# Best Casting of a Star as Another Star's Parent **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407 "2003-05-25T16:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/1 "2003-05-25T16:01:44Z")
We watched **Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade** last night, which neither the bf nor I had ever seen. It was a lot of fun. He was really tickled by the casting of Sean Connery of Harrison Ford’s father, which I agree, was brilliant. [BTW, why a no-name actress as the female lead? couldn’t they get a bigger star for the role? Or did they blow all the money on the top two salaries and the special effects?] The main other example we came up with of gimmicky casting of one star as another’s parent was [dang, is this a spoiler? I can’t remember, best err on the side of caution:] James Garner playing Mel Gibson’s father in **Maverick** which I thought also worked wonderfully well, resonating on a number of levels – mostly because of the previous roles of the older actor (cf the resonance of “James Bond” playing Indy’s dad). What are some other examples of this? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/2 "2003-05-25T16:15:27Z")
When I saw the title I immediately thought of the example you already mention, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford. I also thought of when they cast Kathleen Turner as Chandler Bing’s DAD on _Friends_! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster \* > **[BTW, why a no-name actress as the female lead? couldn’t they get a bigger star for the role? Or did they blow all the money on the top two salaries and the special effects?]** Were Karen Allen and Kate Capshaw any bigger when they were cast in the previous movies? I suspect they became names because of movies, not before. Alison Doody retired briefly to have kids according to her IMDB entry, so that’s probably why she didn’t become as much a name as the others. I found her to be lusciously gorgeous, which is why I remember this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![jeanster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@jeanster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeanster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/3 "2003-05-25T16:19:19Z")
John De Lancie and his son Keegan De Lancie played Q and his son Q2 on an episode of Star Trek Voyager. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/4 "2003-05-25T17:00:28Z")
I wasn’t a huge fan of the show, but I thought having Colleen Dewhurst play Murphy Brown’s mom on that show was inspired casting. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/5 "2003-05-25T17:03:35Z")
I was disappointed that they didn’t cast Rose Marie–after all, Sally Rogers _was_ Murphy Brown’s “mother.” ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/6 "2003-05-25T18:07:11Z")
I really liked Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine in Postcards from the Edge but that may be the idea of Shirley MacLaine as Debbie Reynolds that gets to me. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![plastic\_conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@plastic\_conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plastic_conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/7 "2003-05-25T18:38:01Z")
I don’t recall the actor’s name, but whoever played Mr. Stephens Sr. in _Remains Of The Day_ was very well cast. By the end of the film, you could see his physical manner in his son (played by Anthony Hopkins). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/8 "2003-05-25T19:36:40Z")
Stiller as George’s dad on Seinfeld. Mom is good, too. Come to think of it, Jerry’s parents are beauts as well. Then there’s Martin Sheen as Charlie’s dad in Wall Street. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/9 "2003-05-25T20:03:57Z")
I was very impressed with the casting of Willem Dafoe as James Franco’s father in _Spider-Man_. They really resembled each other to the point where you could quite obviously accept them as father and son. Typically, Hollywood seems to be convinced that if they have the same hair color, they can be related, but this casting was inspired IMO. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/10 "2003-05-25T20:15:08Z")
Um, Kathleen Turner as Chandler’s DAD? (Did his dad have a sex change?) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/11 "2003-05-25T20:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*I was disappointed that they didn’t cast Rose Marie–after all, Sally Rogers _was_ Murphy Brown’s “mother.” \*\* I’m either whooshed or having a senior moment. What tha? **Guin** , Chandler’s Dad is a professional transvestite performer. How about Anne Bancroft as Katherine Ross’ mother and Dustin Hoffman’s older lover in _The Graduate_? Bancroft was only 9 years older than Ross and 6 years older than Hoffman. Most precocious mother ever. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/12 "2003-05-25T20:48:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Um, Kathleen Turner as Chandler’s DAD? (Did his dad have a sex change?) \*\* I’m not sure, but the dad was at least a transvestite. His mom is played by Morgan Fairchilde, which implies Chandler is the product of some truly attractive genes. Oddly, he still looks like a doofus. One of the odder parenting casting choices was in _Blow_, when Rachel Griffiths was cast as Johnny Depp’s mother, even though he’s nearly five years older. To be fair, the movie is an autobiography of Depp’s character, with scenes over a period of about forty years, so Griffiths appears as her normal age in the childhood flashbacks and is made up to look older in later scenes. _North by Northwest_, in contrast, takes place over a period of at most a week or so, and features Jessie Royce Landis as Cary Grant’s mother, depite the fact that she was 11 months younger than he was. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/13 "2003-05-25T20:49:47Z")
“Sally Rogers” (played by Rose Marie on _The Dick Van Dyke Show_) was the prototype for the Murphy Brown character: the wise-cracking, strong-minded, single career woman. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/14 "2003-05-25T20:56:06Z")
Ah, I see. Okay. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/15 "2003-05-25T20:57:39Z")
> [@](#): > > “Sally Rogers” (played by Rose Marie on The Dick Van Dyke Show) was the prototype… The TV prototype anyway – I’m sure you have some familiarity of the movie prototype, played by such actresses as (ahem) Eve Arden. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/16 "2003-05-25T21:02:32Z")
Which is not to say that I don’t agree with your original point – that Rose Marie would have been an inspired choice. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/17 "2003-05-25T22:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > **When I saw the title I immediately thought of the example you already mention, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford. I also thought of when they cast Kathleen Turner as Chandler Bing’s DAD on _Friends_!** _Friends_ actually does a pretty good job with casting the families… Marlo Thomas (“That Girl”) does make sense as Rachel’s mom (as to Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate as her sisters), and Teri Garr as Phoebe’s mom worked pretty well too. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/18 "2003-05-26T00:45:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*… > > One of the odder parenting casting choices was in _Blow_, when Rachel Griffiths was cast as Johnny Depp’s mother, even though he’s nearly five years older. To be fair, the movie is an autobiography of Depp’s character, with scenes over a period of about forty years, so Griffiths appears as her normal age in the childhood flashbacks and is made up to look older in later … \*\* That reminds me of Lea Thompson playing Michael J. Fox’s mom in the _Back to the Future_ movies. I still think Colleen Dewhurst had a stronger physical (and especially vocal) resemblance to Candice Bergen than Rose Marie does. How about Nancy Walker as Valerie Harper’s mom in _Mary Tyler Moore_ and _Rhoda_? ---
**Author:** ![Iyamity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/96bed5/32.png) [@Iyamity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iyamity)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/19 "2003-05-26T00:53:21Z")
How about when they cast Jon Voight as Angelina Jolie’s father in Tomb Raider? They looked so much like father and daughter that I…what? On never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407/20 "2003-05-26T01:53:14Z")
Bob Elliott as Chris Elliott’s dad in his TV show _Get a Life_. Michael Caine as Nigel Powers in _Goldmember_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-casting-of-a-star-as-another-stars-parent/177407.md?page=2)