# Minor figures who've been portrayed multiple times in film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 2, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605 "2023-03-02T17:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/41 "2023-03-03T14:56:38Z")
Murderer/body snatcher Ed Gein has been directly portrayed in at least 4 film and inspired numerous characters in multiple other films including: Norman Bates in _Psycho_ Leatherface in _The Texas Chainsaw Massacre_ Buffalo Bill in _The Silence of The Lambs_ among others. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/42 "2024-09-14T06:50:22Z")
I just ran across another person who belongs in this thread; Louis Howe, a journalist and advisor to Franklin Roosevelt. To quote from his Wikipedia page: > [@](#): > > Howe was portrayed by Ed Flanders in the 1976 television miniseries _Eleanor and Franklin_, Walter McGinn in _Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years_, the 1977 American television film and a sequel to _Eleanor and Franklin_ (1976), and by Hume Cronyn in the 1960 movie _Sunrise at Campobello_. David Paymer portrayed Howe in the 2005 movie _Warm Springs_, with Kenneth Branagh as Roosevelt. Jackie Earle Haley portrayed Louis Howe in three episodes in Season 1 of _The First Lady_ on Showtime. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/43 "2024-09-14T20:49:53Z")
I literally was about to post this. My legs ain’t what they used to be be kiddo. ---
**Author:** ![GoodZuckerbergs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@GoodZuckerbergs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodZuckerbergs)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/44 "2024-09-19T00:06:13Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Roman soldier who poked Jesus on the cross has been depicted numerous times, most famously by John Wayne. That wouldn’t be the last time that a cowboy has killed God Almighty: [![](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Saint-of-Killers.jpg) ](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Saint-of-Killers.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/45 "2024-09-19T00:23:32Z")
Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard. Blackbeard has appeared in numerous movies over the years and on television shows including Dr. Who, Black Sails, and Our Flag Means Death. While it’s safe to say that most of us know of Blackbeard, in the grand scheme of things he’s a minor, if colorful, figure. He wasn’t even the most successful pirate of his era. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/46 "2024-09-19T00:38:36Z")
Most movies about Custer include Reno and Benteen, historical footnotes portrayed by recognizable actors such as William Daniels, Daren McGavin, Jeffrey Hunter, and David Strathairn. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2024, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/47 "2024-09-19T05:33:44Z")
G. Gordon Liddy. A minor member of the Nixon administration and a second-level figure in the Watergate scandal. But he gathered a lot of public attention by being a colorful character. Played by: Robert Conrad - _Will_ William Daniels - _Blind Ambition_ John Diehl - _Nixon_ Harry Shearer - _Dick_ Justin Theroux - _White House Plumbers_ Shea Whigham - _Gaslit_ ---
**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:** [September 19, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/48 "2024-09-19T23:39:05Z")
How about Pontius Pilate, played memorably by Rod Steiger in _ **Jesus of Nazareth** _? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/49 "2024-09-19T23:52:21Z")
[“Handsome Jack” Myers,](https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/People/Whos-Who-in-Marine-Corps-History/Mackie-Ozbourn/-Lieutenant-General-John-Twiggs-Myers/) portrayed in _55 Days at Peking_ by \*Charleton Heston, and _The Wind and the Lion_ by Steve Kanaly. (\*not to be confused with Cluck Heston, who starred in _55 Days at Pecking_) ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/50 "2024-09-20T00:02:19Z")
Most of the following are films featuring Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord as a character: > **[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cultural_depictions_of_Charles_Maurice_de_Talleyrand-P%C3%A9rigord)** > > A list of cultural depictions of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. > The following 28 pages are in this category, out of 28 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/51 "2024-09-20T00:19:03Z")
According to Wiki, [Ira Hayes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Hayes)… Appeared as himself in the 1949 film _Sands of Iwo Jima_. Was played by Lee Marvin In the 1960 telefilm _The American_. Was played by Tony Curtis in the 1961 film _The Outsider_. Was played by Adam Beach in the 2006 movie _Flags of Our Fathers_. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/52 "2024-09-20T00:21:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How about Pontius Pilate, played memorably by Michael Palin ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/53 "2024-09-20T04:00:24Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Most of the following are films featuring Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord as a character Not sure I’d call him a minor figure. He’s sort of my favorite character from the whole period. He is basically a French Blackadder (I am actually rather upset they didn’t feature him in Blackadder the Third, as Rowan Atkinson playing Blackadder with a French accent) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/54 "2024-09-20T04:07:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How about Pontius Pilate, played memorably by Rod Steiger in _ **Jesus of Nazareth** _? Definitely not a minor figure IMO. If you are mentioned by name in the Bible and especially in one of the most famous parts of the Bible, that makes you one of the most famous people who ever lived. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2024, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/55 "2024-09-20T04:37:04Z")
Yeah, but he’s only famous for one thing. If he hadn’t done it, he’d be of interest only to historians of Ancient Rome. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/56 "2024-09-20T04:39:44Z")
Careful, or I’ll knock you wuffly to the gwound! 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/57 "2024-09-20T05:13:16Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Roman soldier who poked Jesus on the cross has been depicted numerous times, most famously by John Wayne. > ETA - “real life figure” is debatable. I should read more carefully. No, he was a real person, but we do not really know his name. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Movies kept the myth of Bonnie & Clyde alive. Yeah, especially Bonnie & Clyde with Faye Dunaway playing the very plain Bonnie. > [@Odesio](#): > > Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard. Also Captain Kidd, who may not even have been a pirate. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > G. Gordon Liddy. Good one. > [@terentii](#): > > Yeah, but he’s only famous for one thing. If he hadn’t done it, he’d be of interest only to historians of Ancient Rome. Yeah, and until recently, there was debate he even existed, as no official roman records or hitories (not that many records were left actually despite the fact that the Roman kept a lot) even mention his name. The same sort of disputed sources mentioned him- the Gospels, Josephus, Tacitus has a brief mention, etc. But they recently (well, 1961) found a stone with an inscription that mentioned him. > **[Pilate stone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilate_stone)** > > The Pilate stone is a damaged block of carved limestone, with dimensions 82 cm × 65 cm (32 in × 26 in), which bears a partially intact inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman province of Judaea in the 1st century AD. It was discovered at the archaeological site of Caesarea Maritima in 1961. > The limestone block was discovered in June 1961 by Italian archaeologist Maria Teresa Fortuna Canivet during a campaign led by Antonio Frova \[it\] while excavating in the area of an an... Pilate is famous solely due to being mentioned in the Gospels. The ancient Romans didnt think he was worth mentioning. He was a governor of a minor province, and not for very long either. Maybe a decade, but that is argued. So, if he hadnt been part of the Gospels, even Experts in Ancient Roman history would go 'who"? ---
**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:** [September 20, 2024, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/58 "2024-09-20T05:49:30Z")
I’ve read he was recalled to Rome not long after the Crucifixion and executed for pissing off the Emperor about something. There really is no evidence for this? ---
**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:** [September 20, 2024, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/59 "2024-09-20T06:13:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But they recently (well, 1961) found a stone with an inscription that mentioned him. PONTIUS WAS HERE ---
**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:** [September 20, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605/60 "2024-09-20T08:04:21Z")
Scholars are puzzled as to why a little man with a bald head and a long nose was etched alongside the inscription. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-figures-whove-been-portrayed-multiple-times-in-film/980605.md?page=4)