# Ever see a character an actor has played instead of the actor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679 "2014-05-18T14:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/21 "2014-05-18T22:22:08Z")
Even though I haven’t watched SVU in years, and haven’t watched Stabler’s new show, the promos elicit that reaction from me. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/22 "2014-05-18T23:02:53Z")
Alan Alda will always be Hawkeye to me…even though I like his work on The Blacklist. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/23 "2014-05-19T00:27:24Z")
I read that Abe Vigoda of _Barney Miller_ fame got seriously detained by a NYC cop because the cop thought Vigoda was some [sort of a mobster.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvKXt3Surlk) ---
**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:** [May 19, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/24 "2014-05-19T00:47:13Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I have difficulty seen Paul Reiser as anyone other than Burke from Aliens. I still see him as Paul from Mad About You, but I don’t really see him on screen much. I still see Steven Wright as Warren from Mad About You as well, but in fairness, he plays pretty much the same character on the show as he does when he’s doing standup. Here’s another one for me. In Breaking Bad, from time to time I’ll see Walter White slip back into Hal from Malcolm In The Middle. Usually in scenes where he was [panicking](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlNfVCmOlM8)about something, usually involving Skylar. I mentioned plenty of times in the BB threads that I noticed the similarities between BB and MITM, but I never noticed how deep they went until someone made a video that I can’t find now. It shows a ton of similarities between the two shows. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/25 "2014-05-19T00:58:54Z")
When Cory Monteith died, I’d see magazines and news reports and think how sad it was because he was such a sweet, good guy and I liked him so much. But I really have no idea what kind of guy he was. It was his character in Glee I liked. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/26 "2014-05-19T01:31:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Ok, so you’re asking if people can’t see through an offensive character the actor once played. Sorry, not really. But this happens to actors who portray good guys as well. George Reeves was so typecast as Superman that people would shout ‘Superman’ when From Here to Eternity was shown. There is a fake story that his scenes were cut, but they weren’t. Not when **From Here to Eternity** was \*first \* shown. Movie audiences probably never had seen him as Superman at the point, since only about half the households in the US had TV when the movie came out, and the show was a children’s show that most adults didn’t pay attention to (it was also syndicated, so it had spotty coverage). It wasn’t until years later, when the children grew up, that anyone commented on the character. Now Al Hodge – the original Captain Video – supposedly had the same problem. But, at the same time, Don Hastings – his sidekick – had no trouble finding work in TV and remained a regular on soap operas until 2010. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/27 "2014-05-19T01:46:16Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Even though [Amon Goeth](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002203/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53) was not his first role, it was the first one I saw Ralph Fiennes do, and it took me many other roles over quite a variety of types for me to quit letting his portrayal of that Nazi influence how I saw the new role. Fiennes as Amon Goeth was the first one I thought of as well, and I don’t even think it was the first role I saw him in. Come to think of it, Goeth, Red Dragon, Voldemort…sheesh, what is it with that guy? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/28 "2014-05-19T12:25:13Z")
Aaron Eckhart said that shortly after [In The Company of Men](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_company_of_men) was released, he received hateful comments from a few women (in the movie, his character played sadistic emotional games with a woman). ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/29 "2014-05-19T12:43:42Z")
I’ve been afraid of Michael Madsen ever since seeing **Reservoir Dogs**. He is a BAD MAN. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/30 "2014-05-19T12:54:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not when **From Here to Eternity** was \*first \* shown. Movie audiences probably never had seen him as Superman at the point, since only about half the households in the US had TV when the movie came out, and the show was a children’s show that most adults didn’t pay attention to (it was also syndicated, so it had spotty coverage). > > It wasn’t until years later, when the children grew up, that anyone commented on the character. Probably correct. Superman was a popular show with all ages, but as you say there weren’t very many people who could see it in the first two years on TV. Someone may have said something at a theater initially, but more likely it started a few years later, and it probably didn’t happen that often. When FHtE originally opened Reeves may have been more recognizable for his prior movie roles, including Gone With the Wind. In the end Superman was a very successful series and he was stuck with that instant recognition. Even now actors hoping to make their mark in the movies are hesitant to take TV roles despite great cross-over successes such as Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks just to mention two. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/31 "2014-05-19T13:14:24Z")
