# Dwarves in serious roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418 "2007-09-16T20:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/61 "2007-09-17T16:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] David Rappaport guest-starred as ruthless attorney who wasn’t above using his dwarfism to influence the jury on a few episodes of “LA Law” in the 80s. [/QUOTE] He also starred as a MacGuyver-type action hero in [The Wizard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090547/). ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/62 "2007-09-17T19:42:10Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] I can’t think of a single case of a character being played by an actor who’s significantly shorter than the character is supposed to be. [/QUOTE] You haven’t named any fictional characters with defined heights, only real people who became movie characters. Why is that? Fonzie was supposed to be 6’ tall, but was played by 5’6" Henry Winkler. Wolverine is 5’4" or less, but was played by 6’2.5" Hugh Jackman. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/63 "2007-09-17T20:14:52Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Peter Dinklage is 4’5". The character of Miles Vorkosigan is supposed to be 4’11", so that’s not likely. Hey, maybe I should play Miles! [/QUOTE] Is this meant to be a legitimate objection to my idea, or are you trying to make a joke? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/64 "2007-09-17T20:19:54Z")
William Wallace: 6’7" Mel Gibson: 5’8" difference : 11" ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/65 "2007-09-17T20:29:23Z")
A role played by a dwarf which hasn’t been mentioned yet - There was a dwarf villain on the old “Wild Wild West” TV show, but that show was really never very serious. Anyone else remember the “Under the Rainbow” movie aobut the littlle actors who were in the Wizard of Oz? ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/66 "2007-09-17T20:39:52Z")
Max dated a dwarf on the first season of “Picket Fences.” Also the dispatcher with ESP, whose name I forget was awful short if not an actual dwarf. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/67 "2007-09-17T20:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] O.K., denquixote, let’s compare your examples to mine. Actor shorter than character played: 4’10" J. M. Barrie was played by 5’9" Johnny Depp, so actor is 11" taller than character. 5’3" Truman Capote was played by 5’9.5" Philip Seymour Hoffman, so actor is 6.5" taller than character. 4’8" Edith Piaf was played by 5’6.5" Marion Cotillard, so actress is 10.5" taller than character. 5’5.5" T. E. Lawrence was played by 6’3" Peter O’Toole, so actor is 9.5" taller than character. (He was also played by 6’1’ Ralph Fiennes, so actor is 7.5" taller than character. Actor taller than character played: 6’0" Ron LeFlore was played by 5’7" Levar Burton, so actor is 5" shorter than character. 6’3" Abraham Lincoln was played by 6’1" Henry Fonda and 6’1" Raymond Massey, so actors are 2" taller than character. So my five examples are actors 6.5" to 11" off the real height, while your two examples are actors 2" to 5" off the real height. As I said, I don’t know of any examples of characters being played by actors who are _significantly_ shorter than the character. Also, you write: \> There are so many really short actors that there are probably a lot more \> examples. Cite? I’ve heard this offhand claim before, but I don’t believe it. Indeed, I believe that actors tend to be a little taller than average. I believe the reason that people make this claim is that they get the impression that certain actors are average to tall, mostly because they are carefully filmed to look taller. When they meet them in person, they discover that they are average height or a little less. Does anyone have any statistics (not anecdotes) about the average height of actors? Indeed, the interesting thing is how few male actors (particularly lead actors) there are between, say, 4’10" and 5’3", short enough to be significantly short without being a midget or a dwarf. There are a fair amount of men of that height, and yet there are very few actors (particularly lead actors) of that height. There may be more male actors less than 4’10" than there are male actors between 4’10" and 5’3", and yet there are comparatively few men less than 4’10". [/QUOTE] You sound a lot like a guy looking for an argument. I did not say that actors tend to be shorter than the public at large, only that there are a considerable number. I could easily find 20 famous actors under 5’8" but why would I bother? The fact that you find it interesting that there are very few male actors between 4’10" and 5’3" does not in fact make it so. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/68 "2007-09-17T21:00:09Z")
> [@](#): > > You sound a lot like a guy looking for an argument. “Little Man Syndrome” 😃 Kidding! ---
