# Oh that's who that was?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935 "2025-05-06T00:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/81 "2025-05-19T19:31:04Z")
One of the cable networks that I get airs episodes of _I Love Lucy_ every afternoon. They recently aired the entire “Hollywood” story arc. One of the first episodes of that arc features the Ricardos and Mertzes driving through Bent Fork, Tennessee, the hometown of Tennessee Ernie Ford (who is supposed to be Lucy’s cousin, on the show). They stop at a filling station and ask the guy who lives there for directions. This country bumpkin is played by none other than Aaron Spelling, future super producer. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/82 "2025-05-20T07:23:03Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > An hour later I yell out “[Oberon Martell’s wife!](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0890055/) I will always and forever know Indira Varma as Niobe, wife of Lucius Vorenus in HBO’s Rome. ---
**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 20, 2025, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/83 "2025-05-20T11:38:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Eli Wallach was also Don Altobello in _ **Godfather III** _. The man could switch nationalities whenever he needed to. He was in an early episode of _Law & Order_ as a union rabblerouser who was set up for murder. There’s a scene where the police lay out some guns on a table so he can pick which one is his. I just hope someone there shrugged his shoulders and said “revolvers.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/84 "2025-05-20T12:11:23Z")
I haven’t seen _Rome_ (and for me the name Martell conjures up _Twin Peaks_). I know Indira Varma from her lead role in _Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love._ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/85 "2025-05-20T13:14:48Z")
Varma has over 100 film and TV credits - she’s a hard working actress. Just about everyone knows her from somewhere. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/86 "2025-05-20T14:06:39Z")
Like the Imperial turncoat in _Obi-Wan_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/87 "2025-05-20T14:17:32Z")
“That’s who that _is?!_” for [an upcoming TV biopic:](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36502329/) [![](https://cdn.tvfanatic.com/uploads/2025/05/Kidnapped-by-Killer-1-728x410.jpg) ](https://cdn.tvfanatic.com/uploads/2025/05/Kidnapped-by-Killer-1-728x410.jpg) **Steve Guttenberg** as [a serial killer!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edward_Robinson) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/88 "2025-05-20T14:52:55Z")
[![](https://y.yarn.co/6afc6518-6a75-4ade-8eee-5a1be70baf8e_text.gif) ](https://y.yarn.co/6afc6518-6a75-4ade-8eee-5a1be70baf8e_text.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/89 "2025-05-20T16:40:04Z")
Gary Oldman would be perfect for this except he’s typically the title character and his name is in bold on the Marquee. ---
**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 20, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/90 "2025-05-20T19:03:02Z")
My wife was watching a Bones rerun a few nights ago and there was a blond haired guy that we both recognized but just couldn’t figure out from where. After racking our brains for several minutes, she finally pulled up the guide to get the name of the episode and then hit the internet. Turns out it was Patrick Fabian, probably best known as Howard Hamlin from “Better Call Saul”. I told my wife I was thinking I had seen him before in a military uniform – I should have been thinking expensive lawyer suit! ---
**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:** [May 21, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/91 "2025-05-21T02:50:10Z")
I recently watched _The Lavender Hill Mob_ (1951). There’s [an opening scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMYBD488VCw) where we see the main character living the good life in South America. And part of that is when a young senorita briefly flirts with him. I remember thinking “She looks familiar but I can’t place her.” I checked afterwards and I was surprised to see it was Audrey Hepburn in one of her first roles. ---
**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 24, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/92 "2025-05-24T18:22:31Z")
I remembered another one. I was watching an old episode of _Perry Mason_ once, and saw this woman. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWI5M2Q1YjgtZDkzNS00ZmQzLWE3YTgtY2JlNWNhNmQ5OTBjXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWI5M2Q1YjgtZDkzNS00ZmQzLWE3YTgtY2JlNWNhNmQ5OTBjXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg) There was something familiar about her, but I just couldn’t place her. I had to check IMDb. Marion Ross ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/93 "2025-05-25T14:32:19Z")
Giancarlo Esposito is a real chameleon of an actor. Gus Fring in _Breaking Bad_ was the first time I learned who he was. But I later learned that he played Muhammad Ali’s father in the Will Smith biopic. _Very_ different character, in manner and appearance. And he also played Bugs Raplin, the lefty journalist in _Bob Roberts._ Just as different. For me, the all-time winner for an actor being unrecognizable is John Ritter in _Sling Blade_. I saw it in the theater with friends, and I didn’t realize he was even in it until discussing it afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/94 "2025-05-25T16:28:57Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Giancarlo Esposito is a real chameleon of an actor. Gus Fring in _Breaking Bad_ was the first time I learned who he was. But I later learned that he played Muhammad Ali’s father in the Will Smith biopic. _Very_ different character, in manner and appearance. And he also played Bugs Raplin, the lefty journalist in _Bob Roberts._ Just as different. He’s an interesting case. I suppose his first big splash was in Spike Lee’s movies. If you look back at his career he has always worked a lot. It’s been a slow steady rise to where he is now. There are a bunch of roles I’ve forgotten like being Yaphet Kotto’s son on _Homicide: Life on the Streets._ ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/95 "2025-05-25T17:37:49Z")
He’s also the detective in _The Usual Suspects_ who is questioning the one (knowing) witness to Keyzer Soze and obtains the sketch of the villain. ---
**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 25, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/96 "2025-05-25T18:44:03Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Giancarlo Esposito is a real chameleon of an actor. If you can ever find it, he was a blast in Bakersfield PD . ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/97 "2025-05-25T18:53:12Z")
He also turned up in _The Residence_, which was recently discussed briefly but favorably in the “Series You’ve Recently Watched” thread. He was the murder victim. The show is generous with flashbacks, so even though his character is dead in the “present tense” timeline, he gets screen time throughout the series. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/98 "2025-05-25T19:12:22Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > was none other than Peter Stormare, Also Uli Kunkel/Karl Hungus in The Big Lebowski, Czernobog in American Gods, a 6 part appearance in Longmire, and starred in The Swedish Detectives. ---
**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 26, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/99 "2025-05-26T12:05:58Z")
My wife and I watched “The Residence” on Netflix this weekend. Neither one of us recognized Bronson Pinchot as Didier, the pastry chef. ---
**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 26, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/100 "2025-05-26T15:05:59Z")
Took me a while in the first episode to remember where I knew the Executive Chef from (_Star Trek Discovery_) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935.md?page=6)