# TV actors who have succeeded in creating two very different memorable characters within a few years **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546 "2009-12-09T01:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/61 "2009-12-10T20:28:55Z")
Speaking of Al Swearengen on _Deadwood_, creator/writer/producer David Milch’s first choice for the role was Ed O’Neill. I don’t know how far they got in negotiations or if O’Neill ever auditioned. My understanding from various articles I read and the commentary is that they went with McShane for two reasons: 1- O’Neill wasn’t that interested since he didn’t need the money, wanted to spend time with his teenaged daughters before they left the house, didn’t want to live in (wherever it was filmed) several months a year, and was kind of tired of TV after having spent 11 years as Al Bundy, and consequently his salary and time demands were huge (I don’t think prima-donna so much as “I’m only interested if it’s an absurdly good offer”) 2- HBO and backers were afraid _Married With Children_ had typecast him (especially since his _Deadwood_ character is a misogynistic selfish drolly funny bastard named Al) so it never came to be. However, O’Neill is an excellent actor- just seeing him in _Wayne’s World_ which was on TV yesterday when he’s playing a very dark character [as comic relief] you don’t think of Al Bundy. It would have been really interesting to see if he could have shaken off the Bundy curse with the Swearengen cussing. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/62 "2009-12-10T20:50:48Z")
No one has mentioned William Shatner yet either. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/63 "2009-12-10T21:36:38Z")
O’Neill was also good in his handful of appearances on _The West Wing_ as the ambitious Governor of Pennsylvania. Not at all an Al Bundy kind o’ part. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/64 "2009-12-10T22:02:55Z")
Mariska Hargitay did a number of episodes on \*\*ER \*\* as the dumb-but-sweet-rebound-girlfriend of Mark Green after his divorce. The next season she was Olivia Benson. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/65 "2009-12-10T22:54:42Z")
Sometime during his gigs on The Daily Show and SNL, but before The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert guest starred as the bad guy in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. There was nothing comical about it at all, and he [nailed](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQm30mZZHwU) it. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/66 "2009-12-10T23:01:05Z")
Not sure if \*\*Diana Muldaur’s \*\*characters on ST:TNG and LA Law are different enough for your taste. ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/67 "2009-12-10T23:11:40Z")
Robert Young as the dad in “Father Knows Best” and later, “Marcus Welby M.D.”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/68 "2009-12-10T23:20:09Z")
Bill Bixby: is that Tim O’Hara, David Bruce Banner, or Tony Blake behind those Foster Grants? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/69 "2009-12-10T23:30:38Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Sometime during his gigs on The Daily Show and SNL, but before The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert guest starred as the bad guy in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. > > There was nothing comical about it at all, and he [nailed](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQm30mZZHwU) it. That was about the first time I saw him actually; I wasn’t a religious TDS watcher then, and it was memorable because it was clearly a retelling of the [Mark Hoffman/Mormon/Salamander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hofmann) case only with a NYC/Catholic setting (since it would be hard to have a Joseph Smith forgery-murder case in modern NCY). ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/70 "2009-12-11T01:29:12Z")
Julia Louis Dreyfus Tony Danza Ted Danson (not sure if Becker is memorable, though) Peter Scolari (Bosom Buddies to Newhart) Gavin MacLeod (Mary Tyler Moore to Love Boat) Yeah, I watched too much TV in the 70s and 80s. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/71 "2009-12-11T02:03:14Z")
Jon Pertwee did Doctor Who and Wurzel Gummidge. Those parts even technically overlapped : Last Wurzel appearance was 1981 and he came back for the Five Doctors in 1983. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/72 "2009-12-11T02:56:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Michael C. Hall managed an incredible transformation - with virtually no gap between the roles - from gay, sensitive David in _Six Feet Under_, to Dexter. I just came in to say exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/73 "2009-12-11T04:14:15Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > The first role I ever saw Paul Reiser in was **Aliens** , as Burke. Evil fellow. Tried to help the alien and get a little girl killed, etc. Hated that dude. I know he’s been in some sitcoms and such and roles that are light and funny, but to me he’ll always be evil. I saw Paul Reiser on a talk show once, and he described going to see _Aliens_ with his mom. In the scene where Reiser gets eaten by one of the monsters, he heard his mom say, “Yes!” ---
**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:** [December 11, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/74 "2009-12-11T05:20:32Z")
Harry Morgan, in a relatively few years, played a deadpan cop on _Dragnet_, a nutty general on _M_A_S_H\*, and then returned as ornery, tough-as-nails Col. Sherman Potter on the same show. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/75 "2009-12-11T06:16:01Z")
What is the point of simply listing actors who have had multiple mundane roles over the years. Yes, Harry Morgan played a generic cop and later created the memorable Col. Potter. Yes, Tony Danza has played multiple characters named Tony. So what? Lots of actors have had more than one succesful part. The question is, who has created multiple _memorable_ characters. I love Michael Chiklis but I don’t think even he qualifies for this because The Commish wasn’t memorable. I think Michael Hall does meet the criteria because both David and Dexter are so original and vivid. YMMV. Bea Arthur may have done it. Maude was certainly memorable and I suppose whatsername from Golden Girls was, too. Lucille Ball never did it. She just played the same character over and over. Let’s raise the bar a little bit, people! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/76 "2009-12-11T06:42:20Z")
Burton Mercer. I’m surprised John Candy left that character without incident, and went on as the beloved character actor that he became. Evil black bespectacled souless, Burton Mercer. He then went to Ox in stripes, a hated yet sympathetic transformed character. Then there was Uncle Buck. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/77 "2009-12-11T14:08:27Z")
Another thread got me to thinking about _Due South_. I present [Callum Keith Rennie](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0719678/). His role as Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski ended in 1999, so let’s include that show & look at his TV roles through this year. - Newbie in the cracked Canadian comedy _Twitch City_. - Cylon Leoben Conoy in _Battlestar Galactica_. - A Haunted/Haunting baseball player on _Kingdom Hospital_. - Lew Ashby in _Californication_. - Evil minion Zero in _Tin Man_. Plus roles in _Smallville_, _Harper’s Island_, & _FlashForward_. Among others. (I haven’t caught everything.) I know he does a great villain, but he’s also got a wacky humor that sometimes gets to shine. Sometimes I’ll see him & think “boy, he’s gotten a lot more weathered since Ray Kowalski.” Then he’ll smile… ---
**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:** [December 11, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/78 "2009-12-11T14:22:32Z")
Lou Ferringo as The Incredible Hulk opposite every other role he has played. Hugh Jackman has a song-and-dance man vs. Wolverine. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/79 "2009-12-11T14:31:36Z")
> [@Corbomite](#): > > Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties” to Mike Flaherty on “Spin City” And later the wheelchair-bound extreme athlete Dwight on “Rescue Me”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546/80 "2009-12-11T14:35:47Z")
Ed Asner in a comic role as Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, and a dramatic role as Lou Grant on “Lou Grant”. Patricia Routledge as a flighty, dimwitted housewife on “Keeping Up Appearances”, and a stolid, shrewd Miss Marple type on “Hetty Wainthropp”. Alan Alda as a shallow, self-centered, womanizing Hawkeye in the early seasons of MASH, to a thoughtful, serious, pacifist Hawkeye in the later seasons of MASH. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-actors-who-have-succeeded-in-creating-two-very-different-memorable-characters-within-a-few-years/520546.md?page=5)