# In TV shows intros, why only the last actor's character name is shown? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787 "2013-05-08T13:24:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zapp\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ee59a6/32.png) [@Zapp\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zapp_S)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/1 "2013-05-08T13:24:19Z")
I noticed in several intros to TV shows, that when the main actors are shown, their real names are written on the screen, however, only when the last actor is shown, his character’s name is written in addition to his real name. Why is that? You can see what I am talking about in this intro to the JAG show: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q-u7NZk4F3w/hqdefault.jpg "JAG Intro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-u7NZk4F3w) at 0:40 David James Elliot is shown, followed by two more actors. At 1:00 John M. Jackson is shown but he also has the name of his role displayed “as Admiral Chegwidden”. Another example: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JxDswsQLyns/hqdefault.jpg "Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Intro.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxDswsQLyns) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/2 "2013-05-08T13:32:26Z")
It’s part of the negotiated credits. Sometimes an actor will take a seperate credit instead of a raise, for example. It makes them stand out. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/3 "2013-05-08T13:46:34Z")
There are rules about how the actors of a TV series are billed. First the top stars of the series are shown and their names are given under their pictures. They are ordered either by how important they are to the show or just by alphabetical order if they can’t be distinguished in importance. Then the second-level stars of the series are shown and their names and their character names are given. The idea is that if you don’t know much about the series before seeing that episode, you might not even know that they are on it, while the major stars are supposedly known to everyone who watches the series at all. The second-level stars are often older actors (and are often playing roles like the boss of the major star) who appear only in one scene per episode. The idea is that the series is trying to be nice to these people, who might once have been major stars themselves but who now have to do this sort of secondary star work. So they can’t get top billing, but they can be singled out at the end of the billing with their character name as well as their name. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/4 "2013-05-08T14:00:55Z")
Can’t search right now, but the Master did a column on arcana of credits, and Wendell’s explanation covered the essence of it nicely. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/5 "2013-05-08T14:17:51Z")
Much is riding on this for the actors. If they don’t get the billing they think they deserve their reputation could suffer and hence the chance of future roles. One thinks of the tortuous negotiations before _Towering Inferno_ came out over the respective positions on the posters of Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Both actors were insisting on top billing and the situation was finally resolved by having Newman’s name at the left above the title and McQueen’s at the right raised just slightly higher. Thus Newman could say he was billed first and McQueen could say he had the highest billing. Ridiculous but of such stuff are stupendous salaries made and maintained. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/6 "2013-05-08T14:25:30Z")
[The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/339/in-tv-and-movie-credits-what-do-star-co-star-guest-star-etc-mean) on the subject at hand. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/7 "2013-05-08T14:26:15Z")
“[…and Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRhDE10mmME)” ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/8 "2013-05-08T14:43:03Z")
In _Splitting Heirs_ John Cleese got the last billing but as “…and introducing John Cleese”, an amusing play on credits protocol given that the film came out in 1993. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/9 "2013-05-08T14:45:56Z")
I don’t know if there is a backstory to it but I always remembered the intro for _Leave It To Beaver_ ending with, “And Jerry Mathers as The Beaver.” And there was all kinds of posturing when the [Gilligan’s Island theme](http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/gilligans-island-theme-song-14922/) named all the characters except the Professor and Mary Ann, who were lumped together as “and the rest.” The theme was updated to named them individually (albeit in the same phrase). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/10 "2013-05-08T17:19:37Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > One thinks of the tortuous negotiations before _Towering Inferno_ came out over the respective positions on the posters of Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Both actors were insisting on top billing and the situation was finally resolved by having Newman’s name at the left above the title and McQueen’s at the right raised just slightly higher. Thus Newman could say he was billed first and McQueen could say he had the highest billing. [Other way round](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L_s9v3EDLiY/UWIUDSYZ63I/AAAAAAAAMec/Y71PHCLzGkw/s1600/2tower.jpg) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/11 "2013-05-08T17:26:46Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Thus Newman could say he was billed first and McQueen could say he had the highest billing. Ridiculous but of such stuff are stupendous salaries made and maintained. I believe they did the same thing with _Cheers_ and _Two and a Half Men_. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/12 "2013-05-08T19:20:21Z")
