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

[DeLurker]

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.

 

She'll always be Judith Tupper Stone from Dream On.

 

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

He's Theodore Van Horne from The Powers that Be for me.  An outrageously delightful show that had a great cast including Holland Taylor, Peter MacNichol, Valerie Mahaffey, a very young Joseph Gordon-Levitt and, surprisingly funny, John Forsythe.

[Rick Kitchen]

OMG, The Powers That Be was hilarious.  I absolutely loved it.  David Hyde Pierce as the depressed Congressman who was always failing to kill himself.

There are clips of it on YouTube that I revisit from time to time.

[JTMacc99]

David Schwimmer is pretty much always going to be Ross Geller. I discovered this during Band of Brothers, where he played the absolutely awful Captain Sobel, and I couldn't help but see mean Ross.

[Bastet]

Even though I did watch Friends for a while and Ross is obviously his iconic role, I  always associate David Schwimmer with "4B" from NYPD Blue.

[UYI]

Soleil Moon Frye will always be Punky Brewster. And that's not a bad thing, either. 

[DeLurker]

I'm pretty sure Josh Holloway will always be Sawyer from Lost. 

 

There's a contestant on The Voice named Sawyer and whenever they say his name or read it, I always flash to Lost.

[Mindymoo]

This is probably a weird one. People typically see David Duchovney as Fox Mulder, but I can only see him as Denise from "Twin Peaks".

[ohjoy]

I'm pretty sure Josh Holloway will always be Sawyer from Lost. 

 

There's a contestant on The Voice named Sawyer and whenever they say his name or read it, I always flash to Lost.

I've actually transposed/superimposed his name in my head now, whenever I try to talk about him it always comes out as "Josh Sawyer" and I have the worst time remembering what his actual last name is.

[andromeda331]

There's a contestant on The Voice named Sawyer and whenever they say his name or read it, I always flash to Lost.

 

I have this whenever I see the name of that politician Paul Ryan, I immediately think of Paul Ryan from As the World Turns.

[blueray]

Zachary Levi: I just noticed that he is going to be in the reboot of Heroes. He's just going to be Chuck to me.

 

 There's a contestant on The Voice named Sawyer and whenever they say his name or read it, I always flash to Lost.

Omg, I thought I was the only one lol.

Edited March 28, 2015 by blueray

[Snowprince]

Zachary Levi: I just noticed that he is going to be in the reboot of Heroes. He's just going to be Chuck to me.

 

The whole cast of Chuck is doomed to this fate to me. In an episode of Mad Men January Jones had a 1 night stand with Ryan McPartlin and I said to myself "Betty just banged Captain Awesome!"

 

When Casey faked his death and was "buried" in his Marine dress blues it immediately clicked in my head that since we only knew Adam Baldwin's character as Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket, that became Casey's back story. (I know Casey would have been too young for Nam, but still...)

 

Having seen her in nothing else, Yvonne Strahovsky is still Sarah. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by Snowprince

[MyAimIsTrue]

I'm pretty sure Josh Holloway will always be Sawyer from Lost. 

 

Every time I feel the need to say an exasperated 'SON OF A BITCH!' I try to say it in Sawyer's voice despite the fact I'm not male, not southern, and I know it's not Josh Holloway's real accent.

[DeLurker]

Actually I believe Sawyer's voice is closer to Holloway's real voice since he mostly grew up in Georgia.  I suspect he's had voice lessons to modulate the southern accent for professional reasons.  The only reason I know is I had to look up his background when I watched Lost because Sawyer sounded just like a lot of the boys I grew up with and his accent never came and went.

 

I watched Intelligence (stop judging me!) too and while his character there did not have a southern accent, at certain times, especially in the voiceover narration during the opening credits, it would be pure Sawyer.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I watched the first episode of Intelligence (man, it was awful) just for Josh and didn't notice a trace of southern so I assumed that was his real voice.  My mistake.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Having seen her in nothing else, Yvonne Strahovsky is still Sarah.

She was fabulous as the new bad-ass in 24: Live Another Day.  I definitely would watch her anchor a spin-off.  Her character was a much more interesting version of Sarah on Chuck.

 

The casting people of 24 pulled off the impossible --- they introduced a character who was both close enough to inherit the mystique of Jack Bauer, yet with a twist (but wait, she's a woman!).  Well done.

[thuganomics85]

Last night, since a lot of my normal shows were on break, I decided to watch Criminal Minds for the first time ever, since I heard it was going to be a backdoor pilot for the spin-off with Gary Sinse and Anna Gunn.  Due to my lack of CM viewing, any time Joe Mantegna's character spoke, I still kept hearing him as Fat Tony from The Simpsons, and would always crack up over the idea of Fat Tony leaving Springfield and becoming a criminal profiler.

[Shannon L.]

Clark Gregg will always be Phil Coulson to me.  I was flipping through the movie channels the other night and lo and behold, there he was in a parked car with a woman, clothing unbuttoned and unzipped, but having been interrupted by something and my first thought was "No, no, no! Phil Coulson would never do that!". 

