# Actors who play the same role in every movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693 "2001-09-25T14:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RufusB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@RufusB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RufusB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/41 "2001-09-25T23:23:13Z")
**James Woods** and **Dennis Leary**. Not only do they pretty much play the same person in their own films, but they pretty much play the same character between the two of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_The\_Bold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dale\_The\_Bold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_The_Bold)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/42 "2001-09-25T23:49:37Z")
Jim Carrey ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/43 "2001-09-25T23:56:27Z")
It’s interesting seeing so many people list an actor and then disqualify their own entry by listing films in which said actor shows some range. Once again a narrowly defined OP with a negative tinge has become a general complaint thread. This isn’t “actors I don’t like”. Having a signature element that is repeated from film to film does not make the entire performance the same. _All_ of Costner’s scenes were cut from his first movie (The Big Chill). The only thing left of him is his wrists in the opening scenes. Rebuttals: Mchael Douglas: _Falling Down, Wall Street, Wonder Boys_ Kevin Costner: _Silverado, Field of Dreams, JFK, Bull Durham_ Harrison Ford: _American Grafitti, Star Wars, Witness, The Mosquito Coast_ Robin Williams: _Awakenings_, _Good Will Hunting_, _What Dreams May Come_, _Jack_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/44 "2001-09-26T00:25:28Z")
> [@](#): > > _Number Six says:_ All of Costner’s scenes were cut from his first movie (The Big Chill). The only thing left of him is his wrists in the opening scenes. **Whoosh!** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Semp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Semp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Semp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/45 "2001-09-26T00:28:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\*Rebuttals: > > Mchael Douglas: _Falling Down, Wall Street, Wonder Boys_\*\* I haven’t seen (and likey won’t) Wonder Boys, so I can’t say anything about his performance there. But Godon Gecko from Wall Street is in line with most other characters he plays, even if it’s a perhaps more vocal personnage, and I see it as somewhat similar in many ways to other characters. I saw Don’t Say A Word (or whatever his new one is called) at a preview last week, and during the whole thing I thought “Starring Michael Douglas as **Michael Douglas Guy**!” Oliver Platt is in it too, and I thought the same thing about him. It was basically MD playing the same type of guy (pretty similar to the drug czar in Traffic, but in more of a “nice family guy” style) he _almost_ always plays. In Falling Down I think he actually broke away from the standard **Michael Douglas Guy** character quite successfully. And wasn’t he in some flop comedy a little while ago playing a toupeed hitman? So MD does not _always_ play the same type of character, but probably more than half of his films he plays **Michael Douglas Guy**. He’s probably a good actor, but it’s really hard to tell in **Michael Douglas Guy** films, because **Michael Douglas Guy** is really kinda wooden. Gordon Gecko is probably the most enigmatic of these characters, but most of them are… well… **Michael Douglas Guy**! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/46 "2001-09-26T00:55:11Z")
Thanks, **Archive**! ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/47 "2001-09-26T00:55:15Z")
steven segal ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/48 "2001-09-26T01:10:55Z")
Hey! _I_ was going to say Steven Segal. In fact, I think not only does he play the same character in each movie, but all the movies use essentially the same script, just changing names, locales and jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/49 "2001-09-26T01:36:57Z")
That kid that was in American Pie (Stifler) who was also in Dude, Where’s my Car? Ethan Hawke ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/50 "2001-09-26T01:48:07Z")
Minnie Driver. She always plays the dream of my life. ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/51 "2001-09-26T01:50:13Z")
Clint Eastwood anyone? ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/52 "2001-09-26T01:57:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RufusB \* > \*\ ***James Woods** and **Dennis Leary**. Not only do they pretty much play the same person in their own films, but they pretty much play the same character between the two of them. \*\* I must respectfully but indignantly disagree with RufusB here. IMO, Woods could possibly be the best actor of the last 25yrs - at least as good as and maybe exceeding DeNiro, Hackman, Beatty, Spacey, etc… Woods resume includes a scumbag drug dealer in “Another Day in Paradise”, a white-trash racist southerner in “Ghosts of Mississippi”, a hippie lawyer in “True Believer” and a depression era New York gangster in “Once Upon a Time in America”. Plus, he has made several _excellent_ TV/HBO movies and greatest of all - a Simpsons cameo!!! Signed, President of James Woods Fanclub thermalribbon P.S. - Alec Baldwin **always** plays a smart wise-ass take-no-shit character. But I love him too! ---
