I Am Not Spock: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''It was Captain Kirk playing TJ Hooker, not [[William Shatner]] the actor. You're just thinking he's taken a month off... and come down to Earth and said 'I want to be a cop for a bit'.''|'''[[Eddie Izzard]]''', ''Unrepeatable''}}

Named for the 1975 autobiography by... who else? [[Leonard Nimoy]]. An autobiography that, incidentally, didn't actually say what everyone thought it said because of the title. Not to be confused with [[I Am Not Shazam]].

 

{{examples|Examples in fiction:}}

 

** Despite his hatred for the role, Rickman's character is never seen without his [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|make up on]]. He even wears it at home by himself.

* A variant happens in the first Thanksgiving episode of ''[[Friends]]''. Joey does modeling for a stock photo company and ends up on a poster for [[ST Ds]]. His family then thinks he actually has one.

* A plotline on the second season of ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' had a whole plotline in Season 2 where he tried--unsuccessfully--to pitch a show about one of the actors from ''[[Seinfeld]]'' facing this, first with Jason Alexander, then with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. [[Failure Is the Only Option|He fails with both attempts]].

* A major arc in ''[[Skip Beat]]'' revolves around the fact that Kyoko's portrayal of the character [[Love to Hate|Mio]] in her major television debut defined the roles she was offered after the fact - to the point that the directors would tell her to "just act like Mio."

* In ''[[Soap Dish]]'', everyone in the dinner theater washed up soap actor Jeffrey Anderson is working at calls him "[[Death of a Salesman|Mr. Loman]]", whom he plays. He constantly screams, "MY NAME IS ANDERSON! ''ANDERSON!''"

 

=== Examples: ===

** Most have come to accept it with some degree of dignity; witness [[Leonard Nimoy]]'s later book, ''I Am Spock'' (though it should be noted that was written partly to counter the [[Common Knowledge|mis]][[Fan Dumb|conception]] that he hated the character, rather than just being annoyed by the association). When Nimoy attempted a recording career, his albums tended to feature at least a few songs essentially sung (or spoken) as Spock, such as "Highly Illogical."

** [[William Shatner]] has managed to escape this by now, if only by being typecast instead [[Adam Westing|as a caricature of himself]], of which Kirk is just one example among many.

*** Michael Dorn simply looks ''wrong'' without his makeup, and

*** Roxann Briggs-Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) looks very strange without her Klingon forehead. She has tried to avoid this by quitting acting in favor of (TV) directing. Same with Robert Duncan McNeill (a producer on [[Chuck]]), [[Jonathan Frakes]], LeVar Burton...

* On the note of sci-fi shows, the cast of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has accepted this has happened to all of them... with quite a bit of grace and alacrity. It helps that to a man they ''all'' love the show and understand the affection the fans have for the show (and them); to quote Jerry Doyle, "if I'm typecast as a space cop, well, that's fine, because I got to play space cop on one of the best shows ever. What, should I prefer poverty?"

** Then again, Doyle did try to escape the typecasting by entering politics. He ran for Congress in 2000 and lost.<ref>In California's 24th District, as a Republican. This seat is well-known to be a safe seat for Democrats, and Doyle's opponent was an incumbent--and California specifically gerrymanders its districts to favor incumbents, regardless of party.</ref> These days he's a syndicated [http://www.jerrydoyle.com talk radio host.]

** Bruce Boxleitner was already well-known for a variety of roles (and has continued to work steadily since). [[Mira Furlan]] is probably now better remembered as the Frenchwoman from ''[[Lost]]'', and like Katsulas was (and still is) tremendously well-respected in her native country (in this case, Croatia). She does gently remind interviewers that, yes, she has played characters not named Delenn or Danielle Rousseau, but like her castmates welcomes the adoration Delenn receives from fans and remains fond of the character and the show. Bill Mumy, however, will ''always'' remain [[Lost in Space|Will Robinson]] for most people.

** Due to having an [[All-Star Cast]] play all the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] in the series, almost any high-profile British film made since about 1990 can be turned into a game of "spot the ''Harry Potter'' characters."

** There is a generational aspect to it. If you're old enough to have known about Maggie Smith before she was in ''Harry Potter'', you might see her in ''Harry Potter'' and think "that's Maggie Smith." If you're part of the generation which grew up on ''Harry Potter'', you might see her another film and think "that's Professor McGonagall." In her case in particular, it works really well both ways since [[Typecasting|McGonagall is the sort of character she always plays]]. (Although nowadays a sizable number of people would also recognize her as the Dowager Countess from ''[[Downton Abbey]]''.)

