Tunnel Vision: Actors Who You Could Never See Outside of That One Role

[Kromm]

Look, if Darrin Stephens can see a different face in the mirror and NOT EVEN REALIZE IT, then a few TV families losing kids and pretending they never existed is... nothin', ya know?

Edited September 22, 2014 by Kromm

[Brandi Maxxxx]

Darrin was married to a witch though. That kind of weirdness comes with the territory.

[Athena]

I saw the tv trailer for Forever. Ioan Gruffudd will always be Horatio Hornblower to me and the only thing he has done as well since is the film Amazing Grace. His American roles have been a waste. I think Matthew Rhys has the better Welsh actor in LA career. 

[Rick Kitchen]

 

I don't think Mary Tyler Moore was ever able to not be seen as Mary Richards (even when she appeared in Ordinary People).

 

Nooo, she's Laura Petrie!

[2KllMckngBrd]

JK Simmons as Vern Schillinger in Oz- a character that was pure evil, and even when he plays a good guy (and he does often) I'm still remembering him burning a swastika into Beecher's ass.

Me too. When he's on L:O I always call him Vern. When I saw Juno 1st thing I thought was Schillinger-except in my head it was the way Jerry always said Newman on Seinfield

 

He had a longer tenure as DS9's Captain Sisko, but for me Avery Brooks will always and forever be Spencer For Hire's Hawk.

My son's middle name is Avery b/c of Hawke. He was just so god damn bad ass. He was cool before I even could really define cool. I can still hear the way he would say, "Spin-sar". Love it. My son is grown, sort-of, but as soon as I realized that clips from the show were on you tube I couldn't wait to show him. I had told him stories, and tried to describe the character and the way Avery Brooks played him, but it wasn't the same.

 

I could add Dean Winters. He will never not be O'reilly so I find it funny that he is Mayhem for Allstate and Schillinger is Farmers. Always have to be competing.

He'll I'm just going to say everybody from Oz is always going to be that character for me. They all deserved awards.

Completely. When the pilot of SVU came on I yelled at the tv Ryan. But now I'm not sure he's even that. W/those damn ins commercials I think he's now stuck as that. And Said is on Chicago Fire as Boden. Said is still fine as hell and aging like a trooper. Beecher was just on the other day on the season premiere of The Blacklist. The one who ate his own shit I see all the time in lots of shows.

[2KllMckngBrd]

So many soap actors/characters mentioned on here couldn't figure out which ones to directly quote. Lol .

But always think of Phillip, Lujack, Beth, and Alexandra whenever I see Daddy Rapist Raines-GL

Even my son said its Emily Quatermaine when he saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-GH

I think of Marco Dane and Karen whenever I see Who's the Boss and SVU-OLTL

Jodi Loughlin on Full House-Edge of Night

 

Speaking of Full House...John Stamos forever Blackie Parrish-GH

Just saw Anna Devane when I watched Charmed-GH

Only saw Hope Brady when she was on Falcon Crest back in the day-DOOL

Only saw Laura when I watched North and South, never Brett-GH

And when I see Franco on GH I have to perform mental acrobatics-Todd playing Victor, playing Todd, playing Franco (and Starr on GH for that matter-see I typed Starr before I remembered she plays Kiki)

Susan Lucci in anything she tries to do-forever Erica Kane-AMC

It took me till season 2 to not see Kendall Hart every time I saw Buffy-AMC

I remember when China Beach was on and thinking it's Schiobahn Ryan every time she came on screen-Ryans Hope

 

Damn. Apparently I watch to much tv, and have been watching too much for a whole lot of fucking time.

[joelene]

Sarah Jessica Parker will never not be Carrie Bradshaw.

Jason Alexander will always be George. When he was a murderer on Criminal Minds all I could see was that George had put on a wig after becoming a changed man in prison post Seinfeld. And it seemed like a natural progression.