**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:** [September 17, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/69 "2007-09-17T21:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] Anyone else remember the “Under the Rainbow” movie aobut the littlle actors who were in the Wizard of Oz? [/QUOTE] See my earlier post. Note that I took the OP’s question about “serious” to mean that movies such as “Under the Rainbow” and “Foul Play” (and Billy Barty was in both) which were comedies with little people playing comic roles were excluded. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/70 "2007-09-17T22:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] A role played by a dwarf which hasn’t been mentioned yet - There was a dwarf villain on the old “Wild Wild West” TV show, but that show was really never very serious. [/QUOTE] Michael Dunn as Dr. Miguelito Loveless, mentioned in Post 27 for his role in _Ship of Fools_. He also played Alexander in the Star Trek original series episode _Plato’s Stepchildren_, which was definitely not a comic role. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/71 "2007-09-17T22:40:50Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] A role played by a dwarf which hasn’t been mentioned yet - There was a dwarf villain on the old “Wild Wild West” TV show, but that show was really never very serious. [/QUOTE] Mentioned right off in the OP: > [@](#): > > Seems like dwarves are either jesters, guys in suits (Sid & Marty Kroft roles), evil geniuses (Dr. Loveless), ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/72 "2007-09-18T00:18:35Z")
_The Terror Of Tiny Town_ a western with an all-dwarf cast. I’ve not seen it. Reports vary, some say it’s its a comedy, but not a very good one. Others say it’s intended to be serious, and only funny by accident. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/73 "2007-09-18T00:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] I can’t think of a single case of a character being played by an actor who’s significantly shorter than the character is supposed to be. [/QUOTE] Tony Blair’s wife complained that the actor portraying her husband in _The Queen_ was too short. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/74 "2007-09-18T03:02:45Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] I can’t think of a single case of a character being played by an actor who’s significantly shorter than the character is supposed to be. [/QUOTE] Either Don Adams was too short to be Agent 86, or Barbara Feldon was too tall to be Agent 99, because in _Get Smart_ they almost always had Adams standing on a crate or other platform (off camera) to make it seem as though he was taller than Feldon. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/75 "2007-09-18T03:22:27Z")
Miller writes: \> Is this meant to be a legitimate objection to my idea, or are you trying to make \> a joke? Partly it’s a joke. I’m 4’11", so I could be cast as Miles. I don’t think it likely that they would cast Dinklage, who’s 6" too short for the role. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/76 "2007-09-18T05:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Miller writes: \> Is this meant to be a legitimate objection to my idea, or are you trying to make \> a joke? Partly it’s a joke. I’m 4’11", so I could be cast as Miles. I don’t think it likely that they would cast Dinklage, who’s 6" too short for the role. [/QUOTE] Shit, Wendell. I hope you’re not offended. I know we’ve met, but I honestly do not remember your height. If my comment was offensive, please accept my apology. It’s a classic case of foot-in-mouth, with no ill intent at all. A nightmare, really. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/77 "2007-09-18T12:47:23Z")
The soap “Passions” had a doll brought to life by the resident witch Tabitha, played by the incomparable [Josh Ryan Evans](http://soaps.about.com/library/weekly/aa080802a.htm). While the character was comic relief at first, he became a very influential and much loved charcter. There was real sadness when Evans died unexpectedly, and Tabitha still thinks about him (unlike most soap characters, who when they die all mention of them disappears in a month) ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/78 "2007-09-18T16:14:47Z")
_The Station Agent_ is a great movie…I love Peter Dinklage. This past weekend I saw _[Frankie Starlight](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113107/)_, which also is a serious movie with a little person as the lead. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/79 "2007-09-18T16:44:03Z")
_CSI_ had an episode with a murder at a Little People’s convention, so there were oodles of serious roles there. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/80 "2007-09-18T16:48:11Z")
I remember George Jefferson receiving an award from what he thought was the Small Businessmen’s Association–the “small” modifying “business” but it was actually modifying “man” and a critic of Jefferson’s height. The Jeffersons only realized it when they got to the presentation ceremony and realized that everyone in the room was very short, and some were dwarves. Sherman Hemsley who portrayed George Jefferson was 5’6" [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418.md?page=5)