Actors you remember for different roles from their famous ones

Every famous (or semi-famous) performer has a role they're best known
for. Joan "Alexis" Collins, Arnold "Terminator" Schwarzenneger, Paul
"Croc Dundee" Hogan, etc. But there are cases where I remember a
performer best for a different role than the one they're famous for...

mutefan...

I remember Cate Blanchett and Ralphe Fiennes for Oscar and Lucinda,
saddest religious film ever made.

Anim8rFSK...

I remember Joan Collin for Edith Keeler on Star Trek, and to a lesser
degree Nicole Vedette on Mission Impossible, long before I ever think of

Bianca...

I have always cut Adam Sandler a lot of slack because he was so great on
"Remote Control." He'll always be "Stud Boy" to me. Some of his movies
have proven my faith in his talent right.
Some of them...

ranck...

I was going to mention Sandler's bit as "Stud Boy," but to me he
has been doing that same shtick ever since and I didn't like it
then. I can't figure out why they keep putting him in movies.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Anim8rFSK...

I was going to argue with you, but then I remembered I watch Kari Wurher
for much the same reason, from the same show.

Alexis.

David Johnston...

Joan Collins for appearing in Star Trek.

I remember voice performer Courtland "Lloyd Nebulon, and that Gus kid
from Recess" Mead for playing the kid who kept saying "Uh Huh!" in the
Little Rascals movie.

I remember Dave Coulier as the host of Out of Control rather than one
of the regulars on Full House. Yes, I enjoyed that show so much when I
was a kid, my dad made "Bologna Milkshake" references for another 5-6
years.

A tri-fecta from the film Galaxy Quest: I remember Tony "Monk"
Shalhoub, Enrico "Keith Mars, AKA Veronica's dad" Colantoni, and Alan

mutefan...

Every fan of the X Files remembers Shalhoub from a very creepy episode,
"Soft Light." X Files has a boatload of what you're talking about:
Jack Black AND Giovanni Ribisi, in the same Depressed 90's Kid episode
(can't recall the title); "Lori" from That 70's Show from Syzygeny
(sp?); "Mr. Peterman" from an offensive episode called "Postmodern
Prometheus"--the list is pretty long.

Jazz...

Don't forget Seth Green in the 2nd ever episode "Deep Throat."

the "depressed 90's kid episode" is "DPO" from season 3.

"Severus Snape" Rickman for their roles in this film (Fred the overtly

copeab...

Actually, I remember Rickman first for Hans in _Die Hard_ and second
for his character (the name escapes me) in _Quiggly Down Under_.

calm technician guy, Mathasar the alien, and the Spock knock-off). When
I saw an ep of Veronica Mars (the Paris Hilton ep!), the first thing I
thought of when I saw Enrico as Keith was... "_That's_ him?"

This doesn't apply to me, but how many of you remember Melissa Joan
Hart for Clarissa than Sabrina?

BTR1701...

He's not an actor but I remember Ryan Seacrest from when he was the host
of an obscure Saturday morning computer/tech news program on Sci-Fi
called "C-Net News". He co-hosted with a smokin'-hot Aussie woman named
(improbably) Sophie Formica.

Georgiana Gates...

I've been watching Boston Legal lately, with the effect that I now think
of William Shatner as Denny Crane. And there's a good argument that
Shatner had the most famous role of all time.

Nullibicity...

I don't remember him hosting anything with Sofie Formica (Wikipedia says
she hosted "The Web" with Justin Gunn); I do remember Ryan Seacrest from
(not too much) more.

J M...

Morgan Freeman = Easy Reader. 'nuff said.

Donna B...

Morgan Freeman for daytime soap, ANOTHER WORLD.

arnold kim...

Everyone knows Matthew Perry from 'Friends', but I think I'm one of five
people who knew him from 'Second Chance' (or "Boys Will Be Boys", as it was
retooled).

zaryzary2003...

I guess I'm another of the 5 people who remembers "Second Chance." Not
a bad concept, actually. I still remember the lines, "Who's that on
your $50 bill?" "Why it's President Travolta!"

I remember Frank Langella not for "Dracula", or as Perry White in "Superman
Returns"... but as "Skeletor" in the Masters of the Universe movie.

And years before I saw Citizen Kane, you know how I thought of Orson Welles?
The guy who voiced Unicron in "Transformers: The Movie".

Arnold Kim

Arnold Kim

Justin Pate...

Bea Arthur is probably more famous now as Dorothy from Golden Girls than as
Maude.

Conversely, is there anyone that remembers Carroll O'Connor more as the cop
on "In The Heat of The Night" than as Archie Bunker?

ranck...

I remember him as a General in "Kelly's Heroes." That's
a movie worth seeing just to see Bob Newhart doing one
of his telephone routines in the context of the story.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Laddy...

I think Newhart did the telephone schtick in his first ever movie, "Hell Is
for Heroes" with Steve McQueen. They were trying to fool the Germans into
thinking the part of the line they, the good guys, held had many more troops
than was the case. I don't remember him at all from Kelly's Heroes. That's
the Eastwood movie isn't it?

ranck...

Yep, Clint Eastwood as Kelly, with Don Rickles and Telly Savalas and
a bunch of other fairly well known actors either already or soon to be
well known. I just looked at imdb and they don't list Newhart, hmm, maybe
i've conflated this movie with the other. The Donald Sutherland character
(Oddball) always sort of bothered me as a 1970's character plunked down
into a 1940's period piece. Other than that it's pretty much a WWII

zaryzary2003...

I always thought of him as more of a 60s than a 70s character, but in
any case I generally excused it by saying he was just a very early
beatnik.

action/adventure/caper movie. Fun as a rainy Saturday afternoon sort
of pass time.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Or what about Andy Griffith as Matlock rather than Sheriff Andy Taylor?

akjack...

For those three, it depends on when one began watching TV.

I couldn't pick Melissa Joan Hart out of a crowd of two female
actresses of the same age.

I remember Aunt Bee, Hauser Street, Maude, and "79 Wistful Vista"

BTW, Bea Arthur appeared in the season finale, "The End",
of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Season 5. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Pine
were among many familar names in the same episode. You need to watch
the closing credits carefully.