[spaceytraci1208]

It took a looooong time for me to see Matthew Perry in a show/movie and not think of him as Sandy, Carol's friend who drives drunk and dies in a very special episode of Growing Pains

Edited September 29, 2014 by spaceytraci1208

[Snowprince]

How's this for out of left field? Never watched Sex and the City, so when I hear the name Sarah Jessica Parker I Immediately think Patty Greene, Square Pegs. (Anybody remember that?).

[kiddo82]

It took a looooong time for me to see Matthew Perry in a show/movie and not think of him as Sandy, Carol's friend who drives drunk and dies in a very special episode of Growing Pains

Oh my God, I remember that one! I was really young at the time and couldn't get over a boy with name "Sandy." I had no idea that was Matthew Perry.

[Wings]

The cast of Sex and the City are having trouble breaking out of their rolls.  SJP did The Family Stone.  She played a very different part well, but I had a hard time not seeing Carrie Bradshaw.  Kristin Davis (Charlotte) will forever be that character in my mind, especially since she drew comparisons to herself and her character in many interviews.  Why admit that?   Kim Cantrell, good luck, she will always be Samantha.  Cynthia Nixon has the best shot at doing other roles since she came in with a resume showing her range.  But for me they will probably always be the girls from SATC. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

How's this for out of left field? Never watched Sex and the City, so when I hear the name Sarah Jessica Parker I Immediately think Patty Greene, Square Pegs. (Anybody remember that?).

 

Yes, and I even bought the 45 of the theme song by The Waitresses (of "I Know What Boys Like" fame.)

 

That being said because of 'Square Pegs' Jami Gertz will amost always be "Chairperson Tepperperson" to me.

[2KllMckngBrd]

Yes, and I even bought the 45 of the theme song by The Waitresses (of "I Know What Boys Like" fame.)

 

That being said because of 'Square Pegs' Jami Gertz will amost always be "Chairperson Tepperperson" to me.

Yes I do. Which also means you probably remember cas-singles. I said that to my son once, and he looked at me like I had asked him to clean his room. Damn boy. Now get off my lawn...I don't care if you live here.

 

Back on topic. W/Jamie Gertz I get stuck on Less Than Zero.

 

And Andrew McCarthy will always be Blaine. Poor Duckie. He actually thinks someone is buying him in Two and A Half Men. Duckie please...

[psychoticstate]

The cast of Sex and the City are having trouble breaking out of their rolls.  SJP did The Family Stone.  She played a very different part well, but I had a hard time not seeing Carrie Bradshaw.  Kristin Davis (Charlotte) will forever be that character in my mind, especially since she drew comparisons to herself and her character in many interviews.  Why admit that?   Kim Cantrell, good luck, she will always be Samantha.  Cynthia Nixon has the best shot at doing other roles since she came in with a resume showing her range.  But for me they will probably always be the girls from SATC. 

 

I agree.  SJP will always be Carrie Bradshaw to me.  The same way Chris Noth will always be Big (even though I saw him first as Mike Logan on L&O). 

 

Matthew Broderick will always and forever be Bueller . . Bueller. 

 

Jennifer Grey will always be Baby and Patrick Swayze is Johnny Castle.

 

JK Simmons will always be Skoda to me first and then Vern from Oz.  I couldn't believe good old Dr. Skoda from L&O was a crazy racist killer on Oz.  Dean Winters will always be Ryan and then the Mayhem guy.  Love it.  I always think of Oz when I see Harold Perineau (sp?) too although he was fantastic on Sons of Anarchy.

 

Speaking of, I can never think of Peg Bundy again now with Katey Sagal.  She will always be scary Gemma.

 

Pretty much the entire cast of Beverly Hills 90210.

[Wings]

Ditto on Chris Noth.  He is forever Big and that is OK for him because the character Big is versatile,  He can go from a vineyard owner to almost anything.   I have not seen him before or since. 

 

Mathew Broderick will be the guy on Broadway who did The Producers with Nathan Lane even though I never saw it!  It had a long run and he frequently does interviews with Lane and that is their touch stone in celebrity.  I saw Ferris but that did not stick, for me. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

Back on topic. W/Jamie Gertz I get stuck on Less Than Zero.

