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

[DearEvette]

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.

 

Yup. Debi Morgan will always and forever be Angie.  I remember seeing her in the movie Eve's Bayou and I thought to myself "ooh, look, Angie can talk to spirits!" and she played a school Superintendent on Boston Public I was like 'Ooh, Angie is a boss lady!"

[Snowprince]

Larisa Oleynik will always be Alex Mack and Melissa Joan Hart is forever Clarissa (Explains It All) Darling. Neither will ever grow up in my eyes.....I can't help it. 

Edited December 18, 2014 by Snowprince

[blueray]

Larisa Oleynik will always be Alex Mack and Melissa Joan Hart is forever Clarissa (Explains It All) Darling. Neither will ever grow up in my eyes.....I can't help it. 

To me Melissa Joan Hart is always Sabrina (the teenage witch), of course I didn't really watch Claissa that much.

Edited December 18, 2014 by blueray

[paulvdb]

I've seen him in several other roles, most recently on Degrassi and Ascension. But for me John Ralston will always be George Venturi (Life with Derek).

[bmasters9]

Quite a few people: 

 

Hal Linden as Barney Miller

Raymond Burr as Perry Mason

Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart

Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle

Bob Newhart as Dr. Bob Hartley

[MyAimIsTrue]

Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle

 

Perhaps I'm showing my age but to me Brian Keith will always be Uncle Bill from "Family Affair."

[ohjoy]

I know she's been in a bunch of television stuff as regular characters (most notably Kim in Yes, Dear) and guest stars, but Jean Louisa Kelly will for me always be the young hussy who tried to seduce Mr. Holland in Mr. Holland's Opus. I literally could not watch Yes, Dear for that very reason.

[yourpointis]

Katherine Helmond and Richard Mulligan will always be Jessica Tate and Burt Campbell from Soap, but I don't think of Billy Crystal as Jodie Dallas. Whatever role Billy takes on, he's still just Billy Crystal. 

[Bruinsfan]

Robert Guillaume will always be Benson, too.

[Aquarius]

Since I keep seeing Allison Dubois when the CSI: Cyber commercials come on, I guess I'll have to add Patricia Arquette to this list. 

[ABay]

The guy who plays Philip Stroh on The Closerand Major Crimes will never be anyone else to me. I can't even remember his real name. Billy Burke, maybe? I'll never be able to buy him as anything other than pure evil.

[kiddo82]

I saw Still Alice this past weekend. Alec Baldwin is now Jack Donaghy to me forever. (It was also not lost on me that Julianne Moore played Jack's love interest for a spell on 30 Rock). I'm sure even if I watched something with Alec in it pre 30 Rock all I'd see was Donaghy.

[Bruinsfan]

I'd recommend watching Beetlejuice to break out of that. It's probably his least Jack-like role, not a hint of arrogance.

[Popples]

The guy who plays Philip Stroh on The Closerand Major Crimes will never be anyone else to me. I can't even remember his real name. Billy Burke, maybe? I'll never be able to buy him as anything other than pure evil.

 

Since you brought up The Closer and Major Crimes, G.W. Bailey will always be Captain Harris from The Police Academy movies.

[ABay]

I enjoy Provenza but my very favorite GW Bailey moment was when he played a psychiatrist early in St. Elsewhere. The hospital is in Boston and it's just a throwaway moment where he's on the phone at the beginning of a scene:

Dr Beale: Mrs. Stevens, I'm sure your daughter-in-law is not actually a witch.

[Moose135]

Provenza will forever be Sgt. Rizzo from M*A*S*H for me.

[VanillaBear85]

Will Arnett will always be Gob Bluth.

[decembar13]

Nathan Fillion will always be Captain Mal Reynolds!

 

And the actor that played Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks is just that... Leland Palmer.

[Rick Kitchen]

Nathan Fillion will always be Joey Buchanan!

[supposebly]

Nick Chinlund = Donnie Pfaster, the creepy serial killer in the X-files' Irresistible.

 

I have never been able to watch him in anything without getting creeped out.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I think Michael Emerson is very talented and I enjoyed him as Ben on Lost.  But it is hard to see him as anyone but William Hinks, the creepy killer from The Practice.

[kiddo82]

This. Oh man. I've seen about 4 episodes of the Practice and that was one of them. He will forever be "Creeper killer from the Practice" to me. And I mean that as a compliment. I'm still kinds scarred.

Edited February 14, 2015 by kiddo82

[Snowprince]

Raymond Burr is a tough one for me because of a 3 way tie:

 

Perry Mason, of course, chief of detectives Robert T. Ironside, and United World News reporter Steve Martin in Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

[DeLurker]

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

Ron Howard is Opie.

Kim Delaney will always be Jenny Gardner fro AMC. I don't think I've liked her in anything since.

Kyle Maclachan will be Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks.

[Snowprince]

Another Kyle. Kyle Chandler is forever Coach Eric Taylor of Friday Night Lights.

[cynicat]

Another Kyle. Kyle Chandler is forever Coach Eric Taylor of Friday Night Lights.

 

Funny, to me he will always be Gary Hobson from Early Edition.

