# Characters hiding under our noses... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278 "2010-05-30T10:26:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/41 "2010-06-01T04:34:55Z")
_The Next Karate Kid_ (1994) was the fourth Karate Kid movie and the title character was played by a relatively unknown young actress, Hilary Swank (now a 2-time Oscar winner). ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/42 "2010-06-01T04:37:33Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The older transsexual drag performer in _Priscilla, Queen of the Desert_ is [Terrence Stamp](http://www.rockymusic.org/showimage/73894d0e7173dc4c7e0aa9947df21b31.php), aka General Zod from the Christopher Reeve Superman movies! Yeah, it’s also kind of weird seeing Agent Smith as one of the other drag queens! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/43 "2010-06-01T04:46:30Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Katherine Heigl - threw me for a loop when I realized she had played Segal’s daughter in _Under Siege 2_ many years before. Which reminded me of this one: [Erika Eleniak](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000143/), the stripper in the cake from the original _Under Siege_, was the girl who Elliot kissed in _E.T._ ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/44 "2010-06-01T04:57:00Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > The first Becky was fired along with the producer she had an affair with. The second Becky eventually left to go to college and at that time they rehired the original Becky. > > Wow. I never heard this. Got a cite? I bet **hajario** is confusing _Roseanne_ with the first season of _The Real World_. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/45 "2010-06-01T09:20:13Z")
Speaking of _Roseanne_, I watched that show for years before I noticed that Fred (Michael O’Keefe) was Danny Noonan from _Caddyshack_. I also notice that the girl from _Panic Room_ was just in some vampire movie. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/46 "2010-06-01T09:57:19Z")
Random ones off the top of my head: I actually saw Jean-Claude Van Damme in his first role at the drive-in…he was the bad guy in No Retreat, No Surrender #1. I recently saw a rerun of Death Wish II, and Lawrence Fishburne was one of the members of the street gang that terrorized Bronson’s family. I’m still shocked that Janet Jackson was on Good Times. If possible, you should see Sarah Jessica Parker on the short lived [Square Pegs.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083482/) I was also surprised to see that the Rundown featured a very grown up Ernie Reyes Jr., who was a popular child action star in 80’s movies like TMNT and the Last Dragon. Apparently, he had a role in Rush Hour 2 too, but I must have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/47 "2010-06-01T10:45:06Z")
Oh, I got one. Another one from _Roseanne_: It actually took me a little while to realize that David (Johnny Galecki) is later Leonard from _The Big Bang Theory_. Even when I saw Darlene (Sara Gilbert) as as then-girlfriend Leslie, I didn’t think about it. If that’s not right under my nose, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/48 "2010-06-01T19:57:39Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Speaking of _Roseanne_, I watched that show for years before I noticed that Fred (Michael O’Keefe) was Danny Noonan from _Caddyshack_.\ Of course! Big lightbulb! Other _Roseanne_ alumni - George Clooney as Booker, Glenn Quinn as Mark Healy who became Doyle on _Angel_, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as George, [and the list just goes on and on.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094540/fullcredits#cast) If you don’t have _Roseanne_ on your acting resume, it looks like you weren’t really trying. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/49 "2010-06-01T20:10:25Z")
> [@Quercus\_alba](#): > > My wife had a near-breakdown when she realized “Ducky” from NCIS was David McCallum, her teen heart-throb Illya Kuryakin from U.N.C.L.E. Feb. 8, 2005, from the Wikipedia article on McCallum: > [@](#): > > Since 2003 McCallum has starred in the CBS television series NCIS as Dr Donald “Ducky” Mallard, the Medical Examiner and one of the key characters. In an inside joke, when Agent Jethro Gibbs is asked, “What did Ducky look like when he was younger?”, Gibbs responds, “Illya Kuryakin.” This is one of my two favorite inside jokes from TV series, along wth Ray Walston As the judge on Picket Fences scoffing at reports of men from Mars during a flying-saucer scare. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/50 "2010-06-01T20:46:23Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > I bet **hajario** is confusing _Roseanne_ with the first season of _The Real World_. I should Pit you for insinuating that I watch _The Real World_! I remember reading about it at the time but my memory is obviously faulty because I can find no evidence of it using Google. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/51 "2010-06-01T21:59:24Z")
