The Danza: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"Whatever your character's name is, people are going to call you that. [[I Am Not Spock|For the rest of your life]]. Make your character's name '''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel
|[[Will Smith]] quoting [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}hFjwbKMlmF4 valuable advice] }}
{{quote|''"The character I play is called Uncle Deadly, which is also my name. It's like it was written for me!"''
|'''Uncle Deadly''', ''[[The Muppets (film)|The Muppets]]''}}
A character whose name is clearly taken from the actor/actress portraying him/her. This shows up in TV a lot in shows designed as a vehicle for an actor's fame. By lending their name to the fictional character, there's some familiarity created already. The most obvious way to spot this is to see if the title of the show incorporates the lead actor/actress' name, but not always. This seemed to hit its peak in the sitcoms of the late eighties and early nineties. A good majority of sitcoms were based on a stand up comedian's routine (Tim Allen, Roseanne Barr) and many of these comics already were developing fanbases. Creating the Danza was a way to leverage their fame as a comic into success as an actor.
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Another common reason for doing this is that if an actor is famous enough, people will always refer to him/her by his/her real name even when discussing him/her as a fictional character (unless, of course, [[Big Star Is Main Character|the character he/she is portraying is even]] ''[[Big Star Is Main Character|more]]'' [[Big Star Is Main Character|iconic]], with the exception of [[The Other Darrin|said character being played by different actors and/or in multiple media]]). To avoid the annoyance or awkwardness of this character being constantly referred to as "[Famous name's] character", it's often best to just give them the same first name.
Sometimes this is used for child actors, to make things a little less confusing around the set. Also sometimes used for token ethnic minority characters, where it seemed that the program's staff were frightened to think up an original name and just used the name of the actor.
Or sometimes it's just a coincidence.
It's not a Danza if the character already has the name from an adaptation; in such a case the character is not being named for the actor.
Not to be confused with an actor or celebrity actually playing themselves. That's [[As Himself]] (if they're a main character) or [[Special Guest]] (if they show up for a single episode). How to differentiate? Is Bob the Actor playing Bob the Actor? Or does he just happen to be playing a character that's also named Bob? The second one is
Compare [[Character
[[Trope Namer|Named for]] Tony Danza, whose frequent portrayal of people named Tony (see ''[[
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* A borderline case is [[Shinichi Watanabe|Nabeshin]] in ''[[Excel Saga (
** ''Nabeshin'' was Watanabe's real nickname from ''before'' Excel Saga times, and he still uses it. And he ''[[Truth in Television|indeed]]'' dresses [[Alter Ego Acting|like his animated counterpart]].
* A weird twist would be Poemi of ''[[
* [[
* Sakura Tange played [[Cherry Blossom Girl|Sakura]] Kinomoto of ''[[
* ''[[
** Minoru Shiraishi is voiced... by [[Minoru Shiraishi]]. It goes further than that, since Shiraishi plays himself (or a version of himself that's only slightly older than Akira) in the ''Lucky Channel'' segments... who plays a character named Minoru Shiraishi in the main program.
** Gotouther-sama, the scary biker gang leader is voiced by Yuko Goto, who is normally typecast as moe characters. This is a homage to her real-life biker lifestyle.
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** Patricia Martin's character has been confirmed to be inspired by [[Power Rangers|Patricia]] [[Power Rangers Turbo|Ja]] [[Power Rangers in Space|Lee]]. And then, in the English dub, was ''actually'' voiced by Patricia Ja Lee.
** Clerk Sugita is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.
** Shiraishi also played an aspiring seiyuu named Shiraishi in ''[[Kiddy Girl-
* ''[[Akahori Gedou Hour Rabuge]]'' has Tomokazu Seki starring as himself. Mostly.
* ''[[
* As an in-joke, many of the characters in the ''[[Tenchi Muyo!
* In another coincidental one (or maybe a casting director was being cute), in the English dub of ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh
** Voice actor [[Troy Baker]] did get some joke mileage out of this one though: "How bad is it when they start naming characters after voice actors? 'I wanna read for this guy, what's his name?' 'Er...[[Vic Mignogna|Vic Migna]].'"
* In ''[[
** Conan's voice actor double-roles in a two-parter as herself, the lead singer for the band Two-Mix.
* In the series ''[[
* The Latin American dub of ''[[
* Shigeo Shiba in ''[[
* In yet another coincidental one in the dub of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00
** And before Kati Mannequin, Cathy Weseluck voiced Catherine Bloom in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
* Hideyuki Tanaka was the voice of Hideyuki Makimura in ''[[
* [[Mai Nakahara]] is the voice behind ''[[
* To voice Momoko Touyoko of ''[[Saki (
* In ''[[
* Everybody in ''[[Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman
* ''[[
* Maya in ''[[Burn Up
* ''[[
* In the English version of ''[[Project
* Aya Stanford from ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* Zenjiro in ''[[
* In ''[[
* [[Akira Kamiya]] as Akira Hibiki in ''[[Raideen
* [[Playing with a Trope|Played with]] in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]''. Kosuke Fujishima had written a one-shot story with a character named Chieko Honda. When it came time to animate that story in ''Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy'', they cast [[Chieko Honda]] in the role.
== Films -- Animated ==
* Penthouse pet Julie Strain voiced the main character of Julie in ''[[Heavy Metal (
* Subverted due to [[Author Existence Failure]] in ''[[
* ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]] [[Recycled in Space|Goes to Mars]]'' featured a talking faucet with Farrah Fawcett's voice in some scenes.
** Wouldn't that be an inversion?
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** That's just completing the circle, since [[The Scrooge|Scrooge McDuck]] was named in honor of that other Scrooge in the first place.
