# "He's a real actor? I remember him from that kids' show!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759 "2021-01-17T22:51:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 18, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/21 "2021-01-18T23:31:07Z")
LeVar Burton is the guy that Troy always talks about on Community. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/22 "2021-01-18T23:32:19Z")
Demonstrating that my previous post was intended as a joke, I’ll admit I’m old enough to remember Kurt Russell when he was doing Disney movies like _The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes_. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/23 "2021-01-18T23:35:04Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > LeVar Burton is the guy that Troy always talks about on Community. Counselor Troy? 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/24 "2021-01-18T23:53:36Z")
Me too! ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/25 "2021-01-19T23:00:07Z")
Apparently **Ryan Gosling** ( **Drive, Blade Runner 2049, Only God Forgives** ) started as a kid, on kid’s TV and **The Micky Mouse Club**. However, for me, he’ll always be **Young Hercules** (the third spin off from the **Hercules** and then the **Xena** TV series.) TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/26 "2021-01-20T02:51:45Z")
It’s a natural progression. He started as a slave, learned to read, then ended up as chief engineer on a starship. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/27 "2021-01-20T03:02:57Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Kind of the opposite, but see if you recognize a future children’s show host in this video: I don’t know if anybody watched or not, but it’s Bill Nye. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/28 "2021-01-21T00:01:24Z")
I was negative-2 when “Roots” was shown and I still primarily think of him as Kunta Kinte. I was like -15 when the Beatles hit it big in the US, and I don’t think of Ringo as that guy from the kids show. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/29 "2021-01-21T01:27:42Z")
Fair enough… Another example - I first encountered Joyce Bulifant in a Saturday morning program called “Big John, Little John” (featuring Robbie Rist!), so learning that she had a real career (in Airplane, and the Mary Tyler Moore show) was a bit of a surprise… ---
**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:** [January 21, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/30 "2021-01-21T02:19:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > _Pee Wee’s Playhouse_ , which is considered a cult show for adults now, did run (1986-90) on CBS’s Saturday morning kids’ shows line-up. And of course it featured early roles for Laurence Fishburne, Phil Hartman, and _Law and Order_ ’s S. Epatha Merkerson. And Lynne Marie Stewart, a.k.a. Charlie’s mom on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” ---
**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:** [January 21, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/31 "2021-01-21T02:23:59Z")
Check out the cast lists for Shelley Duvall’s [Faerie Tale Theatre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Faerie_Tale_Theatre_episodes#Season_1_(1982)) and [Tall Tales & Legends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_Tales_%26_Legends). There must be a whole generation of children who first encountered Ed Begley, Jr. as Ichabod Crane, Mary Steenburgen as Little Red Riding Hood, etc… ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/32 "2021-01-21T02:46:03Z")
Bryan Cranston as the frazzled father in _Malcolm in the Middle_ for 7 seasons, before getting his big bad breakout role in Breaking Bad. ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/33 "2021-01-21T04:40:48Z")
Or appearing on “Lost in Space”. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/34 "2021-01-21T04:54:25Z")
Natasha Lyonne, Opal on _Pee-wee’s Playhouse_, ended up as Nicky in _Orange is the New Black_. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/35 "2021-01-21T05:01:09Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Natasha Lyonne, Opal on _Pee-wee’s Playhouse_ , ended up as Nicky in _Orange is the New Black_ Holy cow, I thought I knew all the future stars from that show! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/36 "2021-01-21T15:30:12Z")
> [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](#): > > Or appearing on “Lost in Space”. Or, “Gilligan’s Island.” ---
**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:** [January 22, 2021, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/37 "2021-01-22T06:29:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Bryan Cranston as the frazzled father in _Malcolm in the Middle_ for 7 seasons, before getting his big bad breakout role in Breaking Bad. I watched Malcolm in the Middle from beginning to end while it was on TV . For me, MitM was his big breakout role. It was a while into Malcolm before I realized he was Tim Whatley on Seinfeld as well. When the casual viewer of Malcolm in the Middle would make a comment on how surprised they were that he was such a good actor (WRT Breaking Bad), I always suggested they go back and actually watch that show. Even while it was on, that is, not ‘in retrospect’, it was clear how good he was. Bryan was acting (and sometimes skating) circles around everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/38 "2021-01-22T07:39:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > For me, MitM was his big breakout role… > > …Even while it was on, that is, not ‘in retrospect’, it was clear how good he was. Bryan was acting (and sometimes skating) circles around everyone else. I agree 100%! He was deceptively brilliant on MitM and I was a HUGE fan. At the end of the final season, Bryan Cranston had just turned 50, and so did I. I loved his work on that show so much, I emailed him asking for an autographed photo as a 50th birthday present. I received one in which he coincidentally was wearing the same shirt as in my favorite scene (where he tried to eat a meal without chewing because of a cracked tooth - “The key is relaxing the esophagus!”) [https://dai.ly/x4wfvif](https://dai.ly/x4wfvif) - scene begins at 14:00 minutes. I wrote back thanking him and congratulating him on the new show, BB, which was supposed to start filming. He replied with a really nice email and mentioned that one of the characters was to have the same name as me. I’m reasonably confident it was really him writing, as the grammar idiosyncrasies were the same as on his obviously homemade website. I’m assuming he outsources fan mail and web design nowadays! ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759/39 "2021-01-22T23:43:19Z")
Jeremy Irons appeared on British kid’s TV before becoming… well, Jeremy Irons. Sorry, can’t get an embedded link to work on my phone, so here’s an old-fashioned URL: ['PLAY AWAY' with Jeremy Irons - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oeVJDQG0auE) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-actor-i-remember-him-from-that-kids-show/930759.md?page=1)