** In the movie ''[[Big Fat Liar]]'', his [[Adam Westing]] includes screaming at someone:

{{quote| How many times have I told you not to call me Urkel! My name is Jaleel White!}}

** Odd that he doesn't sound or look anything like the nasally, fashion-unconscious [[Extraverted Nerd|Urkel]] in real life.

** Tom Baker most embodies this trope of all the Doctors, simply because by his own admission he ''was'' the Doctor during the years he played him - it's fair to say there wasn't a huge amount going on in his life when he managed to get the role, so he and the character grew together over the next seven years - he used to walk around in the hat, long scarf and coat, sign autographs "Doctor Who" and so on. He understood the power of this on his younger fans - there's a famous story of him being out and about one Saturday evening, wanting to see his latest episode of DW as it aired, and upon being let into a house where the TV was on he slipped quietly into a seat to watch the programme without disturbing the children already in the room; the look on their faces at the moment where they glanced around from the screen, then back, then back to the Doctor in the next chair can be vividly imagined... He later shied away from revisiting the series for many years, but in 2009 finally took up the role again in a series of audio dramas made under license by BBC Audio, though arguably only when his fame had gone from "Formerly of Doctor Who" to "Famed Eccentric and borderline National Treasure".

** Subverted with Patrick Troughton(Second Doctor). He was a highly successful character actor before Doctor Who and became one almost immediately after leaving the program. He was always recognized as the Doctor for the rest of his life, and loved doing conventions, but he did more than enough stuff that he was often recognized for his other work too. A combination of being arguably the most versatile and talented actor to play the part combined with always keeping a sharp distinction between himself and all of his roles probably both helped a great deal with that.

** No mention yet of David Prowse and James Earl Jones yet? While the latter seems more liberated, the former is well known mainly for the role of Darth Vader.

* The reported reason for Tiffany Brissette's early retirement from acting was her fear of being remembered only as Vicki from ''[[Small Wonder]]'' and being cast accordingly.

* Classic example: In the end, [[Bela Lugosi]] ''was'' [[Dracula]], no matter what he did. However, it was his son and his fifth wife, not Lugosi himself, who decided to have him buried in a Dracula cloak.

** Even Lugosi's friends and coworkers couldn't help but typecast him. Vincent Price wrote in his autobiography that at Lugosi's funeral, Peter Lorre, observing the cape, turned to Price and asked, "Should we stick a stake in his heart just to be sure?"

** He seems to have traded in [[I Am Not Spock]] for [[Typecasting]] as authoritative villains, including King Haggard and the grouchy bishop in ''Corpse Bride''.

* [[Kelsey Grammer]] will probably always be identified with his eponymous in ''[[Frasier]]''. After all, he not only played it for 11 years in that show, but portrayed the same character for 9 years before that in ''[[Cheers]]''.

** Though he has won a lot of acclaim (including a Golden Globe) for playing the main character in ''Boss''. Mayor Kane is certainly intelligent and articulate like Frasier, but is also extremely profane, violent, cruel and calculating. A far cry from the arrogant but ultimately lovable character he is so identified with.

* Poor [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock Ho]]... er, Basil Rathbone. Rathbone's kind of an interesting case, as he also played a lot of [[Aristocrats Are Evil|evil aristocrats]] in various swashbuckler films and in fact did an [[Affectionate Parody]] of this type-casting in the [[Danny Kaye]] film ''[[The Court Jester]]''.

** This is a doubly interesting case as, while Basil Rathbone might well have wanted to insist "I am not Sherlock Holmes", if Sherlock Holmes could talk to us he'd equally be saying "I am not Basil Rathbone"! So much of what is widely regarded as 'quintessential' Holmes does not come directly from Arthur Conan Doyle's original books but either originated in or is widely recognised from Rathbone's many portrayals of him: the [[Iconic Item|iconic]] deerstalker hat, cape and pipe combination, as immortalised for instance in silhouette throughout the decor at Baker Street's London Underground station, are pure Rathbone-movie Holmes.

* "And Jerry Mathers as [[Leave It to Beaver|The Beaver!]]"

** SCTV satirised this with the Leave It To Beaver 25th Anniversary sketch with John Candy playing the role of Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.