* Several [[Pixar]] examples:
** Mary Gibbs as Boo (assuming if it is her real name according to a painting in her bedroom) from ''[[Monsters,
** Guido Quaroni as Guido from ''[[
** John Ratzenberger as (SURPRISE!) John from ''[[WALL-E]]''.
* A few [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney animated features]] have this trope as well, including:
** Peggy Lee as Peg from ''[[Lady and
** Louis Prima as King Louie from ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''.
** Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat from ''[[
* In the Disney film ''[[
* In the film version of ''The Little Engine That Could'', [[Peter Cullen]] was actually cast as the Big Strong Engine.
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* Possibly the oldest example in film: [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s "Charlie" character, the center of many of his movies.
* [[Laurel and Hardy|Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy]] usually played full-name versions of this in their films.
* Frankie Avalon in the ''Beach'' movies.▼
* [[The Marx Brothers]] did this in some of their films, and on stage.
▲* Frankie Avalon in the ''Beach'' movies.
* Subverted in ''[[Back To The Beach]]'' where Annette Funicello (known as Dee Dee in the classic Beach films) is called Annette while Frankie (her husband) is called "The Big Kahuna".
* Long before Sandra Oh was cast in ''[[Grey's
* All the main characters from ''The Wrong Guys''. In case you haven't seen it (quite likely) Louie Anderson, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, Franklyn Ajaye and Tim Thomerson play lifelong friends and former Boy Scouts called... Louie, Richard, Belz, Franklyn and Tim.
* [[Jack Nicholson]] plays Jack Napier in ''[[Batman (
* To cash in even further on the fame of its cast, the entire cast of ''Love, Honour and Obey'' were named after the actors who play them.
** This may not have been just to cash in on the fame of the cast... the directors, Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis, directed a previous movie, ''Final Cut'', starring much of the same cast (Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Ray Winstone etc) which also had the majority of the characters named after their actors. The films are clearly not sequels to each other,
*** Two of the characters in ''Love, Honour and Obey'' do ''not'' have the same name as the actor/actress. Maureen is played by Denise Van Outen and Matthew was played by Rhys Ifans.
* The ''[[
** Borderline case: in one of the books, there was a character named "Entoo Needaan E-elz" (the author has actually confirmed that he was named after Anthony Daniels).
** In the expanded universe, the full name of Wicket the ewok (played by [[Warwick Davis]]) is revealed to be Wicket Wystri Warrick.
* All three leads in ''[[
* Bizarre example: The characters of ''[[The Blair Witch Project
* Often happens to [[Jackie Chan]] in his movies - especially those ported from Hong Kong to Western market.
** And in ''Mr. Nice Guy'', Miki is played by Miki Lee.
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** Also the character of Michael is played by Michael A. Baldwin in the first, third, and fourth installments.
* Betty Garrett as Betty Barrett in ''Neptune's Daughter''. This single-letter difference might have been to not mislead audiences into thinking that Eve Barrett (Esther Williams) was her sister in [[Real Life]] as well as in the movie.
* In ''[[
* Neil Connery as Dr Neil Connery in the [[James Bond (
* Jason Mewes plays a character named "Jay" in [[The View Askewniverse]] movies, as well as some other characters also named "Jay"
* Many of [[Harold Lloyd]]'s characters have the first name Harold, with various last names. Once this even bled into the title: ''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock''.
* Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in ''A Cock and Bull Story'', as well as playing Tristram Shandy and his brother, also play "Steve Coogan" and "Rob Brydon".
* David Della Rocco in ''[[The Boondock Saints]].'' The role was written specifically for him, but then again he was friends with the writer before they even started.
* David Hewlett as David Worth in ''[[
* In ''[[Desperado]],'' [[Steve Buscemi]] plays a character called "Buscemi".
* Subverted in ''[[Zack and Miri Make
* In ''[[
* Egyptian American actor Ahmed Ahmed has played a few roles as Ahmed, and many others [[As Himself|as himself]].
* Every single character in ''[[Purple Rain]]'' shares their actor's first name except for that played by Prince (his name is The Kid) and his movie mother and father (they have fictional names).
* [[Stephen Chow]] directs and plays a character named Stephen Chow in ''[[
** Considering his birth name was Sing, his characters in ''[[Shaolin Soccer]]'' and ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'' are also
* Rudy Del Campo plays a character named simply "Del Campo" in the film version of ''[[West Side Story]]''.
* ''China Strike Force''. In the English dub, at least three characters are named for the actor: Coolio plays Coolio, Norika Fujiwara plays Norika, and Ken Lo plays Ken Lo.
* Stella Stevens as Stella Purdy in [[Jerry Lewis]]'s ''[[The Nutty Professor]]''.
* Done backwards in [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s ''[[
* Subverted in [[Robert Altman]]'s ''Images'', where every major cast member plays a character with the same first name as ''another'' major cast member.
* The Vincenzo Natali movie ''Nothing'', and it's two protagonists: Andrew (Miller) and Dave (Hewlett).
* In ''[[Home Alone]] 3'' the lead character is named Alex after the actor portraying him, Alex D. Linz.
* In ''[[Knocked Up]]'', the main character's friends all keep the first names of the actors portraying them.
* [[Steve McQueen]] in ''[[
* From 1932 to 1936, [[John Wayne]] played many characters named "John", and one named "Wayne".
** One of his lesser known roles is a romantic comedy called ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036092/ A Lady Takes A Chance]'' where he plays a rodeo cowboy named Duke, which became his iconic nickname.
* Jessie Royce Landis as Jessie Stevens in ''[[To Catch a Thief]]''.
