# Movies,plays, or TV shows in which an actor comes back to play a completely different character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070 "2021-05-14T13:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/1 "2021-05-14T13:00:18Z")
I’m thinking here about things like **Sleuth**. In the 1972 film, Michael Caine played Milo Tindle, but in the 2007 film (with a completely different script by Harold Pinter) he plays Andrew Wyke. I’m not looking for cameos here (like Victor Mature appearing in a small role in the 1984 TV movie **Samson and Delilah** , having played Samson in the 1949 movie **Samson and Delilah** ), but substantial roles. I’m also not looking for cases where the two lead actors in a play switch roles every other night, as is wrongly reported of Anthony Quinn and Lawrence Olivier in _Becket_ or as correctly reported for Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in _Frankenstein._ Vanessa Redgrave played a non-speaking part as Anne Boleyn in the 1966 film **A Man for All Seasons** and played the more substantial role of Lady Alice More in the 1988 TV version. (Although some list the former as a “cameo”, it’s longer than that, and she certainly didn’t get the part because she would later play a bigger role in the future) Jeremy Brett played Dr. Watson (opposite Charlton Heston’s Sherlock Holmes) onstage in **Crucifer of Blood** before going on the play Holmes himself in the BBC/WGBH TV series. Christopher Lee played Sherlock Holmes in a German film and two TV films, and played Mycroft Holmes in the 1970 Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (the only actor I know of to take both parts). He also played Sir Henry Baskerville in the 1959 **Hound of the Baskervilles** Klaus Kinski played Renfield in Jesus Franco’s 1970 **Count Dracula** and Count Dracula himself in Werner Herzog’s remake of **Nosferatu** nine years later. Tony Curtis played Joe in 1959’s **Some Like it Hot**. In 2002 he took the role of Osgood Fielding (the Joe E. Brown part) in the stage musical (retitled to _Some Like it Hot_ from its original title _Sugar_) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/2 "2021-05-14T13:11:09Z")
Patty Duke played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, 1959, 1962 and then came back to play Annie Sullivan (opposite Melissa Gilbert), 1979. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/3 "2021-05-14T13:26:32Z")
John Rubinstein played the title character in _Pippin_ during the original Broadway run. In the 2013 revival, he came in to play Pippin’s father, Charles. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/4 "2021-05-14T13:39:18Z")
William Danials got his first break in 1952 playing John Quincy Adams in _Woman for the Ages_. In 1972, he played JQA’s father John Adams in _1776_. And finally, John Quincy Adams again in _The Adams Chronicles_ (1977). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/5 "2021-05-14T13:59:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > William Danials got his first break in 1952 playing John Quincy Adams in _Woman for the Ages_ . In 1972, he played JQA’s father John Adams in _1776_ . And finally, John Quincy Adams again in _The Adams Chronicles_ (1977). He also played both John Adams and Sam Adams in TV adaptations of the John Jakes novels. Daniels had a “lock” on the entire Adams family. ---
**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 14, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/6 "2021-05-14T14:22:45Z")
Are you thinking about things like how Ian Holm played Frodo Baggins in the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of _The Lord of the Rings_, and then Bilbo Baggins in the Peter Jackson movies? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/7 "2021-05-14T14:30:52Z")
That’s do ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/8 "2021-05-14T14:58:49Z")
Didn’t S. Epatha Merkerson have a one-episode role on **Law & Order** a couple of years before joining the regular cast as the police captain? Is that the kind of thing we’re talking about? (There have probably been a ton of actors who have played multiple one-off roles on L&O.) There is also Caitlin Brown, who played Na’Toth on season 1 of **Babylon 5**. She was replaced by another actress in season 2, but had a guest shot as a lawyer for Capt. Sheridan in one S2 episode. Then she came back again as Na’Toth in a couple of guest shots in later seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/9 "2021-05-14T15:11:40Z")