It’s all in the negotiations and the various actors’ star-power. Recall, for example, that Marlon Brando got top star billing for his relative bit-part in Superman (1978). He also got “a salary of $3.7 million and 11.75% of the box office gross profits, totaling $19 million” while Christopher Reeve, for his major role in the whole show, got a paltry $250,000. > **[Superman (1978 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_The_Movie)** > > Superman (stylized as Superman: The Movie) is a 1978 superhero film based on the character by DC Comics. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama and the United States, it was supervised by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, produced by their partner Pierre Spengler and written by Mario Puzo from a story by Puzo, and is the first installment in the Superman film series. Directed by Richard Donner, the film features an ensemble cast including Marlon Brando, Gene H ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/13 "2013-05-08T19:25:17Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/14 "2013-05-08T19:25:55Z")
And then there’s \*Amistad, \*starring Morgan Freeman. If you blinked, you may have missed him. (Did he even have any lines at all, or was he just scenery?) ---
**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:** [May 9, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/15 "2013-05-09T00:28:35Z")
Sometimes an actor will be signed for a series on a “special guest star” basis, like Martin Landau and Barbara Bain on _ **Mission: Impossible** _ or Veronica Hamill and Charles Haid on _ **Hill Street Blues** _. Their credits are always different from the main cast’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@Mr\_Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/16 "2013-05-09T01:59:38Z")
My favorite along these lines is on the current Fox sitcom Raising Hope where the last credit is “and _Introducing_ Cloris Leachman”! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/17 "2013-05-09T06:12:41Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/339/in-tv-and-movie-credits-what-do-star-co-star-guest-star-etc-mean) on the subject at hand. The most important line in there is it being negotiated by the agents. That is the only rule that counts. Of course how well the agents do depends on the actors clout. The only think I disagree with the Master about is when he says that all speaking roles must be credited. That is true, but it goes beyond that. A principal is an actor on whom the camera focuses. Principals get paid more, and get to eat at craft services, not get fed extra chow. (Very important, indeed.) There are SAG rules about this. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/18 "2013-05-10T02:58:03Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I don’t know if there is a backstory to it but I always remembered the intro for _Leave It To Beaver_ ending with, “And Jerry Mathers as The Beaver.” > > And there was all kinds of posturing when the [Gilligan’s Island theme](http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/gilligans-island-theme-song-14922/) named all the characters except the Professor and Mary Ann, who were lumped together as “and the rest.” The theme was updated to named them individually (albeit in the same phrase). By the main star himself (John Denver), actually. His contract let him be billed however he wished. So he stated that he should be billed under the “and the rest” category as well unless they changed it to include the other actors. They couldn’t have Gilligan’s Island without a credit for Gilligan, so, of course, they changed it. What I always thought was weird is that it fits 100 times better. “And the rest” had a big pause at the end that sounded weird. As I learned in music theory in college, it sounds better if the chords get faster and the rhythm more intense towards the end of a phrase. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/19 "2013-05-10T03:11:32Z")
Very often, but not always, special credits or higher billing are exchanged for money. Actors aren’t in the business to make a fortune from one appearance, they’re thinking in career terms, they want their name known because it pays off better in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787/20 "2013-05-10T06:03:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > By the main star himself (John Denver), actually. His contract let him be billed however he wished. So he stated that he should be billed under the “and the rest” category as well unless they changed it to include the other actors. They couldn’t have Gilligan’s Island without a credit for Gilligan, so, of course, they changed it. > > What I always thought was weird is that it fits 100 times better. “And the rest” had a big pause at the end that sounded weird. As I learned in music theory in college, it sounds better if the chords get faster and the rhythm more intense towards the end of a phrase. Great behind-the-scenes story, and it shows that Denver was a decent sort of guy looking out for his co-stars. I might as well take care of the obligatory correction and say here that his name was BOB Denver. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-tv-shows-intros-why-only-the-last-actors-character-name-is-shown/657787.md?page=2)