* Happened in the other way around in ''[[
* In ''[[
* Justin Long played Justin in ''[[
* Danny Trejo in ''[[Heat]]'' plays a character named Trejo.
* This trope applies to everyone appearing in ''[[
* In Carlos Saura's ''Carmen'', the dancers Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos, and Juan Antonio Jimenez play dancers named Antonio, Cristina, and Juan, while musician Paco de Lucia plays a musician named Paco.
* Subverted in ''[[Snow Cake]]'': Angela Pell wrote the screenplay with [[Alan Rickman]] so much in mind that the main character was originally named "Alan Hughes". Rickman suggested the name change; the character is now called "Alex Hughes".
* With the exceptions of Hicks and Ripley, all of the Marines in ''[[Alien (
* A reverse Danza happens in [[Ridley Scott]]'s ''[[Robin Hood (2010
* [[Liam Neeson]] plays "Randy Father Liam" in ''[[Breakfast On Pluto]]''. Seeing as this character was named Father ''Bernard'' in the original novel, we can only assume this was done deliberately...
* Several movies by German comedian Didi Hallervorden, often containing "Didi" in the title.
* In ''The Basket'', the character of Frederick Treadway was played by Patrick Treadway. This is because the character originally didn't have a name, so in the script he was simply referred to as Patrick Treadway, with the intention of coming up with a name later. Everyone got so used to it that it simply became the character's name, until the real Patrick asked for it to be altered at least partially so it wouldn't feel like he was playing himself.
* Scott "Scotty" Thomas in ''[[
* Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell in ''[[
* Dragan Mićanović plays a Serbian gangster, Dragan, in ''[[Layer Cake]]'', and amusingly enough, is [[The Dragon]].
* In ''[[Men in Black (
* In ''[[Enter the Dragon]]'', [[Bruce Lee]] plays a character named "Mr. Lee".
* In Mexico, there is a famous actress and comedienne named "María Elena Velasco". She has been cast a Danza in everything she has been in. Specifically, she plays "La India Maria", a character she herself created.
* [[
* [[Sleazy Politician|Corrupt town councilman]] Bill Heslop in ''[[
* ''[[Silent Movie (
* Norman Wisdom played characters called Norman in a total of 13 films during the '50s and '60s. He is probably best remembered playing Norman Pitkin, opposite Edward Chapman as [[Phrase Catcher|Mr. Grimsdale]].
* Glenn Morshower as "General Morshower" in the second and third ''[[Transformers (
* Reggae singer Willi One Blood plays a henchman in ''[[Léon: The Professional]]''. Stansfield calls him "Blood", and another character calls him "Willi".
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* British wartime comedian George Formby played a character named George in 18 of his 21 starring roles, including several where he is name-checked in the title (''Come On George!'', ''Let George Do It!'').
* In ''[[Bad Boys]]'', Theresa Randle plays Theresa Burnett
* In ''[[Four Weddings and
* In ''[[
* [[John Malkovich]] as John Malkovich in ''[[Being John Malkovich]]'', obviously. He isn't ''quite'' playing himself, since the character's middle name is different from his own.
* In Brazilian film ''[[The Elite Squad]]'' André Ramiro plays André Matias (though the first name rarely shows up due to [[Last-Name Basis]]).
** Captain Matias returns in the sequel, keeping the trope running.
* Michael Douglas as Michael Andropolis in ''Running''.
* ''From Justin to Kelly'' stars Justin Guarini as Justin Bell (a full-name Danza; Guarini is his stage name) and [[
* [[Federico Fellini|Fellini]]'s ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'': Marcello Mastroianni (Marcello Rubini) and Riccardo Garrone (Riccardo).
* ''[[My Dinner
* ''[[Where the Wild Things Are]]'''s lead character Max is played by Max Records.
* A coincidental last-name Danza appears in the remake of ''[[True Grit]]'', where Lucky Ned Pepper is played by - you guessed it - Barry Pepper.
* [[Shirley Temple]] in four of her early films.
* Although the character existed long before the actress who played her, in an early film version of ''[[
** The actress, née Dawn Evelyeen Paris, adopted the stage name as a consequence of being cast in the movie. She had been previously acting as Dawn O'Day.
* In the Swedish film, ''Pelle the Conqueror'', the title role was played by Pelle Hvenegaard. Hvenegaard was actually named for the character, since his parents were fans of the book the movie was based on.
* ''Zabriskie Point'': lead characters Mark and Daria (Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin), and also supporting character Kathleen (Kathleen Cleaver).
▲* In ''[[The Wolf Man (Film)|The Wolf Man]]'', [[Bela Lugosi]] plays a fortune teller named Bela.
* Reverse Danza: Actor Byron Barr changed his professional name to Gig Young after playing a character of that name in the 1942 film ''The [[Have a Gay Old Time|Gay]] Sisters''.
* [[Keith David]] as Agent Keith in ''[[
* Peter Serafinowicz as Pete in ''[[
* [[Rachel Weisz]]'s role in ''[[About a Boy]]'' is Rachel.
* [[Jeff Bridges]] as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski in ''[[
* In ''[[La Haine]]'', Vinz, Saïd and Hubert are played by '''Vincent''' Cassel, '''Saïd''' Taghmaoui and '''Hubert''' Koundé, respectively.
* In ''[[
* Probably coincidental since the character actually is a real person, but in ''[[The Blind Side]]'': '''Collins''' Tuohy is played by Lily '''Collins''' (daughter of [[Phil Collins]])
* In ''[[
* Eddie Redmayne as "Eddie" in ''Hick''.
* Susan Sarandon has a rare last-name version in the 1982 film ''[[Tempest (1982 film)|Tempest]]'' -- her character Aretha's last name, Tomalin, is her own maiden name.
