But I Play One on TV: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

This problem is often exacerbated by tabloid news sources, especially gossip magazines and "news programs" that concentrate on celebrity and entertainment, who in their stories are constantly referring to actors by their characters' names rather than the proper name of the actor. This is generally an editorial decision, as it can make it easier for the audience to identify the actors involved, but at the same time contributes to blurring the line between fiction and reality in viewers' minds.

See also [[Your Secrets Safe With Me Superman]].

 

 

* [[Harlan Ellison]] wrote in the intro for his book ''Strange Wine'' that he talked with Dan Blocker (Hoss from ''[[Bonanza]]'') about this phenomenon. Apparently, Blocker once had a woman come up to him in a supermarket and ask him about how Hoss was. When Blocker replied that he ''wasn't'' Hoss and Hoss was fictional, the woman said, "I know that, all I want to know is if he's alright!"

* There are actually people who think [[Stephen Colbert]] really is that much of a [[Strawman Political|conservative whackadoo]], including the organizers (and attendees) of the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, who were, needless to say, relatively shocked when they found out otherwise. (Though apparently ''not'' George W. Bush, given the opening act.)

* David James Elliott was constantly referred to as ''[[JAG]]'' during the run of that show. The ''really'' stupid part being [[I Am Not Shazam|that wasn't his character's name]]... it was his character's ''job''. ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' later did a story about Elliott joining the cast of ''Close to Home''. They still called him "[[JAG]]".

* In a guest appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', Jason Hervey, who played Kevin's bullying older brother on ''[[The Wonder Years]]'', said that a man once drove up beside him and demanded to know why "he" was always so mean to his brother and why didn't he pick on someone his own size?

* In September 2008, when [[Michael Douglas]] spoke at the United Nations about the U.S. financial crisis, a reporter asked him, "Are you saying, Gordon, that [[Greed|greed is not good]]?" The actor replied, "I'm not saying that. And my name is not Gordon. [[Wall Street|He's a character I played 20 years ago.]]"

** It was even worse than that; he was actually there to talk about nuclear proliferation. The reporters derailed it into a discussion of the financial crisis, just because they were talking to the guy who played Gordon Gekko.

* James Caviezel, who played [[Jesus]] in ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'', reportedly had this happen to him while on a vacation in Mexico.

* [[Morgan Freeman]] reported in an interview that in the press conference for ''[[Deep Impact]]'' (where he plays the President of the US), many reporters called him "Mr. President".

* [[William Shatner]] tells a tale of being on a tourist cruise when another tourist fell into the water and began drowning. Like any normal human being, he stood aside while professional help was obtained. So many [[Viewers are Morons|people]] were staring at him, expecting him to act [[The Kirk|the hero]] that he eventually [[The Call Knows Where You Live|caved in]] to peer pressure and dived in after the struggling tourist. As any lifeguard will tell you, [[Don't Try This At Home|this is the worst thing you can do]]. Both Shatner and the original victim had to be rescued.

** Another Shatner example: several pages on Priceline.com are written in first person in the voice of Shatner's "Priceline Negotiator" persona. The "terms and conditions" link at the bottom of the page is introduced with the text: "I'm not a lawyer (I [[Boston Legal|played one on TV]]), but here is the legal information you need to know."

* Most [[Soap Opera]] actors say that this happens to them so often that they've become used to just going along with it.

** This trope is the measure Hispanic [[Soap Opera]] actors use to know how well they are doing in the role and how well the soap is going.

* In the 1970's, James Garner and Mariette Hartley did a number of commercials for Polaroid cameras. The way they played against each other, one would get the impression they were in fact a domestic couple, though this was never stated in the commercials. Mariette Hartley took to wearing these lettered sweatshirts that read "I am not James Garner's wife". Her baby has a shirt that read "I am not James Garner's child".

* Jerome "Curly" Howard has been assaulted in public simply because it was so funny when they did it on ''[[The Three Stooges]]''.

* People have often said "''Hello'', Newman" to [[Seinfeld|Wayne Knight]] in public. He hates it now.