* "And Anne B. Davis as Alice"...and everyone else from [[The Brady Bunch|that show]].

* Hervé Villechaize's suicide was heavily rumored to be in part caused by his [[Hey, It's That Guy!|inescapable recognition]] by fans as Tattoo from ''[[Fantasy Island]]''.

** In fact, McArdle declined to be in the documentary ''Life After Tomorrow'', chronicling many of the women who played orphan roles on Broadway. This ran the gamut from fairly well-adjusted women to actresses still in the business to women who just can't shake their association, and it's likely she declined because she fell into the latter. (Sarah Jessica Parker didn't have a problem with it; neither did Kristin Vigard, [[The Pete Best]] of the musical.)

** Margaret Hamilton had severe trouble getting another job after her role as the Witch in the same movie; everyone hated her.

** [[Judy Garland]] is kind of a retroactive example. She starred in many films during her lifetime, but most of them have since faded into obscurity. ''Oz'' has endured and now most people remember her only for Dorothy. If she's remembered for something other than ''Oz'', it's ''[[Meet Me in St Louis]]''.

** The rest of the ''[[Seinfeld]]'' cast is doomed in the same manner, save Jerry himself, who wisely stayed out of acting for a long time after the end of the show. (Is anyone else amused by the thought of Jerry Seinfeld being typecast as... Jerry Seinfeld?)

*** Jason Alexander has actually said he is thankful for ''Seinfeld'' typecasting him; before, he was known as the '[[Pretty Woman|Guy who tried to rape]] [[Julia Roberts]].'

* A less extreme example: It would seem that Richard Dean Anderson could not quite shake his old role in ''[[MacGyver]]'' in the early days of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. In one episode, Amanda Tapping played a prank on him by going off script and began yelling at him for being unable to find a way out of the mess they were in, pointing out that MacGyver would have been able to do it easily.

** Given that Tapping reportedly got her role by ad libbing a small MacGyver reference into the scene they used for her audition (which made it into the final script: "It took us fifteen years and three supercomputers to MacGyver a system for the gate on Earth"), I think Anderson's not exactly unhappy about it.

** And, at any rate, back in 1948, Boyd had bought all the rights lock, stock and barrel to the Cassidy character, and so for once typecasting was sort of in an actor's best financial interest.

* Anthony Perkins. "[[Psycho|Norman, is that you?]]"

* Alyson Hannigan must say a prayer of gratitude every night for ''[[American Pie]]'' and ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', the two roles that saved her from being typecast as [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Willow.]]

** [[Your Mileage May Vary|YMMV]] on what she's worried about more. From the sound of some interviews, she seems to be rather thankful for ''Buffy'' and ''How I Met Your Mother'', [[Old Shame|as she then won't have to worry as much]] [[Oh Crap|about informing her kids of her role in]] ''American Pie''. Sure, she returned for ''American Reunion'', [[Money, Dear Boy|but...]]

* Ardal O'Hanlon from [[Father Ted]] gets annoyed by people going to his stand-up comedy gigs expecting him to perform [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzYzVMcgWhg 'My Lovely Horse'].

* Josh Peck is well known for being the goofy stepbrother of Drake Bell's character in ''[[Drake and Josh]]''. Although his new film ''The Wackness'' gave him the chance to break through the cutesy, child-star mold. He'll still be that cute kid from Nickelodeon to some though.

** "Biff Tannen" in the Wing Commander series...

** Averted with [[Christopher Lloyd]], who seems to be remembered just as well for [[Taxi|"Reverend" Jim]] as he is for "Doc" Brown. It helps that "What does a yellow light mean?" is as big a meme as "1.21 gigawatts!"

* Linda Blair, [[I Am Not Shazam|the Exorcist]]. Especially tragic because she was a child when the typecasting happened, and later got into drugs.

* Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman, which caused considerable problems when he was [[Contractual Purity|busted for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater...]]

** Note that Reubens brought much of the typecasting on himself with years of rarely, if ever, appearing out of character in public engagements (talk shows, interviews, etc.) and acting jobs after the general public became aware of Pee-Wee Herman; even his character in ''[[Cheech and Chong|Cheech and Chong's Next Movie]]'' is a thinly-veiled Pee-Wee Expy.

** [[Adam Westing|Played with]] when Bob Denver guest starred on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' - "And another thing! When people come up to me and say, 'Hey, little buddy!', and hit me over the head with a hat, that's not funny. That hurts!" Cue oblivious, uproarious laughter.

