# Supporting actors/actresses in movies who hit big through TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149 "2014-01-07T17:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cdnirish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@cdnirish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdnirish)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/1 "2014-01-07T17:50:32Z")
Whenever I watch an old movie on the classic movie channels, it catches me by surprise sometimes to see actors and actresses I grew up watching on TV and were stars there, appearing in movies as supporting actors earlier in their careers. A few are Jack Klugman (_Quincy, the Odd Couple_); Norman Fell and Audra Lyndley (_Three’s Company_), most of the cast of Gilligan’s Island, Harry Morgan (_MASH_), Claude Akins (_The adventures of Sherrif Lobo_) and of course, the daddy of them all…William Shatner. There aren’t as many actors/actresses today who got noticed in film and have hit it big on TV…most go the other way, starting in TV and moving to films. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Norman Reedus (_8mm_ and _Boondock Saints_, before becoming Daryl on _The Walking Dead_.). I guess Whoopi Goldberg applies as well because of _The View_. Who are the actors/actresses today who started in movies, then became well-known through television, either as actors or show hosts? And how suggesting about other TV icons who had early film credits? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/2 "2014-01-07T17:56:44Z")
Well, there’s Jon Cryer. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/3 "2014-01-07T17:58:15Z")
Not that he wasn’t already well-known, but Steve Buscemi was pretty much exclusively a supporting actor before he hit big as a leading man on _Boardwalk Empire_. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/4 "2014-01-07T18:00:40Z")
According to Tom Selleck, he had a small part as a corpse in the movie _Coma_ a couple of years before _Magnum, P.I._ ---
**Author:** ![cdnirish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@cdnirish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdnirish)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/5 "2014-01-07T18:08:00Z")
Man, I completely forgot about Jon Cryer…50 lashes with a wet noodle. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/6 "2014-01-07T18:09:30Z")
Boy, there’s loads of them. Jamie Farr - as Jameel Farah - had some small parts early in his life (including Blackboard Jungle!) and went on to fame as Klinger in MASH. The finest version of this character I’ve ever seen in Bronson Pinchot. Pinchot absolutely nailed the ‘clerk with undefined eastern European accent who’s a bit weird’ role in Beverly Hills Cop. Total screen time, possible 2 minutes. But pretty much that exact character was his Balki in Perfect Strangers 2 years later. He took that bit part as far as he possibly could. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/7 "2014-01-07T18:10:05Z")
Lucille Ball was a steadily-working mostly-B-movie actress for many years before _I Love Lucy_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/8 "2014-01-07T18:10:06Z")
How about Paul Reiser? Part of the ensemble cast in _Diner_, gets supporting-actor work in blockbusters like _Beverly Hills Cop_ and _Aliens_ – and, after _My Two Dads_, he gets his signature leading role on _Mad About You_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/9 "2014-01-07T18:11:19Z")
> [@cdnirish](#): > > Man, I completely forgot about Jon Cryer…50 lashes with a wet noodle. The real question is, do we get to count Charlie Sheen? ---
**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:** [January 7, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/10 "2014-01-07T18:43:34Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Lucille Ball was a steadily-working mostly-B-movie actress for many years before _I Love Lucy_. But Lucille Ball was already a hit before **I Love Lucy** She’d starred in **DuBarry was a Lady** and **The Big Street** (opposite Henry Fonda) and **Lover Come Back** before that, and **Mt Favorite Husband** (sorta the pre-I Love Lucy) was already a big radio hit before she became a TV star. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/11 "2014-01-07T19:01:24Z")
Ed O’Neill got a couple of supporting-actor roles on film – as the big cop backing up Al Pacino, or the hired gun Christopher Walken wants back in the game – before getting famous on MARRIED WITH CHILDREN before his current run on MODERN FAMILY. ---
**Author:** ![cdnirish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@cdnirish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdnirish)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/12 "2014-01-07T20:28:27Z")
Cloris Leachman from Raising Hope also had a couple of minor film credits in the 40s and 50s. I saw her in Kiss Me Deadly, a film noir B-movie from 1955 a couple of weeks ago. She had a small role right at the beginning, but she was the standout in the movie. Of course, she first hit it big on TV with the Mary Tyler Moore Show. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/13 "2014-01-07T20:30:04Z")
Neil Flynn was in a few movies before becoming known through _Scrubs_ and _The Middle_. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/14 "2014-01-07T20:37:14Z")
Zooey Deschanel and Timothy Olyphant are the two that come to mind right away. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/15 "2014-01-07T20:53:34Z")
After _All That Jazz_, John Lithgow did tons of supporting work – especially in _The World According To Garp_ and _Terms of Endearment_, not to mention his “antagonist” roles in _Footloose_ and _Buckaroo Banzai_ – and, after decades of getting billed lower than Aykroyd or Stallone or Berenger or whoever, he started racking up Golden Globes on television. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/16 "2014-01-07T21:15:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But Lucille Ball was already a hit before **I Love Lucy** She’d starred in **DuBarry was a Lady** and **The Big Street** (opposite Henry Fonda) and **Lover Come Back** before that, and **Mt Favorite Husband** (sorta the pre-I Love Lucy) was already a big radio hit before she became a TV star. You are correct, and I see now that I misunderstood the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/17 "2014-01-07T21:16:12Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > According to Tom Selleck, he had a small part as a corpse in the movie _Coma_ a couple of years before _Magnum, P.I._ He’s also in _ **Midway** _. Then again, every male actor was in _ **Midway** _. Agnes Moorehead had a steady stream of movie work before she was Endora. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/18 "2014-01-07T21:18:44Z")
**William H Macy** has forever been a strong supporting character actor type with very few starring film roles. He’s currently starring in Shameless on Showtime, and they’re on their 4th or 5th season of that. **Peter Dinklage** spent most of his career in supporting film roles before breaking out on Game of Thrones, and is arguably the star of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/19 "2014-01-07T21:31:26Z")
How about Martin Sheen? He was in a bunch of movies but his only major lead was _Apocalypse Now_. His career reached its peak on _The West Wing_. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149/20 "2014-01-07T21:41:52Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > **Peter Dinklage** spent most of his career in supporting film roles before breaking out on Game of Thrones, and is arguably the star of the show. Ix-nay on the arstay! You know how George Double Aaargh Martin is about leading characters! (Makes slashing motion across throat.) Don’t be giving him any ideas! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-actors-actresses-in-movies-who-hit-big-through-tv/678149.md?page=2)