Character connections: A Bacon-esque game

Cafe Society
1

So, everyone’s familiar with the Kevin Bacon game, where two actors are connected if they’ve ever been in a movie together. Here’s a variation: Let’s consider two actors to be connected if they’ve played the same character.

Obviously, the usual Kevin Bacon game, trying to find the shortest path between two actors, won’t work here, since many actors have only played characters unique to them. So let’s instead try to come up with the longest chain we can.

Example: Orson Bean played Bilbo Baggins in the Rankin-Bass Hobbit, and Martin Freeman played Bilbo in the current Hobbit. Freeman also played Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as did Simon Jones. So we have a chain of Orson Bean - Martin Freeman - Simon Jones.

Let’s stick to things that have an IMDb entry, since if we include the stage, then we’ll get nigh-endless chains bouncing around between Shakespearean companies. And for what counts as “the same character”, be creative. OK, go!

2

Starting where you left off, Simon Jones played Sir Walter Raleigh in Black-Adder II, and Clive Owen played Sir Walter Raleigh in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

**Clive Owen **played John Ridd in Lorna Doone(the 1990 T.V. movie) and Bill Travers played John Ridd in Lorna Doone(the 1963 miniseries).

Bill Travers played George Adamson in Born Free and **Richard Harris **played George Adamson in To Walk with Lions.

**Richard Harris **played Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and **Michael Gambon **played Professor Albus Dumbledore in…

I’ll leave it here to give the next player a range of options for continuing the chain.

3

Gordon MacRae - Hugh Jackman - Anthony Hopkins.

Gordon MacRae played Curly from Oklahoma!, a role also played by Hugh Jackman, who played Van Helsing, who was also played by Anthony Hopkins.

ETA: Wait - it’s a chain? I thought it was just three connected actors you wouldn’t normally think had a connection.

4

Not a problem…I’ll just connect that up for you:

**Anthony Hopkins **played King Richard the Lionheart in The Lion in Winter and **Robert Hardy **played King Richard the Lionheart in The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood.

**Robert Hardy **played Adolf Hitler in The Bunkerand **Derek Jacobi **played Adolf Hitler in Inside the Third Reich. (Of course now I’ve Godwinized the thread.)

**Derek Jacobi **played Claudius in Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version) and **Alan Bates **played Claudius in Hamlet (Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 version).

Alan Bates played King George V in Bertie and Elizabeth and **Michael Gambon **played King George V in The King’s Speech.

5

Not sure what happened there. Of course it should be:

**Anthony Hopkins **played Adolf Hitler in The Bunkerand **Derek Jacobi **played Adolf Hitler in Inside the Third Reich.

**Derek Jacobi **played Claudius in Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version) and **Alan Bates **played Claudius in Hamlet (Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 version).

Alan Bates played King George V in Bertie and Elizabeth and **Michael Gambon **played King George V in The King’s Speech.

6

Robert Hays played Tony Stark in the 90s Iron Man cartoon.
Robert Downey, jr plays him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also plays Sherlock Holmes in the recent movies.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays Holmes in Sherlock, and also played Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Ricardo Montalban played Khan in the original ST universe, and Mr Roark in the original Fantasy Island.
Malcolm McDowell played Roark in the 90s remake of Fantasy Island, and Whistler in the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon.
Kris Kristofferson played Whistler in the Blade movies, as well as Jesse James in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James.
Brad Pitt played James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Achilles in Troy.
Kenneth Haigh played Achilles in a TV version of Troilus and Cressida, as well as Brutus in 1963’s Cleopatra.
Cam Clarke played Brutus in the 2005 video game Shadow of Rome, as well as Thor in Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
Chris Hemsworth plays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that’s where my chain craps out.

So… Robert Hayes->RDj->Benedict Cumberbatch->Ricardo Montalban->Malcolm McDowell->Kris Kristofferson->Brad Pitt->Kenneth Haigh->Cam Clarke->Chris Hemsworth.

10-chain.

7

Jeep Swenson and Tom Hardy - Bane
Tom Hardy and Mel Gibson - Mad Max
Mel Gibson and Marlon Brando - Fletcher Christian
Marlon Brando and Russell Crowe - Jor-El
Russel Crowe and John Malkovich - Inspector Javert
John Malkovich and Randy Quaid - Lenny Small
Randy Quaid and Sean McGraw - Lyndon Johnson
Sean McGraw and Randy Means - John Connally
Russel Crowe and Anthony Perkins - Inspector Javert
Anthony Perkins and Vince Vaughn - Norman Bates

8

OK, so it looks like the longest we have so far is
1: Orson Bean
(Bilbo Baggins)
2: Martin Freeman
(Arthur Dent)
3: Simon Jones
(Sir Walter Raleigh)
4: Clive Owen
(John Ridd)
5: Bill Travers
(George Adamson)
6: Richard Harris
(Prof. Dumbledore)
7: Michael Gambon
(King George V)
8: Alan Bates
(Claudius)
9: Derek Jacobi
(Adolph Hitler)
10: Anthony Hopkins
(Van Helsing)
11: Hugh Jackman
(Curly)
12: Gordon McRae

With contributions from myself, Morbo, and SpoilerVirgin.

9

Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear, they don’t have to connect up to the one I started the thread with-- That was just an example.

10

Well, then…I have to take that as a challenge, don’t I?

