The Danza: Difference between revisions

[[File:mst3k_credits_7944mst3k credits 7944.jpg|link=Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV)|rightframe|<small>He's the most troublesome puppet to operate, too</small>.]]

{{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 -Air (TV)|Will Smith]]'''."|[[Will Smith (Creator)|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]]''}}

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.

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 [['''The Danza]]'''.

Compare [[Character Asas Himself]], [[Adam Westing]] and [[Ink Suit Actor]]. See also [[NamesName's the Same]], and [[Author Avatar]]. If [['''The Danza]]''' is the writer, then it may be [[Write Who You Know]] as well as [[Author Avatar]].

[[Trope Namer|Named for]] Tony Danza, whose frequent portrayal of people named Tony (see ''[[Taxi (TV)|Taxi]]'' and ''[[WhosWho's the Boss (TV)|Whos theThe Boss?]]'') has made him the butt of a few jokes, for example, [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20001023203628/http://www.teevee.org/archive/1999/04/01/sunday.html this one] for April Fools Day from Teevee.org.

== Anime &and Manga ==

* A borderline case is [[Shinichi Watanabe|Nabeshin]] in ''[[Excel Saga (Animeanime)|Excel Saga]]'' and ''[[Puni Puni Poemi (Anime)|Puni Puni Poemi]]'', who is voiced by director Wata''nabe Shin''ichi. Furthermore, Watanabe himself appears a few times in both shows with the same character model.

* A weird twist would be Poemi of ''[[Puni Puni Poemi (Anime)|Puni Puni Poemi]]'', who believes that she is actually her voice actress Yumiko Kobayashi, and continually refers to herself by that name. (She's also convinced that her father, Nabeshin, is actually the director and her boss...)

* [[Megumi Hayashibara (Music)|Megumi Hayashibara]] as Megumi Amatsuka in ''[[Tenshi Na Konamaiki (Manga)|Tenshi Nana Konamaiki]]'', although this is likely a coincidence, as the character existed in the original manga long before Hayashibara was cast in the anime.

* Sakura Tange played [[Cherry Blossom Girl|Sakura]] Kinomoto of ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'', who is also obviously not based on her.

* ''[[Lucky Star (Manga)|Lucky Star]]''

** Shiraishi also played an aspiring seiyuu named Shiraishi in ''[[Kiddy Girl-and (Anime)|Kiddy Girl-andAND]]''.

* ''[[Code Geass (Anime)|Code Geass]]'' has Inoue, Kento Sugiyama and Nagisa Chiba who are voiced by [[Kikuko Inoue]], Noriaki Sugiyama and [[Saeko Chiba]] respectively. In their case, the characters were named for their actors. The English dub has a coincidental version with Kallen Stadtfeld (played by [[Spell My Name Withwith an "S"|Karen]] [[Karen Strassman|Strassman]]).

* As an in-joke, many of the characters in the ''[[Tenchi Muyo (Anime)!|Tenchi Muyo]]'' [[Spin -Off]] ''[[Pretty Sammy (Anime)|Pretty Sammy]]'' have the same last name as their voice actors.

* In another coincidental one (or maybe a casting director was being cute), in the English dub of ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh (Light Novel)|Kyo Kara Maoh!]]'', Yuri was voiced by [[Yuri Lowenthal]].

* In ''[[Detective Conan (Manga)|Detective Conan]]'' (AKA ''Case Closed'' in North America), several police officers were named after their voice actors. Detective Wataru Takagi, bears the same name as his voice actor, but other minor police officers bear the surnames of their respective voice actors.

* In the series ''[[Gunbuster (Anime)|Gunbuster]]'' Noriko Takaya was voiced by Noriko Hidaka. Many of the characters, in fact, were named after people involved in the production.

* The Latin American dub of ''[[Hamtaro (Anime)|Hamtaro]]'' has Kana (now Karla) voiced by Karla Falcon.

* Shigeo Shiba in ''[[Patlabor (Anime)|Patlabor]]'' was voiced by Shigeru Chiba.

* In yet another coincidental one in the dub of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Anime)|Gundam 00]]'' President Brian Stegmeyer is voiced (among other minors roles) by Brian Drummond. Also, rivals Kati Mannequin and Leesa Kujoh {{spoiler|(aka Sumeragi Lee Noriega)}} are voiced by [[Cathy Weseluck (Creator)|Cathy Weseluck]] and [[Lisa Ann Beley]] respectively.

** And before Kati Mannequin, Cathy Weseluck voiced Catherine Bloom in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Anime)|Gundam Wing]]''.

* Hideyuki Tanaka was the voice of Hideyuki Makimura in ''[[City Hunter (Manga)|City Hunter]]''. Tsukasa Hojo intentionally named the character after him in the manga long before the anime version was made.

* [[Mai Nakahara]] is the voice behind ''[[Mai-HiME (Anime)|MaiMy-HiME]]'''s lead heroine, Mai Tokiha.

* To voice Momoko Touyoko of ''[[Saki (Mangamanga)|Saki]]'', they chose... Momoko Saito.

* In ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', Saki is voiced by Saki Nakajima.

* Everybody in ''[[Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman (Manga)|Shinesman]]'' - at least in the original Japanese version. This was an intentional ploy on the part of the mangaka which worked out handily when the manga was adapted for an OAV.

* ''[[SoichiroTenjho HoshiTenge]] as'': [[TenjhoSoichiro TengeHoshi]] as (Manga)|Soichiro Nagi]].

* Maya in ''[[Burn Up (Anime)|Burn-Up! W & Burn-Up! Excess]]'' is voiced by [[Maya Okamoto]].

* ''[[Digimon Adventure (Anime)|Digimon Adventure]]'' did this for some of the kids' parents' first names.

* In the English version of ''[[Project B LueBlue Earth SOS]]'', Maggie is voiced by Maggie Flecknoe.

* Aya Stanford from ''[[Future GPX Cyber Formula (Anime)|Future GPX Cyber Formula]] SIN'' is voiced by [[Aya Hisakawa]].

* In ''[[Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (Light Novel)|Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko]]'', [[Kana Hanazawa]] provides the voice of a minor character named Hanazawa.

* In ''[[Bungaku Shoujo (Light Novel)|Bungaku Shoujo]]'', [[Miyu Irino]] provides the voice of Konoha, {{spoiler|whose pen name is Miu Inoue}}.

* Zenjiro in ''[[Kodomo no Omocha (Manga)|Kodomo no Omocha]]''.

* In ''[[K-On! (Manga)|K-On!]]'', Mugi shares her last name (Kotobuki) with that of her voice actress, [[Minako Kotobuki]]. Definitely a coincidence though, seeing how the manga came first. Now, if they could have gotten Hikaru Kotobuki from P-Model to ([[Cross Dressing Voice|somehow]]) play the role...<ref>For those who don't know, the members of Houkago Tea Time are all named after members of P-Model, while other notable cast members are named after members of The Pillows.</ref>

* [[Akira Kamiya]] as Akira Hibiki in ''[[Raideen (Anime)|Yuusha Raideen]]''.