*** What's even funnier is that Bob Denver was notoriously known as Maynard G. Krebs from ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'' before ''Gilligan's Island''.

{{quote| ''"So, you say that you made this car out of coconuts?"''}}

* To some, [[Eugene Levy]] is most known for being Jim's dad in the ''[[American Pie]]'' movies (partly because he keeps taking roles in that series). Jason Biggs too, will always be remembered as [[The View Askewniverse|"the dude who fucked a pie"]].

** Similarly, Jennifer Coolidge will always be [[Hot Mom|Stifler's Mom]].

* Jack De Sena will always be [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Sokka]].

** That is, if you're too young to remember his time as [[All That|Randy Quench: Volunteer Fireman]] and other characters.

* Christopher Mintz-Plasse has said in interviews that he is trying to avoid being only known for [[Superbad|McLovin]].

** Good luck with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtFESEqa9fA that] one (also featuring Stiffler as a slightly older Stiffler).

* Haley Joel Osment [[The Sixth Sense|sees dead people]], when he's not [[Kingdom Hearts|swinging a Keyblade around]].

* Jon Heder = [[Napoleon Dynamite]].

* [[Travis Willingham]] = [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Roy Mustang.]]

** Or [[Fan Nickname|Cedward!]]

** Taylor Lautner is either Wolf Boy (Jacob) or [[Robert Rodriguez|Shark Boy]] (or else just that hot guy from that one movie [[Walking Shirtless Scene|with his shirt off all the time]]). He also seems to be the member of the trio most okay with the whole ''Twilight'' phenomenon.

** Reeve wasn't typecast in the strict sense of the word, as he was given several very un-Superman-like roles. For one example, watch [[Death Trap]] where he plays a sort of naive hayseed mystery writer fanboy. {{spoiler|Who turns out to be a murderous sociopath.}}

** Christopher Reeve's case -- where the "typecasting" was enforced by reporters who ''just couldn't pass up'' the cutesy-tragic "irony" of Superman in a wheelchair -- is a kind of horrifying injustice.

** Dean Cain will always be Superman of ''[[Lois and Clark]]''; particularly after the cartoons and comics versions of the Man of Steel took on the big-muscle chested look he put into the role.

** An you have George Reeves' Superman in the 1950s Adventures of Superman. This was in part due to contractual obligations that sometimes prevented accepting movies with long schedules or extended theater tours.

* Christy Carlson Romano is either [[Kim Possible]] or [[Even Stevens|Ren Stevens]].

* Harry H. Corbett, who played Harold Steptoe in the UK sitcom ''Steptoe And Son'', in the 1960s and 70s. Could be a trope definer; before Steptoe he was considered to be one of Britain's finest actors -- "The British Marlon Brando". But Steptoe was a smash hit, and he was unable to break away from it for the rest of his life, despite coming to hate the character, the show, and especially his co-star Wilfred Brambell. (Note for US readers: "Sanford and Son" was based on Steptoe, if you didn't already know that)

* Kevin Bacon suffered from this to the point where he would dread the eventuality of being asked to dance to [[Footloose]]. During an appearance on ''The Graham Norton Show'' they were kind enought to let him sit and watch the entire audience do it instead.

** Now he's associated with Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and any guest appearances of him on a sitcom will allude to this.

** It even got to the point where [[Creator Backlash|he became]] '''[[Creator Backlash|very]]''' [[Creator Backlash|reluctant to talk about]] being in ''Rocky Horror'' for years since the fans started to creep him out, and he even went so far as to put on weight in order to distance himself from the role.

*** In recent years, however, he's become more open about talking about being in Rocky Horror and somewhat embraces the impact it has on teenagers calling it a "rite of passage".

* Most of the actors from ''[[MASH|M* A* S* H]]'' got stuck with this. Larry Linville in particularly could never escape the shadow of Frank Burns. Spectacularly averted by Alan Alda, though.

** However, no matter how many corrupt, slimey old dirtbags Alda plays; no matter how fast he jumps to mind whenever a character of that calibre is created; "Alan Alda" will still always be a synonym for "sensitive guy".

** Also, as the chick who made out with Amanda Seyfried.

* Ron Livingston will always be "that guy from ''[[Office Space]]''". He even said in an interview once that he had trouble getting another acting job for several years after that movie because producers thought he wouldn't be able to act differently than that character.

