# Do actors have like a "buddy" system or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503 "2018-10-05T15:26:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 5, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/21 "2018-10-05T20:23:06Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > That’s not really stunt casting though. Stunt casting is more for guest shots, not introducing a new primary character. So when Ed O’Neill played Katy Sagal’s old high school boyfriend on “Eight Simple Rules”, or half the cast of Cheers showed up on “Becker.” I’m going with a broader definition. I feel stunt casting can encompass any casting where the actor was chosen because of some reason beyond their ability to perform the part. When they were casting a new female role on _Kevin Can Wait_, they could have cast an equally well-known actress like Katey Sagal or Patricia Richardson or Courtney Thorne-Smith. But I think it’s obviously not a coincidence that they chose Remini. They picked her specifically because she had worked with James on a previous series. So I figure that qualifies as a stunt. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/22 "2018-10-05T20:25:32Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > C’mon, the guy has been [biz-zay](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212/). Sure there’s a lot of roles like “Theater Janitor” and “Weird Carney”, but it’s work. Granted he’s no Stan Lee. But he’s making a living. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/23 "2018-10-05T20:45:17Z")
like “regular” jobs as the saying goes , it’s not what you know , it’s who you know. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/24 "2018-10-05T20:53:16Z")
This is the same idea as a construction contractor hiring the same electricians over and over. There’s no reason to randomly hire someone else if you’re always particularly satisfied with the first person’s work. The contractor just wants the job to turn out right, and doesn’t owe anything to the rest of the electricians. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/25 "2018-10-05T21:36:32Z")
Creative types, regardless of anything, can be hard to work with productively. And the attributes that causes one to become particularly famous are often related to being inordinately extroverted and bat-shit crazy. So if you can find someone who is pleasant to work with, but also has a sufficient box-office draw that you can get the executives to buy in, then you would really be crazy to not try to continue to work with that person as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/26 "2018-10-05T22:30:47Z")
Probably because of Kurt Sutter, but nearly everyone that was on ‘The Shield’ played some part in ‘Sons of Anarchy’. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/27 "2018-10-06T11:55:07Z")
Christopher Guest made 5 movies with the cast being 90% the same for all 5. the chart here shows all the people he keeps working with [Christopher Guest - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Guest) ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/28 "2018-10-06T14:06:06Z")
I think there’s also a contractual component to it. I was just listening to a Matt Damon interview, and he talked about signing a 3-movie contract as part of getting Good Will Hunting made. So a production company might have a number of actors under such contacts, and they’ll all be in that company’s movies. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503/29 "2018-10-06T14:33:49Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Tim Burton is very fond of working with Johnny Depp and with Helena Bonham-Carter, and the trio can be found together in the credits of quite a few movies. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s not just actors. Many directors or producers often work with the same screenwriters, cinematographers, and other behind the camera people. [Tim Burton’s Secret Formula](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzLRP8e4vE) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-have-like-a-buddy-system-or-what/822503.md?page=1)