# Actors You Wouldn't Recognize On The Street.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078 "2006-12-06T16:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/1 "2006-12-06T16:32:30Z")
…because each character they play has a different look. My two are Gary Oldman and Christopher Guest. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/2 "2006-12-06T17:19:24Z")
Andy Serkis, my precious! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/3 "2006-12-06T17:21:33Z")
Russell Crowe. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/4 "2006-12-06T17:31:37Z")
I’m guessing _most_ people wouldn’t recognize your average voice actor (Billy West, Maurice LaMarch, Bob Townsend, David Herman,) on the street. Sadly enough, I would recognize a lot of them. But I second Gary Oldman. The only two roles that I can easily tell it’s the same actor are his roles on Batman Begins and Air Force One. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/5 "2006-12-06T17:34:49Z")
[Richard Roxburgh](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0746896/). _Moulin Rouge, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mission Impossible II, Van Helsing …_ I had to take my roommate _to_ the computer and prove that they were all the same guy. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/6 "2006-12-06T17:50:32Z")
Jim Broadbent and Val Kilmer. Broadbent because his vanished into his roles, and Kilmer because he has a completely forgettable face. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/7 "2006-12-06T17:50:36Z")
John Turturro and Alec Guinness. Of the latter, it was once said that (paraphrased from memory) if he ever committed a murder the police would arrest half of England due to differing descriptions of him. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/8 "2006-12-06T18:47:18Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Jim Broadbent and Val Kilmer. Broadbent because his vanished into his roles, and Kilmer because he has a completely forgettable face. [/QUOTE] Hoo, boy, them’s fightin’ words. Kilmer’s face is in proud possession of some extreeeeemely kissable lips. The only time I didn’t recognize him was when he played Elvis in [True Romance](http://imdb.com/title/tt0108399/), specifically since said lips were in shadow. Rowr! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/9 "2006-12-06T21:04:00Z")
Sometimes I find that I don’t recognize Jennifer Lopez from photo to photo. Of course in her movies she always looks the same. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/10 "2006-12-06T22:24:02Z")
**Sacha Baron Cohen** of Borat and Ali G fame. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/11 "2006-12-06T22:56:22Z")
Gary Oldman, Gary Oldman, Gary Oldman! Other than voice actors, that’s all I can think of. \<\_\< ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/12 "2006-12-06T23:37:48Z")
Lon Chaney. Of course, if I meet him in the street, I’m in one of his movies. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/13 "2006-12-07T14:19:10Z")
I hang out in NYC, and the only three actors I ever saw that I really recognized were Paul Simon, Woody Allen and Johnny Depp. They all look so much like themselves that it’s scary. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/14 "2006-12-07T15:02:35Z")
Joe Pesci, but only because he seems to wear thick facial hair when he’s not doing movies and it would be hard to tell if it was him. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/15 "2006-12-07T17:19:16Z")
I have trouble recognizing a lot of them on the street. Usually I have a moment of ‘I know them from somewhere…’. Then sometimes I’ll figure out who it is or someone will tell me. That happened about a week ago out at a bar with Laurence Fishburn. I knew I recognized him but didn’t place who it was until someone told me. I still didn’t totally believe them so I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes, he’s a nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/16 "2006-12-07T18:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=Gail] …because each character they play has a different look. My two are Gary Oldman and Christopher Guest. Any others? [/QUOTE] I go into the city frequently. It _never_ fails that I fail to recognize someone famous until I’m at least 1/2 a block past them 😃 James Gandolfini, John Lithgow & Christopher Walken all come to mind; I consider each of them striking from a physical sense - whether by height or size or whatever - and I’ve walked right by all three of them. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/17 "2006-12-07T18:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I’m guessing _most_ people wouldn’t recognize your average voice actor (Billy West, Maurice LaMarch, Bob Townsend, David Herman,) on the street. Sadly enough, I would recognize a lot of them. But I second Gary Oldman. The only two roles that I can easily tell it’s the same actor are his roles on Batman Begins and Air Force One. [/QUOTE] I was in an elevator with Mel Blanc once and I did recognize him. Of course the monogrammed Bugs Bunny on his shirt pocket didn’t hurt my identification. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-wouldnt-recognize-on-the-street/383078/18 "2006-12-07T18:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=Veuve\_ClicquotNJ] I go into the city frequently. It _never_ fails that I fail to recognize someone famous until I’m at least 1/2 a block past them 😃 James Gandolfini, John Lithgow & Christopher Walken all come to mind; I consider each of them striking from a physical sense - whether by height or size or whatever - and I’ve walked right by all three of them. VCNJ~ [/QUOTE] That’s nothing. I was sitting at a bar, talking for a good 3 hours with this guy that had the most recognizable face, and I knew I had heard that laugh before. 10 minutes after I got home I realized he was one of the main characters in one of my favorite TV shows. \*It is a Canadian series so for you Canadians out there the show is Corner Gas.