# How actors that have been typecast deal with it **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [April 16, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321 "2026-04-16T19:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/41 "2026-04-17T10:41:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There’s a difference between being typecast and continuing to work as a certain type of character and finding it hard to get work because you can’t shake one particular role. Yeah, this thread seems to be conflating actors who get overly associated with one particular _character_ and those who get overly associated with one particular _type of character_. The latter is what I thought “typecast” means. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/42 "2026-04-17T13:24:25Z")
You mean, like Jack Elam? I’ll bet he dealt with it all the way to the bank. 😉 [Elam\_20th\_century\_fox.jpg (400×234)](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/media/uploads/Elam_20th_century_fox.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/43 "2026-04-17T14:31:48Z")
Character actors are Hollywood’s bread and butter. There are loads of actors making a living playing that ditzy lady, that arrogant boss, or that crusty old guy and are quite content to have a regular paycheck. Being typecast I think applies to an actor’s expectations. One of the reasons Shakespearian actors that are part of a theater company are often held in high regard is because they have to demonstrate considerable range being able to play different types of characters depending on what the play calls for. You might be a great Falstaff but if that’s the _only_ thing you’re good at, you’re not much use to the company unless they’re performing Henry IV or the Merry Wives of Windsor. Leading men and leading ladies in Hollywood are similarly expected to be able to display range. Being cast in only one type of character role is a serious problem if one is trying to become a leading man or lady in the industry. But that comes down to their expectations. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/44 "2026-04-17T14:53:02Z")
or Jack Palance ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/45 "2026-04-17T15:02:12Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Gary Oldman has had a career of being typecast as the super villain He got over it though. Right now he’s got one of the most diverse set of roles out there (between Dark Knight, his Churchill movies, slow horses, etc) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/46 "2026-04-17T15:03:28Z")
Hattie McDaniels once said “Why should I complain about makjng $700 playing a maid? If I didn’t I’d be making $7 a week being one!” ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/47 "2026-04-17T15:07:34Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > He got over it though. Right now he’s got one of the most diverse set of roles out there (between Dark Knight, his Churchill movies, slow horses, etc) Good point, and I think it’s because he is a great actor. Unfortunately, many actors who spend their entire careers typecast do so because it is the only thing that makes them stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/48 "2026-04-17T15:09:14Z")
Childhood actors get a bit of a pass from me as their career was also their childhood so a bit of a train wreak all around. But grown adults who get famous enough in one role that they cannot find work in another is like complaining you haven’t won the lottery twice despite playing all the time. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/49 "2026-04-17T15:14:18Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I didn’t see an episode of _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_ in reruns until it started airing on Nick at Nite in 1990 and I thought Zelda Gilroy was super cute. She was in at least one episode of _ **The Beverly Hillbillies** _, all glammed up with a blonde wig. She was stunning in a gown like Ellie May sometimes wore, and I was disappointed to learn that she played for the other team IRL. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/50 "2026-04-17T15:22:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s why a lot of actors who have been on a successful show or movie or two – particularly sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero stuff – but aren’t “A-list” actors, wind up doing the fan convention circuit. They didn’t necessarily make a ton of money from the popular show/movie, and while they may still be working actors, that may mean that they get a couple of small roles a year; convention appearances wind up being a pretty important (and reliable) income for them. That certainly used to be the case, but it is becoming less so. Conventions used to be smaller affairs done in a few places with that small group of rabid fans who would follow a show or movie like a cult. These days, they are practically ubiquitous, as is the kind of fandom that goes along with it, as “geek culture” has gone more mainstream, and conventions can become high-profile, big budget events. (I remember going to the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle when it was a small collection of booths in a warehouse space, and these days it’s a massive thing that takes over a huge convention space, and entire blocks of the city are filled with fans.) Now you have a lot of actors with steady work who do conventions