* Penthouse pet Julie Strain voiced the main character of Julie in ''[[Heavy Metal (Animationanimation)|Heavy Metal 2000]]''. The character later changed her name to "FAKK-2", but what're you gonna do? She DID''did'' change it back to Julie after saving her sister though.

* Subverted due to [[Author Existence Failure]] in ''[[BebesBebe's Kids (Animation)|Bebes Kids]]''; Robin Harris, who popularized the sketch, died before production started on the film. He'd be voiced by Faizon Love.

** Mary Gibbs as Boo (assuming if it is her real name according to a painting in her bedroom) from ''[[Monsters Inc. (Animation)|Monsters, Inc.]]''

** Guido Quaroni as Guido from ''[[Cars (Animation)|Cars]]''.

** Peggy Lee as Peg from ''[[Lady and The Tramp (Disney)|Lady and Thethe Tramp]]''.

** Louis Prima as King Louie from ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''.

** Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat from ''[[The Aristocats (Disney)|The Aristocats]]'' (although it was originally intended for Louis Armstrong to voice the character).

* In the Disney film ''[[Bolt (Disney)|Bolt]]'', Penny plays a character named "Penny" in the [[Show Within a Show]].

* Long before Sandra Oh was cast in ''[[Greys Anatomy (TV)|GreysGrey's Anatomy]]'', she won a Best Actress Genie Award (the modern day Canadian equivalent of the Oscars) for her role in 1998's ''Last Night''... playing a character named just Sandra.

* [[Jack Nicholson]] plays Jack Napier in ''[[Batman (Filmfilm)|Batman]]'', subverted in that Jack Napier becomes and goes by [[The Joker]] early on.

** 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, however -- Rayhowever—Ray is an actor in one film and a gangster in another, Sadie is with Ray in one film and Jude in the other, and most significantly, Jude dies at the beginning of one film (the film cuts between his funeral and a video being screened at his funeral which Jude made before his death), and is alive and well in the other.

* The ''[[Star Wars (Franchise)|Star Wars]]'' films offer many examples, usually background characters with little importance. These are often [[Significant Anagram|anagrams]]. Some examples: Cin Drallig (Nick Gillard), Roth-Del Masona (Leonard Thomas), Dannl Faytonni (Anthony Daniels), Nicanas Tassu (Nic Anastassiou), Jeremoch Colton (Jeremy Bulloch). An especially notable example is Amy Allen (mostly known for her portrayal of Aayla Secura, a character taken from a comic series), who has three characters she portrayed named after her: Mya Nalle, Yma Nalle, and Lela Mayn.

* All three leads in ''[[The Blair Witch Project (Film)|The Blair Witch Project]]''.

* Bizarre example: The characters of ''[[The Blair Witch Project (Film)|Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows]]'' are all first-name Danzas. It had been originally intended for them to be full-name Danzas, carrying on the previous film's gimmick of "No, this is really happening to the actual people you see on film", but the director decided this was "dishonest" and changed their last names -- henames—he would have changed their first names too, but too much of the movie had already been filmed. The change was made so late in the day, however, that the new last names only appear in the credits, and we see the actor's last names on-screen briefly in a police report.

* In ''[[Labyrinth (Film)|Labyrinth]]'', they had to change the name of the baby boy to 'Toby' to avoid confusing the infant who played him. (Toby Froud, son of goblin designer Brian Froud.)

* Neil Connery as Dr Neil Connery in the [[James Bond (Filmfilm)|James Bond]] parody ''[[Operation Double 007|OK Connery]]'' (aka ''Operation Kid Brother''). And yes, the [[Casting Gag]] of having Sean's younger brother play an unnamed agent's younger brother is the plot. In the same film Lois "Miss Moneypenny" Maxwell plays "Miss Maxwell".

* Jason Mewes plays a character named "Jay" in [[The View Askew NiverseAskewniverse]] movies, as well as some other characters also named "Jay" -- and—and in the 2006 film ''Jack's Law'', a character named Bobby Mewes.

* David Hewlett as David Worth in ''[[Cube (Film)|Cube]]''. This might be chalked down to coincidence if not for the fact that Hewlett and Natali have been good friends since high school - because of this he probably had some input in choosing his character's full name.

* Subverted in ''[[Zack and Miri Make Aa Porno]]'', with two gay lovers with the name of one being a play on the name of the actor playing another: Bobby ''Long'' played by ''Brandon'' Routh and ''Brandon'' St. Randy played by Justin ''Long''.

* In ''[[ObserveandObserve and Report]]'' the twin security guards John and Matt are played by John and Matthew Yuan.

* Egyptian American actor Ahmed Ahmed has played a few roles as Ahmed, and many others [[As Himself|as himself]].

* [[Stephen Chow]] directs and plays a character named Stephen Chow in ''[[God of Cookery (Film)|God of Cookery]]''. A particularly brave example since he sets himself up as an [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]] from the beginning.

** Considering his birth name was Sing, his characters in ''[[Shaolin Soccer]]'' and ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'' are also [[The Danza]].

* ''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.

* Done backwards in [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s ''[[Henry V (Theatre)|Henry V]]'', where Michael Williams plays "Michael Williams".

* [[Steve McQueen]] in ''[[The Blob (Film)|The Blob]]''.

** 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.

* Happened in the other way around in ''[[The Caine Mutiny (Literature)|The Caine Mutiny]]''. Donna Lee Hickey, who played May Wynn, liked the name so much that she adopted it as her stage name. (May Wynn is a stage name in the original novel).

* In ''[[A Fish Called Wanda (Film)|A Fish Called Wanda]]'', Tom Georgeson plays the character George Thomason.

* Justin Long played Justin in ''[[DodgeballDodgeBall: a True Underdog Story (Film)|Dodgeball aA True Underdog Story]]''

* This trope applies to everyone appearing in ''[[Paranormal Activity (Film)|Paranormal Activity]]''

* With the exceptions of Hicks and Ripley, all of the Marines in ''[[Alien (Filmfranchise)|Aliens]]'' named on the hypersleep capsule readout share their first initial with the actor or actress playing them. ''Including'' Bishop the android, who is given the first initial "L". [[Word of God]] says their whole first names that match up.

* A reverse Danza happens in [[Ridley Scott]]'s ''[[Robin Hood (2010 (Filmfilm)|Robin Hood 2010]]''. Canadian singer Alan Doyle (a buddy of the film's lead [[Russell Crowe]]) plays the minstrel Alan-a-Dale.

* Several movies by German comedian Didi Hallervorden, often containing "Didi" in the title.

* Scott "Scotty" Thomas in ''[[Eurotrip (Film)|Eurotrip]]'' is played by Scott Mechlowicz.

* Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell in ''[[Moon (Film)|Moon]]''. Deliberate as Duncan Jones specifically wrote the part for him.