I have a hard time not seeing Robin Scherbatsky as being an Avenger instead of Cobie Smulders. And it was weird seeing [del]Ted Moseby[/del]Josh Radner on the Late Late Show. Both of them are pretty close to their character in real life, unlike the rest of the cast. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/32 "2014-05-19T13:14:28Z")
Mark Shephard is a character actor who’s been in nearly every TV show I’ve ever watched, starting with Badger in Firefly, so much so that when I saw him finally play a good guy (of sorts) I didn’t believe it and still don’t, really. If the show has been renewed, he’d have turned bad. > [@pravnik](#): > > Fiennes as Amon Goeth was the first one I thought of as well, and I don’t even think it was the first role I saw him in. Come to think of it, Goeth, Red Dragon, Voldemort…sheesh, what is it with that guy? 😃 Also his role in In Bruges. He looks totally fucking evil, no matter what he’s in. I bet his kids are well behaved because all he’d need to do is look at them sleepily and they’re running to do their homework and clean their rooms. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/33 "2014-05-19T15:15:35Z")
It’s not impossible for me to accept Michael Madsen in other roles, but he was just TOO good as the sadistic Mr. Blond in _ **Reservoir Dogs** _. That makes it hard to watch him as a nice guy in things like _ **Free Willy** _. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/34 "2014-05-19T21:12:23Z")
For some actors/stars, it’s a huge plus. The minute John Wayne appears on screen, everyone knows it’s John Wayne. Saves a lot of time in character development, and does allow him to play within his “type.” The negative was someone like Bela Lugosi, who never got over his Dracula (as opposed to Boris Karloff, who did a lot of later wonderful roles, including the head of a gangster mob in the 1932 SCARFACE.) Every time I see Derek Jacobi, I’m impressed that he’s got over his terrible stutter from I, CLAUDIUS. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/35 "2014-05-19T21:26:57Z")
I grew up watching reruns of My Three Sons. That made it impossible for me to watch Double Indemnity. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/36 "2014-05-19T21:57:33Z")
Benedict Cumberbatch’s (sp?) character in Atonement was so loathsome that I avoided all his movies thereafter. It wasn’t until he played Sherlock–looking quite different–that I could enjoy watching him perform. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/37 "2014-05-19T22:39:39Z")
Three lesbians driving north from Monterey CA to the SF Gay Pride Parade. We pull into a popular drive-in restaurant in Santa Cruz. All three of us, mouths drop, and we scream, DAR-LEEEENE! at the stricken woman standing before us, Sara Gilbert. She looked horrified and disappeared. We quietly died of embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/38 "2014-05-24T06:18:50Z")
I remember as a kid seeing many many seasons of All In The Family. Years later I saw interviews with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton and it just seemed so bizzare to me that they sounded nothing like Archie or Edith. Same thing with Henry Winkler sounding nothing like The Fonz. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/39 "2014-05-24T07:09:46Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Every time I see Derek Jacobi, I’m impressed that he’s got over his terrible stutter from I, CLAUDIUS. He played the lead in a TV movie (for _Masterpiece Theater_, I think) about the life of Alan Turing, who also stuttered. And, I notice from IMDb, played another Claudius in Kenneth Branagh’s _Hamlet_. What very odd typecasting. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679/40 "2014-05-24T08:19:59Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I remember as a kid seeing many many seasons of All In The Family. Years later I saw interviews with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton and it just seemed so bizzare to me that they sounded nothing like Archie or Edith. > Same thing with Henry Winkler sounding nothing like The Fonz. On the other hand, I remember Johnny Carson, of all people, saying it surprised him the first time he had Stan Laurel as a guest on his show and found out that Stan Laurel sounded exactly the same in real life as he did performing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-a-character-an-actor-has-played-instead-of-the-actor/688679.md?page=3)