 

Not that I was ever going to get into hard drugs but had I been leaning that way "Less Than Zero" would have scared me straight. 

[tribeca]

This one is strange.  I have never seen an episode of Lost. In it's heyday it was on magazine cover, ET shows and lots of commercials.  The actor who played Hurley.  Will always be that character to me.  

[Princess Sparkle]

Alexis Bledel will always be Rory Gilmore to me.  I think it's the voice mixed with the mannerisms, but I feel like she brings those no matter what role she's playing and I can't disassociate it.

[DearEvette]

I have never watched Bob's Burgers before, but hearing Archer's voice come out of Bob's mouth was disconcerting.  I know H. John Benjamin is an accomplished voice actor but he will always and forever only be Archer to me.

[yourpointis]

I have never watched Bob's Burgers before, but hearing Archer's voice come out of Bob's mouth was disconcerting.  I know H. John Benjamin is an accomplished voice actor but he will always and forever only be Archer to me.

 

 

 

He'll always be Coach McGuirk to me. : )

[spaceytraci1208]

He'll always be Coach McGuirk to me. : )

Ben from Dr. Katz for me :D

[blueray]

I was babysiting yesterday and the girl had on Stewart Little and Hugh Laurie was the dad. I couldn't see him not being House. It was so weird to see him be cute to a mouse because House would have stepped on Stewart.

Edited October 26, 2014 by blueray

[Kate the Great]

I hadn't seen Andrew Scott in anything that I remembered before his terrifically campy/psychopathic turn as Jim Moriarty in "Sherlock." Now, I found him fun enough to look up a few films, but I can't unsee him as Moriarty. It's all right if it's another unhinged character, but still!

Edited October 28, 2014 by Kate the Great

[DearEvette]

I was babysiting yesterday and the girl had on Stewart Little and Hugh Laurie was the dad. I couldn't see him not being House. It was so weird to see him be cute to a mouse because House would have stepped on Stewart.

 

My first exposure to Hugh Laurie was in a movie called Peter's Friends with Stephen Frey, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Rita Rudner of all people.  He played a kinda geeky commercial jingle writer.  His wife in the movie was Imelda Staunton (Delores Umbridge). 

[DittyDotDot]

My first exposure to Hugh Laurie was in a movie called Peter's Friends with Stephen Frey, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Rita Rudner of all people.  He played a kinda geeky commercial jingle writer.  His wife in the movie was Imelda Staunton (Delores Umbridge). 

 

My introduction to Hugh Laurie was Jeeves & Wooster, also with Stephen Fry. I still love that one today. Have no problem separating Greg House from Bertie Wooster, though.

Edited October 29, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[wallflower75]

My introduction to Hugh Laurie was Jeeves & Wooster, also with Stephen Fry. I still love that one today. Have no problem separating Greg House from Bertie Wooster, though.

 

First time I saw Hugh Laurie was in Blackadder as the brainless Prince Regent.  The second thing I saw him in was Sense and Sensibility where I watched and thought, "I've seen him somewhere before.  Where was it?"  When I saw his name in the credits my jaw dropped.

 

But getting back to the topic...I don't usually have a lot of trouble seeing actors outside of the roles they're best known for, if the actor is talented enough to make the characters seem different in my mind.  For example, I can see Hugh Laurie as the idiot Prince George without thinking, "It's House with a British accent" because the characters are so totally different and Hugh Laurie is convincing as both.  The problem comes when an actor plays the same type of character over and over again, whether because they've become typecast or because they choose those types of roles.  Then I have the crossover.  

 

I'm not totally immune, though.  The actress who played Miss Bingley in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, when I first saw the miniseries, was "Duckface" to me (the nickname of her character in "Four Weddings and a Funeral").  And now, when I see "Four Weddings and a Funeral," I think, "There's Miss Bingley."