** His character Harold Lee is based on a real-life Harold Lee, who was a friend of the writers. John Cho became friends with the real Harold Lee, and has said that when they're hanging out in public, someone will yell "Harold!" and they'll both turn around.

* Every time you see Sir Anthony Hopkins, you're probably thinking [[The Silence of the Lambs|security glass, a cell and "Hello, Clarice..."]]

* Chris Noth. He was a cop for a long time (Law and Order) but Mr. Big (Sex and the City) for even longer. He now plays another Mr. Big on CBS's "The Good Wife".

* Except for [[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody|Ashley]] [[Phineas and Ferb|Tisdale]], everyone from [[High School Musical]] is bound to go through this eventually, with Zac Efron already showing signs of it.

** ...and in many people's opinion, not only can you omit "Except for Ashley Tisdale" from that last sentence, you can change it to "''Especially'' Ashley Tisdale".

** Zac Efron may actually be a subversion of this. Everyone thought that he would be the High School Musical cast member most affected by this, but he is on his way to being the one it affects ''least.'' ''17 Again'' doesn't help his image much, but in ''Hairspray'' he is just different enough that you don't immediately think "Oh, that's Troy Bolton." And his roles in ''Me and Orson Welles'' and ''Charlie St. Cloud'' are probably about as far from ''High School Musical'' as he can possibly get.

* Phil Silvers < Sgt Bilko. More people know of the character than the actor who created him; many even forget the show was titled ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]''.

* Any character from the British soap [[Eastenders]] but bonus points must be given to Shaun Williamson, otherwise known as [[Extras|Barry from EastEnders]].

** Except for Todd Carty who'll be remembered for his childhood role as Tucker Jenkins on Grange Hill.

** Also, Masi Oka is Hiro.

* Though he has never had a major television or movie role since playing Arnold Horshack on ''Welcome Back, Kotter,'' [[Ron Palillo]] has kept busy acting, directing, and writing for the theater, doing voiceover work, writing/illustrating children's books. However, he will always be Horshack- [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] brilliantly in ''Ellen,'' when he played a season-long recurring role as "[[Ron Palillo]], TV's Arnold Horshack."

** Gabe Kaplan had a similar problem, according to his stand-up routine:

{{quote| When people see me now, they don't say, 'Are you Gabe Kaplan?' or, 'Are you Mr. Kotter?' They say [[I Am Not Shazam|'Are you Welcome Back Kotter?']]}}

* Michael Gross will either be gun nut [[Tremors|Burt Gummer]] or Steven Keaton from ''[[Family Ties]]''.

* Soleil Moon Frye will ''always'' be [[Punky Brewster]]. [[Never Live It Down|ALWAYS]].

** And she'll always have [[Gag Boobs]], even after getting a breast reduction.

** To the tweens, she's known as [[Bratz|Jade]].

* Depending on who you ask, Stacy Keach is either [[Mike Hammer]] or [[Titus|Ken Titus]].

** Now he's Liddy too.

** It could be worse. He could be remembered as [[North]].

** Can't sleep! Elijah Wood will [[Sin City|eat me]]!

** The same thing can be said about all the main cast, except perhaps Jennifer Aniston.

** The women of Friends have fared better than the men, with Aniston getting a good number of movie roles and Cox two tv shows afterward. Kudrow, not so much. The men have tended to fare poorly, with Schwimmer disappearing behind the camera to direct (exception, Captain Sobel on ''[[Band of Brothers]]'') and LeBlanc just disappearing. Perry's done a bit better, with a few movies and tv shows.

*** The jury is still out if it'll work, but at the very least, he picked up an Emmy nod for his [[Adam Westing]] performance, and won a Golden Globe.

*** LeBlanc probably had to work hardest to escape this, as he not only played Joey for ten years on ''Friends'', but played the same character for a brief period afterwards on a positively ''disastrous'' spin-off in which he was the central character.

* [[Michael Sheen]] will probably have to do a lot to avoid being seen as Tony Blair, considering he's played the former Prime Minister three times.

** Taking it a step further, he'll have to work even harder to be seen [[Typecasting|as an actor who plays fictional characters rather than real people]]. In addition to Tony Blair, he's played David Frost, Kenneth Williams and Brian Clough.

* Nearly the entire cast of [[Withnail and I]], much to Richard 'Uncle Monty' Griffith's disgust. (Not so much that he dislikes the show, but more because sharp financial practices by the film company, Handmade Films, have meant that he never received money owed to him).

