# Same actor / Same Series...Different Roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2001, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358 "2001-11-26T20:56:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/41 "2001-11-27T17:36:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xenophon41 \* > \*\*In the early 70’s James Garner starred in a series called “Nickels”, in which he played the reluctant sheriff of a small Western town (this was a few years after the movies “Support Your Local Sherrif/Support Your Local Gunfighter”). At the end of the first year, his character was killed in a gunfight, and Garner returned to the series as the _brother_ of the slain sheriff. The series also had Margot Kidder and Stuart Margolin. \*\* Far being from me to quibble, BUT the series was “Nichols”, not “Nickels”. As one who goes to a lot of Nichols family reunions, it’s a vital distinction to those involved. IMDB reference [HERE](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0066690) ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/42 "2001-11-27T17:59:25Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Hometownboy** :_ > Far being from me to quibble, BUT the series was “Nichols”, not “Nickels”. As one who goes to a lot of Nichols family reunions, it’s a vital distinction to those involved. > > IMDB reference [HERE](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0066690) Whoops! You’re of course [correct](http://epguides.com/Nichols/). I also see that the show only had one season… ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de053/32.png) [@Umbriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/43 "2001-11-27T18:35:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minlokwat \* > \*\* > I am not talking about using one of the lead actors and throwing make-up on him/her and having that actor play a dual role strictly as a one time shot. The **Brady Bunch** did this as did **Gilligan’s Island** with varying degrees of incredulity…hmmm… go figure. > \*\* Character actor Vito Scotti showed up on _Gilligan’s Island_ at least twice, once as a Japanese soldier who didn’t know the war was over (heaven forbid any asian actor got a speaking part in the '60s) and once as a mad scientist who kidnaps the castaways for mind/body switching experiments. In the “actors playing their character’s relative” category, there’s also Carolyn Jones’ role as Morticia’s twin sister, Ophelia, on _The Addams Family_. This was in at least two episodes, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/44 "2001-11-27T22:46:02Z")
In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. X Files: Chris Owens showed up as (1) Mutato, (2) the young 1960s version of Cigarette Smoking Man, and (3) Agent Spender, who turned out to be CSM’s son. Whether 2 & 3 were intentional or coincidence is hard to say, seeing as by the time Agent Spender was introduced to the show, Chris Carter was in full “The truth _isn’t_ out there, I’m just making it up as I go” mode. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/45 "2001-11-28T14:40:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. [nerd] I’d like to see a citation for that, if you can, **ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness**. That character was unnamed (though he was addressed by his position, “Conn,” a practice which died quickly on that show), so I don’t see how you can possibly assume he was not Miles O’Brien, even if he wasn’t a CPO at the time. In fact, [his character bio](http://www.startrek.com/library/individ.asp?ID=112439) states plainly that he was a “relief flight control officer” aboard Enterprise at that time. [/nerd] ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/46 "2001-11-28T17:41:27Z")
[Quotation]In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. [/Quote] Bit of a hijack, but anytime I watched ST:TNG, I could never help thinking, “What the hell is Jimmy Rabbitte’s dad doing on the bridge of the Enterprise?”. From _The Commitments_, if ya don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/47 "2001-11-28T18:06:51Z")
There were an awful lot of people making semi-regular appearances on _Doctor Who_, and three actors notably played different roles at different times - Nicholas Courtney (as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, and as Bret Vyon in “The Daleks’ Master Plan”), Jacqueline Hill (as Barbara Wright, and Lexa in “Meglos”), and, of course, Lalla Ward (officially, Romana copied the look of Princess Astra for her second regeneration). There’s a whole bunch of familiar names keep cropping up half-way down the credits list… John Woodnutt, John Ringham - one (Michael Sheard) made it to a _Doctor Who_ drinking game (“sip every time you recognise Michael Sheard”). If we include the regular stunt men and voice artists who handled the monsters, the list gets even longer (John Scott Martin, Pat Gorman, Ysette Churchman, Michael Kilgarriff, Max Faulkner…). I think the biggest single name is probably legendary Hammer actress Ingrid Pitt (turned up in “The Time Monster” and “Warriors of the Deep”). I think British SF in the sixties through eighties had a limited pool of actors to work with (hmmm… _Space: 1999_… Brian Blessed and Catherine Schell both turned up twice in that one.) If you watch a lot of stuff from this era, quite a number of faces will become very familiar. (Many of them very talented actors, I might add.) ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/48 "2001-11-28T19:08:10Z")
On the X-Files Darin Morgan played gross jelly-covered mutant worm Flukeman in The Host and pudgy, once-tailed maintenance guy Eddie Van Blundht in Small Potatoes. While Morgan’s acting was passable,in my opinion he excelled in writing scripts for both X-Files and Millennium: see Files episodes Humbug, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, War of the Coprophages, and Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space”; and Millennium’s Jose Chung’s Doomsday Defense and Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/49 "2001-11-28T19:14:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > > In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. > > That character was unnamed (though he was addressed by his position, “Conn,” a practice which died quickly on that show), so I don’t see how you can possibly assume he was not Miles O’Brien\*\* [bigger nerd] Actually, the final episode of TNG, **All Good Things…** established that this was, in fact, Miles O’Brien. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/50 "2001-11-28T19:19:53Z")
