# Same Actor/Actress In Same TV Show, But Now A Different Character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751 "2009-11-16T07:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/101 "2009-11-23T00:55:27Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > **Allan Melvin** (Sam the Butcher) played a couple of different characters on **The Andy Griffith Show** He was also a regular on GOMER PYLE which is in the Mayberry-verse. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/102 "2009-11-23T14:30:02Z")
A few years ago A&E put out A Nero Wolfe Mystery, and turned a 15 or so of the Nero Wolfe books into tv shows. The cast was interesting, as there were a few recurring characters(Nero, Archie, Fritz, Cramer, etc), but the rest of the characters would change from episode to episode. Rather than do what L&O does, they used the same cast members. Obviously the main characters, Nero, Archie, and friends, would be the same actors, but the rest of the cast would be playing different roles every episode, so the murderer one week would be a concerned citizen or have a bit part the next. It was quite impressive to see how they could fill completely different roles. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/103 "2009-11-23T14:37:33Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > A few years ago A&E put out A Nero Wolfe Mystery, and turned a 15 or so of the Nero Wolfe books into tv shows. The cast was interesting, as there were a few recurring characters(Nero, Archie, Fritz, Cramer, etc), but the rest of the characters would change from episode to episode. Rather than do what L&O does, they used the same cast members. Obviously the main characters, Nero, Archie, and friends, would be the same actors, but the rest of the cast would be playing different roles every episode, so the murderer one week would be a concerned citizen or have a bit part the next. It was quite impressive to see how they could fill completely different roles. That sounds really cool. Was it confusing for the audience? I imagine it would be disconcerting if you just watched in the middle and had no idea what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/104 "2009-11-23T17:35:09Z")
**Supernatural** does this fairly often with one-time roles, though they usually space out the appearances of the actors enough to avoid immediate recognition. Some examples of the actors, the episode they were in, and their character names: \*\*Anita Brown \*\* _Wishful Thinking (2008)_ Hope Lynn Casey _Skin (2005)_ Lindsay **Christine Chatelain** _Changing Channels (2009)_ Dr. Ellen Piccolo _Dead Man’s Blood (2006)_ Jenny **Keegan Connor Tracy** _The Monster at the End of This Book (2009)_ Sera Siege _The Usual Suspects (2006)_ Karen Giles ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/105 "2009-11-23T18:24:25Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Buffy did this a few times, I think, though the only one I remember straight out was that Tom Lenk played one of Harmony’s vampire minions before coming back to play Andrew in season six and seven. There’s another interesting one. Spike has a background story in which he wrote “bloody awful” poetry. He loved Cecily, played by Kali Rocha, but she despised him. Kali Rocha later played the demon Halfrek, who was a friend of Spike. Fans have speculated that they might be the same person. Joss Wheedon had not intended such when she was cast, but did later consider this as a possible storyline. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/106 "2009-11-23T18:44:12Z")
Ted McGinley played Norman Jablonski in the “It’s a Wonderful Life” episode of Married With Children, before joining the show as Jefferson Darcy the next season. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/107 "2009-11-23T19:23:59Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > **Supernatural** > **Christine Chatelain** > _Changing Channels (2009)_ Dr. Ellen Piccolo > _Dead Man’s Blood (2006)_ Jenny As I show my age, the thing that stands out to me about her characters is “Jenny Piccolo” - Joanie’s slutty best friend on “Happy Days” . . . ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/108 "2009-11-24T00:29:30Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > As I show my age, the thing that stands out to me about her characters is “Jenny Piccolo” - Joanie’s slutty best friend on “Happy Days” . . . One of the few unseen characters to later become not only seen but a semi-regular (Cathy Silvers [da. of Phil, who made a cameo as her father- I’m old too;)]). ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/109 "2009-11-24T22:43:59Z")
**Doctor Who** again: I can’t believe I forgot Freema Agyeman. She first appeared on the new show as a Torchwood employee/redshirt in “Army of Ghosts”. When she later came on as companion Martha Jones, the writers carefully gave her a line mentioning her “cousin” who disappeared in the Battle of Canary Wharf. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/110 "2009-11-25T16:27:58Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Ron “Levitt” Carey also had a unrelated guest appearance before joining the cast as a regular character. I just saw this one last night. He played a character called “The Mole” that tried to escape through the sewers but Harris and Wojo pursued and caught him. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/111 "2009-11-25T18:59:37Z")
I offer an obscure one that I just caught. On the show Star Trek TNG, the actor [David Tristan Birkin](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083605/) plays Picard’s nephew in one episode and plays a young version of Picard himself in another. Birkin has a distinctive English accent which makes him stand out (especially for someone playing a French youth). ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/112 "2009-11-25T22:37:48Z")
James Jordan played a 3-episode recurring character in season 2 of _Veronica Mars_, then returned in the next season as a major character. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/113 "2009-11-26T03:14:34Z")
> [@ryobserver](#): > > Since I was beaten to it, I’ll mention _The X-Files_’ Nicholas Lea, who narrowly escaped being murdered in “Genderbender” in season one, then was cast as Alex Krychek in season two and became the face that launched a thousand slash fanfics. ::snaps fingers:: Krycek, no h. And he’s not alone, either. Terry O’Quinn played: Lt. Brian Tillman in “Aubrey” Darius Michaud in X-Files: Fight The Future The Shadow Man in “Trust No 1” I’m pretty sure there are other actors who played muliple roles on The X-Files, but I can’t recall them now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/114 "2009-11-26T03:27:19Z")