** [[Tom Felton]] (a.k.a. Draco Malfoy) has noted that when younger children meet him, they tend to be afraid: "We get a lot of kids down in the studios all the time and are very excited to meet [[Daniel Radcliffe|Daniel]], [[Rupert Grint|Rupert]] and [[Emma Watson|Emma]], and they get the handshakes and the hugs! I try to be as friendly as I can, but no matter how much I try they seem to hide behind their parents legs or cower behind some object. I don’t get a good rap from the children! I take it as a compliment, if they think I’m evil then I must be doing something right!" However, there was also a bizarre incident with a not-quite-so-young fan. An American man legally changed his name to "Lucius Malfoy" and sent Felton paperwork which would allow him to disown his parents and be adopted by "Lucius", whom had additionally named his house "Malfoy Manor".

** Maggie Smith has apparently frequently explained to young children that she can't really turn into a cat.

* Children used to come up to [[Doctor Who|Tom Baker]] and ask him if he enjoyed travelling in time and could they come with him. (Apparently he used to play along with it rather than traumatize a young mind.)

** He also has said in interviews that once in a while men would try to pick fights with him, to show they were tougher than The Doctor, and he would have to talk them out of it.

** Neil Patrick Harris also did [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TusJ8HSLaUs&feature=related this commercial for Old Spice], claiming he "used to be a doctor for pretend."

* Rhys Darby has been asked on multiple occasions to manage peoples bands, where he's given a response along the lines of "First, my name is Rhys, second, I only play a manager on TV, and thirdly, not a very good one."

* When Christopher Motlasanti was "whacked" from ''[[The Sopranos]]'', actor Michael Imperioli said that he had been receiving flowers as condolence - for his own death!

* ''[[Smallville]]'''s Tom Welling intervened and fought off men attempting to mug a woman. When she saw who had saved her, she reportedly said, "Wow, you really are Superman." She was kidding, but she apparently wasn't that far off.

** OTOH he tells an anecdote about being confronted by a big tattooed biker type who he was ure was going to mug him, at the very least:

*** 'Biker': "You're Q right?"

*** John (deciding his chances of survival are greater if he pretends to be omnipotent):"Um ... Yeah"

*** "Biker': "So can you bring dead people back to life?"

*** 'Biker' grunts and walks off and John thinks 'Trekkies come in all forms.'

* Amy Adams told the story on a talk show about how a young girl recognized her as [[Enchanted|Giselle]], and wondered why she was walking around as a regular person. Adams replied that she didn't want to draw attention to herself, and asked the girl [[Your Secrets Safe With Me Superman|not to tell anyone.]]

* A similar story was told by [[Selena Gomez]]. A young fan came up to her and asked, "Alex? Is the magic real?" She asked him, [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|"Do you believe it's real?"]] He replied, [[Tear Jerker|almost crying]], "Yes, I do believe it's real." She smiled and said, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|"That's all that matters."]]

* [[Liv Tyler]] reports this happening to her after the release of ''[[The Lord of the Rings|The Fellowship Of The Ring]]''. "My husband and I were sleeping, and I woke to the sound of our friend's two little boys going around the bedrooms opening the doors and looking in. When they got to our door, one little boy went to open it and the other said, 'No! Don't open that door. The princess is sleeping in there.

* In a weird reversed example, ''Star Trek'''s Grace Lee Whitney states in her autobiography that she sometime has difficulty differentiating reality and fantasy. For example, she recalls being disillusioned when she filmed an episode of [[The Western]] ''Bat Masterson'' and saw Gene Barry wincing in pain after stubbing his toe, despite the fact that any injury he sustained while in-character was [[Only a Flesh Wound]]. She also apparently tended to get so into roles that she started to forget it was fake. A therapist even told her that part of the reason she was so upset about being written out of ''Star Trek'' was because she had difficulty separating herself from Yeoman Rand.

* Ed Westwick gets a lot of disappointment from fans when they realise he's not as dark and brooding as his ''[[Gossip Girl]]'' character. While he seems a bit tired of being mistaken for having the same faults as his character he has admitted that the line: "''I'm Chuck Bass''" usually works really well for him to pick up women.

* Malcolm Jamal-Warner, who played Theo on ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', wrote in his autobiography that half his fan mail was addressed to his character's name, and kids would frequently ask to be adopted into his family so they could appear on the show.

* According to [[Jimmy Stewart]], people asked if ''[[Harvey]]'' was around for many years after that movie. He usually said that Harvey was at home with a cold.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters and Casting]]

[[Category:Truth in Television]]