[Chaos Theory]

Last night, since a lot of my normal shows were on break, I decided to watch Criminal Minds for the first time ever, since I heard it was going to be a backdoor pilot for the spin-off with Gary Sinse and Anna Gunn. Due to my lack of CM viewing, any time Joe Mantegna's character spoke, I still kept hearing him as Fat Tony from The Simpsons, and would always crack up over the idea of Fat Tony leaving Springfield and becoming a criminal profiler.

I always thought this would never happen to me. I can look past most actors and their former rolls even the ones I lurved!!!!!! However for some reason every time I saw Gary Sinise I kept thinking "am I watching CSI?"

<----edited because There, their and they're

Edited May 1, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[bmasters9]

To me, Larry Hagman will always be J.R. Ewing of Dallas, because that's where I got my first exposure to him. 

[Quof]

I'll be seeing Jim Parsons next week on Broadway.  Playing God.  I'll let you know if I can see past Sheldon.

[andromeda331]

To me, Larry Hagman will always be J.R. Ewing of Dallas, because that's where I got my first exposure to him

 

 

Me too. It made watching I Dream of Jeannie very weird.

[millennium]

Alf.  Hard to see him in any other role, comedic or otherwise.

[Chaos Theory]

I'll be seeing Jim Parsons next week on Broadway. Playing God. I'll let you know if I can see past Sheldon.

I actually liked his performance in A Normal Heart. Not sure it was award worthy but I saw past Sheldon.

[Rick Kitchen]

I'll be seeing Jim Parsons next week on Broadway.  Playing God.  I'll let you know if I can see past Sheldon.

 

The first time I heard his voice as the alien in the preview for the animated movie Home, it took me out of the story.

[Snowprince]

CHROMAKELLY, ON 17 SEPT 2014 - 09:04 AM, SAID:

Michelle Forbes is Ensign Ro no matter what role she is in.

 

And see ... to me, she's always "Sonny/Solita" from "Guiding Light".

 

....and to me, she's BSG's Admiral Helena Cain.

 

Peter Firth shall forever be MI-5's Sir Harry Pearce.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Snowprince

[Hanahope]

When Casey faked his death and was "buried" in his Marine dress blues it immediately clicked in my head that since we only knew Adam Baldwin's character as Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket, that became Casey's back story. (I know Casey would have been too young for Nam, but still...)

 

Adam Baldwin = Jayne from Firefly and Nathan Fillion will always be Cpt. Tightpants.

[bmasters9]

I haven't seen that much of it yet, but I am thinking that Lee Marvin has a great chance of forever standing in my mind as Lt. Frank Ballinger of M Squad. 

Edited May 26, 2015 by bmasters9

[andromeda331]

Josh Duhamel will always be Leo from All My Children.

[Constantinople]

I was channel surfing this morning and stumbled upon The Paper Chase -- the movie, which I hadn't seen in ages -- just as main character said something like, "You may be looking at a future President, Supreme Court Justice, Secretary of State or a dropout" to describe the unlimited futures they have.

 

No kidding, dude.

 

You're talking to The Bionic Woman.

[bmasters9]

Not only will Larry Hagman always be J.R. to me, but Jim Davis (old-time movie actor, not Garfield creator) will always be remembered as patriarch Jock Ewing. Dallas lost something when Jim Davis passed on in 1981. 

[kiddo82]

Jack McBrayer will never not be Kenneth from 30 Rock. I'm watching an episode of Archer for which he did a voice over and all I see in my mind's eye is Kenneth complete with blazer and clueless smile.

[SistaLadybug]

Just finished watching "Firefly" and yep ... Nathan Fillion will always be Joey Buchanan. 

 

In fact, that show is full of them.  Hey!  The dude from "Barney Miller!"  Steve the Pirate!  Joan!

[bmasters9]

After seeing all of The Bob Newhart Show (where he was Dr. Bob Hartley, Chicago psychologist) and some of Newhart (where he was Dick Loudon, Vermont innkeeper), I think that the more memorable role of Bob Newhart's was that of Dr. Bob Hartley (in fact, that's the way I'll remember him from seeing all of that classic 1972-78 CBS comedy).

[Haleth]

After seeing all of The Bob Newhart Show (where he was Dr. Bob Hartley, Chicago psychologist) and some of Newhart (where he was Dick Loudon, Vermont innkeeper), I think that the more memorable role of Bob Newhart's was that of Dr. Bob Hartley (in fact, that's the way I'll remember him from seeing all of that classic 1972-78 CBS comedy).

After all,

Dick Loudon was just a dream.

:)

[bmasters9]

After all,

Dick Loudon was just a dream.

:)

Quite so! In fact, another reason why Dr. Bob Hartley was more memorable to me is because "Hartley" used part of Bob Newhart's name. 

