Fictional charcters named after the actor

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I'm thinking Woody in Cheers and so on - this happens surprisingly frequently.

But why? What possible reason could writers have, other than crippling laziness? What happens when/if actors are replaced? Has that ever even happened?

Name your favourites then, please - and try to explain why.

― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:23 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe because shit actors can't remember what false name they should be responding to?

― onimo, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:24 (eighteen years ago)

On closer inspection, Cheers did this with shitloads of smaller parts as well as with Woody.

― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:25 (eighteen years ago)

jack nicholson has a bunch of characters named jack

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:25 (eighteen years ago)

Tony Danza to thread.

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:25 (eighteen years ago)

this happens surprisingly frequently

Errrrrrrrrrrr, I can't think of any

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:25 (eighteen years ago)

Pretty much everyone has their real first name in Curb Your Enthusiasm I think. Makes the improv easier I guess.

― chap, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:26 (eighteen years ago)

Betty Driver as Betty Turpin/Williams in Corrie. Not a favourite really, just the only one I can think of right now. A reliable character tho.

― blueski, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:26 (eighteen years ago)

xxxx-post lol

also i think tony danza is incapable of not playing characters named tony

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:26 (eighteen years ago)

that it happens at all is surprising; that it happens more than once is even more surprising.

or, to play devil's advocate with myself, why doesn't this happen all the time?

― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:27 (eighteen years ago)

Norm Mcdonald in The Norm Show/Norm. Such a great voice.

― blueski, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:28 (eighteen years ago)

well, i'm not sure if sitcoms named after the star count

― latebloomer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:30 (eighteen years ago)

Peter Dean played Pete Beale in 'Stenders, treacle,

Dirty Leslie Watts just didn't have the right ring tho it tho.

― blueski, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:31 (eighteen years ago)

Lascivious Leslie

― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:34 (eighteen years ago)

Andy Richter to thread. Also Tracy Jordan/Morgan in 30 Rock.

― Oblivious Lad, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:38 (eighteen years ago)

Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of thingy?

― NickB, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:40 (eighteen years ago)

Hattie Jacques in "Sykes". I mean, Eric Sykes too obviously, but that the show was named after him and Hattie played his sister

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:43 (eighteen years ago)

Also Angela, Phyllis, Oscar and Creed on The Office US.

― Oblivious Lad, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:45 (eighteen years ago)

i suppose there is some sense in it if the actor is already famous for being a certain type of person and maybe often plays a similar character.

but apart from that, i don't get it. just lazy and confusing - fourth-wall stuff isn't it? are they trying to make us think this is Real Life after all?

― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:52 (eighteen years ago)

There's tons where the actor is actually playing him/herself. Jerry Seinfeld is the obvious example, and I think in Curb Your Enthusiasm they're all playing themselves, am I right? Also, John Malkovich in 'Being John...' etc.

But I don't think that's what Charlie was asking. There are times where they use their own names for no apparent reason. Hell if I can think of any, though.

― franny glass, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:57 (eighteen years ago)

in Curb Your Enthusiasm they're all playing themselves

Only some of them are. Cheryl is called Cheryl Hines in real life and Cheryl David in the programme, for example, and Jeff is Jeff Garlin/Jeff Greene.

― chap, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:59 (eighteen years ago)

Jim Davidson in "Home James"

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:03 (eighteen years ago)

Slightly off-topic, but you never see characters on a show that share the same name. In real life, I know three Kevin's, four Jeff's, and about a dozen Matt/hew's. But if my life were a sitcom, no one would share a name and I'd have friends named Nigel, Turtle, or Tobias.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:20 (eighteen years ago)

Twin Peaks had characters share names

― sexyDancer, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:23 (eighteen years ago)

I can think of a couple of father/son ones but even then they are known by different names (e.g. JR and John Ross in Dallas, Dan and DJ in Roseanne).

― onimo, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:24 (eighteen years ago)

Twin Peaks had characters share names

I checked IMDb, and this was only the case with James, who was played by James Marshall. I think it's quite possible the character of James was supposed to be a homage to James Dean, and it was merely an accident that they got an actor by the same name to play him.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:55 (eighteen years ago)

Charlie Sheen plays a lot of Charlies (Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men, Charlie something else in Spin City, er, some other Charlies in some other stuff as well)

― ailsa, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

I can think of a couple of father/son ones but even then they are known by different names (e.g. JR and John Ross in Dallas, Dan and DJ in Roseanne).

See also Fred Elliott (RIP) and Freddie Peacock in Coronation Street (grandfather and grandson).

― ailsa, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

I think sexyDancer meant there were multiple characters with the same name, but in this case, I can only think of BOB/Bobby.

On Lost, there's Tom (the Other), Tom (Kate's childhood sweetheart), Thomas (Claire's ex-bf), and Tom (the name Christian Shepard adopts when with Ana-Lucia) -- but none of these characters ever interact with one another, or are even in the same episode.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

Another 30 Rock one: Liz Lemon (Tina Fey's real first name is Elizabeth)

― C. Grisso/McCain, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:08 (eighteen years ago)

Well, Betty Turpin/Williams used to work in the Rovers with Bet Lynch/Gilroy in Coronation Street in years gone by.

― ailsa, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

there were two Jackie's in Brookside or, at least, a Jacki and a Jaqui.

― jed_, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:27 (eighteen years ago)

jackie chan's character was called jackie in "who am i"

― Catsupppppppppppppp dude ‫茄蕃‪, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:44 (eighteen years ago)

I think sexyDancer meant there were multiple characters with the same name, but in this case, I can only think of BOB/Bobby.

There's Bob & Mike (the supernatural beings) and Bobby & Mike (the high school kids) who both form pairs. I initially thought there was some point in the connection between their names, but it seems it was just the creators wanting to stir up the mystery.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:59 (eighteen years ago)

Jackie Chan is called Jackie in quite a few of his films.

― chap, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 18:57 (eighteen years ago)

On Arrested Development, George Bluth, George Michael Bluth, Michael Bluth, and GOB Bluth all kind of share names. Plus the two Lucilles.

Wasn't Annie Hall named after Diane Keaton? Her real last name is Hall and her nickname is "Annie"?

― The Yellow Kid, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 19:14 (eighteen years ago)

just found another one: Barry Howard played Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in Hi-De-Hi!

― CharlieNo4, Thursday, 26 April 2007 11:40 (eighteen years ago)

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