** The current generation will probably think [[Harry Potter|"Hey, it's Vernon!"]] whenever they see Griffiths nowadays.

* Jean Stapleton has stated that she wanted to be a screen actress, but never wanted to be a star, because then she'd end up being typecast. Unfortunately, [[All in The Family|that's just what happened]].

* Peter Cullen, [[Transformers|Optimus Prime]].

** Unless you grew up watching [[Winnie the Pooh]], in which case he will always be Eeyore.

* Henry Winkler is now and always will be, [[Happy Days|The Fonz]].

** Anyone who ''wouldn't'' want that title is a lying bastard.

** Or for his Chrysler's reeeeech Corinthian leather.

** Not so much in the UK- he's also known as Blackadder, Johnny English or the guy from the Thin Blue Line.

** [[Your Mileage May Vary|Not for those of us too young to see it when it came out.]] [[She Is All Grown Up|She looks quite different as an adult.]]

* Anytime you see Ashton Kutcher, you'll see [[That 70s Show|Micheal Kelso]]. It doesn't seem to harm his career, though.

*** Or [[Ghostbusters|Louis Tully]].

* Most of the ''[[Power Rangers]]''. [[Johnny Yong Bosch]] escapes this fate by becoming a well known anime voice actor, and though Amy Jo Johnson is still doing well in showbiz, she still feels that her role as the first Pink Ranger is something that she can [[Never Live It Down|never live down]].

* [[William Daniels]] gets this a lot thanks to his famous role as Mr. Feeny from ''[[Boy Meets World]]''. Little do most people know he had a very famous role as Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere.

** Even if he didn't get this treatment for playing Mr. Feeny, he certainly would have for being the voice of [[Knight Rider|KITT]].

* Kristen Bell will always be [[Veronica Mars]].

* Gabourey Sidibe used her monologue while hosting [[Saturday Night Live|SNL]] to explain how she is nothing like her character [[Precious]], and that she does in fact live a normal, well adjusted life having grown up in a loving family with both parents.

** Though many anime fans of the '90s will always remember him as Detective Ross Syllabus first...

** It's also quite weird to watch Wil Wheaton, a typecast actor in his own right, stand up to Kiefer in ''Stand By Me''.

** Danny Matthews (well-known [[Oop North]] as a presenter on British station Key 103, but he's also worked for 105.4 Century FM, UTV's Wave 96.5, Imagine FM 104.9, Tower FM, as well as Bauer Media's 97.4 Rock FM, 96.9 Viking FM, Hallam FM and Magic AM, plus stints at Dune FM in Southport, and Capital Gold (now Gold) in Manchester, and he's now presenting the breakfast show on The Bay 96.9 in Lancaster, yet if you mentioned his name people would see him as being [[Never Live It Down|known only for being on Key 103 overnights in the 1990s or being on 105.4 Century FM, depending on your interpretations.]] Ironically enough, he [[Cameo|did return for a spell between 2004 - 2006]].

** Dan Wood, invariably known for presenting on Viking FM and Radio Aire, despite doing a nationwide radio show on GCap Media's "One Network".

* Danny Bonaduce is, and always will be, [[The Partridge Family|a partridge in a pear tree]].

* <s>Malcolm Reynolds</s> Nathan Fillion (who's that?) gets this along with most other members of the ''Firefly'' cast. It was [http://xkcd.com/577/ parodied in this xkcd arc]. Summer Glau is alternately identified as River Tam or [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles|Cameron Phillips]], depending on which show people are fans of.

* To a minor degree, Rand Miller (co-founder and CEO of Cyan Worlds Inc.) is identified with his role as Atrus, which he played in all of the live-action ''[[Myst]]'' games. He's not even an actor; he's a game designer and programmer. For bonus points, he dislikes playing the role and only kept doing it for four games (the others use CGI characters) because he could not possibly have been switched out without a major discontinuity and fandom uproar.

* Back in the heyday of pre-Christmas series on German TV, and actually even quite a while after those times, Tommi Ohrner ''was'' Timm Thaler, period. And Patrick Bach ''was'' Silas. Almost nobody ever called these actors by their real names. In order for this attitude to fade, these shows had to remain unaired for some two decades.

