# Another round of "that's the same actor?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133 "2007-02-14T02:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/1 "2007-02-14T02:37:22Z")
Upon seeing a poster for the Scooby-Doo movie that was released some years ago on my roommates door (why he has this poster, none of us know, even he admits he can’t recall how he got it, but figured he might as well put it up,) I got to thinking who the actress who played Velma was. I looked it up on imbd and found out that she’s [Linda Cardellini](http://imdb.com/name/nm0004802/). I knew I recognized that name, so I scrolled down and say she played the daughter on the short lived series “Freaks and Geeks.” I had been watching the DVDs of that show a couple of weeks ago and the same stuck. I was like “huh…I guess that is the same person.” Then I noticed she was also in ER, as some nurse…wait, she plays Sam! Holy heck! So who else have you noticed is also someone else? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/2 "2007-02-14T02:41:15Z")
Vincent D’Onofrio apparently undergoes full body plastic surgery in between roles. He’s a chameleon. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/3 "2007-02-14T03:18:01Z")
I’ve said this before here, but I was totally amazed that the same actress was in two different movies I’d seen probably a total of 200 times w/o making the connection. (And those were two out of four total acting roles for her, the other two from movies I’d never seen). Danny’s girlfriend Maggie in **Caddyshack** was the same actress that played Mayor Carmine DiPasto’s daughter in **Animal House**. > [@](#): > > Vincent D’Onofrio apparently undergoes full body plastic surgery in between roles. He’s a chameleon Yeah, hard to believe that Thor from **Adventures in Babysitting** was Private Pyle in **Full Metal Jacket** that same year. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/4 "2007-02-14T05:30:58Z")
Capt. Stottlemeyer from _Monk_ and “Buffalo Bill” Gumb from _Silence of the Lambs_ were both played by [Ted Levine](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0505971/). Never knew that until recently. He’s gained weight, hasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/5 "2007-02-14T06:36:32Z")
In the “Mac vs. PC” commercials the PC guy is John Hodgman from The Daily Show, and the Mac guy played the nerd in “Galaxy Quest” and one of the main characters in “Waiting.” I didn’t recognize either of them. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/6 "2007-02-14T06:43:20Z")
[QUOTE=Dooku] Yeah, hard to believe that Thor from **Adventures in Babysitting** was Private Pyle in **Full Metal Jacket** that same year. [/QUOTE] I was going to say this EXACT same thing! It always blows me away when I think that the voice of Luanne on King of the Hill is Brittany Murphy. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/7 "2007-02-14T06:57:22Z")
[QUOTE=dnooman] It always blows me away when I think that the voice of Luanne on King of the Hill is Brittany Murphy. [/QUOTE] It blows me away that the chubby, unassuming, frizzy-haired redhead from Clueless is Brittany Murphy! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/8 "2007-02-14T07:08:08Z")
[QUOTE=Raygun99] Vincent D’Onofrio apparently undergoes full body plastic surgery in between roles. He’s a chameleon. [/QUOTE] Chameleon? It’s a bug wearing and Edgar suit. Kate Nelligan played Tommy Lee Jones tough as nails boss in US Marshalls, and Jack Nicholsons bookish wife in Wolf, I never would have seen that coming ---
**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:** [February 14, 2007, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/9 "2007-02-14T09:16:16Z")
The same guy who played the asshole reporter in the first two _Die Hard_ movies also played the asshole EPA inspector in _Ghostbusters_ and the asshole professor in _Real Genius_. It’s not that he’s that hard to recognize, but they were small enough roles that it took me a while to make the connection. The submarine expert who shows Jack the spy photos at the beginning of _The Hunt for Red October_ is also the principal in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/10 "2007-02-14T09:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] The submarine expert who shows Jack the spy photos at the beginning of _The Hunt for Red October_ is also the principal in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. [/QUOTE] That’d be [Jeffrey Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Jones), who seems to be jonesin’ for underage boys. I thought he was hilarious in _Mom And Dad Save The World_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/11 "2007-02-14T09:38:01Z")
The fiancee from **The Birdcage** grew up to become **Ally McBeal**. Freaky! Christine Baransky is barely recognizable from **Cybill, Addams Family Values** and **Reversal of Fortune** as the same woman. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/12 "2007-02-14T10:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=DataZak] Capt. Stottlemeyer from _Monk_ and “Buffalo Bill” Gumb from _Silence of the Lambs_ were both played by [Ted Levine](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0505971/). Never knew that until recently. He’s gained weight, hasn’t he? [/QUOTE] OMG :eek: Do you think he still has the nipple ring? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/13 "2007-02-14T11:46:29Z")
It took me a while to realize that ‘invisible Claude’ from **Heroes** , underneath that shaggy hair and beard, was actually… Doctor Who! (Chris Eccleston.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/14 "2007-02-14T15:05:22Z")
Watch [Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120669/), [The Usual Suspects](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/), [Traffic](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/), and [The Pledge](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0237572/). You will swear that [Benicio Del Toro](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001125/) is actually four different actors. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/15 "2007-02-14T15:25:31Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] The same guy who played the asshole reporter in the first two _Die Hard_ movies also played the asshole EPA inspector in _Ghostbusters_ and the asshole professor in _Real Genius_. It’s not that he’s that hard to recognize, but they were small enough roles that it took me a while to make the connection. The submarine expert who shows Jack the spy photos at the beginning of _The Hunt for Red October_ is also the principal in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. [/QUOTE] Back in the '70s, William Atherton played Goldie Hawn’s husband in Spielberg’s first film, _The Sugarland Express_, then he was the saboteur in _The Hindenburg_. And Jeffrey Jones was both the dad in \*Beetljuice \* and a frontier army officer in _Ravenous_. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/16 "2007-02-14T16:08:59Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] And Jeffrey Jones was both the dad in \*Beetljuice \* and a frontier army officer in _Ravenous_. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget his majestic appearance as Emperor Leopold in _Amadeus_. “It’s not a sacred relic…” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/17 "2007-02-14T17:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=Kizarvexius] Don’t forget his majestic appearance as Emperor Leopold in _Amadeus_. [/QUOTE] Let’s not forget F Murray Abraham as the New York cabbie in The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue. With Sylvester Stallone as the “mugger.” There was an episode of Ally McBeal where a little boy was suing God because he had cancer. That little boy grew up to become Haley Joel Osment. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/18 "2007-02-14T17:29:35Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] The fiancee from **The Birdcage** grew up to become **Ally McBeal**. Freaky! Christine Baransky is barely recognizable from **Cybill, Addams Family Values** and **Reversal of Fortune** as the same woman. [/QUOTE] Baransky was in The Birdcage as well. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/19 "2007-02-14T18:41:40Z")
Valerian from **Dragonslayer** (girl pretending to be a guy) and Carlotta/Officer McNamara from **Penn and Teller Get Killed** are both Caitlin Clarke, lovely woman now sadly gone due to ovarian cancer. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133/20 "2007-02-14T18:51:51Z")
I was surprised to see that **Sarah Jessica Parker** appeared in films like 1993’s **Hocus Pocus** – I’d never have recognized her as the star of **Sex and the City** (I probably wouldn’t have recognized her as the girl from “Square Pegs”, either, but I’ve never seen any episodes of that show.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-round-of-thats-the-same-actor/392133.md?page=2)