# Shows and movies that star the same actors in the same roles decades later **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665 "2022-07-27T18:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/21 "2022-07-28T09:30:10Z")
Did anyone mention these three films? They’re about the most obvious examples, to me: > **[Before trilogy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy)** > > The Before trilogy consists of three American romance films directed by Richard Linklater. Beginning with Before Sunrise (1995), and continuing with two sequels, Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). The first film was co-written by Linklater and Kim Krizan. The second film was written by Linklater, Krizan, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy (with Linklater and Krizan receiving story credit for their work on the sequel ) while the third film was co-written by Linklater, Hawke and Delpy. ... ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/22 "2022-07-28T09:48:46Z")
If a single decade is OK there was a popular British Sitcom called **The Likely Lads** from 1964-1964. From 1973 to 1974 there was a sequel series **Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?**. Finally a 1976 Film called **The Likely Lads**. All starred **James Bolam** and **Rodney Bewes** as the titular lads. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/23 "2022-07-28T09:58:13Z")
A better, as in longer lasting, Sitcom. **Til Death Us Do Part** ran from 1965 to 1975. Returned as simply **Til Death** in 1981 on a rival channel. Then came **In Sickness And In Health** from 1985 to 1992 which returned to the original channel. All starred **Warren Mitchell** as **Alf Garnett** and many of the other cast also returned. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/24 "2022-07-28T10:05:26Z")
Extremely long lasting Australian Soap Opera **Neighbours** started in 1985 and finally shuts down this year. To celebrate the end some of the famous alumni are making cameo appearances including **Kylie Minogue** who originally starred in it back in 1986-1988. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/25 "2022-07-28T10:21:37Z")
Harrison Ford and others from Blade Runner reprised their roles in Blade Runner 2049. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/26 "2022-07-28T11:13:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Another example (though honestly not a very good film); _Coming 2 America_, a 2021 sequel to the 1988 film _Coming to America_ with Eddie Murphy and some others from the first movie. They even brought back all the jokes from the original film! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/27 "2022-07-28T11:58:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The Kids In The Hall just released a new season of the same sketch comedy show that ran from 1989-1995. Similarly, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk and most of the original supporting cast from _Mr. Show_ returned for _W/ Bob & David_, released back in 2015. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/28 "2022-07-28T12:11:14Z")
Not quite decades, but in 2015 just about all the actors from 2001’s ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ were brought back for a Netflix miniseries ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp’-- amusingly, a prequel with actors who were 14 years older. It helped that most of the actors hardly looked like they had aged a day. Then they did it again in 2017, in more age appropriate style with ‘Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later’. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/29 "2022-07-28T12:16:22Z")
didn’t jack Webb play joe Friday in 3 different eras starting on the radio? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/30 "2022-07-28T12:18:14Z")
Jay and Silent Bob have been making appearances for over 25 years in various Kevin Smith projects. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/31 "2022-07-28T12:45:18Z")
The character ‘Alpha Centauri’ in Doctor Who was played by Ysanne Churchman in 1972, 1974 and 2017, which must be some kind of record. The character Jo Grant first appeared in 1971 and last appeared in 2010, which is nearly as long. If we count Doctor Who audio plays, William Russell and Carole Anne Ford have played their characters from 1963 to 2020 (so far). ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/32 "2022-07-28T12:54:41Z")
I am surprised no one has mentioned Sex and the City. And one franchise I would love see revisited is Back to the Future… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/33 "2022-07-28T12:57:29Z")
The Bob Newhart Show ran until 1978. Suzanne Pleshette revisited her role as Emily Newhart in 1990, for a single episode of Newhart’s subsequent show. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/34 "2022-07-28T13:00:20Z")
_Ghostbusters: Afterlife_ reunited the original cast of _Ghostbusters_ after 32 years. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/35 "2022-07-28T13:11:12Z")
As did Bob Newhart as well! That’s a good example ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/36 "2022-07-28T13:48:08Z")
Clark Gable played the same character in **Red Dust** (1932) and in **Mogambo** , the 1953 remake. Paul Newman played “Fast Eddie” Felson in **The Hustler** (1961) and in **The Color of Money** (1986), both based on novels by William Tevis Kevin McCarthy played the same guy trying to warn everybody about the alien invasion in the original **Invasion of the Body Snatchers** (1956) and in the 1978 Phikli Kaugman remake. And, arguably, in Joe Dante’s **Looney Toons: Back in Action** (2003) The episode of the TV show _Murder She Wrote_ entitled “The Days Dwindle Down” (1987) had three actors – Henry Morgan, Jeffrey Lynn, and Marha Scott – reprising their roles from the 1949 film **Strange Bargain** , clips from which were showb as “flashbacks” There are LOTS of actors who played the same character in multiple movies and TV shows. We’ve had threads on those before ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/37 "2022-07-28T13:57:58Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > I am surprised no one has mentioned Sex and the City. > > And one franchise I would love see revisited is Back to the Future… - _Back To The Future 4_ was filmed in 2087, released in 2076. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/38 "2022-07-28T14:05:35Z")
_Mad Wednesday/The Sin of Harold Diddlebock_ had Harold Lloyd playing the older version of the character he had played in _The Freshman_ twenty-two years earlier. The movie even begins with scenes from _The Freshman_. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/39 "2022-07-28T14:09:47Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > and reprised the character in _Mad About You_ in 1995 (and showed up in a clip show in '96.) MAY ran from 1992-99, and had a revival in 2019 with most of the original cast. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665/40 "2022-07-28T14:17:43Z")
Speaking of _The Freshman_, the 1990 Matthew Broderick film of the same name featured Marlon Brando in, if not the same role, a deliberate copy of his Vito Corleone role from the 1972 _Godfather_ film. But I suppose that’s more parody than a reprise. Along the same lines, the 2019 _Horrible Histories_ film has a Derek Jacobi cameo as Emperor Claudius, who even manages to say “I, Claudius” in reference to his role in the 1976 series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-and-movies-that-star-the-same-actors-in-the-same-roles-decades-later/968665.md?page=3)