Some years ago I happened to catch _Fast Times At Ridgemont High._ There’s a blink-and-you-miss-it scene of some random high school assholes dashing through the scene and raising hell, and then another scene at a dance, when you see one of them dancing in the background. I said to myself, “Is that?..why, yes, that _is_ a very young and fully-haired pre-_Top Gun_and _ER_ Anthony Edwards!” Little weird. Also, the publicist in _This Is Spinal Tap_, who complains about the sexism of the band’s cover? Fran Drescher. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/52 "2010-06-01T22:07:03Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Also, the publicist in _This Is Spinal Tap_, who complains about the sexism of the band’s cover? Fran Drescher. IIRC, she actually reprised that role (Bobbi Flekman) in an episode of _The Nanny_. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/53 "2010-06-02T00:18:18Z")
The most recent one for me was figuring out that Slater, the stoner dude from **Dazed and Confused** , went on to play Tim Speedle on **CSI: Miami**. (There’s a ton of people in Dazed and Confused, but I already knew about all the others. Yes, including Renee Zellweger’s non-speaking uncredited role as an extra :)) ---
**Author:** ![pinkyvee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pinkyvee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkyvee)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/54 "2010-06-02T00:36:39Z")
Earlier this week, my daughter and I were watching Pulp Fiction when we recognized Kathy Griffin in a small speaking role. Look for a huge fluffy head of red hair. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/55 "2010-06-02T00:51:57Z")
I remembered this apparently in the wrong time frame but in 1996 there were network ads for a new sitcom that seemed to revolve a young black guy and a young white guy. I noticed just because the black guy was also named Dave, _like ME!_. I never saw the show, but when The Dave Chappelle Show became famous, I thought, “It’s that guy from that total flop!” It must have been “Buddies” [Buddies (TV Series 1996– ) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115120/). Actually, I think this is opposite of the OP. But now I’ve typed it all, so here you go. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/56 "2010-06-02T01:07:31Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > _The Next Karate Kid_ (1994) was the fourth Karate Kid movie and the title character was played by a relatively unknown young actress, Hilary Swank (now a 2-time Oscar winner). She was also one of Buffy’s stuck up friends in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie, not the series). > [@pinkyvee](#): > > Earlier this week, my daughter and I were watching Pulp Fiction when we recognized Kathy Griffin in a small speaking role. > Look for a huge fluffy head of red hair. She did a Comedy Central commercial where she re-enacted her role in Pulp Fiction. I remember her more from that commercial than the movie. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/57 "2010-06-02T01:36:40Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > She did a Comedy Central commercial where she re-enacted her role in Pulp Fiction. I remember her more from that commercial than the movie. Do you have a link to the commercial? I’d like to see it. She was dating Quentin Tarantino when he directed that movie, right? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/58 "2010-06-02T03:33:49Z")
Going back a looooooong ways, a Three Stooges one-reeler **Three Little Pigskins** features a blonde (yes, blonde) bombshell played by a then-unknown actress named…Lucille Ball! ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/59 "2010-06-02T04:17:09Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Do you have a link to the commercial? I’d like to see it. Unfortunately I can’t find it but some Comedy Central ads from about the same time are on youtube so someone might upload it at some point. I think it was around 1996 or so. It was basically edited into little blips so she re-enacts her 1 minute scene in like 10 seconds, complete with a little shriek and pretending to run away. It was kind of amusing. > [@](#): > > She was dating Quentin Tarantino when he directed that movie, right? I’ve heard that but I don’t think I have heard either of them mention it anywhere. They seem like kind of an odd couple but I have seen stranger so it wouldn’t really surprise me. Tony Shalhoub is an actor I never noticed until Monk but I was shocked when I checked IMDB and saw how many things I had seen with him, the shadow guy episode of X Files, Men in Black, Galaxy Quest, Gattaca… Speaking of Gattaca, you really can’t recognize her because she is wearing a surgical mask but Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live plays a delivery room nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/60 "2010-06-02T12:01:44Z")
Unless it was the drugs, I vaguely remember Quentin Tarantino as an Elvis impersonator on The Golden Girls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278.md?page=4)