* In ''[[Men in Black (Filmfilm)|Men in Black]] II'', it's ambiguous whether [[Michael Jackson (Music)|Michael Jackson]] is playing himself or a fictional character in his cameo -- butcameo—but he's an aspiring MIB agent who wants to become "Agent M".

* [[The Three Stooges (TV)|The Three Stooges]] were almost always this in their films. The names were a bit of a change situation, but were their main professional ones. The Horowitz boys were Moses ('Moe'), Jerome (nicknamed 'Curly' for his hair after his then-current nickname 'Babe' was taken), and Samuel (their mother's attempts to say it ended up as 'Shemp', and it stuck). Louis Feinberg had already taken the stage name 'Larry Fine' before joining the act. Joe Besser was the only one who didn't have to change anything at all. Joseph Wardell had used 'Joe DeRita' well before meeting the Stooges. Emil Sitka would've been the only one to make a name out of whole cloth ('Harry'), but the act died (with Moe) before any films could be made. RARE''Rare'' exceptions include ''Woman Haters'' (the first short, and part of another lineup of films Columbia was doing; they had character names) and the rare time when they would play actual others (opposite themselves), especially in drag.

* [[Sleazy Politician|Corrupt town councilman]] Bill Heslop in ''[[Muriels Wedding (Film)|MurielsMuriel's Wedding]]'' is played by the veteran Australian actor Bill Hunter.

* ''[[Silent Movie (Filmfilm)|Silent Movie]]'' features [[Mel Brooks (Creator)|Mel Brooks]] as Mel Funn, [[Young Frankenstein (Film)|Marty Feldman]] as Marty Eggs, and [[An American Tail (Animation)|Dom De Luise]] as Dom Bell.

* Glenn Morshower as "General Morshower" in the second and third ''[[Transformers (Filmfilm)|Transformers]]'' films.

* Reggae singer Willi One Blood plays a henchman in ''[[Léon: The Professional]]''. Stansfield calls him "Blood", and another character calls him "Willi".

* In ''[[Starter for Ten (Film)|Starter for Ten]]'' Alice Eve plays Alice and Rebecca Hall plays Rebecca.

* In ''[[Moonraker (Film)|Moonraker]]'', French actress Corrine Clery portrays Corrine Dufour.

* In ''[[Four Weddings and Aa Funeral]]'', David is played by David Bower.

* In ''[[True Lies (Film)|True Lies]]'', Jean-Claude Parachino plays a bit part as...Jean-Claude. He's the guy who records the lines Harry plays back when Helen poses as a prostitute in the suite.

* In Brazilian film ''[[The Elite Squad]]'' André Ramiro plays André Matias (though the first name rarely shows up due to [[Last -Name Basis]]).

* ''From Justin to Kelly'' stars Justin Guarini as Justin Bell (a full-name Danza; Guarini is his stage name) and [[Kelly Clarkson (Music)|Kelly Clarkson]] as Kelly Taylor.

* ''[[My Dinner Withwith Andre]]'' has Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory playing...well, Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory.

* Although the character existed long before the actress who played her, in an early film version of ''[[Anne of Green Gables (Literature)|Anne of Green Gables]]'', Anne Shirley was played by... Anne Shirley (which was the actress's stage name).

* [[Keith David]] as Agent Keith in ''[[Gamer (Film)|Gamer]]''.

* Peter Serafinowicz as Pete in ''[[Shaun of the Dead (Film)|Shaun of the Dead]]''. Lampshaded (sort of) in a outtake included on the DVD, in which [[Simon Pegg]] and Nick Frost refer to the character by the actor's full name while delivering their dialogue.

* [[Jeff Bridges]] as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski in ''[[The Big Lebowski (Film)|The Big Lebowski]]''.

* In ''[[Project X (Film)|Project X]]'', all of the characters share the same first names as their actors.

* In ''[[Titanic (Film)|Titanic]]'', the modern-time crew (aside from Brock Lovett, played by Bill Paxton) are named after the actors portraying them, e.g. Lewis Bodine is played by Lewis Abernathy. The crew in question is also the real-life crew of the ship.

* 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'' -- compare—compare [[Franz Kafka (Creator)|Franz Kafka]] with (Franz) Josef K{(afka); the protagonist of another novel, ''The Castle,'' is called simply "K".

* [[Philip K. Dick]]'s protagonist "Horselover Fat" in ''[[VALIS (Literature)|VALIS]]''. This story proceeds as a first-person framing of a third-person narrative, until a character [[No Fourth Wall|actually calls him out]] and shows how "Horselover" is a [[Lampshade Hanging|thinly-veiled translation]] of Dick's own name, and the two men are really the same person.

* David Wong, main character of ''[[John Dies At the End (Literature)|John Dies Atat the End]]'', by David Wong. Not necessarily, as David Wong is just a pen name.

* Possibly the earliest example of this trope in literature would be ''[[The Divine Comedy (Literature)|The Divine Comedy]]'' by Dante Aligheri featuring a protagonist named Dante Aligheri.

* Portia da Costa's [[Romance Novel]] ''[http://www.portiadacosta.com/thestranger.html The Stranger]'' features an obvious [[Expy]] of Paul McGann's [[Doctor Who (TV)|Eighth Doctor]] (so obvious it's [[Word of God]]), in a sort of reverse [[Bleached Underpants]].<ref> Or even [[Playing Withwith a Trope|Zigzagged]] [[Bleached Underpants]]; the [[Ascended Fanon|heroine merits a mention]] in one [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novel. [[Oh God, Withwith the Verbing!|Oy, with the waving the dirty laundry around already!]]</ref> Or you could just call it published smut fic. The expy is also named Paul... and the heroine of the novel is named Claudia [[Withnail and I|Marwood]].

* William Lee, [[Author Avatar|the protagonist of several works]] by [[William S. Burroughs]].

* A couple of author John IrivingIrving's characters are named John: Johnny Wheelwright, narrator of ''[[A Prayer for Owen Meany]]'' and John Berry, narrator of ''[[The Hotel New Hampshire]]''.

* [[Tanith Lee]], who wrote for British sf series ''[[Blakes Seven (TV)|BlakesBlake's Seven7]]'', penned a novella called "Kill the Dead." The story's protagonist was named Parl Dro. He bore a striking resemblance to ''[[Blakes Seven (TV)|BlakesBlake's Seven7]]'' actor [[Paul Darrow]], and his personality was much like that of Darrow's character, Avon.

* In ''[[Danis House (TV)|DanisDani's House]]'', Max is played by Sebastian Applewhite. His ''middle'' name is Sebastian ([[S 4 E 7]]S4E7.)

* In the [[Nickelodeon (Creator)|Nickelodeon]] sitcom ''[[Victorious (TV)|Victorious]]'', [[Victoria Justice (Music)|VictoriaDawn Justice]] plays Victoria "Tori" Vega.

