from _Family Ties_’." Since that’s how he always gets introduced, no matter what he’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/192 "2007-09-04T01:01:17Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] Mark Hamill will always be Luke Skywalker. [/QUOTE] Oh, no… he’s had quite a successful career as a voice actor. He has done a _brilliant_ Joker on all the Animated Series, and he’s been up for contention for the live action version. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/193 "2007-09-04T02:41:54Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] What about Leslie Nielsen? Poor guy got stuck as the funnyman after Airplane :(. [/QUOTE] You win the award for most apropos post in this thread. His serious work (pre-Police Squad, Airplane, etc.) was brutally good and he should be known as one of the great dramatic character actors of our time. Instead he is typecast as a bumbling idiot supported by a ton of sight gags. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/194 "2007-09-04T11:22:13Z")
C’mon guys, 193 posts in and no one mentions… John Wilkes Booth. 🙂 ---
**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 4, 2007, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/195 "2007-09-04T12:33:14Z")
Three Words: John Boy Walton. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/196 "2007-09-04T13:25:22Z")
[QUOTE=SaintCad] You win the award for most apropos post in this thread. His serious work (pre-Police Squad, Airplane, etc.) was brutally good and he should be known as one of the great dramatic character actors of our time. Instead he is typecast as a bumbling idiot supported by a ton of sight gags. [/QUOTE] Surely you can’t be serious? wait for it Wait, what? The actor who was only really known for Forbidden Planet and a Tammy movie was a great dramatic actor? What roles did I miss from this B-Level leading man? Airplane made him, it did nothing to hurt him. [Leslie Nielsen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Nielsen) I was just whooshed, wasn’t I? Jim ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/197 "2007-09-05T09:30:11Z")
How about Jerry Orbach? Magnificent career, no doubt, but had he lived was he every going to be anything but Lennie Briscoe again? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/198 "2007-09-05T10:00:10Z")
I forget his name but the drill instructor in _Full Metal Jacket_ ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/199 "2007-09-05T10:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I forget his name but the drill instructor in _Full Metal Jacket_ [/QUOTE] R. Lee Ermy. However, he actually _was_ a drill instructor before he got into acting (Oliver Stone had originally hired him as a consultant for FMJ but thought his demonstration was so incredible he decided to cast Ermy as Sgt. Hartmann instead). So it may be more that he’s playing the one role he knows best. Although he was also good as the televangelist in _Fletch Lives_. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631/200 "2007-09-05T11:18:44Z")
Edward Fox will always be The Jackal (yes, I know he’s been in other stuff, but whenever I see him, I always wonder at which point he’s going to try and assassinate Charles De Gaulle). I know rather a lot of people who cannot think of Rowan Atkinson as anything except Mr. Bean, which is very disturbing… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-killed-or-very-nearly-so-their-careers-by-taking-too-memorable-a-role/261631.md?page=11)