**Author:** ![Spoonbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spoonbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoonbender)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/53 "2001-09-26T02:24:38Z")
**Mickey Rourke** always plays Bruce Willis (badly). > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Semp \* > So MD does not _always_ play the same type of character, but probably more than half of his films he plays **Michael Douglas Guy** Yeah - as pointed out by **Number Six** , Douglas has demonstrated some range, but I think there is a distinct pattern going on with his movies. I’d call it “successful/powerful male turned victim.” Examples: _Fatal Attaction, Basic Instinct, Disclosure, The Game,_ and (from the looks of it) _Don’t Say a Word_. Humorous aside: remember the urban legend about the man who has his kidney stolen? I once heard this described as the urban legend “most likely to be made into a movie starring Michael Douglas.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoonbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spoonbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoonbender)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/54 "2001-09-26T02:27:31Z")
I forgot one: **Meg Ryan** , who always plays the Adorable Love Interest ™ ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/55 "2001-09-26T02:32:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kat \* > \*\*Hey! _I_ was going to say Steven Segal. In fact, I think not only does he play the same character in each movie, but all the movies use essentially the same script, just changing names, locales and jobs. \*\* Yeah…I have most of them on DVD too. I mean, yeah he cant act or anything, but its fun to watch him beat people up… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/56 "2001-09-26T02:35:54Z")
We’ve gotten this far and no one has mentioned Hugh Grant? Who always plays the nice British Guy? (o.k., I haven’t seen Bridget Jones yet. I hear he plays the somewhat-less-nice British Guy in that one). My sister has claimed that Scott Glen always plays “the Scott Glenn character” in every movie he’s in. ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/57 "2001-09-26T02:40:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tapswiller \* > \*\*I LOVE Christopher Walken. But he pretty much plays the same whack-job type in all his movies. And I don’t think he’s acting. He’s like that for real. > \*\* Not what I heard. Wife, kids and drives a _stationwagon_. [curious] I wonder if there are real actors who are SDMB members? [/curious] Pet-peeve: **Why** is Keanu Reeves always mentioned in these _acting_ threads??? Nevermind, I’ll just [ask](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=89469). ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/58 "2001-09-26T06:35:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Number Six says:_ All of Costner’s scenes were cut from his first movie (The Big Chill). The only thing left of him is his wrists in the opening scenes. > > **Whoosh!** 😃 \*\* Ok, I’ll bite. What did I miss? Dinsdale said Costner was unusually animated in his first movie. I assumed he was referring to _The Big Chill_ in which Costner played a suicide in flashbacks, and all of his scenes were cut except for a brief flash of his razor slashed wrists–i. e. he played a corpse. I got the sarcasm there. Ethelrist posted that half his scenes were cut, and my post was a correction of that. Unless both comments were actually referring to _Fandango_, I’m not sure what I’ve missed here. Not complaining, mind you. I don’t mind being whooshed when it’s deserved, but I’d appreciate being let in on the joke. Re Michael Douglas: Sure, he usually plays similar characters, but he has range and has shown it. John Wayne always played the same character because he had no range (but did a magnificent job of playing that one character). My list has three distinctive characters. Wall Street: Powerful, practical, calmly confident WASP. Falling Down: Impotent, unimaginative, raging everyman. Wonder Boys: Artistic, insecure, introspective intellectual. And convincing in each of the three. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/59 "2001-09-26T06:36:34Z")
Here’s a rebuttal from Eastwood’s own mouth… "When I was doing The Bridges of Madison County, I said to myself, ‘This romantic stuff is really tough. I can’t wait to get back to shooting and killing.’ " --Daily News, November 15, 1996 His credits thus far… ``` True Crime (1999) Absolute Power (1997) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Clint Eastwood - The Man From Malpaso (1993) In the Line of Fire (1993) A Perfect World (1993) Unforgiven (1992) Hollywood Remembers - Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend (1991) Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) White Hunter, Black Heart (1990) The Rookie (1990) Pink Cadillac (1989) Bird (1988) The Dead Pool (1988) Wild West (1987) Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Pale Rider (1985) City Heat (1984) Tightrope (1984) Sudden Impact (1983) Firefox (1982) Honkytonk Man (1982) Any Which Way You Can (1980) Bronco Billy (1980) Escape From Alcatraz (1979) Every Which Way but Loose (1978) The Gauntlet (1977) The Enforcer (1976) The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) The Eiger Sanction (1975) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) High Plains Drifter (1973) Magnum Force (1973) Breezy (1973) Joe Kidd (1972) Dirty Harry (1971) Play Misty for Me (1971) The Beguiled (1970) Kelly's Heroes (1970) Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) Paint Your Wagon (1969) Where Eagles Dare (1969) Coogan's Bluff (1968) Hang 'Em High (1968) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1967) For a Few Dollars More (1965) The Witches (1965) A Fistful of Dollars (1964) Death Valley Days on Laser (1963) Maverick - Duel at Sundown (1959) Rawhide (1959) Rawhide - V. 2 (1959) Lafayette Escadrille (1958) Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958) Escapade in Japan (1957) Lady Godiva (1956) Francis in the Navy (1955) Revenge of the Creature (1955) Death Valley Days - V. 3 Death Valley Days Maverick - The Collector's Edition - V. 4 Unforgiven ``` The man has been busy since he first entered the world back in 1930 hasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693/60 "2001-09-26T07:35:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\* > > Brendan Fraser always plays The Big Lovable Goofball, though in “The Mummy” he did branch out into The Big Lovable Guy Who Beats Everyone Up. \*\* Not true…he wasn’t a goofball in ‘Gods and Monsters’, just a good-natured guy who is brighter than he seems, and in ‘The Passion of Darkly Noon’ he is a psychotic weirdo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-play-the-same-role-in-every-movie/83693.md?page=4)