There are literally hundreds of examples in episodic TV, but I’ll crack the door open just a bit with three examples from the original Star Trek. Mark Lenard, who first appeared as a Romulan opponent of Kirk’s, then hit god as Spock’s father. Diana Muldaur, who played two different roles in TOS (as a redhead and brunette - producers joked that if the series had gone on, they wanted to bring her back as a blonde) and ended up as Dr. Pulaki in TNG. William Campbell, who was Trelayne in _The Squire of Gothos_, returned as Koloth in _The Trouble with Tribbles_ and reprised that role decades later in Voyager. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/10 "2021-05-14T16:06:15Z")
David Suchet played Inspector Japp in the 1985 Hercule Poirot movie **Thirteen at Dinner** in which Peter Ustinov played Poirot. In 1989 Suchet was cast as Hercule Poirot for the TV series in which he played the character in adaptations of every story written by Agatha Christie with its final episode n 2013. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/1d/02/111d02f87355d5a280403e60c39e519f.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/1d/02/111d02f87355d5a280403e60c39e519f.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/11 "2021-05-14T16:12:33Z")
Also before Peter Capaldi became the 12th Doctor in **Doctor Who** he had already appeared in the show as a character when David Tennant was the 10th Doctor. [![](https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/capaldi-tennant-fires.jpg) ](https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/capaldi-tennant-fires.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/12 "2021-05-14T16:13:54Z")
A 2008 episode of _Doctor Who_, “The Fires of Pompeii,” during David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, featured two guest stars who later went on to star in the series. - Peter Capaldi played Caecilius in the episode; in 2013, he became the Twelfth Doctor, and starred in the series for four years - Karen Gillan played a soothsayer in the episode; she then played Amy Pond, one of the Doctor’s companions, form 2010 until 2013 _Edit: ninjaed, but I included mention of Gillan, as well_ 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/13 "2021-05-14T16:15:36Z")
_Doctor Who_ has plenty of examples of this. Lalla Ward played Princess Astra and was then cast as the companion Romana II Colin Baker had a guest role before eventually being cast as The Doctor. Ian Marter appeared in “Carnival of Monsters” before being cast as companion Harry Sullivan. Geoffrey Palmer appeared in both original Who and New Who is guest roles. Philip Madoc played three different characters in the original run. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/14 "2021-05-14T16:20:14Z")
Dennis Franz played two big roles in _Hill Street Blues_. From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Franz): > Franz first played the role of Detective Sal Benedetto, a corrupt cop in the 1983 season, who later kills himself. Due to his popularity with fans, he returned in 1985 as Lt. Norm Buntz, remaining until the show’s end in 1987. He also starred in the short-lived _[Beverly Hills Buntz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Buntz)_ as the same character. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/15 "2021-05-14T16:20:27Z")
Jerry Orbach appeared as a defence counsel on _Law and Order_ a couple of times before he became Lennie Briscoe. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/16 "2021-05-14T17:10:10Z")
Scottish-born Finlay Currie was an American press agent in _Rome Express_ (1932), but played Cedric Hardwicke’s part in the superior remake _Sleeping Car to Trieste_ (1948) in which the role of the press agent was eliminated. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/17 "2021-05-14T17:22:54Z")
[This happens a lot](https://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2017/1016-actors_whove_played_two_roles_same_soap.php) in soap operas. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/18 "2021-05-14T17:27:45Z")
Do musicals count? I’ve seen (recorded, not live) two versions of _Les Miserables_ with Lia Salonga. In one she was Éponine and in the other she was Fantine. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/19 "2021-05-14T17:27:52Z")
Freema Agyeman appeared on the “Rise of the Cyberman” and then came back to play companion Martha Jones. ---
**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 14, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/20 "2021-05-14T17:34:00Z")
Agents of SHIELD had several of these. Most notably Clark Gregg who played Coulson, then a character that looked just like Coulson, then an enhanced LMD of Coulson. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070.md?page=2)