== Literature ==
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* Author self-insertion characters tend to follow this naming convention (i.e. "Herald Myste," who represents [[Mercedes Lackey|Mercedes "Misty" Lackey]] in the [[Heralds of Valdemar|Valdemar series]]). This can (further) blur the line between simple author insertion and a [[Mary Sue]] character.
* The playwright Moliere sometimes named characters after the original actors that played them.
* The novel ''[[The Bone People]]'' by Keri Hulme has a protagonist named Kerewin Holmes.
* This editor believes that the name of an Austrian emperor indicates a use of this in Kafka's ''The Trial''
* [[Philip K. Dick]]'s protagonist "Horselover Fat" in ''[[
* David Wong, main character of ''[[John Dies
* Possibly the earliest example of this trope in literature would be ''[[
* Portia da Costa's [[Romance Novel]] ''[http://www.portiadacosta.com/thestranger.html The Stranger]'' features an obvious [[Expy]] of Paul McGann's [[Doctor Who
* William Lee, [[Author Avatar|the protagonist of several works]] by [[William S. Burroughs]].
** Similarly, Jack Kerouac wrote many novels starring a protagonist named Jack Duluoz.
* Charles Yu, time-machine repairman in ''[[How to Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe]]'' by Charles Yu. It really says something that this is one of the ''[[Mind Screw|less confusing]]'' things about the book.
* A couple of author John
* Darren O'Shaughnessy (who usually writes under the penname Darren Shan) is best known for a book series about a young vampire named [[The Saga of Darren Shan|Darren Shan]].
* [[Tanith Lee]], who wrote for British sf series ''[[Blake's
* J(ames) G(raham) Ballard in his novels ''Empire of the Sun'' and 'The Kindness of Women'' has the protagonist "Jim Graham".
* Another borderline case is dancer Lucinda Dickey as "Lucy Dickens" in ''[[Grease 2]]''.
== Live-Action TV ==
* In ''[[
* In the [[
* While we're mentioning [[Idol Singer|musically gifted actresses with their own sitcom]], China Anne Mcclain plays Chyna Parks on ''[[
* Some of the supporting
* [[Norm MacDonald]] plays Norm Henderson on ''[[The Norm Show]]''. An early commercial showed Norm not responding to his character's original name, forcing the showrunner to change it to his real name to avoid confusion.
* Fred Willard played a bartender named Fred (Or Freddie, as the Nixon puppet would refer to him) on ''[[
* Mayko Tran on ''[[Regenesis]]'' is played by Mayko Ngyuen.
* Bob Newhart as Bob Hartley on ''[[
* Ray Romano as Ray Barone in ''[[
* [[Ellen
* Sandy Duncan as Sandy Stockton in ''[[Funny Face]]'' (later called ''The Sandy Duncan Show''). Duncan was also Sandy Hogan in her [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] role on the show known variously as ''[[Valerie]]'', ''
* Speaking of which, Valerie Harper as Valerie Hogan in the early seasons of the same show.
* Tim Allen as Tim Taylor in ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''.
* Raven-Symone as Raven Baxter in ''[[
* Ben Vereen as Mayor Ben in ''[[Zoobilee Zoo]]''
* John Ritter as John Hartman and Billy Bob Thornton as Billy Bob Davis in ''[[
* ''[[
** Harry Anderson as "Harry the Hat". Anderson had used "Harry the Hat" as a stage name for years before appearing on TV, when he was a stage magician and real-life con man, making it in some ways even ''more'' of a Danza than usual). Anderson also played Judge Harry Stone on [[Night Court]].▼
** Selma Diamond as Baliff Selma Hacker and her replacement Bailiff Florence Kleiner played by Florence Halop. ▼
** Charles Robinson shares the same last name as his character Mac Robinson.▼
** One could also argue Yakov Smirnoff as Yakov Korplenko. ▼
** Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd looks like this, but it's a coincidence: the character was named Woody before Harrelson was cast.
▲** Harry Anderson as "Harry the Hat". Anderson had used "Harry the Hat" as a stage name for years before appearing on TV, when he was a
* [[Miley Cyrus (Music)|Miley Cyrus]] as Miley Stewart in ''[[Hannah Montana (TV)|Hannah Montana]]'' -- this also counts as [[Alter Ego Acting]] because Miley is seen performing as Hannah onstage in real life too. More so since she legally changed her name to "Miley" from her birth name of "Destiny Hope Cyrus". ("Smiley Miley" was a nickname her father gave her as an infant.) The character was named ''Chloe Stewart''. [[Word of God]] says the writers changed it to "Miley" as there were too many names for a 12-year old to remember.▼
* Speaking of ''[[Night Court]]''...
* Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas play alternate universe versions of themselves on ''[[Jonas (TV)|Jonas]]'', which includes keeping their real names.▼
▲** Selma Diamond as
▲** Charles Robinson shares the same last name as his character Mac Robinson.
▲* [[
▲* Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas play alternate universe versions of themselves on ''[[
* Both Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as Kenan Rockmore and Kel Kimble, respectively, in ''[[Kenan and Kel]]''.
* Jim Belushi as Jim in ''[[
* Victoria Jackson as Victoria in the failed 1984 ''[[M*A*S*H (
* Rare last-name Danza: Mackenzie Phillips as Molly Phillips in ''[[So Weird]]''.
* Another especially convoluted example would be Redd Foxx (born John Elroy Sanford), playing Fred Sanford in ''[[
* Tracy Morgan plays Tracy Jordan in ''[[30
* Full-name Danzas include:
** Jerry Seinfeld in ''[[
** George Lopez in ''[[The George Lopez Show]]''.
** Drew Carey in ''[[
** Jennifer Grey in ''[[It's Like, You Know...]]'' (In an odd subversion, Grey claimed more than once that the character she played was ''not'' based on herself.)