** Mr. T will always be remembered by [[I Am Not Leonard Nimoy|his stage name]], [[Catch Phrase|fool!]]

** This is parodied in [[Cannonball Run]] where Moore stars as himself but acts like [[James Bond]], complete with a [[Cool Car|tricked-out Aston Martin DB7]] [[Did Not Do the Research|which was actually driven by Sean Connery back then]].

** And further parodied in 2002's ''Boat Trip'' where Moore plays an Lloyd Faversham, an older gay man who once served with the British special forces ("You may think of me as simply a flamboyant old queen, but I spent over 30 years in the SAS, serving Her Majesty, the *real* Queen.")

** Speaking of [[Sean Connery]], he had to let his hair turn gray and grow a beard to not be [[James Bond]] anymore.

** However there is the story about Roger Moore's daughter asking her father to meet James Bond. "But ''I'm'' James Bond" said Moore. "No, the ''real'' James Bond" replied his daughter.

** It helps that in [[Modern Family]] his character is extremely laid back, in contrast to the angry and bitter Al.

** For some, Katey Sagal will be remembered for a [[Futurama|rather different role.]]

*** [[Sons of Anarchy|Or a still different role.]] In fact, it's possible that when you've won a Golden Globe for playing a biker chick who threatens to kill a baby, you've completely shed the shackles of Peggy Bundy.

* Michael Ironside recounts one time he was on a plane and a guy came up to him, immaculately dressed in a suit, and said, "Hey, you're [[Splinter Cell|Sam Fisher]]." Lost for a second his reply is, "No, I'm...wait a minute, yes I am."

* Clayton Moore (the Lone Ranger), although he was apparently comfortable enough with the role to maintain kayfabe that Moore was the Ranger in his personal life. He had a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] with it which is recounted annually on Letterman where he was being giving a ride to his hotel by two young men in the 60s after a personal appearance when they were hit by another car. The driver of the other car insisted that he was not at fault and asked who the cops would believe, him or a couple of hippies. Moore reportedly then got out of the car, in full Ranger get-up and announced "They'll believe me, citizen!"

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfpZsue5vas&feature=related This story] was told in The Late Show by Jay Thomas, who is perhaps best remembered by many viewers as [[Cheers|Eddie Lebec]].

* [[Miley Cyrus]] is frequently referred to as [[Hannah Montana]].

* The name [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000388/ R. Lee Ermey] will forever be synonymous with [[Full Metal Jacket|Gunnery Sergeant Hartman]].

* Reese Witherspoon briefly had this problem after ''[[Election]]'' -- her performance as the crazy, controlling Tracy Flick was so good that producers thought that that was her real personality, and she had trouble getting work for a few years afterward. Later roles helped her break out of that typecasting.

** Similarly, the late Lou Albano thanks to [[The Super Mario Bros Super Show]].

* Maria Antonieta de las Nieves will always be [[El Chavo Del Ocho|La Chilindrina]], even in sketches where she does not play the character.

** Francisco Colmenero: [[Mickey Mouse|Pete]], and he's still voicing the character, currently. Also, [[The Smurfs|Papa Smurf]].

** Esteban Siller: [[The Smurfs|Gargamel]]. Brought up for laughs in an episode of Pokémon by...

** Don't forget about Mario Castañeda. Bruce Wilis is taken to another level when he speaks with Goku's voice.

* Joseph Mazzello: Most famous for playing Tim in ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', today he is found on ''[[The Pacific]]'' and in ''[[The Social Network]]''. Does not like talking about his days as a child actor, much less the filming of [[Jurassic Park]].

* [[Gethin Jones]] has recently become solely associated with [[Strictly Come Dancing]] to many people. They forget he was [[An Aesop|promoting driving safety]] in [[Police Camera Action]], and doing various other shows!

* [[NCIS|Pauley Perrette]] has stated that she was once called Abby by her DAD.

* Most of the cast of ''[[Lost]]'' (though two managed to add and/or replace a role, ex-''[[Party of Five]]'' Matthew Fox and ex-[[The Lord of the Rings|hobbit]] Dominic Monaghan).

** Which cost [[Michael Biehn]] a role in ''[[Avatar]]'', although most would know him as [[Terminator|John Connor]]'s father or a bad-ass [[Command and Conquer|GDI]] commander.

*** A certain generation knows her well as [[Ghostbusters|Dana Barrett]].

* Jack Webb was [[Dragnet|Sgt. Joe Friday]]. He even received an LAPD funeral on his death, though he never served, and Joe's Badge 718 was officially retired.

