When you’re watching a TV show and you recognize a famous actor does the fact that you know their past roles ruin the current character that they’re portraying.
Depends.
Some actors are accused of playing themselves in each movie. The ones I’ve seen complaints of are Matt Damon and De Niro. I’m not sure I agree, but I can see how some might feel that way.
Yes, but especially their real-life identities. Especially if the actor is very well-known . . . and even more so if there were something really out-of-the-ordinary about him in real-life.
Natural Born Killers made Cheers a very different show.
I hate it when this happens.
Having been a fan of ‘The Wire’, I get this constantly. I remember watching the Ray Charles biopic and seeing Bunk Moreland and a couple more people walking around. The same with Frank Sobotka in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Flags of our fathers’. I just can’t get it out of my head, and I’m sure the actors themselves hate it.
The only actor from ‘The Wire’ who’s been able to leave his character behind is Idris Elba (Stringer Bell). I’ve seen him in a few other films and shows, and he seems to be a good enough actor that he makes you forget who he played in The Wire.
Well, I’d have trouble watching Jason Mewes in any other role than the vocal half of Jay and Silent Bob.
I’ve repeatedly seen Mark Ruffalo working to convey offbeat amiability – and caught myself thinking wow, he’s doing a great job of not getting too pissed off.
I expect to see Jimmy Stewart play Jimmy Stewart consistently. I expect the same from Humphrey Bogart. I expect to not recognize Sir Lawrence Olivier from one role to another. Bette Midler is always Bette Midler, Meryl Steep seems never to be the same person twice on screen.
So, it depends on the actor and the genre, but I have never been one of the “Hey, that’s Superman in ‘From Here to Eternity’” types.
No.
It’s a footnote. “Hey, I remember him from X. Now let’s watch what he’s in now.”