[ToxicUnicorn]

Anna Chancellor's Duckface was so memorable and Kristin Scott Thomas was fantastic in that film as well.

 

When I saw Anna Chancellor again in MI-5, I thought of her as Duckface for at least a season.  She finally won me over as her new, hard-edged persona, which I previously would not have thought possible.

[Dancingjaneway]

Dean Cain will always be Scott Peterson(the man who killed his pregnant wife Lacey) to me. I just cannot shake the image of him in that movie. David Hyde Pierce will always be Niles to me. Kelsey Grammer will always be Dr. Frasier Crane.

[Moose135]

David Hyde Pierce will always be Niles to me. Kelsey Grammer will always be Dr. Frasier Crane.

 

Same here! Watching old episodes of Cheers, after Frasier had starting airing, I was struck by how much the then-young Grammer looked like DHP - it really made it believable to me that they were brothers.

[Snow Apple]

I keep seeing Jennifer Morrison as Zoey from How I Met Your Mother which is a shame since I can't stand that character. I watched Once Upon A Time a few times and am unable to erase that negative image for me.

[selkie]

Whatever else I see him in, I have to fight to not see Richard Jenkins as Dead Dad from 'Six Feet Under'.

[Snowprince]

*Channeling Maury Povich*

 

No matter whatever else you may do....Birttany Snow, you ARE Meg Pryor of American Dreams.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Snowprince

[theredhead77]

Torbin Bell will never not be Jigsaw. I cannot watch anything with him in it and I can't even listen to him speak. I watched Stargate SG:1 long after it ended. He's in a couple episodes. The first time he showed up I freaked out a bit and promptly turned the show off.

Edited November 6, 2014 by theredhead77

[ABay]

Meg Ryan will always be Betsy Stewart from As the World Turns.

[BatmanBeatles]

I watched a small clip of the movie Draft Day and Tom Welling is just Clark Kent with a buzz haircut.

[BigBlueMastiff]

Tobin Bell will never not be Jigsaw. I cannot watch anything with him in it and I can't even listen to him speak. I watched Stargate SG:1 long after it ended. He's in a couple episodes. The first time he showed up I freaked out a bit and promptly turned the show off.

 

Ha ha ha, agreed. Henry Winkler will always be the Fonz, pretty much goes for every actor/actress on Happy Days.

[andromeda331]

So many soap actors/characters mentioned on here couldn't figure out which ones to directly quote. Lol .

But always think of Phillip, Lujack, Beth, and Alexandra whenever I see Daddy Rapist Raines-GL

Even my son said its Emily Quatermaine when he saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-GH

 

 

I have this for many soap stars too Emily Quartermaine being one, Hayden Panettiere, Bethany Joie Lenz-Galetti (sp?) and Brittany Snow. Jonathan Jackson will always be Lucky to me. The one who plays the wife on Tyrants is always going to be Bridget to me. Thanks to this I've also never been able to seeing a character the same when an actor or actress moves on and it gets recast. No matter how good the replacement maybe for me its just not the same.  Lauren Graham will always be Lorelai.  Matt Czuchry will always be Logan which is too bad because I hate Logan. 

[spaceytraci1208]

Michael B. Jordan has been doing well in films over the last year or so, but he will ALWAYS be Wallace from The Wire

[Qoass]

Lauren Graham is permanently Lorelei Gilmore.  When I see her in movies, I know that's really Lorelei taking on a secret identity for a laugh.  When the promos for Parenthood began showing her with Mae Whitman all I could think was, "Wow, Rory looks really different...".

Edited November 21, 2014 by Qoass

[2KllMckngBrd]

Michael B. Jordan has been doing well in films over the last year or so, but he will ALWAYS be Wallace from The Wire

For you it's The Wire, and for me it's All My Children. He played the adopted son of Jackson Montgomery. And eventual honorary "stepson" and "brother" to Erica Kane, and Kendall, Bianca, and Lilly, respectively. For a while he was a pretty significant part of AMC. When the commercials starting airing for his movie Fruitvale Station my son goes, "look mom...Reggie's got a movie career." I have never seen The Wire but have heard amazing things about pretty much every aspect of that show.