** Fred Rogers in ''[[Mister Rogers'
** [[
*** The page quote comes from an interview Will did with [[David Letterman]], where he says Alfonso Ribero (Carlton) told him to use this trope.
** [[Stephen Colbert]] of ''[[
** [[Larry David]] in ''[[
** The kids on ''[[You Can't Do That
** Sean Hughes in ''
** Norman Lovett in ''I Lovett''.
** [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] in ''[[
** Jack Benny in ''[[
** Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain in ''[[Stella]]''. Oddly, the show was adapted from their comedy act and short films where they're playing exaggerated versions of themselves (e.g. they're still comedians in an act named "Stella"), but on the TV show itself, they were usually unemployed and picked up different, bizarre moneymaking schemes in nearly every episode.
** Sarah ''and'' Laura Silverman in ''[[The Sarah Silverman Program]]''.
** [[Abbott and Costello
** Nicholas Parsons in ''[[The Comic Strip Presents]]'' episode "Mr Jolly Lives Next Door".
** Christopher Titus in ''[[
** Andy Richter in ''[[
** Bernie Mac on ''[[
** Jack Dee and Jeremy Hardy in ''Jack And Jeremy's Real Lives''.
** Tim Stack as "TV's Tim Stack" in ''[[
** Ozzie Nelson's entire family, in ''The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet''.
** Ed Begley, Jr. guest starred as Ed Begley, Jr. on ''[[Dharma &
** Jon Dore on ''The Jon Dore Television Show''.
** ''[[
* Delores Hall as Nurse Delores Mitchell in ''[[Diagnosis
* Yasuko Nagazami as Yasko and Alibe Parsons as Alibe in ''[[Space: 1999]]''.
* Tia and Tamera Mowry as Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell in ''[[Sister, Sister]]'' (In the series, they're twins separated at birth and adopted by different people, hence different surnames)
* [[
* ''[[
* ''[[UFO]]'' had several first-name Danzas: Ed Bishop played Ed Straker, Gabrielle Drake played Gay Ellis and Peter Gordeno played Peter Carlin.
* In ''[[The Pretender]]'', Andrea Parker plays female lead character Miss Parker, but this is apparently a genuine coincidence. On the other hand, her [[Mooks]] are first-name Danzas (with [[No Name Given|no last name]]) to a man, apparently as an acknowledgement that it's not worth the effort of giving them real names.
* Matthew Perry's character Matt in ''[[Studio 60
* Many of the supporting cast on the U.S. version of ''[[
* [[Charlie Sheen]] has played characters named Charlie on several occasions, notably on ''[[
** Before Charlie, [[Michael J. Fox]] played Michael Flaherty for four seasons on ''[[
* ''[[Third Watch]]'' had paramedics Bobby Caffey and Kim Zambrano played by... Bobby Cannavale and Kim Raver. The minor firefighter characters shared their full names with their actors: Firefighter Billy Walsh was played by Bill Walsh, Derek "DK" Kitson by Derek Kelly.
* Alan the cab driver is played by Alan George in ''[[Skins]]''.
* Kathryn Janeway in ''[[Star Trek
* Katherine Mulgrew played Kate Columbo in ''[[Mrs. Columbo]]''.
* Several minor ''[[
* On ''[[Gilmore Girls]],'' Sookie's husband Jackson is played by Jackson Douglas. His real-life girlfriend almost played Sookie.
* Long time ago now, but the [[Britcom]] ''Terry and June'' starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as Terry and June Medford. They ''also'' starred as Terry and June ''Fletcher'' in an earlier [[Britcom]] ''Happy Ever After'' - the same couple in a different house with a troublesome aunt and her mynah bird. ([[Captain Ersatz|This was not accidental.]])
* Even older, ''Bless This House'' featured Sid James (of ''[[Carry On]]'' fame) as Sid Abbot, and Sally Gleeson as Sally Abbot. Plus, the 1972 feature film version contains a meta-''aversion'' (by virtue of the fact that it became a notable example later): Terry Scott and June Whitfield played new neighbours Ronald and Vera
* Comedian Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson (from ''[[
* In ''[[
* In addition to the Tracy Jordan/Morgan example, ''[[30
* ''[[
* Both members of ''[[
* ''That '80s Show'': Margaret Smith as Margaret.
* Lucille Ball as, variously, Lucy Ricardo (''[[
** ...and, before she moved to television, as Hollywood actress Lucille Ball in the movie version of ''Best Foot Forward''. (In the stage version, this character was named Gale Joy, originally portrayed by Rosemary Lane.)
** Vivian Vance played Vivian Bagley on ''The Lucy Show'', and had a recurring guest role as Vivian Jones on ''Here's Lucy''.
* ''[[
* Recurring nurse First Lt. Kealani Kellye (also known as Kellye Yamoto, and in one episode, as Nurse Nakahara) on ''[[M*A*S*H (
** And the full name
** There's more. Nurse Shari was played by Shari Saba, Nurse Jo Ann was played by Jo Ann Thompson, and Nurse Sheila was played by Sheila Lauritsen.
* Mocked on ''[[
* Rik Mayall's characters in ''[[
** Edmondson actually played a psychotic ex-talk show host called Eddie Monsoon in ''[[
** Mayall changed his first name in his
* Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard in ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]''. Likely a coincidence, considering it started as a [[Meaningful Name]] (She could turn into a cat in her introductory arc).
** Also likely a coincidence, Austin St. John's real name is Jason Geiger. He played Jason Lee Scott in the first season.