[lampshades]

Granted I've never seen Grey's Anatomy, but every time I see Ellen Pompeo all I can think of is the creepy role she had on Law and Order where she helped rape and murder her sister. 

[manbearpig]

Ellen Pompeo was insane in that episode of Law & Order. Granted she'll always be Meredith Grey to me, but I remember tuning into that episode and being more than a little unsettled.

 

It's an obvious one, but Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy to me. Any time I see her in a horror movie I just think 'c'mon, Buffy would have beat him in seconds'. That being said, SMG does such a good bitch and is so funny as Kathryn in Cruel Intentions that Buffy never crosses my mind when I watch that movie. Otherwise, yeah...I do hope she lands a steady television gig soon though because I think she could be great in the right role.

[SmithW6079]

Matthew Perry will always be Chandler Bing. Even though he's playing Oscar in the new "Odd Couple," I still see Chandler.

[BatmanBeatles]

Could he be any more of a slob?

[AntiBeeSpray]

Jerry Orbach as either Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast or as Lenny Briscoe in Law and Order. :) I just can't see him as anyone else, even after seeing him on an older Perry Mason tv movie.

[Snowprince]

I couldn't watch Psych because Dule Hill has been permanently stamped into my brain as The West Wing's Charlie Young.

[ohjoy]

I have the exact opposite problem: I didn't watch TWW when it first aired, and now all I can see is Burton Guster.

[SmithW6079]

Another Kyle. Kyle Chandler is forever Coach Eric Taylor of Friday Night Lights.

 

 

Funny, to me he will always be Gary Hobson from Early Edition.

 

And I remember him primarily as Jeff Metcalf from "Homefront."

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is always Elaine Benes from "Seinfeld."

[DearEvette]

It's an obvious one, but Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy to me.

 

Poor girl.  I think most people see her this way.... as Buffy (or Kendall to some).  Mostly Buffy though.  Buffy is such a seminal tv character.  I wonder if this is why she is having such a hard time translating to other roles. 

 

Kinda like you could never see Leonard Nimoy as anything other than Spock.  Even as William Bell in Fringe, he was Leonard Nimoy playing this character who was not Spock.

[UYI]

*Channeling Maury Povich*

 

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

 

Except to me, it's this:

 

Brittany Snow, you ARE Susan Lemay on Guiding Light.

 

Kassie DePaiva will always be Blair Cramer on One Life to Live. When I see her on DAYS, it messes with my brain, because it just seems like Blair moved to Salem.

 

Another OLTL example: Fiona Hutchison as Gabrielle Medina. I know she was on GL for quite a few years, but to me her name is NOT Jenna Bradshaw. Her name is Gabrielle Medina and she just moved from Llanview to Springfield when she was sentenced to prison.

 

Sara Gilbert on The Talk? I think "Darlene's on a talk show." (It's the hair that does it for me, her RL personality is obviously VERY different from Darlene.)

 

Craig T. Nelson is Hayden Fox from Coach. And occasionally Steve Freeling from Poltergeist. But mostly Hayden Fox. Ditto Jerry Van Dyke, he will always be Luther Van Dam to me. And Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick on Spongebob is just Dauber if he lived under water. 

 

Here's an odd one: I think of John Ritter more as Reverend Matthew Fordwick from The Waltons than as Jack Tripper from Three's Company, because I watched the DVDs of the former show first. (Ditto Sam Waterston--he's Forrest Bedford from I'll Fly Away to me, not Jack McCoy from L&O).

 

Jimmy Smits is Bobby Simone from NYPD Blue to me. And Dennis Franz will ALWAYS be Andy Sipowicz.

Edited March 21, 2015 by UYI

[UYI]

Larisa Oleynik will always be Alex Mack and Melissa Joan Hart is forever Clarissa (Explains It All) Darling. Neither will ever grow up in my eyes.....I can't help it. 

 

YES. ESPECIALLY MJH. I actually DID watch Sabrina, but even at seven I knew it was bullshit that she was actually a teenager, given that she played Clarissa during her REAL teenage years.

[UYI]

James Rebhorn did a lot of work in a lot of movies and tv shows that I watched over the years, but I still couldn't quite get over the fact that he'd played Bradley Raines on The Guiding Light--a character who'd molested (maybe raped--it's been so long, I forget exactly) his teenage step daughter.  It got better over the years, but it was always in the back of my mind. 

 

He raped Beth, but her first scene on the show was at the hospital after he had hit/beat her (although she covered for him, saying she had had a bad fall).

 

Poor James Rebhorn. He wound up in a very similar role on As the World Turns a few years later, as Henry Lange, Angel's father. Except that this time, it was his BIOLOGICAL daughter he raped, and he actually got her pregnant! (She ran away and got a back alley abortion--everyone thought her boyfriend had impregnated her at the time).

 

Talk about unfortunate type casting. 

[Bastet]

Kassie DePaiva will always be Blair Cramer on One Life to Live.

 

She's Chelsea Reardon (from Guiding Light) to me; she had a different last name then, but I can't remember it.  The only other thing I've seen her in are commercials, and every time I do, I think, "Hey, it's Chelsea."

