# Same cast members in different series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666 "2015-01-13T00:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/21 "2015-01-13T04:30:34Z")
The last few years of Stargate SG1 added Farscape’s Ben Browder and Claudia Black to the main cast. The current version of Hawaii Five-O has both Daniel Dae Kim and Jorge Garcia from Lost in the main cast. Kim’s (Jin) been on the show from the start, Garcia (Hurley/Hugo) had a few guest spots then became a cast member this season. They’ve also had other Lost regulars/guest stars on. Terry O’Quinn (Locke) had a large recurring role. Rebecca Mader (Charlotte) was just on last week’s episode. And I believe William Mapother (Ethan) was on not too long back. They also have Masi Oka (I hope I spelled that right, he played Hiro) from Heroes in the main cast and had Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) on as a guest. OH HEY, Greg was on Lost too (he played the pilot)! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/22 "2015-01-13T04:37:56Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Claudia Black and Ben Browder from _Farscape_ both showed up again in the later _Stargate_ seasons. Sorry, somehow missed your post while looking for them in the thread! > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Some _FRIENDS_ pairings have turned up post-_FRIENDS_; Jennifer Aniston turned up on one or two episodes of _Dirt_ (starring Courtney Cox) and possibly Cox’s _Cougar Town_ as well (or was that Lisa Kudrow?). Aniston was definitely in an episode of Cougar Town, Matthew Perry was in one as well. And something like a half dozen people from Scrubs (not counting Cox herself as well as Christa Miller) have shown up. Ted even showed up as the same character. Gooch left him for Hooch! Oh, Raising Hope had every cast member from My Name is Earl on, first individually, then in a big “reunion” episode, with lots of MNIE references (even though they were different characters). Tim Stack and Patty the daytime hooker were on Raising Hope as the same characters as on Earl. Finally Jimmy and Christine from Yes Dear also showed up (as their same characters), though in Jimmy’s second appearance Christine was oddly replaced by a completely different actress and renamed Kristy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/23 "2015-01-13T04:41:20Z")
Producers and directors find an actor who can deliver, show up sober with the lines known and not piss-off the cast and crew tend to get rehired a lot. Being a really good actor can get you a job once in a while, but the others count. Just observe Val Kilmer. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/24 "2015-01-13T04:54:30Z")
Joss Whedon seems to have a fondness for Summer Glau (appeared in Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse), Nathan Fillon (Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible), Eliza Dushku (Buffy/Angel, Dollhouse), Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse), Ginna Torres (Firefly, Buffy) and Felicia Day (Buffy, Dr. Horrible, Dollhouse). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/25 "2015-01-13T05:01:54Z")
> [@Tread](#): > > Add The Beverly Hillbillies to this list The Hillbillies’ crossovers came fairly late in the series, and were pretty contrived. The casts of the other two interacted naturally, since they lived in close proximity to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/26 "2015-01-13T05:38:51Z")
Judy Greer, Jessica Walter and Jeffrey Tambor had recurring roles on both **Arrested Development** and **Archer**. Jon Hamm and John Slattery of **Mad Men** have guest-starred on **30 Rock**. Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria voiced characters on **The Simpsons** and appeared in **Herman’s Head**. Three cast members from that show have guest-starred on **Curb Your Enthusiasm** : William Ragsdale (Herman) as a doctor, Peter MacKenzie (“Genius”) as an airline passenger, and Ken Hudson Campbell (“Animal”) as a house painter. (Molly Hagan (“Angel”) appeared on the proto-Curb series **Seinfeld** as a Latvian Orthodox nun.) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/27 "2015-01-13T06:00:41Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I don’t think the OP means characters from one series popping up in another. There might be old episodes of _Gunsmoke_ or _Wagon Train_, for instance, that have William Shatner and DeForest Kelley working together years before they appeared on _Star Trek_ (I think that actually happened, but can’t think of specific instances)… If you’re willing to include movies, [The Pagemaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pagemaster) was a fantasy movie starring Macaulay Culkin alongside a bunch of Star Trek actors, including Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Whoopi Goldberg, and Christopher Lloyd, and also Robert Picardo who would later star as Trek’s Emergency Medical Hologram. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/28 "2015-01-13T07:33:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Hillbillies’ crossovers came fairly late in the series, and were pretty contrived. Come to think of it, these may have been the earliest such crossovers ever. Prior to their visiting Hooterville, there was no indication that the Clampetts and Bradleys _et al._ inhabited the same universe. Can anybody think of another that was earlier? Or is this too far off topic? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/29 "2015-01-13T13:56:45Z")
The Star Trek franchises and Gargoyles shared Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Kate Mulgrew, and Nichelle Nichols. Then again, looking at the Gargoyles full cast listing, _everybody_ was in it. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/30 "2015-01-13T14:48:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Come to think of it, these may have been the earliest such crossovers ever. Prior to their visiting Hooterville, there was no indication that the Clampetts and Bradleys _et al._ inhabited the same universe. There was a season two episode of Green Acres where they did a script from Hillbillies as a community play, implying that it was a TV show in their world, as well. Oliver ended up playing Jethro and Lisa played Granny. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/31 "2015-01-13T15:06:16Z")
Judd Apatow likes working with a set of actors, including on his TV shows Freaks and Geeks and then Undeclared. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/32 "2015-01-13T15:36:01Z")
I was coming into the thread to bring up Judd Apatow and Joss Whedon. I’ll throw Kevin Smith and the Coen brothers into the pot as well, seeing as how they do the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/33 "2015-01-13T15:52:36Z")
There are the occasional guest appearances that come to mind- Diagnosis Murder had the Joe Mannix character for one episode and Ben Matlock for one show to defend one of the DM characters. Seems to me that Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, and Happy Days had a bit of interaction. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/34 "2015-01-13T16:01:22Z")
Gale Gordon co-starred in 3 different series with Lucille Ball. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/35 "2015-01-13T16:24:22Z")
A few more from **Arrested Development** : David Cross and Will Arnett appeared in **The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret** , and Arnett and Judy Greer voiced characters on **Bojack Horseman**. Zach Woods and Tony Hale appeared in **Arrested Development’s** ’s fourth season after both had starred on **Veep**. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/36 "2015-01-13T16:49:30Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > There was a season two episode of Green Acres where they did a script from Hillbillies as a community play, implying that it was a TV show in their world, as well. Oliver ended up playing Jethro and Lisa played Granny. Kind of like that episode of _ **The Green Hornet** _ where the baddies were watching _ **Batman** _ on TV. Oddly enough, the Green Hornet and Kato once popped out of a window on _ **Batman** _ (as did Col. Klink, in full Luftwaffe uniform). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/37 "2015-01-13T16:53:37Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Gale Gordon co-starred in 3 different series with Lucille Ball. She had a whole troupe of actors she enjoyed working with regularly, including Vivian Vance and Mary Jane Croft. You can do this sort of thing when you own not just your own series but the entire studio where it’s filmed! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/38 "2015-01-13T18:08:23Z")
McCale’s Navy and Sponge Bob Square Pants both had the late Ernest Borgenine and the not yet late Tim Conway. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/39 "2015-01-13T18:13:23Z")
Sponge Bob and Knight Rider had The Hoff. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666/40 "2015-01-13T18:30:17Z")
**Treme** had at least two actors from **The Wire** : Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters Several other **Wire** cast members have turned up in **The Walking Dead**. Or is that not what you’re looking for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-cast-members-in-different-series/709666.md?page=3)