[evenstevensranked]

Shia LaBeouf will always be Louis Stevens from Even Stevens. Also, Hilary Duff will always be Lizzie McGuire. 

[abstractstuff]

Michael C. Hall will always be David from 6 Feet Under. In Dexter, I just pictured him as David who finally snapped.

Laurie Metcalf is Aunt Jackie

Betty White is Rose Nylund

Ed O'Neill is Ed Bundy

Claire Danes is Angela Chase

John Goodman is Dan Conner

Sara Gilbert is Darlene

Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogan, and Jason Segal are Freaks and Geeks

Jared Leto will always be Jordan Catalano

[topanga]

18 minutes ago, abstractstuff said:

Laurie Metcalf is Aunt Jackie

So true. I've seen her in numerous movie TV roles since Roseanne, but whenever I see her, it's "Hey. That's Aunt Jackie!"

[Chaos Theory]

Very rarely anyone for me.  If anything it mostly works in reverse.  I love Katey Sagal because of Married with Children and she became the reason I gave Sons Of Anarchy a chance. 

There are of course exceptions.  I just couldn't with The Crown and that was in large part because every time I saw Matt Smith I thought of Doctor Who.  It's not fair because I don't have the same problem while watching Sense8 with Freeman Agymam.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[festivus]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

Very rarely anyone for me.  If anything it mostly works in reverse.

Yeah that's how it is for me. When in a new role, I totally buy them in their new role. There are certain shows though that I will remember all the actors fondly and I'm always happy to see them when they pop up on my TV and be like, there's ____ from China Beach! There's ____ from Third Watch!

[allyw]

Seeing this thread title, the first name that came to me was Jennifer Aniston. I've only ever seen a a few episodes of Friends in their entirety but every time I see her, I see Rachel Green. 

Tom Felton who is now on the Flash is Draco Malfoy to me.

[ratgirlagogo]

5 hours ago, allyw said:

Tom Felton who is now on the Flash is Draco Malfoy to me.

The sad thing for me is that I watched three episodes wondering why I remembered being irritated by this actor in the past before I realized he was Draco Malfoy - but then I felt bad since now I feel he's being typecast as a jerk.

[SmithW6079]

13 hours ago, allyw said:

Seeing this thread title, the first name that came to me was Jennifer Aniston. I've only ever seen a a few episodes of Friends in their entirety but every time I see her, I see Rachel Green. 

That's because "Friends" was the only thing she was halfway decent in. She's a mediocre sitcom actress who has made a string of meh movies, yet people love her. (I did like her in "Meet the Millers.")

[Snipsa]

Noah Wyle will forever be John Carter

Michael Shanks will forever be Daniel Jackson

Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy

Zachari Levi is forever Chuck

Gregory Smith is forever Ephram Brown

Kyle Chandler is always first and formost Gary Hobson (my first crush) - although I loved his Coach Taylor!

[QTBlueMoon]

Jason Bateman will play the same character no matter what he's in, only the name is changed.

[GaT]

William Shatner will always be Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy will always be Spock, DeForest Kelley will always be Dr. McCoy, James Doohan will always be Scotty, & George Takei will always be Sulu. Everyone in the original Star Trek show will always be that character. 

[auntlada]

11 hours ago, Snipsa said:

Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy

I always think of her as Erica Kane's daughter.

[evenstevensranked]

17 hours ago, Snipsa said:

Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy

I agree. And Speaking of Buffy... Michelle Trachtenberg will always be Dawn and Alyson Hannigan will always be Willow to me.

On 2/16/2017 at 6:09 PM, allyw said:

Tom Felton who is now on the Flash is Draco Malfoy to me.

Oh, man. Now that you say that.. every member of the Harry Potter cast (even ones with minor roles like Dean Thomas played by Alfred Enoch who was on How To Get Away With Mudrer) will always be their HP character to me. Wow. Poor Daniel Radcliffe has it the worst, though. He's literally HARRY POTTER! I mean, we went how many years seeing his face attached to the name everywhere?! 

[topanga]

On 2/16/2017 at 2:52 PM, evenstevensranked said:

Shia LaBeouf will always be Louis Stevens from Even Stevens. Also, Hilary Duff will always be Lizzie McGuire. 

I'm with you on Hilary Duff. Even when she was very convincing as a runaway prostitute (?) in a movie with John Cusack, it was all the more tragic because she was still Lizzie McGuire to me. 

I first learned who Shia LaBeouf was when my family watched Holes, and he was great in that movie. So to me, he will always be Stanley Yelnats. 

[blueray]

On 2/16/2017 at 11:11 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

The sad thing for me is that I watched three episodes wondering why I remembered being irritated by this actor in the past before I realized he was Draco Malfoy - but then I felt bad since now I feel he's being typecast as a jerk.

I had the same reaction except it was in high school and he was a kid in "Anna and the king". I kept thinking why do I dislike this kid, even though the character wasn't a bad person. I looked it up after class. Then my teacher the next day told the class yes he plays Malfoy, I guess she was asked by people.