I had no idea Vaughn Armstrong was on so many incarnations of ST. Wow! These actors each played two roles in ST:TOS: > **[Ian Wolfe](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ian_Wolfe)** > > Ian Wolfe (4 November 1896 – 23 January 1992; age 95) was an actor who played Septimus in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode second season "Bread and Circuses" and Mr. Atoz (as well as Atoz's replicas) in the third season episode "All Our... > **[Skip Homeier](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Skip_Homeier)** > > George Vincent ("Skip") Homeier (5 October 1930 – 25 June 2017; age 86) was an actor who played Melakon in the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode "Patterns of Force" and Dr. Sevrin in the third season episode "The Way to Eden". He... > **[Eddie Paskey](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Eddie_Paskey)** > > Eddie Paskey (20 August 1939 – 17 August 2021; age 81) was a former actor remembered mainly for his role as Lieutenant Leslie, a recurring character during Star Trek: The Original Series. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th... > **[Sean Kenney](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Sean_Kenney)** > > Sean David Kenney (born 13 March 1944; age 79) is a former actor who played the mute, disfigured Christopher Pike in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episodes "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II" and DePaul in "Arena"... > **[David Ross](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/David_Ross)** > > David L. Ross (born 24 April 1939; age 84) is an actor known for his appearances in Star Trek: The Original Series, mostly as Galloway. For his appearance in "Miri" and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", he was... > **[Barry Russo](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Barry_Russo)** > > Barry Russo (3 May 1925 – 13 December 2003; age 78), also known as John Duke Russo, was an actor who played Lieutenant Commander Giotto in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "The Devil in the Dark" and Commodore Bob Wesley in the... And this actress played two roles in TOS, and one in TNG: > **[Diana Muldaur](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Diana_Muldaur)** > > Diana Muldaur (born 19 August 1938; age 85) was the actress best known to Star Trek fans for her portrayal of Doctor Katherine Pulaski during the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She appeared in all but two episodes of the season:... Brent Spiner, of course, played Data, Lore, B4 and Dr. Soong (all variations on a theme, if you will). And Mark Lenard, in addition to playing the Romulan commander and Amb. Sarek, also played the Klingon captain at the beginning of ST:TMP. Michelle Forbes didn’t play another Starfleet ensign before she played Ens. Ro Laren; she played the daughter of an alien scientist (David Ogden Stiers) in the episode “Half a Life.” All of the DS9 cast played alternative characters in the episodes where Sisko thought he was an sf writer in the Fifties, and in the James Bond holosuite spoof. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/115 "2009-11-26T03:43:41Z")
We watched the Special Features on a DVD set of _24_, and it seems it’s all the same bad guys getting killed over and over again. The faceless minions, not the main evildoer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/116 "2009-11-26T04:45:26Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > That sounds really cool. Was it confusing for the audience? I imagine it would be disconcerting if you just watched in the middle and had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t that confusing\*, because the actors were really versatile. It did mean Kari Matchett had to play two different characters in a two-part episode. Normally her roles were episode-specific, but she also had a recurring part as Archie’s gal Lily Rowan. In “Death of a Doxy” she had an episode-specific role and appeared as Lily both. Wikipedia says that Nicky Guadagni played two non-recurring characters in “The Silent Speaker”- I’d forgotten about that. \*I occasionally had trouble remembering if one actor was playing the same character as last time or not, due to how the characters were written and costumed, [Julian Richings](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724995/)’ distinctive face, and the fact that I wasn’t paying perfect attention at the time. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/117 "2009-11-26T11:49:19Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There’s another interesting one. Spike has a background story in which he wrote “bloody awful” poetry. He loved Cecily, played by Kali Rocha, but she despised him. Kali Rocha later played the demon Halfrek, who was a friend of Spike. Fans have speculated that they might be the same person. Joss Wheedon had not intended such when she was cast, but did later consider this as a possible storyline. In addition, Brian Thompson played Luke in Season 1, and The Judge in Season 2. Jeff Kober played the psycho vampire hunting Buffy (drained of her powers) in Season 3, and later on the magic “drug” pusher in Season 6. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/118 "2009-11-26T12:48:13Z")
In one of the earliest episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs, James Bellamy brings home a friend named Billy Watson to meet his sister. Billy is played by John Quayle, who would reappear in several episodes in later seasons as James 's best friend, Bunny Newbury. Even though he goes by another name in this first appearance, I prefer to think of him as Bunny here. On the Nero Wolfe mysteries. The actor who would play Lon Cohen first shows up in the pilot movie, The Golden Spiders, as Saul Panzer (causing some confusion for me). The recurring actors in the series were rather fun; you’d see the pop-eyed guy or the Bette Midler-y woman again and think “Weren’t you murdered last week?” ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/119 "2009-11-27T11:37:42Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > The recurring actors in the series were rather fun; you’d see the pop-eyed guy or the Bette Midler-y woman again and think “Weren’t you murdered last week?” Another reappearing pair of actors along similar lines occurred to me later yesterday. In the very first episode of Midsommer Murders, “Killings in Badger’s Drift,” Elizabeth Spriggs and Richard Cant appear as Mrs. Rainbird and her son, and have their throats cut during the course of the show. So, imagine my surprise when they both show up again in another Midsommer Murder about ten years later. “Weren’t you two brutally murdered?” I said out loud. Things took an even more bizarre turn when Insp. Tom Barnaby, on seeing the pair at a village fete, said pretty much the same thing. It turns out that they were not the murdered mother and son returned from the dead, but their twin sister and identical cousin (like Patty Duke and Kathy). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751/120 "2009-11-27T14:12:20Z")
I just caught an early episode of Everybody loves Raymond where Kevin James played a couch named Kevin. Later his King of Queens character Doug Heffernan would make several appearanes on Ray’s show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-actress-in-same-tv-show-but-now-a-different-character/517751.md?page=7)