# Humorous Allusions to Actors' Previous Roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191 "2020-12-16T16:54:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 17, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/61 "2020-12-17T08:05:53Z")
… And Jim Backus was in that episode too. Cool! 👍 I love Jill Townsend. She played “Dulcey” in _ **Cimarron Strip** _ and was “Elizabeth” in the original _ **Poldark** _ series. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/62 "2020-12-17T10:50:41Z")
Right at the end of the movie **What’s Up,Doc** (about 1 minute into this): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/m-ETkZmPNiM/maxresdefault.jpg "What's Up, Doc? (1972) - That's All Folks! Scene (10/10) | Movieclips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ETkZmPNiM) ---
**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 17, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/63 "2020-12-17T11:03:21Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Fonda asks “Is that a star ?”. And Harrelson’s character replies, “No. That’s Ted Danson”. In _The Good Place_, there was this scene in the finale of season 2. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kqMd4i24xr0/hqdefault.jpg "Ted Danson Tending Bar Again | The Good Place") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqMd4i24xr0) ---
**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:** [December 17, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/64 "2020-12-17T14:08:43Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > A bit obscure and not quite in line with the subject, but kind of close: in an episode of Wagon Train, wagonmaster Chris Hale is introduced to someone who will be joining his train, named John MacIntire, which causes Hale to raise an eyebrow because that is the name of the actor playing him. Similarly, in an episode of _Green Acres_, Lisa and Oliver go to Washington to see their Senator. The following exchange occurs: [Lisa Douglas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001247/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): [recognizes senator from the late, late show] Ohhh, you must be the fellow who was in Death Valley Days! [Oliver Wendell Douglas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000734/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): No, that was Ronald Reagan. [Lisa Douglas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001247/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): Who? [Senator Talbot](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847939/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): Ronald Regan. He’s the governor of California. [Lisa Douglas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001247/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): Well then, which movie star are you? [Senator Talbot](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847939/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): [smugly, as a star] Lyle Talbot! [Lisa Douglas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001247/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): Oh. I guess I never saw you. Of course, the part is played by [Lyle Talbot](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847939/?ref_=tt_cl_t11). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/65 "2020-12-17T14:22:09Z")
Mark Hamill in _What We Do In the Shadows_. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/66 "2020-12-17T14:40:21Z")
There was an episode of _Hot in Cleveland_, where Valerie Bertinelli’s character finds herself at a 12-step meeting of some kind or another, and someone says to her to take it “one day at at time.” She gets an odd look on her face, as though she’s trying to remember where she’s heard that before. She had to hold it for a long time, because the audience was laughing pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/67 "2020-12-17T14:53:13Z")
In 1936, Buster Crabbe starred in the matinee serial _Flash Gordon_. In 1939, Buster Crabbe starred in the matinee serial _Buck Rogers_. In 1979, he made a guest appearance in the TV series _Buck Rogers in the 25th Century_, playing “Brigadier Gordon”. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?” “I’ve been doing this since before you were born, Captain.” “You think so?” “Young man, I know so.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4ut2R4YEEWs/hqdefault.jpg "1979 Buck Rogers meets 1939 Buck Rogers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ut2R4YEEWs) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/68 "2020-12-17T15:12:40Z")
Chyler Leigh had a rather varied career before she joined _Supergirl_ in the role of Alex Danvers and the writers liked to incorporate her past roles into her character’s backstory. Ales had a a “strange goth phase”, referring to Chyler’s appearance in a Marilyn Manson video. Alex had also been a doctor in Seattle, as Chyler was previously a series regular in _Grey’s Anatomy_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/69 "2020-12-17T16:02:30Z")
_The Incredibles_ included a reference to Jason Lee’s earlier character in _Mallrats_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jroGpOrhjlE/maxresdefault.jpg "Mr incredible meets incrediboy (buddy)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jroGpOrhjlE) Martin and Charlie Sheen clearly aren’t afraid to send up previous roles. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6Sh1wNjjPpg/maxresdefault.jpg "Hot Shots: Part Deux-Martin Sheen cameo, “I loved you in Wall Street!”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sh1wNjjPpg) > [@terentii](#): > > Doesn’t Grant also mention some bloke named “Archie Leach”? (Which was his real name.) A side note, but that was also John Cleese’s character’s name in _A Fish Called Wanda_. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/70 "2020-12-17T16:06:56Z")
This short animation is filled with references to Mark Hamill’s career. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EL-VHe_4GmE/maxresdefault.jpg "Justice League Action | Missing the Mark | @dckids") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL-VHe_4GmE) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlax/32/2927_2.png) [@Scarlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlax)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/71 "2020-12-17T16:23:48Z")
In Mallrats Ethan Suplee calls Shannon Dougherty Brenda. She gets upset and I’ve never been sure that she is acting. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/72 "2020-12-17T16:35:46Z")
There was this fun post-credits scene for Jennifer Aniston in _We’re The Millers_: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RCaEvjWtI9I/hqdefault.jpg ""We're the millers?" post credits scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCaEvjWtI9I) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/73 "2020-12-17T16:40:25Z")
Well, what about that episode of Hot in Cleveland featuring guest appearances of old friends of the Betty White character played by Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman, in which someone said that the character played by Mary Tyler Moore would be unable to join them, but they walk into the restaurant to see her already sitting at the table and Betty White says “Looks like she made it after all.” ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/74 "2020-12-17T17:34:19Z")
In _Futurama_ the main character Philip J. Fry meets a robot named Billy West and says “What a stupid fake name!!” Billy West is the name of the voice actor for Philip J. Fry as well as other characters on the show. ---
**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 17, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/75 "2020-12-17T17:58:24Z")
Mark Hamill playing The Trickster on the TV show _Flash_ > Axel - I am your father. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/76 "2020-12-17T18:05:10Z")
On _ **St Elsewhere** _, Betty White playing a US Navy officer was mistaken for “Sue Ann Nivens, the Happy Homemaker” by a mental patient who thought he was “Mary Richards.” (He threw his hat in the air at the end of that episode, too.) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/77 "2020-12-17T18:28:05Z")
Oh, yes, and of course Cocknocker from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, in which Mark Hamill’s oversized fist is sliced off, prompting him to say “Not again!” ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/78 "2020-12-17T19:58:35Z")
Frakes’s character on _TNG_ was often addressed (by Picard, anyway) as “Number One.” In that clip, he tells Castle, “I’m your number one fan.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/79 "2020-12-17T21:41:37Z")
Scott Bakula was on _Always Sunny_ and they refed _Quantum Leap_. It was kinda funny, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191/80 "2020-12-18T00:29:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@k9bfriender](#): > > > > Nathon Fillian droped a few references to his prior work on Firefly, mostly just one liners, but the most notable one being where he dressed in his Malcom Reynolds outfit for Halloween. > > My favorite of those is when Castle and Beckett are pursing a suspect, and encounter a couple of Chinese workers. They don’t understand Beckett asking them a question in English, but after Castle says something to them in Chinese, we get this exchange: > > Beckett: “Semester abroad?” > Castle: “No, a TV show I used to love.” > > The joke requires one to know that, in the _Firefly_ universe, both English and Chinese were widely spoken, and all of the characters regularly dropped Chinese expressions into their dialogue. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Sz8iLMayo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Sz8iLMayo) This would have been even better if the two Chinese guys looked at each other in complete confusion, or if one had said, “What the hell is he saying?” _Firefly_’s actors notoriously mangled their Mandarin lines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-allusions-to-actors-previous-roles/928191.md?page=5)