# Game thread! Movie actor degrees of separation, with prizes! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382 "2007-12-17T21:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/1 "2007-12-17T21:50:00Z")
I’m sure most of us have played this game, but for those who haven’t I’ll roughly go over the rules. How It Works You have to connect two actors using degrees of separation. One example would be to connect Sean Connery and Edward Norton the following way. Sean Connery + Richard Gere -\> First Knight Richard Gere + Edward Norton -\> Primal Fear That counts as 2 degrees of separation. Whoever can connect the two actors with the fewest degrees of separation wins! The Rules You can use other movie actors and directors in your degrees of separation. If a person did not direct or act in the same movie as the actor you’re connecting, they can not be connected. Television shows don’t count, only movies. The only acceptable cite for movies connecting two actors is Wikipedia. You may not use any other website to find connecting movies. It must be a film released in America, and it can’t be a limited release in only a specific city or town. The Prize!! Whoever can connect the two actors using the fewest degrees of separation by this time tomorrow will get a pound of Starbucks coffee, courtesy of my place of employment. Every week, Starbucks employees get a free pound of coffee (or a box of tea, if you prefer) to share with their friends, and I can’t think of a better way to use this benefit than to have some fun with you guys! My family doesn’t drink much coffee, so my weekly coffee markout has mostly gone to waste. I can either mail the bag to the winner, or they can pick it up in person if they’re near the Las Vegas area. Just remember, no cheating! Don’t use any websites other than Wikipedia to find the movies you want to connect the actors with. So, without further ado, the actors! Gary Sinise David Hasslehoff Good luck! Remember to cite all of your connections with a Wikipedia link, so they can be easily verified. If there’s no corresponding Wikipedia cite, the connection doesn’t count! ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/2 "2007-12-17T22:05:42Z")
Gary Sinise + Jerry O’Connell = [Mission To Mars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_to_Mars) Jerry O’Connell + David Hasselhoff = [The New Guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Guy) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/3 "2007-12-18T23:23:40Z")
So…where’s my coffee? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/4 "2007-12-18T23:32:48Z")
Wow, that was easy. Too bad the rules don’t explain how anyone else was supposed to play. Damn you \*\*Antinor \*\* and your free coffee \ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/5 "2007-12-19T14:38:26Z")
Meh. Me no need coffee. But I’ll offer some more puzzles, with the additional rule that directors can’t be used, nor can TV shows. These are all solvable. John Entwistle -\> Sting Natalie Wood -\> Elijah Wood Donald Sutherland -\> Keifer Sutherland (Without using A Time to Kill) Dustin Hoffman -\> Phillip Seymour Hoffman Jamie Farr -\> Alan Alda ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/6 "2007-12-19T16:15:15Z")
Antinor, check your private messages, you smarty pants. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/7 "2007-12-19T16:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Dustin Hoffman -\> Phillip Seymour Hoffman [/QUOTE] This is the only one I can answer without disregarding the fact that I’m at work…with quite a bit of actual work to do. **Dustin Hoffman** was in \*\*Wag the Dog \*\* with **Robert DeNiro** , who was in **Flawless** with **Philip Seymour Hoffman** Alas, I can’t think of anything challenging to add…maybe later ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/8 "2007-12-19T17:32:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Jamie Farr -\> Alan Alda I can do that easily through one of my favorite actors(accepting one of them is a really bit part though :)) Jamie Farr was with John Candy in Cannonball Run III. John Candy was with Alan Alda in Canadian Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/9 "2007-12-19T19:53:09Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Donald Sutherland -\> Keifer Sutherland (Without using A Time to Kill) [/QUOTE] That’s an easy one, because it’s Kevin Bacon. 😉 Donald Sutherland was in **Animal House** with Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon was in both **Flatliners** and **A Few Good Men** with Keifer. I’m still thinking of something to add, though. And I’m _really_ trying to get the Natalie Wood –\> Elijah Wood through two, but I might have to go three. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/10 "2007-12-19T20:59:08Z")
John Entwistle -\> Sting (OK, I cheated and checked with ImDB, to find out who was in Tommy, but I was helped by remembering that Sting had a tiny role in Baron Munchhausen) John Entwistle -\> Oliver Reed (Tommy) Oliver Reed -\> Sting (The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen) My challenge: Shirley Temple -\> Dakota Fanning ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/11 "2007-12-19T22:21:44Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Natalie Wood -\> Elijah Wood [/QUOTE] It took me a little while to get there, but I managed it: Natalie Wood was in **Rebel Without a Cause** with Dennis Hopper, who was in **Apocolypse Now** with Robert Duvall, who was in **Deep Impact** with Elijah Wood. I feel better now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-thread-movie-actor-degrees-of-separation-with-prizes/430382/12 "2007-12-19T23:05:03Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] My challenge: Shirley Temple -\> Dakota Fanning [/QUOTE] Shirley Temple + John Wayne = [Fort Apache](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Apache_%28film%29) John Wayne + Robert Duvall = [True Grit](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit) Robert Duvall + Robert De Niro = [The Godfather Part II](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather_Part_II) Robert De Niro + Dakota Fanning = [Hide and Seek](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hide_and_Seek_%282005_film%29)