 

And, yeah, poor James Rebhorn was always Bradley Raines to me.  But I liked him in many things despite that association, so kudos to him.

 

Basically, if you were on GL during the years I watched, that's who you are to me forevermore, no matter what roles you go on to play.  Sherry Stringfield?  Blake.  Melina Kanakaredes?  Eleni.  Ian Ziering?  Cam.  Nia Long?  Kat.  Harley Jane Kozak?  Annabelle.  Michelle Forbes?  Sonni/Solita.  I don't think of Allison Janney as Ginger, and although I think of Tim Werner when I see Kevin Bacon, that's not my only association, but that's about it.

[Rick Kitchen]

Yeah, Melina Kanakaredes is always Eleni to me, too.

 

I am conflicted about Justin Deas, though, because although he's Buzz, he's also Bucky from Ryan's Hope, Marco from OLTL and Tom from ATWT.

[UYI]

She's Chelsea Reardon (from Guiding Light) to me; she had a different last name then, but I can't remember it.  The only other thing I've seen her in are commercials, and every time I do, I think, "Hey, it's Chelsea."

 

Wesley, her maiden name. Her last name now is that of her husband, James DePaiva (Max on OLTL). She was actually married to a crew member of GL before she married JDP, but didn't change it professionally until her second marriage.

 

 

And, yeah, poor James Rebhorn was always Bradley Raines to me.  But I liked him in many things despite that association, so kudos to him.

 

He played Glenn Close's brother in Hallmark's Sarah Plain and Tall, which I grew up watching, which removes some of the ick factor for me (and I only saw him in YouTube clips on GL years later--my mom recognized him from GL, though).

 

Speaking of which, believe it or not, I still kind of think of Christopher Walken as the dad from SPAT (haha, I just figured that out!) from when I was a kid, so it's still a bit strange for me sometimes to think of him as creepy, weird characters!

Edited March 23, 2015 by UYI

[HelenBaby]

The person who owns this is Don Knotts. He was never anyone but Barney Fife, no matter what he did before or after.

[elizacat]

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

Am sure I read somewhere that he was offered the role of Danny Zuko in Grease before John Travolta but turned it down for the fear of being type cast - I guess he didn't realise he already was.

Ron Howard will always be Richie Cunningham to me.

[Snowprince]

Matt Damon is perma-stamped in my mind as Jason Bourne.

 

Sean Connery is forever James Bond.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Snowprince

[UYI]

I know she wound up on Scrubs later on, but Sarah Chalke will always be Fake Becky on Roseanne to me.

 

And yes, every time I watch an episode with her in it, I always call her Fake Becky. 

[janie jones]

Ron Howard will always be Richie Cunningham to me.

He'll always be Richie Cunningham to me, and I've never even seen Happy Days.

[anna0852]

Allison Janney will always be CJ Cregg to me. And Sara Gilbert is Darlene to the end.

[andromeda331]

Brittany Snow, you ARE Susan Lemay on Guiding Light.

 

 

To me too. I tried to watch American Dreams but I couldn't see her as anyone but Susan. Even though Hayden Panattiare is always going to be Lizzie Spaulding to me. I watched that Bring it On sequel solely so I could watch her and Marcy Rylan who played Lizzie Spaulding. It was kind of awesome watching the two Lizzies.

[Aquarius]

Yes to Sara Gilbert being Darlene!  Even with the obvious difference in her real-life personality, all I see on The Talk is Darlene.

 

Her sister Melissa will always be Laura Ingalls to me. 

 

Valerie Bertinelli will always be Barbara Cooper.  She's all over the Food Network these days and it's strange because I don't think I'd ever heard Barbara express any interest  in cooking.  LOL.

 

Janes Leeves will always be Daphne Moon from Frasier.  And Wendie Malick will always be Nina Van Horn from Just Shoot Me.  Let's just say Hot In Cleveland is a very disorienting experience for me.

 

John Wesley Shipp will always be Kelly Nelson from Guiding Light.  Meg Ryan will always be Betsy Stewart from As the World Turns, no matter what she does to her face.

 

To me, the late Leonard Nimoy was always the creepy narration from In Search Of.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yes to Sara Gilbert being Darlene!  Even with the obvious difference in her real-life personality, all I see on The Talk is Darlene.

 

Her sister Melissa will always be Laura Ingalls to me. 

 

Valerie Bertinelli will always be Barbara Cooper.  She's all over the Food Network these days and it's strange because I don't think I'd ever heard Barbara express any interest  in cooking.  LOL.

 

Janes Leeves will always be Daphne Moon from Frasier.  And Wendie Malick will always be Nina Van Horn from Just Shoot Me.  Let's just say Hot In Cleveland is a very disorienting experience for me.

 

John Wesley Shipp will always be Kelly Nelson from Guiding Light.  Meg Ryan will always be Betsy Stewart from As the World Turns, no matter what she does to her face.

 

To me, the late Leonard Nimoy was always the creepy narration from In Search Of.

 

Word! Same with David Hyde Pierce as Niles from Frasier.