* While we're mentioning [[Idol Singer|musically gifted actresses with their own sitcom]], China Anne Mcclain plays Chyna Parks on ''[[ANTA.N.T. Farm]]''. Different spelling but it still counts, although in real-life she goes by China Anne instead just China, similar to Mary-Kate Olsen not going by just Mary.

* Some of the supporting officematesoffice mates in ''[[The Office (TV)|The Office]]'' share their character's first names. This is because many of then are [[Ascended Extra|Ascended Extras]]s. Also, Michael screens a movie starring himself as Michael Scarn, an obvious [[Mary Sue]] [[Author Avatar]].

* Fred Willard played a bartender named Fred (Or Freddie, as the Nixon puppet would refer to him) on ''[[DCD.C. Follies]]''.

* Mayko Tran on ''[[Regenesis]]'' is played by Mayko Ngyuen.

* Bob Newhart as Bob Hartley on ''[[The Bob Newhart Show (TV)|The Bob Newhart Show]]'', and Bob McKay on ''[[Bob!]]''. His other show was named ''Newhart'', but the character's name was Dick Loudon. In ''George & Leo'', his character was George, the actor's actual birth name.

* Ray Romano as Ray Barone in ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond (TV)|Everybody Loves Raymond]]''.

* [[Ellen De GeneresDeGeneres]] played "Ellen Morgan" in the 1993-98 sitcom ''[[Ellen]]'', which was known as ''These Friends Of Mine'' for the first season. In 2001, she played "Ellen Richmond" in the sitcom ''The Ellen Show''.

* 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]]'', ''ValeriesValerie's Family'', ''The Hogan Family'', and ''The Hogans''.

* Tim Allen as Tim Taylor in ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''.

* Raven-Symone as Raven Baxter in ''[[That's So Raven (TV)|That's So Raven]]''.

* John Ritter as John Hartman and Billy Bob Thornton as Billy Bob Davis in ''[[Hearts Afire (TV)|Hearts Afire]]''.

* ''[[Cheers (TV)|Cheers]]''

* Jim Belushi as Jim in ''[[According to Jim (TV)|According to Jim]]''.

* Victoria Jackson as Victoria in the failed 1984 ''[[MashM*A*S*H (TVtelevision)|MashM*A*S*H]]'' spinoff, ''W* A* L* T* E* R''.

* 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 ''[[Sanford and Son (TV)|Sanford and Son]]''.

* Tracy Morgan plays Tracy Jordan in ''[[Thirty Rock (TV)|Thirty30 Rock]]''. Tracy Jordan is essentially an [[Adam Westing|exaggerated, simple-minded caricature]] of Tracy Morgan.

** Jerry Seinfeld in ''[[Seinfeld (TV)|Seinfeld]]''. Estelle Costanza fits the trope too, though her real life surname is Harris.

** Drew Carey in ''[[The Drew Carey Show (TV)|The Drew Carey Show]]''. (Yes, that includes "[[Embarrassing Middle Name|Alison]]".)

** 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 Neighborhood (TV)|Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'', although it's really more of an [[As Himself]]. This also applies to most of his supporting cast: Betty Aberlin (Lady Aberlin), Don Brockett (Chef Brockett), Bob Trow (Bob Dog/Robert Troll), Chuck Aber (Neighbor Aber), and so forth. These may not be [[As Himself]] examples, as Betty Aberlin has asserted that "Lady Aberlin" is not a representation of her real-life personality. Also, some of the actors would appear in character during the Make Believe segments, and out of character during the main part of the show. David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely, was the only regular actor on the show to avert this trope. His character's last name was actually Fred Rogers' middle name.

** [[Will Smith (Creator)|Will Smith]] in ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (TV)|The Fresh Prince of Bel -Air]]'' (the only difference being that in the show "Will" was short for "William". The actor's first name is actually Willard).

** [[Stephen Colbert]] of ''[[The Colbert Report (TV)|The Colbert Report]]''.

** [[Larry David]] in ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV)|Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' is actually an [[As Himself]], but the show has a number of Danzas -- regularDanzas—regular characters, Cheryl, Jeff, Susie, plus some one-shot characters with just one name, which happens to be the actor's.

** The kids on ''[[You Can't Do That On Television (TV)|You Can't Do That Onon Television]]''.

** Sean Hughes in ''SeansSean's Show''.

** [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] in ''[[The Weird Al Show (TV)|The Weird Al Show]]''.

** Jack Benny in ''[[The Jack Benny Program (Radio)|The Jack Benny Program]]''.

** [[Abbott and Costello (Creator)|Bud Abbott and Lou Costello]] in ''The Abbott and Costello Show''

** Christopher Titus in ''[[Titus (TV)|Titus]]''.

** Andy Richter in ''[[Andy Richter Controls the Universe (TV)|Andy Richter Controls the Universe]]'' (and partially in ''Andy Barker, P.I.'').

** Bernie Mac on ''[[The Bernie Mac Show (TV)|The Bernie Mac Show]]''.

** Tim Stack as "TV's Tim Stack" in ''[[My Name Is Earl (TV)|My Name Is Earl]]''. Whether he's as much of a raging drunk in real life remains to be seen, right? Right?

** Ed Begley, Jr. guest starred as Ed Begley, Jr. on ''[[Dharma and Greg (TV)|Dharma and& Greg]]''. He was always addressed on screen by his full name, "Ed Begley, Jr.", not Ed or Mr Begley.

** ''[[Saturday Night Live (TV)|Saturday Night Live]]'' had a few of these in the early years, including Headmaster of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing, Garrett Morris. (The first six or seven years had a lot of first-name examples as well - the 'WASP Translator' sketch with Ray Sharkey centered around a couple named Charles and Ann. Guess which castmemberscast members played them.)

* Delores Hall as Nurse Delores Mitchell in ''[[Diagnosis Murder (TV)|Diagnosis: Murder]]''

* 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)

* [[Reba McEntire (Music)|Reba McEntire]] as Reba Hart in ''[[Reba (TV)|Reba]]''. This is a clear case of [[The Danza]]: the character was originally named Sally, until Reba was signed to play the part.

* ''[[Drake and Josh (TV)|Drake and Josh]]'', starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck as Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively.

* Matthew Perry's character Matt in ''[[Studio 60 Onon the Sunset Strip]]''. Sorkin has actually stated that he called the character "Matt" because when he was writing he couldn't think of another actor to play the part.

* Many of the supporting cast on the U.S. version of ''[[The Office (TV)|The Office]]'' share first names with their characters, including Phyllis, Angela, and Oscar. Creed Bratton plays a fictionalized version of himself, so he skirts into [[As Himself]] territory.

* [[Charlie Sheen]] has played characters named Charlie on several occasions, notably on ''[[Spin City (TV)|Spin City]]'' and ''[[Two and A Half Men]]''. He even played "Charlie" in the sequel to ''[[All Dogs Go to Heaven (Animation)|All Dogs Go to Heaven]]''.

