# Famous actors who have played their eponyms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 7, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506 "2025-12-07T22:31:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 9, 2025, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/61 "2025-12-09T02:34:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Ruth Wilson played her own grandmother in a BBC drama called _Mrs Wilson_. That’s one. The OP explicitly ruled that out: > [@Shalmanese](#): > > I’ll accept any performance where an actor plays a real life character of an identical or very similar name EXCEPT when there’s a direct family lineage relationship (ie, John Smith Jr plays the character of John Smith Sr). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/62 "2025-12-09T02:39:22Z")
David Bowie (David Jones) could have played Davy Jones (the seafaring one) but probably not the Monkees one. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/63 "2025-12-09T02:42:38Z")
I know they did, I was responding to a post. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/64 "2025-12-09T02:43:19Z")
My apologies for misinterpreting! ---
**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:** [December 9, 2025, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/65 "2025-12-09T03:13:58Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Has that actually happened often? It’s happened many times: > **[17 Times Actors Played The Younger Version Of Their Parents](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristenharris1/actors-played-parents-roles)** > > I'm seeing double 👀 ---
**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:** [December 9, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/66 "2025-12-09T03:23:40Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It’s happened many times That article is a mix of actors playing their actual parents (which is what @BlankSlate was asking about), and actors playing the same fictional character that their parents had. And, even then, there are only two examples in that article in which the child has the same as the parent: - O’Shea Jackson Jr., who played his father, O’Shea Jackson Sr. (better known as Ice Cube) - Ruben Amaro Jr. playing his father, baseball player Ruben Amaro Sr. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/67 "2025-12-09T03:52:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > there are only two examples in that article in which the child has the same as the parent Will Rogers, Jr. played his father in the biopic _The Will Rogers Story_ ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/68 "2025-12-09T05:02:29Z")
Brian Cox (crusty actor) could play a future version of Brian Cox (boyishly goodlooking ex-pop musicial and astrophysicist) where Prof. Brian really lets himself go and becomes perpetually irritated with everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/69 "2025-12-09T05:54:35Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > David Bowie (David Jones) could have played Davy Jones (the seafaring one) but probably not the Monkees one. He could have also played [David Jones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Jones_(merchant)) , creator of a famous department store chain in Australia and apparently the oldest still extant department store in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/70 "2025-12-09T05:56:47Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Brian Cox (crusty actor) could play a future version of Brian Cox (boyishly goodlooking ex-pop musicial and astrophysicist) where Prof. Brian really lets himself go and becomes perpetually irritated with everyone. > [@Gyrate](#): > > I suppose [Brian Cox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(actor)) could play B[rian Cox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist)) but why would anyone want him to? The 2nd time you’ve been 2nd in this thread :). ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/71 "2025-12-09T06:19:51Z")
Not really. Her Grandmother’s name was Alison. Decent mini-series if anyone looking for something to watch. A rather strange family mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/72 "2025-12-09T07:44:33Z")
I’m just playing my namesake. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/73 "2025-12-09T08:18:46Z")
Honestly! FFS! Twice!! ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/74 "2025-12-09T11:11:21Z")
Last night I saw Andrew Jackson in the credits on Criminal Minds.But, l doubt he played the former president of the US. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/75 "2025-12-09T11:53:47Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Mind you, neither within the episode nor within the speech within the episode was John Howard actually playing John Howard. He was merely being John Howard making a speech. If that doesn’t make sense I am sorry. That’s an oversimplification. His character is actually playing John Howard (the prime minister). There is an additional level of indirection (The actor is playing an actor playing the PM), but that level of indirection is only visible to some of the characters. To some of the characters, he _is_ the PM. To achieve that, the physical actor is playing the physical PM. It only works internally because the ignorant characters don’t know what we know about the scene, but that is true of lots of movies and plays. The writer breaks the third wall, but that too is true about a lot of movies and plays. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/76 "2025-12-09T12:20:49Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Brian Cox (boyishly goodlooking ex-pop musicial and astrophysicist) I wonder if Brian Cox has ever made music with Brian May. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/77 "2025-12-09T13:09:30Z")
Ian Fleming the writer could have played Ian Fleming the actor, or vice versa. They overlapped. Tom Jones could have played the Joseph Fielding character Tom Jones, but never did AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/78 "2025-12-09T13:48:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Joseph Fielding Henry Fielding. (Perhaps you were thinking of his title character Joseph Andrews?) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/79 "2025-12-09T14:03:44Z")
Here’s a list of famous people (actors mostly) who share a name with other famous people. There’s a third Kevin McCarthy, who used to direct episodes of _Jeopardy_ > **[The Name’s the Same: Umpteen Famous People With the Same Name as Another...](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/the-names-the-same-umpteen-famous-people-with-the-same-name-as-another-famous-person/)** > > This is a post that has been germinating for years and will no doubt get added to as new inspiration strikes. In fact, the impetus probably goes back 20 years, when I first heard about Spike Jonze.… ‘ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506/80 "2025-12-09T14:07:22Z")
It just occurred to me that Steve Martin could still play the Raymond Burr character of the same name in the current Godzilla franchise. (Burr played Steve Martin in the original Americanized version of _Gojira_ and then again in the Americanized _Godzilla 1985_) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actors-who-have-played-their-eponyms/1025506.md?page=5)