* [[Jack Black]] as Jack Austin in ''[[Heat Vision and Jack]]''.
* Two of Station 51's firefighters in ''[[Emergency]]'', Marco Lopez and Mike Stoker, simply used the
* [[The Olsen Twins|Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen]] as Mary-Kate and Ashley Burke in ''[[Two of a Kind]]''.
* In order to promote Summer Strallen taking over the lead role in ''The Sound of Music'' on the West End, its producer [[
* Most of the ''[[Kids Incorporated]]'' kids. When a [[No Name Given]] character had his name revealed in an episode, it was that of the actor Rahsaan Patterson.
* Sissy Walker, a very minor character on ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[In Plain Sight]]'' has lead character Mary Shannon played by Mary McCormack. Whenever she needs an alias-to testify in court, let's say-she goes by "Mary [[Meaningful Name|Shepherd]]".
* Subversion: ''[[Hope & Faith]]'' starred Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford in the title roles... but Faith played Hope and Kelly played Faith.
* Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor in ''[[
* In ''[[Make Room For Daddy]]'' (aka ''The Danny Thomas Show''), Danny Thomas starred as Danny Williams.
* Every character in the Australian [[Mockumentary]] series ''[[
** May it be pointed out for non-Australians reading this that the real-life PM at time of that episode's airing was named (by pure coincidence) John Howard.
* ''[[
* Not a main character, but Archie Johnson on ''[[
** Also David Phillips, played by David Berman.
** In the episode "A Kiss Before Frying", guest star Dita Von Teese {{spoiler|works as nude dancer under the name Rita Von Squeeze}}.
* Dr. Lisa Cuddy from ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' is played by actress Lisa Edelstein.
* ''[[
* Claire Keelan as Claire Ashcroft in ''[[Nathan Barley]]''.
* Charlie on ''[[It's
** Also, Artemis is played by Artemis Pebdani.
* Steve from ''[[
* Brent Butt as Brent Leroy on ''[[
* Mr. Mackay in ''[[
* Neil (Buchanan) and Kim (Goody) on ''No 73'', a 1980s [[ITV]] kids' [[
* [[
* [[
* Bob McGrath as Bob Johnson and Linda Bove as Linda in ''[[
** In a roundabout way, the character Gordon's last name in ''[[
* Cybill Shephard as Cybill Sheridan in... ''[[
* In ''[[
** From ''Beyond Tomorrow'':
* In ''[[The Wire]]'' the character Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is played by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1787519/ Felicia "Snoop" Pearson] -- who also happens to be a former Baltimore drug dealer with [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/24/the.wire.season.five a conviction for second-degree murder].▼
{{quote|Roger Price said "What's your favorite name?" and I was kind of fazed, and I said, "Elizabeth." And that's how the role got its name.}}
** Also Detective Ed(ward) Norris is played by Ed Norris, former Baltimore City chief of police ([http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/ Cast List]).▼
▲* In ''[[The Wire]]'' the character Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is played by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1787519/ Felicia "Snoop" Pearson]
▲** Also Detective Ed(ward) Norris is played by Ed Norris, former Baltimore City chief of police ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150622083115/http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/ Cast List]).
** And while Jay Landsman is played by Delaney Williams, from Season 3 the character Dennis Mello is played by Jay Landsman.
** Well-renowned attorney Billy Murphy more-or-less [[As Himself]] playing the role of Clay Davis's lawyer.
* Cherie Johnson as Cherie Johnson on ''[[
* Half the cast of ''[[Out of This World]]'': Donna Pescow as Donna Garland, Buzz Belmondo as Buzz, and Peter Petofsky as Peter.
* Mary Kay Stearns as essentially herself in the very first TV [[
* Interesting usage in the German kids' show ''[[
* Spoofed on ''[[Mega 64]]'', with Rocco Botte as Rocko Boaty, Derrick Acosta as Derek Ackawzdha, and Shawn Chatfield as Sean Chatfield. In other words, the same names, yet different spellings.
* Joey Lawrence made guest appearances on both ''[[
* Ricky Schroeder as Ricky Stratton on ''[[Silver Spoons]]''.
* Chuck Campell plays Chuck the Gate Tech on ''[[
* Lee and Tim from ''[[
* Rhodri Meilir played a character called Rhodri in the ''[[
* Larry Bagby III as Larry Blaisdell in ''[[
* Comedian Mark Curry as Mark Cooper in ''[[
* ''Get a Life'' had Chris Elliott as Chris Peterson.
* Carrying on the tradition from ''[[Stella]]'', ''Michael And Michael Have Issues'' stars Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black.
* Fran Drescher played Fran Fine on ''[[
** And again as Fran Reeves on ''[[Living With Fran]]''
** And for the hat trick, as Fran Lovett on ''[[Happily Divorced]]''.
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* Lucy Brown as Claudia Brown on ''[[Primeval]]''.
* Keisuke Kato as Keisuke Nago/Kamen Rider IXA in ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]''.
** Yui Koike, who went on to play [[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
* Diane Martin, the first Miss America, in ''[[Battle Fever J]]''. Both the character ''and'' the actress are called Diane Martin.
** Mai Ooishi as Mai Tsubasa in ''[[Dengeki Sentai Changeman]]''
** Megumi Mori as Megumi Misaki in ''[[Choujuu Sentai Liveman]]''
** In ''[[Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan]],'' all four heroes (Red changes midseason, [[Real Life Writes the Plot|actor's contract ran out]]) share a given name with their actors.
* [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]] guest-starred in an episode of ''[[
* In many episodes of ''[[
** Conversely, in ''[[El Chavo
* Most of the main characters of ''[[The Sarah Silverman Program]]''.