 

 

Also which ever Bring It On incarnation stars Hayden Pannitiere always make my fam giggle. Both Lizzie Spauldings' from Guiding Light were in it that movie. Hayden played little girl Lizzie. And Emme Rylan played teenage Lizzie. We have always wondered what that conversation was like when they 1st met. It's all we can think about, no matter how many times we've seen that movie. Lol.

[Rick Kitchen]

Emme Rylan is a very pretty woman as Lulu Spencer on General Hospital, but Julie Marie Berman, whom she replaced, is absolutely gorgeous, and is always my Lulu.

 

[nicepebbles]

Pretty much the entire cast of Friday Night Lights will be their characters as in i think of their FNL character name first when I see them in other roles.

[MulletorHater]

I saw Dennis Hopper in a made-for-tv movie in the 80's, wherein he was physically abusing his wife and his daughter. I was about 10, and my dad was doing the same thing. In fact, I got in trouble by my dad for watching the movie and he stormed in and turned it off.

Dennis Weaver may have been a perfectly pleasant man in real life, but I hated his ass in anything else I'd ever seen him in. He had done that convincing of a job in that one movie, and it was over for me.

 

This is exactly the way I feel about Danny Glover.  He's an activist in real life for several worthy causes and a fine actor, but I just can't get past his role as Mister in The Color Purple, who was one of the vilest and most abusive characters to have ever graced the screen.  I can't see him in any other role especially as a romantic lead or doting family man.

 

By the same token, I feel the same way about Chip Fields, who has an impressive resume as a  television and Broadway actress, as well as a director.  But the image of the abusive Ms. Gordon burning poor little Penny with an iron on Good Times will be forever seared [no pun intended] in my mind.

[kathyk24]

Chris Noth is Mike Logan from Law and Order. Ray Wise is the Devil

[Bastet]

I know he went on to play the president and do all those Allstate commercials, but Dennis Haysbert will forever be Pedro Cerrano from Major League to me.  I say "Hats for bats.  Keep bats warm" every time I see him.

[ApathyMonger]

I've been catching up on Outlander, and I can only ever see Bill Paterson as Kenneth McHoan from the 1996 BBC mini-series The Crow Road, and Stephen Walters as Mad Twatter from the first season of Skins.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I know he went on to play the president and do all those Allstate commercials, but Dennis Haysbert will forever be Pedro Cerrano from Major League to me.  I say "Hats for bats.  Keep bats warm" every time I see him.

 

And I often say "fuck you, Jobu" when I see Dennis Haysbert for the same reason.

[Shannon L.]

I usually thing "Ah...Jesus--I like him very much, but he not help me with curve ball.", but only because it leads to this great line: "Are you telling me you don't think Jesus Christ can hit a curve ball?!"

[2KllMckngBrd]

I hadn't seen Andrew Scott in anything that I remembered before his terrifically campy/psychopathic turn as Jim Moriarty in "Sherlock." Now, I found him fun enough to look up a few films, but I can't unsee him as Moriarty. It's all right if it's another unhinged character, but still!

LMAO! I just watched The Imposter on Netflix last weekend and the whole time I kept assuming the "brother was in on it". Realized towards the end that the only reason I had that in my head was b/c the actor playing the brother, plays Moriarty. Haha. Wish I would have put two and two together sooner. So yeah, he might be stuck in my mind now too.

[topanga]

I know he went on to play the president and do all those Allstate commercials, but Dennis Haysbert will forever be Pedro Cerrano from Major League to me.  I say "Hats for bats.  Keep bats warm" every time I see him.

I've seen him in many great roles, but to me he will always be Omar Epps' dad in the movie "Love and Basketball."

 

And speaking of "Love and Basketball," Debi Morgan has remained a hardworking actress since her AMC days. But she will always be Angie, Jesse's one true love.