# Actors with regular starring roles in two series at the same time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313 "2025-03-08T23:41:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/41 "2025-03-10T06:37:10Z")
Right! Forgot about that. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/42 "2025-03-10T07:49:15Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Today, guys like Billy West, Mark Hamill and Seth McFarlane can be on three shows simultaneously! It’s a terrible strain on the animators’ wrists. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/43 "2025-03-10T11:26:43Z")
Matt Berry was in ‘what we do in the shadows’ plus ‘fallout’ plus about a dozen voice only roles at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/44 "2025-03-10T11:44:47Z")
I only recently realized that Harrison Ford was on both 1923 and Shrinking at the same time. Certainly makes it easier when a season is only 8-12 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/45 "2025-03-10T12:02:19Z")
Alison Brie was on Community and Mad Men at the same time. From imdb, it looks like for several years. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/46 "2025-03-10T12:05:24Z")
Was Joel McHale on Community and The Soup at the same time? I can’t remember if those shows overlapped. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/47 "2025-03-10T13:32:32Z")
McHale was on _The Soup_ from July 1, 2004 to November 18, 2015. He was on _Community_ from September 17, 2009 to June 2, 2015. He did a bunch of other things too, which you can read about in his Wikipedia entry. Did you know that he was born in Rome? ---
**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:** [March 10, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/48 "2025-03-10T13:39:20Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Armin Shimerman pulled double duty on STAR TREK DS9 (regular cast member) and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (recurring character). Yep, and he made some pretty regular appearances on Buffy. He’s a good actor. While both characters are weasles of sort, they are quite different. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/49 "2025-03-10T13:40:15Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > McHale was on _The Soup_ from July 1, 2004 to November 18, 2015. He was on _Community_ from September 17, 2009 to June 2, 2015. He did a bunch of other things too, which you can read about in his Wikipedia entry. Did you know that he was born in Rome? I remember when Community debuted, I told my wife, “Man, I hope Community doesn’t last. I want him to stay on The Soup.” The truth is that The Soup only requires a small crew and a green screen. They basically came to him and he only had to work 1-2 hours to get it done. Preview the jokes, record the jokes, done. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/50 "2025-03-10T13:41:21Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Matt Berry was in ‘what we do in the shadows’ plus ‘fallout’ plus about a dozen voice only roles at the same time. I mean, he was also on Snuff Box around the same time as IT Crowd. Not sure about actual overlap, but close. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/51 "2025-03-10T14:08:02Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > McHale was on _The Soup_ from July 1, 2004 to November 18, 2015. He was on _Community_ from September 17, 2009 to June 2, 2015. He did a bunch of other things too, which you can read about in his Wikipedia entry. Did you know that he was born in Rome? I didn’t know about Rome, but I saw Joel McHale on a local Seattle sketch comedy show before he made it big. In the one I remember, he was dressed as William Wallace from _Braveheart_. It was the same show where Bill Nye got his start, and created his Science Guy character As for characters on two shows, was David Boreanaz on _Angel_ and _Buffy_ at the same time? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/52 "2025-03-10T14:21:59Z")
Glenn Howerton actually had a much larger role in The Mindy Project than Rob McElhenney. Mindy was over by the time their other projects came along, though. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/53 "2025-03-10T15:04:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > As for characters on two shows, was David Boreanaz on _Angel_ and _Buffy_ at the same time? Not for my purposes. I’m thinking about ongoing parts in the main cast, not very scarce guest appearances. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/54 "2025-03-10T15:46:22Z")
Abbi Jacobson played the main character in Amazon’s adaptation of _A League of Their Own_ and also voiced Bean in _Disenchantment_. There was also some overlap of Matt Berry’s role as Laslo in _What We Do in the Shadows_ and his voice roles on _Disenchantment_ and _Krapopolis_. His role in Disenchantment wasn’t a main character and probably doesn’t count for this thread, but I think Krapopolis would count, although I haven’t seen it. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/55 "2025-03-10T18:09:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I didn’t know about Rome, but I saw Joel McHale on a local Seattle sketch comedy show before he made it big. In the one I remember, he was dressed as William Wallace from _Braveheart_. It was the same show where Bill Nye got his start, and created his Science Guy character Almost Live! He was really balding on there. His hair transplant was a huge success for him. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/56 "2025-03-10T21:14:18Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Abbi Jacobson played the main character in Amazon’s adaptation of _A League of Their Own_ and also voiced Bean in _Disenchantment_. _Disenchantment_ also overlapped with her series _Broad City_ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/57 "2025-03-10T21:17:43Z")
Kristen Schaal had voice roles in two animated series (_Gravity Falls_ and _Bob’s Burgers_) while also co-starring in _The Last Man on Earth_. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/58 "2025-03-10T22:27:18Z")
It’s not just streaming that allow people to have “simultaneous” series. The UK has short and sometimes spread out “series” (their word for “seasons”). Take Nicola Walker. She was doing _Last Tango in Halifax_ and _Unforgotten_ “at the same time”, Both of those overlapped with _The Split_ which in turn overlapped with _Annika_. Plus she’s been doing voice work for _Dr. Who_ and has done a ton of shorter format series. So very many top British actors have similar overlaps. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/59 "2025-03-11T20:54:34Z")
Phil Hartman played Captain Carl on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse while also performing on Saturday Night Live. Per IMDB, he was on 6 episodes in 1986. Looks like he was busy during his SNL years with voicework as well, he was in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, Dennis the Menace (playing George Wilson), and The Smurfs, among others. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313/60 "2025-03-11T21:03:03Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Kristen Schaal had voice roles in two animated series (_Gravity Falls_ and _Bob’s Burgers_) while also co-starring in _The Last Man on Earth_. She also had a starring role in the final season of _What We Do In the Shadows_ this year, while _Bob’s Burgers_ was still on. She was a cast member for several seasons of _WWDITS_ but was prominent in the last one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-regular-starring-roles-in-two-series-at-the-same-time/1015313.md?page=4)