* ''[[Coronation Street]]'' has long-running star Betty Driver as Betty Williams.
* Donna Reed's character in ''The Donna Reed Show'' was a Danza called "Donna Stone."
* Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer's characters on ''[[The Steve Harvey Show]]'' are Steve Hightower and Cedric Jackie Robinson. Also Merlin Santana as Romeo Santana.
* ''[[Welcome Back,
* Martin Lawrence played Martin Payne on ''[[
** Character Tommy was played by actor Thomas Michael Ford
* Jim Jarmusch on ''[[
* Almost all the main characters in the 70's show ''[[
* Interesting variation in ''[[
* On ''[[True Blood]]'', Sam Merlotte is played by actor Sam
* [[Subverted Trope]] in an episode of ''[[
* ''Gimme a Break'' with Nell Carter as Nell Harper.
* Wanda Sykes, like so many other comedians, played a character named after herself on ''Wanda at Large'', as [[Shaped Like Itself|a stand-up comedian]].
* In-universe example: In an episode of ''[[
{{quote|
'''Joey''': Done!
'''Ross''': And it can't be Joey.
'''Joey''': It's not.
'''Ross''': Or Joseph.
'''Joey''': Oh. }}
* ''[[
* Another variant on ''[[
** Brad [[The Piano Player]] is played by Brad Ellis.
* Ron Glass (AKA Shepherd Book from ''[[
* The French series ''Hénaut Président'' is made of this trope; of the 7 main characters SIX are playing characters with whom they share a first name - every major character other than the lead (the eponymous Hénaut).
* Subverted on the UPN show ''Eve'', where the rapper Eve's character was named...Shelley. (The series was originally called ''The Opposite Sex'' until the title change.)
* A case of the almost-Danza: The character of Rollin Hand in ''[[Mission: Impossible (TV series)||Mission: Impossible]]'' was written for actor Martin Landau, and was almost named "Martin Land".
* Almost every single bloody sketch on ''[[French and Saunders (TV)|French and Saunders]]'' has Dawn and Jennifer as... Dawn and Jennifer. Even in the film spoofs.
** Oh, and also Jen in ''Girls on Top''.
* Jeff Hyslop as Jeff the mannequin on the Canadian children's show ''[[
* Oliver Babbish on ''[[
* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' had Michael Vaughn (played by Michael Vartan) and Rachel Gibson (played by Rachel Nichols).
* Martin Clunes as Dr Martin Ellingham in ''[[Doc Martin]]''. Further variant in that the character's surname is an anagram of series creator Dominic Minghella.
* Simon Templeman plays Simon Leeds in ''[[
* Billy Connolly again as Billy MacGregor in ''[[Head of the Class]]'' and ''Billy''.
* In ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith
* Miranda Hart as the title character of ''[[
** These are something of a fictionalized version of [[As Himself|as themselves]]
* Simon Anstell as Simon in ''[[
* Derek Van Der Lint as Derek Raine in ''[[Poltergeist:
* [[Whitney Blake]] played Dorothy Baxter on ''[[Hazel]]'', and was a former "Mrs. Baxter" in real life ([[Meredith Baxter]] of ''[[
* Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan in ''[[
* Craig Cackowski plays Officer Cackowski in a few episodes of ''[[
* Nia Vardalos's character in ''[[
* The little-known sitcom ''Big Brother Jake'' features fitness personality Jake Steinfeld as Jake Rosner.
* ''[[The Partridge Family]]'' stars Shirley Jones<ref>Who had previously appeared in ''[[Oklahoma!]]''</ref> as Shirley Partridge, the mother, and features Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge, the middle son.
* In the 70s British spy serial ''[[
* The ''entire'' cast of the Japanese television series ''Playgirl''.
* ''[[Revenge (TV series)|Revenge]]'' has Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne, Emily Alyn Lind as the flashback version of Emily, and Ashley Madekwe as Ashley.
* ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[
* In ''[[The Waltons]]'', Wilford Brimley played mountain man Horace Brimley, in a last name version.
* [[Jessica Alba]] played a character named "Jessica" in three episodes of ''[[The Secret World of Alex Mack]]''.
* A well-hidden example lurks in ''[[The Stockard Channing Show]]'', with main character Susan -- which is Stockard Channing's ''real'' first name.
* ''[[Chico and The Man]]'' had several -- most obvious were [[Della Reese]] as Della Rogers and [[Charo]] as "Aunt Charo". And [[Shelley Winters]] also played the owner of a local bakery named Shirley Schrift -- which is Winters' real name.
* Greg Evigan as "Greg" and Paul Shaffer (yes, of ''[[David Letterman]]'' fame) as "Paul" in the 1977 ''[[Faust]]''-inspired [[CBS]] [[Sit Com]] ''[[A Year at the Top]]''.
== Music ==
* Played with on the [[BTS (band)|BTS]]'s ''BU Universe'' content. The characters the members play are indicated to have the same legal names of the members in question, but in the videoclips that had a credit roll, they are credited under their stage names. Their mobile game "BTS World" has more of an "[[As Himself]]" approach despite the "[[Alternate Universe|Another Story]]" feature.
== Radio ==
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** There's also Chris the builder, played by Chris Neill.
* Ben Lyon, his wife Bebe Daniels and their children in ''Life With The Lyons'', also a fictionalised version of the actors.
* And Jeremy Hardy and Kit Hollerbach as Jeremy and Kit in ''Unnatural Acts'' (later retitled ''At Home With The Hardys'' in parody of ''Life With The Lyons'').
* The Golden Age of Radio (1920-1950) was filled with shows like this, mostly comedy sitcoms: Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fred Allen, Abbott and Costello, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and many others.