** Before Charlie, [[Michael J. Fox]] played Michael Flaherty for four seasons on ''[[Spin City (TV)|Spin City]]''.

* Kathryn Janeway in ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek: Voyager]]'' who was named Elisabeth Janeway and Nicole Janeway before actress Katherine Kiernan Maria 'Kate' Mulgrew suggested Kathryn.

* Several minor ''[[Babylon 5 (TV)|Babylon 5]]'' characters who were not given names on their first appearance (usually being referred to only as something like "Emperor" or "Minister") were belatedly given the names of the actors playing them when they appeared or were mentioned in later episodes (such as Malachi Throne's Centauri Prime Minister being later named "Prime Minister Malachi").

* 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 Baines -- theBaines—the first outing of (and virtually identical to) the on-screen couple that would later make them a Britcom cliché (see ''Terry and June'' above).

* Comedian Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson (from ''[[Robinson Crusoe (Literature)|Robinson Crusoe]]'') in ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV)|Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. The last name was only changed because Hodgson was considered hard to pronounce. Michael J. Nelson, his replacement... played Mike Nelson. And "TV's Frank" was played by Frank Conniff.

* In ''[[News Radio (TV)|News Radio]]'', Dave Nelson was played by Dave Foley and Joe Garelli was played by Joe Rogan. Phil Hartman's character Bill McNeal was intentionally named to be ''almost'' a Danza. In the episode "Chock", Dave's old a cappella singing group stops by, the other three members being named David, Bob, and Brian. They were played by ''Mr. Show'' alums [[David Cross]], Bob Odenkirk, and Brian Posehn.

* In addition to the Tracy Jordan/Morgan example, ''[[Thirty Rock (TV)|Thirty30 Rock]]'' features Grizz Chapman as Grizz Griswold, one half of Tracy's loyal "entourage".

* ''[[Baywatch (TV)|Baywatch]]'': A great many one-shot guests kept their actors' full names. One such character goes on to become a regular (Michael Newman, aka Michael "Newmie" Newman.)

* Both members of ''[[Flight of the Conchords (Music)|Flight of the Conchords]]'': Jemaine Clement plays Jemaine Clemaine; Bret McKenzie plays Bret McClegnie. Additionally, a few guest characters have been Danzas: Demetri (Demetri Martin), Todd (Todd Barry), and Jim (Jim Gaffigan).

* Lucille Ball as, variously, Lucy Ricardo (''[[I Love Lucy (TV)|I Love Lucy]]''), Lucy Carmichael (''The Lucy Show''), Lucy Carter (''Here's Lucy''), and Lucy Barker (''Life with Lucy'').

* ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show (TV)|The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' had Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards and Ted Knight as Ted Baxter.

* Recurring nurse First Lt. Kealani Kellye (also known as Kellye Yamoto, and in one episode, as Nurse Nakahara) on ''[[MashM*A*S*H (TVtelevision)|MashM*A*S*H]]'' was played by Kellye Nakahara, making this an example of the actress's first name being the character's last name.

** And the full name version -- Corpsmanversion—Corpsman Roy Goldman was played by..... Roy Goldman.

* Mocked on ''[[Extras (TV)|Extras]]'' where (both [[In -Universe]] and Out-) [[Celebrity Cameo]] Keith Chegwin's character has his name changed to Keith after the actor repeatedly fails to comprehend that the character has a different name to him.

* Rik Mayall's characters in ''[[The Young Ones (TV)|The Young Ones]]'' (Rick), ''[[Filthy Rich and Catflap (TV)|Filthy Rich and& Catflap]]'' (Richie Rich) and ''[[Bottom (TV)|Bottom]]'' (Richard Richard). Additionally, in ''The Young Ones'' Nigel Planer's character was Neil Pye, and in the latter two Adrian Edmondson's character was Eddie, a nickname based on his surname. (And, while it's not strictly this trope, it's no coincidence that his wife played a character called [[Absolutely Fabulous (TV)|Eddy (Edina) Monsoon]].)

** Edmondson actually played a psychotic ex-talk show host called Eddie Monsoon in ''[[The Comic Strip Presents (TV)|The Comic Strip Presents]]'' [[Mockumentary]] episode "Eddie Monsoon -- A Life?" (The show was originally intended to be an episode of his talk show "Back To Normal", but it was judged too obscene even for [[Channel Four4]], so it was turned into a mock biopic instead.)

** Mayall changed his first name in his teens -- heteens—he was born Richard Mayall, fitting this trope even better.

* Two of Station 51's firefighters in ''[[Emergency]]'', Marco Lopez and Mike Stoker, simply used the actoractors's namenames. Stoker, the driver of Engine 51, actually ''was'' an LA County firefighter at the time of filming (he retired in 1996), making it convenient for filming as one of the regular cast members was qualified to drive and operate the truck.

* [[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 [[Andrew Lloyd Webber (Creator)|Andrew Lloyd Webber]] had her written into the British soap opera ''[[Holly OaksHollyoaks]]'' as a character called Summer Shaw. The character was then talent -spotted by Lloyd Webber appearing as[[As himselfHimself]] on the show.

* Sissy Walker, a very minor character on ''[[The Waltons (TV)|The Waltons]]'' who appeared only five times between 1973 and 1978, was played by Cissy Wellman.

* ''[[The Goodies (TV)|The Goodies]]'' -- Tim—Tim (Brooke-Taylor), Graeme (Garden) and Bill (Oddie). Plus, the books that spun off from the show give their full names in appropriate places, and their "brochure" in ''The Goodies File'' lists their real-life years and places of birth. Needless to say, the characters are just highly exaggerated versions of themselves.

* 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 ''[[The Andy Griffith Show (TV)|The Andy Griffith Show]]''.

* In ''[[Make Room For Daddy]]'' (aka ''The Danny Thomas Show''), Danny Thomas starred as Danny Williams.

* Every character in the Australian [[Mockumentary]] series ''[[The Games (TV)|The Games]]'' is named for their actor -- foractor—for example, Frank Woodley playing, well, Dr. Frank Woodley (who is "partially" a TV vet in the episode). This was [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in the second season when the actor John Howard played a political representative pretending the be the Prime Minister; Brian remarks, "But that's illegal! He's not the prime minister!" to which John replies "He never said he ''was'' the prime minister; he said he was John Howard".

* ''[[Happy Days (TV)|Happy Days]]'' had Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio and Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham.

* Not a main character, but Archie Johnson on ''[[CSI (TV)|CSI]],'' played by Archie Kao.

* Dr. Lisa Cuddy from ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' is played by actress Lisa Edelstein.

* ''[[Prison Break (TV)|Prison Break]]'' featured Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman and Sara Wayne Callies as Sarah Tancredi.

* Charlie on ''[[Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV)|ItsIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', and to a lesser extent Mac. When Glenn Howerton was asked about his character being named Dennis, he remarked on how it seemed like a good idea, and has proven so far to have been a good decision.