* Michael C. Hall is ''[[Dexter]]'', a sociopathic serial killer with a creepy monotone mental voice that sends chills down your spine. Now imagine him doing a car commercial in the same voice and not feel a little scared.

** Now, THAT would be [[Crowning Moment of Funny|awesome]].

* The voice actor for [[Half Life|Alyx Vance]] reports in the commentary saying that co-workers tend to peek out of the corridor when they hear her talk.

* Gary Sinise has been so strongly identified as Lieutenant Dan Taylor in ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' that he called his band "The Lieutenant Dan Band". May be subverted by younger viewers of ''[CSI:NY\]''.

** There are younger viewers of CSI: NY??

** [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|He has also played Lt. Dan in PSAs for suicide hotlines aimed at military veterans.]]

* All the main cast of the ''[[CSI]]'' franchise really suffer from the same thing. William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger seem to have left at least in part for that reason. And who thinks that David Caruso will be remembered for anything but ''[[CSI: Miami]]'', even with his role on ''[[NYPD Blue]]''?

* Amongst [[Tokusatsu]] fans, the prime example is Joe Odagiri, who played ''[[Kamen Rider Kuuga]]'''s Yuusuke Godai. After that show got him into more serious roles, Odagiri started looking back at his time as Kuuga as [[Old Shame]], refusing to talk about it ever again. Presumably this was the primary reason that [[Milestone Celebration]] ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' replaced Godai with an [[Alternate Universe]] version, Yuusuke Onodera (played, ironically enough, by a [[Promoted Fanboy]] of Odagiri).

* Jim Caviezel will always be known as Jesus in [[The Passion of the Christ]]. However, he doesn't seem to mind. He considers the role his calling, and it changed him.

** Similarly, Ted Neeley in [[Jesus Christ Superstar]]. He's still playing the role in stage productions, for crying out loud!

* This may be the case with Cliff Arquette who was more recognized as Charley Weaver from ''[[The Tonight Show]]''.

* Kevin Sorbo is Hercules. Even when he was on Andromeda, he was still Hercules [[In Space]].

* Frank Oz is an interesting case. He has refused to use his [[The Muppets|Muppet]] voices in public, and has for the most part refused to reprise his roles, the characters [[The Other Darrin|Darrin'd]] by Eric Jacobson(With the exception of his [[Sesame Street]] characters, which he has reprised on occasion.). Beyond that and voicing [[Star Wars|Yoda]] for the prequels, he focuses on his directing career, but despite directing several excellent films, he will forever be known as Ms. Piggy and Fozzie Bear, much to his chagrin.

** This caused some problems when he filmed ''[[The Score]]'' with [[Marlon Brando]], which Brando [[Wag the Director|kept mocking Oz,]] such as calling him "Ms. Piggy" and other derogitory references to his puppeteering career. It got to the point where co-star [[Robert De Niro]] had to step in to direct Brando's scenes. Needless to say, this was the last time Brando worked in Hollywood again. [[Author Existence Failure|But that doesn't mean he can anymore.]]

* [[Neil Patrick Harris]] will forever be known as [[How I Met Your Mother|Barney Stinson]], [[The Casanova|in spite of the fact that he is]] [[Straight Gay|completely different in real life]]. Interestingly, before this he was only known as [[Doogie Howser, M.D.]].

** That may be a bit of a step up. He struggled to find acting roles for years after Doogie was cancelled, and How I Met Your Mother was considered his big comeback. Though in an scenario similar to the Adam West episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Harris guest-starred in an episode of ''[[Static Shock]]'' as a washed-up teen sitcom star who turned to crime after his career tanked.

* David Boreanaz has spoken of this type of problem with ''[[Angel]]''. Fans had a tendancy to want to ask him about it while he was trying to move on and play other roles, ie Booth on ''[[Bones]]''.

* Paul Gross will probably always be identified with ''[[Due South]]'', and it was rather a shock to many fans when he played a completely different type of Mountie, real life accused killer Patrick Kelly- in the docudrama ''Murder Most Likely''

* Dick Van Dyke and ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'', plus all the other main cast members. Mary Tyler Moore was known so well as Laura Petrie that the producers of ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' decided not to have Mary Richards be divorced-fans would think she was divorced from Rob.

* Ted Knight struggled with this quite a bit during and after ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' run. People could not separate him from Ted Baxter and he hated it.