# You first knew actor/actress from a role different from one they're widely known in. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139 "2015-03-16T19:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/161 "2015-03-31T23:09:51Z")
I still have trouble watching the \*Odd Couple \*reboot, as Matthew Perry is NOT Felix Unger, in my mind. He’s that guy on _Friends_. And he has not aged well. _Jack Klugman_ is Felix Unger. Except when he’s _Quincy, MD_. Or slumming on _The Twilight Zone_. And my mind cannot reconcile any other paradigm at this time. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/162 "2015-03-31T23:12:39Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > I still have trouble watching the \*Odd Couple \*reboot, as Matthew Perry is NOT Felix Unger, in my mind. He’s that guy on _Friends_. And he has not aged well. > > _Jack Klugman_ is Felix Unger. Except when he’s _Quincy, MD_. Or slumming on _The Twilight Zone_. And my mind cannot reconcile any other paradigm at this time. Forgive me, master\*, Klugman/Perry is Oscar Madison. \*Apologies, capital M master is reserved for Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/163 "2015-03-31T23:20:10Z")
I knew and liked Kim Cattrall in Mannequin. A silly 80’s comedy. Now shes known for Sex in the City. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/164 "2015-03-31T23:24:28Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Forgive me, master\*, Klugman/Perry is Oscar Madison. > > \*Apologies, capital M master is reserved for Cecil. Oopsie. You are of course correct. My mistake… ---
**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:** [April 1, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/165 "2015-04-01T01:45:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I knew and liked Kim Cattrall in Mannequin. A silly 80’s comedy. > > Now shes known for Sex in the City. She was in an episode of _ **Columbo** _ when she was about 15. I think she got an “Introducing” for that. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/166 "2015-04-01T02:08:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > She was in an episode of _ **Columbo** _ when she was about 15. I think she got an “Introducing” for that. Closer to 22 > **[Kim Cattrall | Actress, Producer, Soundtrack](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000326/?ref_=tt_cl_t3)** > > Known for: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Sex and the City 2, Sex and the City ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/167 "2015-04-01T14:34:25Z")
> [@Jalola298](#): > > I can’t forget about David as Agent Denise/Dennis Bryson in _Twin Peaks_. 😉 I am one of the few who never watched an episode of _Twin Peaks_. Was he good in that? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/168 "2015-04-01T14:37:10Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > I still have trouble watching the \*Odd Couple \*reboot, as Matthew Perry is NOT Felix Unger, in my mind. He’s that guy on _Friends_. And he has not aged well. > > _Jack Klugman_ is Felix Unger. Except when he’s _Quincy, MD_. Or slumming on _The Twilight Zone_. And my mind cannot reconcile any other paradigm at this time. _Quincy, M.E._ Sorry for the nitpik. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/169 "2015-04-01T15:20:39Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > [Rene Auberjonois](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0041281/?ref_=nv_sr_2) will always be Clayton Endicott III on _Benson_, and no one else. I was surprised to see recently that he played Spider-Man on a record years ago. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZWHEZF2pdgg/hqdefault.jpg "Amazing Spider-Man Beyond the Grave") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWHEZF2pdgg) He’s also always Clayton to me as well, even as Odo he seems like Clayton acting like Odo. Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader is another one. I watched the heck out of Electric Company as a wee kid. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u8MY7PjSXU) ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/170 "2015-04-01T15:35:55Z")
So this past year, my beloved turned me on to this show called Criminal Minds, in which actor Thomas Gibson plays the stony-faced yet compassionate FBI agent Aaron Hotchner. This weirded me out, as I still remembered Gibson as the straight-laced but pleasant costar of Dharma And Greg. And it weirded me out even worse when FBI agent Aaron Hotchner got in a fight with a seriously evil bad guy played by C. Thomas Howell, best known for his HERO roles in The Outsiders and Red Dawn… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/171 "2015-04-01T15:39:25Z")
…which, now that I think about it, made it even worse in one episode where the evil, evil, evil bad guy is in fact a rogue FBI agent, attacking them from within the organization… and he’s played by Mark Hamill, of all people… ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/172 "2015-04-01T15:46:46Z")
Jack Klugman played Oscar Madison. Tony Randall played Felix Unger. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/173 "2015-04-01T16:10:09Z")
Years before Kevin Spacey became well known for _The Usual Suspects_ and _Seven_, some of us knew him as Mel Profitt on the TV series _Wiseguy_. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/174 "2015-04-01T18:15:23Z")
For me, Kim Catrall will always be Coach Honeywell (aka “Lassie”) in _Porky’s_. ---
**Author:** ![Jalola298](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Jalola298](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jalola298)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/175 "2015-04-03T01:49:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I knew and liked Kim Cattrall in Mannequin. A silly 80’s comedy. > > Now shes known for Sex in the City. > [@terentii](#): > > She was in an episode of _ **Columbo** _ when she was about 15. I think she got an “Introducing” for that. > [@mbh](#): > > For me, Kim Catrall will always be Coach Honeywell (aka “Lassie”) in _Porky’s_. Ah, I’m reminded I first saw her on Starsky and Hutch. She would have been 21 or 22 then and brunette. Starsky accidentally shot and blinded her. Two more from _As the World Turns_. Ming Na who’s on Agents of Shield (or whatever it’s called). She played Tom Hughes’ daughter. And **Thomas Gibson** , playing Derek Mason, the evil husband of Lily Walsh. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/176 "2015-04-03T01:55:46Z")
There are a lot of very popular TV series that I’ve never watched, including _Will and Grace_, starring Eric McCormack. But I know him from a series that I and maybe five other people watched, called _Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years_, where he played a badass in the Old West. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/177 "2015-04-03T02:14:37Z")
> [@Jalola298](#): > > Two more from _As the World Turns_. > Ming Na who’s on Agents of Shield (or whatever it’s called). She played Tom Hughes’ daughter. > And **Thomas Gibson** , playing Derek Mason, the evil husband of Lily Walsh. Ooh, yeah! I can’t believe I forgot about Ming Na(-Wen) as Lien. I do remember Derek and his equally dastardly father who targeted Lucinda at the same time he was moving in on Lily. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2015, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/178 "2015-04-07T09:32:01Z")
I still think of Alfred Molina as the “Throw me the idol and I’ll throw you the whip” guy from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/179 "2015-04-07T11:35:57Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I saw Frank Langella in " The Twelve Chairs " before I saw him in “Dracula”. Same here. Unlike many other stars I saw in early roles and forgot, this one stuck with me, so that when I saw the TV ads for Dracula (the Broadway show), my first thought was “It’s Whatisname from _The Twelve Chairs_!” I’ve seen him in too many things since to pigeonhole him as “Dracula” (although I re-watched the film a couple of nights ago, and his performance was excellent), including a performance of him as Salieri in _Amadeus_ onstage. I’m sorry I missed his limited engagement several years back as Thomas More in _A Man for All Seasons_. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139/180 "2015-04-07T13:30:36Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I saw Frank Langella in " The Twelve Chairs " before I saw him in “Dracula”. To me, he’s [Skeletor](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093507/?ref_=nv_sr_5). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-first-knew-actor-actress-from-a-role-different-from-one-theyre-widely-known-in/715139.md?page=10)