* Steve from ''[[Blues Clues (Animation)|BluesBlue's Clues]]''--his—his actor's name was Steven in real life. Oddly enough, his [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] is named Joe in the show, but has the real-life name of Donovan.

* Brent Butt as Brent Leroy on ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]''.

* Mr. Mackay in ''[[Porridge (TV)|Porridge]]'' was played by Fulton Mackay

* Neil (Buchanan) and Kim (Goody) on ''No 73'', a 1980s [[ITV]] kids' [[Sit ComSitcom]] [[Magazine Show]]. None of the other main characters were Danzas. Possibly this was because Neil and Kim were generally more involved with the magazine show elements (artwork and interviewing popstars respectively) than the plots (at least to begin with), and were therefore more presenters than characters.

* [[Phil Collins (Music)|Phil Collins]] as Phil Mayhew in ''[[Miami Vice]]''. This could also be a nod to John Mayhew, Collins' predecessor as drummer for the rock band [[Genesis (Musicband)|Genesis]].

* [[Playboy (Magazine)|Playboy]] Playmate Julie McCullough as Mike's girlfriend Julie Costello on ''[[Growing Pains (TV)|Growing Pains]]'' in the 1989-1990 season.

* Bob McGrath as Bob Johnson and Linda Bove as Linda in ''[[Sesame Street (TV)|Sesame Street]]''.

** In a roundabout way, the character Gordon's last name in ''[[Sesame Street (TV)|Sesame Street]]'' was eventually revealed to be Robinson. This was long after Matt Robinson's term as the character, and this is thus more of a [[Mythology Gag]] (Gordon is currently played by Roscoe Orman). Miles Orman (who was also Roscoe Orman's [[Real Life Relative|real-life son]]) was Miles Robinson.

* Cybill Shephard as Cybill Sheridan in... ''[[Cybill (TV)|Cybill]]''.

* In ''[[The Tomorrow People (TV)|The Tomorrow People]]'' Elizabeth was played by ElzabethElizabeth Adare and Mike by Michaul Holloway.

* Cherie Johnson as Cherie Johnson on ''[[Punky Brewster (TV)|Punky Brewster]]''. (The character was actually named after her by her uncle, who created the series, and she insisted on auditioning for the role after he showed her the script.)

* Mary Kay Stearns as essentially herself in the very first TV [[Sit ComSitcom]], ''Mary Kay And Johnny'', which first aired in 1947 on the Dumont Network.

* Interesting usage in the German kids' show ''[[Tom Turbo (TV)|Tom Turbo]]''. Many of the kids use their real names for their characters.

* Joey Lawrence made guest appearances on both ''[[Diffrent Strokes (TV)|DiffrentDiff'rent Strokes]]'' and ''[[Silver Spoons (TV)|Silver Spoons]]'' as a kid named Joey before landing the role of Joey Donovan on ''[[Gimme a Break!]]''. This was followed by Joey Russo on ''[[Blossom (TV)|Blossom]]'' and Joe Roman on ''[[Brotherly Love]]'' (in which brothers Matt and Andy play Matt and Andy Roman). He ices the cake by playing himself in the 2008 horror/comedy ''Killer Pad''. As of 2010, he is playing a character called Joe Longo on the sitcom ''[[Melissa and Joey (TV)|Melissa and Joey]]'', alongside Melissa Joan Hart.

* Ricky Schroeder as Ricky Stratton on ''[[Silver Spoons]]''.

* Chuck Campell plays Chuck the Gate Tech on ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'', though this may actually have been a mistake. The character was without a name for quite a while, and it's rumored that another actor dropped his name into a line. He is, however, later called Chuck again by another character. Notable in that fans had been calling him Chuck the Gate Tech (or, alternately, "Chucknician") for some time previous.

* Lee and Tim from ''[[Not Going Out (TV)|Not Going Out]]'' are played by Lee Mack and Tim Vine respectively. There is also Tim and Lucy's father, Geoffrey, who is played by Geoffrey Whitehead, but this is an odd case as he was originally played by Timothy West.

* Rhodri Meilir played a character called Rhodri in the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Runaway Bride."

* Larry Bagby III as Larry Blaisdell in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', although the character was named before Larry Bagby III was cast. Bagby joked that he should get the part because the character was named for him.

* Comedian Mark Curry as Mark Cooper in ''[[HanginwithHangin' With Mr. Cooper]]''.

* Carrying on the tradition from ''[[Stella]]'', ''Michael And Michael Have Issues'' stars Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black.

* Fran Drescher played Fran Fine on ''[[The Nanny (TV)|The Nanny]]''. In addition, her character's parents, Morty and Sylvia Fine, were named after her parents, Morty and Silvia Drescher.

** Yui Koike, who went on to play [[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (TV)|GokaiPink]], appeared as Yui Aoyama in the final episode of ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]''.

* [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]] guest-starred in an episode of ''[[Boy Meets World (TV)|Boy Meets World]]'', "And Then There was Shawn", as Jennifer Love Fefferman.

* In many episodes of ''[[El Chapulin Colorado (TV)|El Chapulin Colorado]]'', the supporting cast is named after the actors who play them: therefore, we have Carlos Villagrán as Carlos, Ramón Valdés as Ramón, Rubén Aguirre as Rubén and so on. Roberto Gomez Bolaños (a.k.a. Chespirito) once explained he did this to allow the actors to form a bond with their characters (even though they were mostly just innocent bystanders).

** Conversely, in ''[[El Chavo Deldel Ocho]]'', Doña Florinda, Don Ramón and Doña Nieves are respectively played by Florinda Meza, Ramón Valdés and Maria Antonieta de las Nieves.

* ''[[Welcome Back Kotter (TV)|Welcome Back, Kotter]]'' starred Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter.

* Martin Lawrence played Martin Payne on ''[[Martin (TV)|Martin]]''.

* Jim Jarmusch on ''[[Bored to Death (TV)|Bored to Death]].''

* Almost all the main characters in the 70's show ''[[What's Happening (TV)|What's Happening]].'' two had the same last name, 3and three the same first name. And one just used the initial of her first name.

* Interesting variation in ''[[Everybody Hates Chris (TV)|Everybody Hates Chris]]'' – Chris Rock narrates [[As Himself]], while the [[Timeshifted Actor|young Chris Rock]] is played by Tyler James Williams.

* On ''[[True Blood]]'', Sam Merlotte is played by actor Sam Trammell--aTrammell—a coincidence, since the character was named by Charlaine Harris, author of the novels on which the show is based.

* [[Subverted Trope]] in an episode of ''[[Burn Notice (TV)|Burn Notice]]'' in which actor Michael Weston guest-starred as the client of the week. His character was named Spencer but the actor's name is nearly identical to that of the lead character (whose last name is spelled "Westen").