because it’s big money, and even A-list actors might drop in. It’s gotten to be like being in commercials; now _everyone_ does it, not just the people who can’t get steady and/or good traditional acting roles. I listen to the podcast “Once We Were Spacemen”, starring Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion (who were both in the show _Firefly_). Both actors have worked pretty steadily for years… Nathan went from _Firefly_, to _Castle_, now to _The Rookie_, and basically has been the leading man for two different major hit series for 15 solid years. Alan hasn’t had the same career arc, but he did recently star in his own multi-season show _Resident Alien_ (which recently ended) but more importantly, he has become one of the most prolific voice actors in Hollywood, and seems to show up in almost every animated film Disney has put out for years. They are not hurting for work. Yet they do conventions all the time, because they enjoy them, and it makes them pretty good money. It’s no longer the gig for actors who have seen a slump in their career and are looking to make money on their waning fame from old jobs… Now it’s just as often a way for actors who are currently successful and prominent to celebrate the success that they’ve had and continue to have. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/51 "2026-04-17T15:48:47Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > But grown adults who get famous enough in one role that they cannot find work in another is like complaining you haven’t won the lottery twice despite playing all the time. Except for most it’s not the lottery. People tend to have an inflated sense of what actors make. Friends or Seinfeld life changing money doesn’t happen very often. Most make good money for the length of the show but not life changing never work again money. So they fall into the Screech Zone, famous and poor. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/52 "2026-04-17T15:53:18Z")
I meant ‘winning the lottery’ in the sense a person has the astronomical luck to be a known character a nation and perhaps the world is familiar with. Staring in a Marvel film can do that. After which, ‘No one lets me play any role other than The Hulk’ falls on my deaf ears. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/53 "2026-04-17T15:53:58Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > After which, ‘No one lets me play any role other than The Hulk’ falls on my deaf ears. Ouch, that was a low blow against Lou. 😮 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/54 "2026-04-17T16:00:52Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I meant ‘winning the lottery’ in the sense a person has the astronomical luck to be a known character a nation and perhaps the world is familiar with. Staring in a Marvel film can do that. After which, ‘No one lets me play any role other than The Hulk’ falls on my deaf ears. Maybe they deserve just a little empathy. Geoffrey Owens who played Elvin on the Cosby Show had to suffer with a lot of finger pointing when he was photographed working at Trader Joe’s. The publicity ultimately helped him get other roles but the last I’ve seen from him he’s doing better but is still struggling to make ends meet. Danny Pintauro from _Who’s the Boss?_ recently posted about being an Amazon delivery driver. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/55 "2026-04-17T16:01:09Z")
Heh. You can’t be typecast in a shitty grainy independent film no one has seen. It can be low budget (Napoleon Dynamite) but it has to be popular and well known. Even that is something for a film career to branch from. If not acting then directing or stage management or something else. Most don’t get any break at all, so those that complain about the one they had are…extra. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/56 "2026-04-17T16:11:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Except for most it’s not the lottery. It is the lottery, it’s just not the grand prize powerball jackpot - more like the 4/5 matches that get you $20000 less IRS withholding. You’ve still done better than 90% of actors out there, but you’re not going to be dining out on the proceeds for the rest of your life. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/57 "2026-04-17T16:26:54Z")
There’s a YouTube channel which lists all the TV shows that bombed in any one year. It amuses me to see all the unknown actors who must have thought they’d hit the big time once they landed a continuing role in a series, and then quietly disappeared without a trace after 13 (or fewer) episodes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/58 "2026-04-17T17:48:09Z")
Or Vito Scotti, who played different characters in every other episode of _ **Columbo** _. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/59 "2026-04-17T18:21:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > especially liked Bob Denver as Maynard G Krebs and thought it must be cool to be a beatnik without a care in the world. And I felt so “in the know, pre-internet version” when I found out what the **G** stands for… ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321/60 "2026-04-18T00:14:32Z")
Vito Scotti was all over the place. I just learned recently that he had a brief role in **The Godfather** , as Nazorine the baker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-actors-that-have-been-typecast-deal-with-it/1029321.md?page=4)