# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/21 "2021-05-14T18:01:52Z")
@zimaane Martha Jones at one point mentions that her cousin worked at Carany Wharf and died in the Cybermen/Daleks battle, so that handily explained her earlier appearance. A couple more Doctor Who ones: Robert Pugh played the adult Jonah in the Torchwood episode “Adrift” then a couple of years later played Tony in “The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood” on Doctor Who. Suranne Jones played the Mona Lisa on two episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures and then two years later was Idris in “The Doctor’s Wife” ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/22 "2021-05-14T18:03:46Z")
Garret Dillahunt played two completely different characters in Deadwood. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/23 "2021-05-14T18:10:08Z")
Harry Morgan had a guest role as a crazed general named Steele, in an episode of _MASH_, then joined the cast as Col. Sherman T. Potter. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/24 "2021-05-14T18:34:08Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > 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? > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Jerry Orbach appeared as a defence counsel on _Law and Order_ a couple of times before he became Lennie Briscoe. Annie Parisse played a stripper before joining the cast as ADA Borgia, and (on _L&O:SVU_) Diane Neal was one of a trio of women who raped a male stripper before playing ADA Novak. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/25 "2021-05-14T18:34:55Z")
Interesting. I thought **Dark Shadows** (1966) was unique. While most of the actors on the show played at least three different characters, Thayer David must have played at least five. ---
**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, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/26 "2021-05-14T18:35:12Z")
_Blackadder_ was a series of historical comedies, each set in a different period of English history, with some of the cast members recurring across the series. Actors like Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder) and Tony Robinson (Baldrick) appeared across the various series, though their characters’ personalities varied (particularly when comparing the first series to the later ones). Some other actors (such as Hugh Laurie and Miranda Richardson) appeared in several of the time periods, though as substantially different characters. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/27 "2021-05-14T18:36:46Z")
Sara Mitich played Airiam for the first season of _Star Trek Discovery_, had an adverse reaction to the makeup and was replaced, but was retained to play Lt. Nilsson instead. ---
**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, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/28 "2021-05-14T18:37:43Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > 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? If i remember correctly, she played a janitor in one episode. ---
**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, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/29 "2021-05-14T18:55:18Z")
Vito Scotti made a career of guest shots on TV, appearing as different characters in multiple shows. Same for Bert Mustin, who was called whenever they needed to cast an old man. Frank Ashmore played Martin, one of the visitors in the original _V_. He was killed off, but later returned as Philip, his twin brother. 🙄 That “twin sibling” trope was common enough in soap opera. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/30 "2021-05-14T18:57:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Jerry Orbach appeared as a defence counsel on _Law and Order_ a couple of times before he became Lennie Briscoe. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Harry Morgan had a guest role as a crazed general named Steele, in an episode of _MASH_ , then joined the cast as Col. Sherman T. Potter. These episodes are so strange to watch. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/31 "2021-05-14T19:00:21Z")
Bruce Spence as the gyro captain in Mad Max 2 came back in Beyond Thunderdome as a different pilot. Similarly, Hugh Keays-Byrne played The Toecutter in the original Mad Max as well as Immortan Joe in Fury Road. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/32 "2021-05-14T19:01:29Z")
@Gatopescado @Robot_Arm since Richard Belzer’s Detective Munsch made an appearance on the X-Files, and thus the Chris Carterverse and the Law & Order franchise are canonical with each other, maybe all the duplicate castings on L&O are really clones? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/33 "2021-05-14T19:05:43Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Mark Lenard, who first appeared as a Romulan opponent of Kirk’s, then hit god as Spock’s father. He also played the Klingon captain in _Star Trek: The Motion Picture._ John Gielgud played Cassius in the [1953 film version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_(1953_film)) of _Julius Caesar_, then played Julius Caesar in the [1970 version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_(1970_film)). ---
**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, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/34 "2021-05-14T19:13:23Z")
Derek Jacobi played Hamlet in a TV version of the play in 1980, and Claudius in the Branagh movie. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/35 "2021-05-14T19:23:07Z")
Also Laertes in a 1963 stage production (and Hamlet in a 1979 stage production, which probably got him the 1980 job). ---
**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:** [May 14, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/36 "2021-05-14T19:28:02Z")
I thought of another perfect example. Burt Reynolds played Paul Crewe in the 1974 version of _The Longest Yard_. The movie was remade in 2005 with Adam Sandler as Crewe, and Burt Reynolds playing the role of Nate Scarborough. ---
**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, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/37 "2021-05-14T19:35:09Z")
Tim Choate played Zathrus in _Babylon 5_. Later he played other characters, all named Zathras. ---
**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, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/38 "2021-05-14T19:36:36Z")
Phil Silvers turned down the role of Pseudolus in “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum” on Broadway. He accepted the role for the revival 10 years later and became the first leading actor to win a Tony in a revival of a musical. In between he played Marcus Lycus in the movie version. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/39 "2021-05-14T19:51:14Z")
Jock Mahoney played a villain opposite Gordon Scott’s Tarzan in _Tarzan the Magnificent_. He played Tarzan himself in _Tarzan Goes to India_ and _Tarzan’s Three Challenges_. He made three appearances opposite Ron Ely’s Tarzan in the TV show (One story arc was released as a theatrical film, _Tarzan’s Deadly Silence_. Mahoney played the villain.) Billed as “Jack O’Mahoney”, he was the stunt coordinator in the Bo Derek version of _Tarzan the Ape Man_. Bela Lugosi played Ygor in _Son of Frankenstein_ and _Ghost of Frankenstein_. He played the Monster in _Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man_. He played Dracula in _Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein_. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-plays-or-tv-shows-in-which-an-actor-comes-back-to-play-a-completely-different-character/942070/40 "2021-05-14T20:16:37Z")
John Carradine: Yousef Bey in _The Mummy’s Ghost_ Professor Cummings in _The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals_ Mr. Andoheb in _The Tomb_ “Hunter at Hermit’s Cottage” in _Bride of Frankenstein_ Dr. Frankenstein in _Frankenstein Island_ [Previous 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=1) [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=3)