* In-universe example: In an episode of ''[[Friends (TV)|Friends]]'', Ross encourages Joey to write a play for himself to star in, prompting the following exchange:

{{quote| '''Ross''': All right, we'll start off slow. The only thing you have to do tonight is come up with the name of your main character.<br />

'''Joey''': Done!<br />

'''Ross''': And it can't be Joey.<br />

'''Joey''': It's not.<br />

'''Ross''': Or Joseph.<br />

* ''[[Coupling (TV)|Coupling]]'' has a variant: characters Steve and Susan share the names of ''writer'' [[Steven Moffat]] and ''producer'' Sue Vertue, on whom they're [[Dramatization|loosely modeled]].

* Another variant on ''[[Glee (TV)|Glee]]''-- The—The character Kurt Hummel is so named because the actor who plays him, Chris Colfer, once played Kurt Von Trapp in ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' and looks like a Hummel figurine.

** Brad [[The Piano Player]] is played by Brad Ellis.

* Ron Glass (AKA Shepherd Book from ''[[Firefly (TV)|Firefly]]'') played Detective Ron Harris in ''[[Barney Miller (TV)|Barney Miller]]''

* 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".

* Jeff Hyslop as Jeff the mannequin on the Canadian children's show ''[[Todays Special (TV)|TodaysToday's Special]]''.

* Oliver Babbish on ''[[The West Wing (TV)|The West Wing]]'' is played by Oliver Platt.

* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' had Michael Vaughn (played by Michael Vartan) and Rachel Gibson (played by Rachel Nichols).

* Simon Templeman plays Simon Leeds in ''[[Just Shoot Me (TV)|Just Shoot Me]]''.

* In ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith, were played by Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith.

* Miranda Hart as the title character of ''[[Miranda (TV)|Miranda]]''.

* Simon Anstell as Simon in ''[[Grandmas House (TV)|GrandmasGrandma's House]]'' takes this [[Up to Eleven]]; his first major writing and acting gig since leaving ''[[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]'', the fictional Simon is a TV presenter who just left a [[Panel Game]] and is looking for something else to do with his life.

* Derek Van Der Lint as Derek Raine in ''[[Poltergeist: theThe Legacy]]''.

* [[Whitney Blake]] played Dorothy Baxter on ''[[Hazel]]'', and was a former "Mrs. Baxter" in real life ([[Meredith Baxter]] of ''[[Family Ties (TV)|Family Ties]]'' fame is her daughter).

* Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan in ''[[Big Time Rush (TV)|Big Time Rush]]'' are named after their respective actors Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena and Logan Henderson.

* Craig Cackowski plays Officer Cackowski in a few episodes of ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]''.

* Nia Vardalos's character in ''[[My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Film)|My Big Fat Greek Wedding]]'' was named Toula in the movie, but changed to Nia for the TV series.

* ''[[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 ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callan_:Callan (TV_series)TV series)|Callan]]'' (starring Edward Woodward, later the suspiciously similar McCall in ''[[The Equalizer]]'') the character Liz was played by Lisa Landon. For about half the four season run, she was credited only as "Hunter's Secretary".

* ''[[Revenge (TV series)|Revenge]]'' has Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne, Emily Alyn Lind as the flashback version of Emily, and Ashley Madekwe as Ashley.

* ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' once had a chameleon demon named Alastair, played by Alastair Duncan.

* In an episode of ''[[Shake It Up (TV)|Shake It Up]]'', Larry Miller plays the character Larry Diller.

* 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 main characters of the sketch show ''[[Hello Cheeky (Radio)|Hello Cheeky]]'' all shared the name of their actor. The characters were also treated as the real actors, blending this with [[Animated Actor]].

* 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.

* ''[[Finian's Rainbow (Theatre)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' has a harmonica-playing minor character named Sunny, originally played by Sonny Terry.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' stage play "Seven Keys to Doomsday", the companions were going to be called Dave and Jenny; but when James Mathews was cast, his character was renamed to Jimmy. Later stage revivals reverted to "Dave", but in the [[Big Finish]] audio version he's "Jimmy" again.

* The short lived yet wildly popular Broadway musical ''[[Title of Show (Theatre)|Title of Show]]''. In fact, the show takes it up a notch with it being "a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical" (guess how many guys wrote this musical?) and the song "I Am Playing Me."

* In ''[[American Idiot (Music)|American Idiot]]'', the rock opera featuring [[Green Day (Music)|Green Day]]'s music, the main character Johnny was named after the actor who plays him -- Johnhim—John Gallagher Jr. (who uses the name 'Johnny Gallager' in his music career).

* Brad, the main villain from ''[[Comic Jumper: the Adventures of Captain Smiley (Video Game)|Comic Jumper theThe Adventures of Captain Smiley]], is voiced by a man named Brad.

* Gunnery Sgt. Pete Stacker appears in the ''[[Halo (Franchiseseries)|Halo]]'' series as, for lack of a better term, is the "white, southern accented," counterpart to Sgt. Johnson. Stacker, despite never having his name spoken in any material of the Halo franchise, is said to be named after his voice actor, who, it might be funny to point out, [[Talking to Himself|also voiced Captain Jacob Keyes]] in ''[[Halo Combat Evolved (Video Game)|Halo: Combat Evolved]]''.

* Heather Mason in ''[[Silent Hill 3 (Video Game)|Silent Hill 3]]'' is actually named after her voice actress, Heather Morris.

* [[Michael Jackson (Music)|Michael Jackson]] as the voice of Space Michael in ''[[Space Channel 5 (Video Game)|Space Channel 5]].'' Jackson was the inspiration for that particular character and, when approached about voicing him, he said, "Yes!" because he absolutely loved the [[Shout -Out|tribute]]. His appearance in the first game amounted to little more than a quick cameo, but his role was greatly expanded in the sequel.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid (Video Game)|Metal Gear Solid]]'' has a coincidental example with Solid Snake's real name of "David", which happens to be the first name of his English voice actor, David Hayter. In reality, the name "David" was already decided during the Japanese voice recording, which was completed before the English voice actor for Snake was even chosen. It actually came from the main character in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (Film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', as well as Meryl Silverburgh's partner from ''[[Policenauts (Visual Novel)|Policenauts]]''.

* Sadly [[Averted Trope]] in ''[[Tales of Vesperia (Video Game)|Tales of Vesperia]]'' where, due to the policy of not reusing voice actors too frequently, Yuri Lowell is ''not'' voiced by voice actor [[Yuri Lowenthal]].

* Makoto in ''[[Street Fighter III (Video Game)|Street Fighter III]] 3rd Strike'' is voiced by Makoto Tsumura.

* The arcade game ''[[Pit-Fighter (Video Game)|Pit-Fighter]]'' is an early example where the sprites are digitised images of real actors. It has four [[The Danza|Danzas]]: "Southside Jim" is played by one James Thompson, "Chainman Eddie" by Eddie Venancio, "Mad Miles" by Miles McGowan and "Angel" by Angela Stellato.

