# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/61 "2010-06-02T13:06:51Z")
I just watched _Mrs Doubtfire_ for the first time in years and realized that the little girl is the girl from _Matilda_. ---
**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 2, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/62 "2010-06-02T14:08:02Z")
I just realized that Marge Simpson was played by the same person as Rhoda’s sister Brenda (Julie Kavner). That’s pretty bad since she pretty much uses her natural voice for Marge. ---
**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 2, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/63 "2010-06-02T16:25:44Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > \ > 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…\ I take it you weren’t a “Wings” fan. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/64 "2010-06-02T18:53:18Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I take it you weren’t a “Wings” fan. 🙂 Or Barton Fink. Or The Man Who Wasn’t There. 🙂 (For real though, if you like Tony Shalhoub, check out both of those Coen Bros. movies. He steals his scenes.) /hijack ---
**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 2, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/65 "2010-06-02T18:55:08Z")
Tony Shalhoub has definite scene-stealing tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/66 "2010-06-02T19:09:07Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Katherine Heigl - threw me for a loop when I realized she had played Segal’s daughter in _Under Siege 2_ many years before. Nitpick: niece, not daughter. I don’t want to know these things. I just do. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/67 "2010-06-03T06:48:09Z")
Yep, Tony Shaloub is everywhere. I was completely shocked to recognize him in MIB. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/68 "2010-06-03T13:54:13Z")
I watched _Little Big Man_ a month or two ago for the first time in a very long time and quickly recognized the historian in the opening and closing segments as Stony Stevenson from [Between Time and Timbuktu](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068270/). But to be sure I checked his [IMDb page](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382676/) and only then realized that he was also the old guy in movies like _Forget Paris_ and _Prizzi’s Honor_. Wow. I just love saying “[chronosynclastic infundibulum](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BqiTvvsN-g).” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/69 "2010-06-03T14:11:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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. While we’re there, Aunt Jackie is Sheldon’s Mom. > [@Musky\_Moon](#): > > Unless it was the drugs, I vaguely remember Quentin Tarantino as an Elvis impersonator on The Golden Girls. That was him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/70 "2010-06-03T16:05:20Z")
> [@](#): > > While we’re there, Aunt Jackie is Sheldon’s Mom. Does that mean that Sheldon is the brother of Toy Story’s Andy and Mollie? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/71 "2010-06-03T16:57:32Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 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. heh, I remember this one too. As I recall, his character was supposed to be Russian, like just about all 80s movie villains. What I remember most was his “doing the splits” bit on the corner ropes. > [@](#): > > 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. He also has a small role, with a handful of lines, as an orderly in **Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors**. In the credits, he’s “Larry Fishburne”. And on the subject of **Death Wish** , I’ve read (though I haven’t seen it) that one of the street gang members who terrorizes (actually, rapes and murders) Bronson’s family in the original movie was, of all people, Jeff Goldblum, in his first film role. > [@](#): > > 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. Just last weekend, I saw his name pop up in the closing credits for **Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull** , as “Cemetery Warrior” or somesuchlike. I remember him best from his old TV show **Sidekicks** with Gil Gerard (now _there’s_ a blast-from-the-past name) and the period he spent as a kickboxer when he got older. Seeing his name way down in the credits like that was a double-take moment for me. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/72 "2010-06-03T17:09:12Z")
Another from Law & Order: Courtney B. Vance played a very snooty perp on L&O prime before he was ADA Carver on L&O Criminal Intent. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/73 "2010-06-03T17:20:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just realized that Marge Simpson was played by the same person as Rhoda’s sister Brenda (Julie Kavner). That’s pretty bad since she pretty much uses her natural voice for Marge. The connection is _The Tracey Ullman Show_, where _The Simpsons_ first appeared. Besides Ullman, Dan Castellaneta (Homer) and Julie Kavner were the main cast members. ---
**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 3, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/74 "2010-06-03T23:27:26Z")
> [@Musky\_Moon](#): > > Unless it was the drugs, I vaguely remember Quentin Tarantino as an Elvis impersonator on The Golden Girls. On youtube: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TgcsHqgfm-Y/hqdefault.jpg "Quentin Tarantino as Elvis") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgcsHqgfm-Y) > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I take it you weren’t a “Wings” fan. 🙂 I guess I didn’t watch much TV in the 90s. That show was set in my home state and was apparently on for 7 years but I never even heard of it until it was in re-runs. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/75 "2010-06-03T23:42:19Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 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. FTR, it’s “Laurence Fishburne.” Like “Sir Laurence Olivier.” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/76 "2010-06-04T03:15:15Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > **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… We first noticed Shalhoub in a little-seen and way underrated black comedy called [Quick Change](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100449/), with Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid and Jason Robards. It was a very memorable role as a freaked-out cab driver who doesn’t speak English. His character in the credits is just named “Cab Driver” but he’s one of the highlights in a movie full of highlights. Stanley Tucci also had a minor role as a mafia guy in that movie. Several years later, it was a joy to see Shalhoub and Tucci together in the fantastic [Big Night](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/). Speaking of Stanley Tucci, his very first role was as a “Soldier” (it’s how he’s listed) in Prizzi’s Honor. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/77 "2010-06-04T05:50:34Z")
I always thought Laurence Fishburne’s first role was in _Apocalypse Now_. But I could be wrong. Did you ever see one of the early episode of \*Fraiser \*where Tony Shaloub was a newspaper kiosk owner? Pretty funny. Along with the aforementioned scene from “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Dice” scene from _Fast Times_, you can also see Nick Coppola, aka Nicholas Cage. Wow. I’m getting old. I have so many more. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/78 "2010-06-04T06:07:44Z")
> [@Zoinks](#): > > Jerry Orbach was on Law & Order once as a defence attorney before he was Lenny Briscoe, his cameo freaked me out when I saw it on syndication. I can’t seem to find corroborating info on IMDB but I know this happened, I still remember how weird the whole episode was. Yup, I remember that one too. Another strange Law & Order moment was seeing S. Epatha Merkenson playing a completely different character, either a defense attorney or a defendant, before she later came on as Lt. Van Buren. Ah yes, just checked IMDB and she was on an episode in 1991 as “Denise Winters.” Wow, her stint as the lieutenant started in 1993 and she’s been in every episode since!! :eek: ---
**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 4, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/79 "2010-06-04T12:17:23Z")
Another early one for Fishburne…he was Cowboy Curtis on _Pee-Wee’s Playhouse_. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278/80 "2010-06-04T13:57:32Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > And on the subject of **Death Wish** , I’ve read (though I haven’t seen it) that one of the street gang members who terrorizes (actually, rapes and murders) Bronson’s family in the original movie was, of all people, Jeff Goldblum, in his first film role. The Death Wish series is apparently a haven for actors who want to experiment with their evil side. In _Death Wish III_, the gang leader who terrorizes Charles Bronson’s neighborhood is Fraker, played by Gavan O’Herlihy. You might know Gavan better as Chuck Cunningham, the disappearing older brother in _Happy Days_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-hiding-under-our-noses/541278.md?page=5)