So, starting with Robert Hays again…

In addition to Tony Stark, he played Ted Striker in Airplane!, which was adapted from Zero Hour!, where Striker was played by Dana Andrews, who played Sgt Dunn in Lucky Cisco Kid, a part previously played by Edmund Lowe in The Cisco Kid. Lowe also played Archibald Carlyle in the 1925 version of East Lynn, the same role in the 1982 version being played by Martin Shaw, who played Charles Cartwright in Three Act Tragedy, an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The same character was played by Tony Curtis in a 1986 movie based on the same story. Curtis also played Iago in a version of Othello. Another version had him played by Tim McInnery, who also played Catesby in the 1995 Richard III, whereas in Age of Kings he was played by John Ringham, who played Pothinias in 1983’s The Cleopatras, a role also played by James Saxon in 1999’s Cleopatra. He also played Chaboulliet in the 1995 film of Les Miserables…a character seemingly missing from most adaptations (at least the English ones), but also played by Artus de Penguern in a 2000 French miniseries. de Penguern also played St Francis in The Favour, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish, a role also played by Mickey Rourke in Francesco (1989). Rourke also played Henry Chinanski in Barfly, a role that would be taken up by Matt Damon in Factotum. Damon also played Ralph in The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters, a role more famously played (as Ralphie) by Peter Billingsly in A Christmas Story.

Which is where my chain ends in this direction (but to loop it around a bit, Billingsly was a producer on Iron Man)…

So, the chain now stands as… Peter Billingsly->Matt Damon->Mickey Rourke->Artus de Penguern->James Saxon->John Ringham->Tim McInnery->Tony Curtis->Martin Shaw->Edmund Loew->Dana Andrews->Robert Hays->RDj->Benedict Cumberbatch->Ricardo Montalban->Malcolm McDowell->Kris Kristofferson->Brad Pitt->Kenneth Haigh->Cam Clarke->Chris Hemsworth.

11

How about Leonardo diCaprio to Kate Winslet?

[spoiler]Leonardo diCaprio played Romeo in Romeo + Juliet, which character was also played by Leslie Howard in *Romeo and Juliet * (1936).

Leslie Howard played The Scarlet Pimpernel/Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), which character was also played by **Anthony Andrews ** in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982).

**Anthony Andrews ** played Professor Moriarty in Hands of a Murderer, which character was also played by Jared Harris in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Jared Harris played King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), which character was also played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors (2007-2010 TV series).

Jonathan Rhys Meyers played Dracula in Dracula (2013- TV series), which character was also played by Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula.

Christopher Lee played Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, which character was also played by Peter Cook in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 TV movie, and admittedly also described as a farcical remake).

Peter Cook played The Devil in Bedazzled (1967), which character was also played by Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled (2000).

Elizabeth Hurley played Delilah (“Dalila”) in Samson and Delilah (1996), which character was also played by Hedy Lamarr in Samson and Delilah (1949).

Hedy Lamarr played Joan of Arc in The Story of Mankind, which character was also played by Geneviève Bujold in Saint Joan (1967 TV movie).

Geneviève Bujold played Cleopatra in Caesar and Cleopatra (1976 TV movie), which character was also played by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (1963).

Elizabeth Taylor played Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), which character was also played by Jessica Lange in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984).

Jessica Lange played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), which character was also played by Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

Vivien Leigh played Emma, Lady Hamilton in That Hamilton Woman, which character was also played by Glenda Jackson in The Nelson Affair.

Glenda Jackson played Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots, which character was also played by Jean Simmons in Young Bess.

Jean Simmons played Miss Havisham in *Great Expectations * (1989), which character was also played by Charlotte Rampling in *Great Expectations * (1999).

Charlotte Rampling played Anne Boleyn in *Henry VIII and His Six Wives *, which character was also played by Helena Bonham Carter in Henry VIII (2003).

Helena Bonham Carter played Ophelia in Hamlet (1990), which character was also played by Kate Winslet in Hamlet (1996).

(Needless to say, I didn’t come up with this off the top of my head; I cheated and followed links through IMDB.)[/spoiler]

12

Ooh, nice, I was wondering when we’d see a sex-changed link.

And I’m beginning to wonder if maybe most actors are connected this way, after all.

13

Also useful to know, Quentin Crisp played Queen Elizabeth I in Orlando. Since he’s also played Polonius in a production of Hamlet (and Elizabeth I has of course been played by multiple actresses), that’s another useful linking point for going from men to women.

Lots, but not all. Shakespeare, superheroes and superhero-like characters (Batman, Zorro, James Bond), certain historical figures, remakes–those all provide links. BUt most roles probably don’t link, so at least some fairly active performers who haven’t done any Shakespeare or Sherlock Holmes won’t link up.

An interesting chain could also include a link where both actors are in the same movie; e.g., Harrison Ford and River Phoenix in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

14

How’s this:

Marcia Cross played Jane Spofford in “Eastwick” (2002) which was first played by Susan Sarandon in The Witches of Eastwick.

Susan Sarandon played Edda Mussolini in Mussolini & I (1985) who was also played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in Mussolini: The Untold Story

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio played Maid Marion in Robin Hood: Prince of Theives, who was played by Cate Blanchett in Robin Hood (2010).

Cate Blanchett played Elizabeth I in Elizabeth who was also played by Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love.

**Judi Dench **also played M in the recent James Bond series, a role previous played by **David Niven **earlier in the series.

David Niven played Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, a role also played by Steve Coogan in the 2004 adaptation.

Steve Coogan played Hades in that Percy Jackson & the Olympians movie, who was played by James Woods in Disney’s Hercules.

**James Woods **played HR Halderman in Nixon, who was also played by Dave Foley in Dick.