* Rochelle in ''[[Left 4 Dead 2 (Video Game)|Left 4 Dead 2]]'' is voiced by Rochelle Aytes

* 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 ''[[Star Wars (Franchise)|Star Wars]]: [[Rebel Assault (Video Game)|Rebel Assault]]'', Ru Murleen was named after the actress who played her. Averted with the sequel, which used [[The Other Darrin|a different actress]], Julie Eccles.

* In ''[[The Seventh Guest (Video Game)|The Seventh7th Guest]]'', Julia Heine was played by Julia Tucker.

* In ''[[The Journeyman Project (Video Gameseries)|The Journeyman Project]]'', Megan Love, heard on the radio during the intro, was voiced by Megan Wheeler.

* In ''[[Police Quest (Video Game)|Police Quest]]: Open Season'', the actress who played Barbie Cann was named Barbara Shannon ("Barbie" is a nickname for Barbara).

* In ''[[GoldenGoldenEye Eye007 (1997 (Videovideo Gamegame)|Golden Eye 1997]]'', Dr. Doak was named and modeled after developer David Doak who has a PhD in biochemistry, fitting for Dr. Doak's role as a chemical weapons designer.

* 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 (Videovideo Gamegame)|Resident Evil]]'' Barry Gjerde was the voice of Barry Burton.

* In ''[[Sengoku Basara (Video Game)|Sengoku Basara]]'', Saika Magoichi's real name is revealed to be Sayaka. In the original Japanese, she is voiced by [[Sayaka Ohara]].

* [[All There in the Manual|Supplemental material]] has revealed that [[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|the Administrator's]] real name is Helen, obviously a nod to her voice actress, [[Ellen McLain]].

* Clyde Cash, Jason Kendrick Howell, and Jack Thaddeus voice themselves in the ''[[Sonichu (Webcomic)|Sonichu]]'' audiobooks.

* [[The Fear Mythos (Franchise)|The Fear Mythos]] features characters named after their actors: Jordan and Nathan from ''Jordan Eats Normally Now'', and Seann of ''Cryptid 417''.

* [[IM DbIMDb]] 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 ''[[Echo Chamber (Web Video)|Echo Chamber]]'' features characters named Tom, Zack, and Dana. They are played by Tom Pike, Zack Wallnau, and Dana Shaw.

* [[The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Critic]] is named "Doug" as is shown through his Nicktoons review, and the person who plays him is [[Doug Walker (Creator)|Doug Walker]]. However, Doug Walker has said that the critic IS a character, and is a separate entity from Walker himself. Walker also plays many characters on [[That Guy With the Glasses (Website)|That Guy With theThe Glasses]], and the Nostalgia Critic is the only one to share his name.

* Half the cast of ''[[Marble Hornets (Web Video)|Marble Hornets]]'' does this. We have Tim, Jessica, Brian, and Seth. Played by Tim Sutton, Jessica May, Brian Haight, and Seth McCay.

* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Boondocks (Comic Strip)|The Boondocks]]''.

* [[Adam Westing|Adam West as Mayor Adam West]] on ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]''.

** The in -universe explanation is that Adam West became a politician instead of an actor in this reality. Makes more sense than 7 year old anthropomorphic dogs having a 13 year old human child.

** And Catman on ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents (Animation)|The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]].''

** Also on ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents (Animation)|The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]'', Adam West as TV's Adam West as The Crimson Chin in the Crimson Chin Movie-Within-the-Show.

* Arianna Huffington as ''[[The Cleveland Show (Animation)|The Cleveland Show]]'''s Arianna the Bear

* One Danza that is not the main character (and isn't their biggest part in the show) is Cree Lincoln from ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename: Kids Next Door]]'' who is voiced by [[Cree Summer (Creator)|Cree Summer]], [[Talking to Himself|who also voices her little sister, Abby/Numbah 5]]).

** Another minor character Numbuh 362 is given the name Rachel, her voice actor? [[Rachael MacFarlane]] ([[Seth MacfarlaneMacFarlane|yes, that MacFarlane]])

* Minor character example -- inexample—in several episodes of ''[[Kim Possible (Animation)|Kim Possible]]'', [[Tara Strong (Creator)|Tara Strong]] has played a character named "Tara". But then, [[Man of a Thousand Voices|she's played]] ''[[Talking to Himself|so]]'' [[Hey, ItsIt's That Voice!|many roles]] that it was bound to happen eventually.

* Also Julie Brown as Julie [[Stealth Pun|Bruin]] in ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures]]''. In this case, she's effectively [[Adam Westing|parodying herself]].

* ''[[Kappa Mikey (Animation)|Kappa Mikey]]'' has its main characters playing characters with the same name in the [[Show Within a Show]]. As a bonus, Mikey Simon's voice actor is Michael Sinterniklaas, setting up a recursive Danza.

* ''[[Home Movies (Animation)|Home Movies]]'' through the entire cast, though Paula became an exception when her original voice actress, Paula Poundstone, was replaced.

* Almost the entire cast of ''[[Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (Animation)|Dr. Katz Professional Therapist]]'' is named after their voice actor's first name with no last name given (Laura Silverman as Laura, Todd Barry as Todd). Even the guests that appear on the show [[Special Guest|are credited as "Dave as Dave Attell".]] There are only three exceptions to this rule: Dr. Jonathan Katz uses his full name, Benjamin Katz was named after his actor's last name (most likely because his first name is Jon and that would be confusing), and Stanley's voice actor is Will Le Bow.

* Ray Romano voices a character named [[Significant Anagram|Ray Magini]] in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]''.

*** Grau also voiced Doris Grossman, Jay Sherman's makeup lady on ''[[The Critic (Animationanimation)|The Critic]]''

* ''[[Batman: the Animated Series (Animation)|Batman theThe Animated Series]]'' has a partial case, as Harley Quinn was loosely based on her voice actress Arleen Sorkin (who was a friend of the episode's writer, [[Paul Dini (Creator)|Paul Dini]]); her real name was later revealed as Harleen Quinzel, with her first name being just one letter away from Arleen's.

* A computer expert in ''[[Phantom 2040 (Animation)|Phantom 2040]]'', voiced by [[Harlan Ellison (Creator)|Harlan Ellison]](!) was named after one of Ellison's ''pseudonyms'': Cordwainer Bird.

* Of all shows, there's one in ''[[Chowder (Animation)|Chowder]]''. Rueben is voiced by Paul Ruebens.

* Lisa Lougheed as Lisa on ''[[The Raccoons (Animation)|The Raccoons]]''. She also sang the better-known version of the [[Ending Theme]].

* Salli Richardson voices Elisa Maza in ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'', and also a minor character named Salli.

* Guy Hadley as Guy Graham on Disney's version of ''[[Doug (Animation)|Doug]]''.

* From the original series in 1962, to the movie from 1990,<ref>In fact, he had passed on in mid-production</ref>, [[The Jetsons (Animation)|George Jetson]] had been voiced by George O'Hanlon.

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