YOu notice that I didn’t write “[/bigger nerd]” at the end of that post. That’s because I’m still a bigger nerd, and will be for life. (Hide it moderately well, tho’.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/51 "2001-11-28T21:03:06Z")
Forgot about that, **Cliffy** , but you are entirely correct. Good catch! ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/52 "2001-11-28T22:26:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > > > In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. > > > > That character was unnamed (though he was addressed by his position, “Conn,” a practice which died quickly on that show), so I don’t see how you can possibly assume he was not Miles O’Brien\*\* > > [bigger nerd] > > Actually, the final episode of TNG, **All Good Things…** established that this was, in fact, Miles O’Brien. > > –Cliffy \*\* Mea culpa!! Since he wasn’t addressed by name and wasn’t doing the engineer thing, I assumed he was someone else. Of course, most of the regular cast were in “different” positions in the first season. On the bright side, I guess this means I’m not a nerd!! Woo-hoo!!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/53 "2001-11-28T22:48:25Z")
This happened on “The Practice” a while back, I think. The guy who played the judge when the team went to California showed up as a different character in a later episode. I think he’s on “Boston Public” now, and he played the new character as part of the crossover episode they did a while back. I could be mistaken, though. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/54 "2002-04-11T16:16:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness \* > \*\*In the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Colm Meany played some bridge guy who wasn’t Chief O’Brian. \*\* He played the descendant of Ricardo Montalban’s character, Khan. Oh, wait. He was called “conn”; nevermind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/55 "2002-04-11T16:29:19Z")
Two of my trivia quizzes: [Actors Playing Two Roles]([http://www.funtrivia.com/cgi-bin/qplay.cgi?id=53870&from=Straight](http://www.funtrivia.com/cgi-bin/qplay.cgi?id=53870&from=Straight) Dope&url=http:%2F%[2Fboards.straightdope.com](http://2Fboards.straightdope.com)%2Fsdmb%2Fshowthread.php? and threadid=100997) and its converse: [TV Characters Played by Two (or More) Actors]([http://www.funtrivia.com/cgi-bin/qplay.cgi?id=53033&from=Straight](http://www.funtrivia.com/cgi-bin/qplay.cgi?id=53033&from=Straight) Dope&url=http:%2F%[2Fboards.straightdope.com](http://2Fboards.straightdope.com)%2Fsdmb%2Fshowthread.php? and threadid=100997) ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/56 "2002-04-11T17:35:43Z")
I was just watching an old episode of _Friends_ last night, where Phoebe loses her singing gig at the coffee shop (and is replaced by Chrissy Hynde), and so is forced to sing on the street for change. She forlornly tells Rachel that all she got for one particular song was 25 cents and a condom. Pretty soon, the guy who left her the condom returns to ask for it back. The guy is Giovanni Ribisi, the same guy who would later appear in the series as Phoebe’s brother. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/57 "2002-04-11T20:53:28Z")
**Harvey The Heavy** , that character’s name is “Squeky Voiced Teen.” Honest, no foolin’! Anyways, off the top of my head I remember that the actor who played Tuvoc on Voyager also had a role in Star Trek: Generations as a bridge officer, but he wasn’t a vulcan. My friend informed me that they officially renamed his other character Tuvoc. Whether this is true or not I have no idea. I’m pretty sure he was also on DS9, but that might have been as Tuvoc. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/58 "2002-04-11T21:18:33Z")
On “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson on “The Jeffersons”) played more than one character. First he plays the judge who used to be Phillip Banks’s mentor, who then dies. And then he and Wheezie play a couple (themselves, I guess) at this marriage counseling place, who Lisa and Will end up beating up. And finally at the very end, the Jeffersons come back again as themselves to buy the Banks’ house. The second time round, though, they don’t seem to recognize Will, so it’s almost like they’re different people. It’s a little unnerving seeing Sherman Hemsely as soo many people, but fun, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ScriptAnalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@ScriptAnalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScriptAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/59 "2002-04-12T01:00:56Z")
DARK SHADOWS did this over and over again. During the time travel episodes into the past, regular cast members would be re-cast as ancestors of the people they played in the present. But more than that, there were several regular and semi-regular actors who appeared in a variety of roles. For instance, Thayer David was the heroic Professor Stokes and the villianous Count Petofi. In fact, supposedly Jonathan Frid (who played vampire Barnabas Collins) was the only actor who played the same character throughout the series (until the very end, when he got to be a descendant of Barnabas). steve biodrowski [www.thescriptanalyst.com](http://www.thescriptanalyst.com) ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358/60 "2002-04-13T07:30:47Z")
In the Show **LEXX** , There are various actors and actresses who will keep showing up as different characters over various seasons, even after the character has died. However, they actually do a decent job of explaining why this is that fits in with the plot of the show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-actor-same-series-different-roles/95358.md?page=4)