* Justin Moorhouse as Justin in ''Everybody Quite Likes Justin''.
* The main characters of the sketch show ''[[
== Theater ==
* The cast of ''[[Godspell]]'', sans Jesus and John/Judas, are [[Original Cast Precedent|named after the actors who portrayed them in the original cast.]] Newer performances of this show often change character names to match their own casts.
* Similarly, the main character of ''[[The Magic Show]]'' is named for the actor/magician who plays him.
* ''[[
* In the ''[[
* The short lived yet wildly popular Broadway musical ''[[
* In ''[[
* Most [[Cirque Du Soleil]] clowns use their own names for their characters, and occasionally more serious character roles get the same treatment, in which case the name may stick with the character after the original performer leaves. Notable examples:
** ''[[Mystere]]'': Brian Le Petit (Dewhurst) and Bebe Francois (Dupuis).
Line 452 ⟶ 465:
** ''"O"'': Le Vieux, the emcee, was long known as Eugen after original performer Eugene Brim.
* A strange inversion: Born Joseph Lane, a name that was already in use by another actor, Nathan Lane took his stage name after, Nathan Detroit, his favorite character in Broadway classic ''[[Guys and Dolls]]''. Years later, his Broadway career reached new heights when he received rave notices for playing Nathan Detroit in a revival.
== Theme Parks ==
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== Video Games ==
* Brad, the main villain from ''[[Comic Jumper:
* Gunnery Sgt. Pete Stacker appears in the ''[[Halo (
* Heather Mason in ''[[
* [[
* ''[[
* Sadly [[Averted Trope]] in ''[[
* Makoto in ''[[
* The arcade game ''[[
* Rochelle in ''[[
* Games made by Skip Ltd. (such as ''[[Chibi-Robo!]]'' and ''[[Captain Rainbow]]'') frequently feature a black-and-white dog named Tao, who is usually portrayed as somewhat lazy and often very hungry. Tao was the actual dog of Skip's creative director, looked exactly like his fictional counterparts, and... was somewhat lazy and often very hungry. (The real dog died in 2009, but the fictional version will live on in games forevermore.)
* In the first ''[[
* In ''[[The
* In ''[[The Journeyman Project (
* In ''[[
* [[Jennifer Hale]] was Jennifer Mui in ''[[Mercenaries]]''.
* In ''[[
* One of the models to portray Lara Croft during publicity for the ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' games was named Lara Weller. Her friends suggested that she try out for the part partially because she shared the character's first name.
* In ''[[Resident Evil (
* In ''[[
* [[All There in the Manual|Supplemental material]] has revealed that [[Team Fortress 2
* Vanessa Duvelle in ''[[Spy Hunter]] 2'' (the sequel to the remake, not the arcade game) was based on Vanessa Carlton, who sang the game's theme tune.
== Web Original ==
* Clyde Cash, Jason Kendrick Howell, and Jack Thaddeus voice themselves in the ''[[
* ''[[Corrupting the Classics With Contemporary Crap]]'' is hosted by Angus Hepburn as Angus Leech and Natalia Fedner as Natalie Knickerbocker.
* [[
* [[IMDb]] has a [http://www.imdb.com/keyword/actor-shares-first-name-with-character/ looooooooooonnnng list] with the tag "Actor Shares First Name With Character". Examples include ''[[The Shining]]'' with Jack Torrance ([[Jack Nicholson]]), ''[[Twister]]'' with Bill Harding (Bill Paxton), and ''[[Small Soldiers]]'' with Phil Fimple ([[Phil Hartman]]).
* The webseries ''[[
* [[
* Half the cast of ''[[
** Brian is a double example. In the original ''Marble Hornets'' film, he would be playing a character named Brian.
== Western Animation ==
* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[
* [[Adam Westing|Adam West as Mayor Adam West]] on ''[[
** Lampshaded in that Mayor Adam West actually ''is'' Adam West. ...then again, [[Word of God]] says he's not.... All of this just to intentionally make it confusing.
** The in
** And Catman on ''[[The Fairly
*** Norm the Genie is named after [[Norm MacDonald]], who plays him in two eps. Norm the Genie has been said to be based on MacDonald.
** Also on ''[[The Fairly
* [[John Candy]] in ''Camp Candy''.
* Arianna Huffington as ''[[
* One Danza that is not the main character (and isn't their biggest part in the show) is Cree Lincoln from ''[[Codename
** Another minor character Numbuh 362 is given the name Rachel, her voice actor? [[Rachael MacFarlane]] ([[Seth
* Minor character
* Also Julie Brown as Julie [[Stealth Pun|Bruin]] in ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Almost the entire cast of ''[[Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
* Ray Romano voices a character named [[Significant Anagram|Ray Magini]] in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (
** Lunchlady Doris was originally voiced by script supervisor Doris Grau.
*** Grau also voiced Doris Grossman, Jay Sherman's makeup lady on ''[[The Critic (
* ''[[Batman: The
* A computer expert in ''[[
* Of all shows, there's one in ''[[
* Lisa Lougheed as Lisa on ''[[
* Salli Richardson voices Elisa Maza in ''[[
** Amusingly, in ''Turf'', Elisa goes undercover with the fake name Salli.
* Guy Hadley as Guy Graham on Disney's version of ''[[
* From the original series in 1962, to the movie from 1990,<ref>In fact, he had passed on in mid-production</ref>
* After [[The Other Darrin|Recasting]] for "What's With Andy", [[Black Best Friend|Danny Pickett]] was now voiced by Danny Brochu. The original voice actor (Bumper Robinson)'s real name is "Larry".
----
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Trivia Trope]]
[[Category:Characters and Casting]]
[[Category:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danza, The}}
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