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The Danza (view source)

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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 As 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]].
 
Named for Tony Danza, whose frequent portrayal of people named Tony (see ''[[Taxi (TV)|Taxi]]'' and ''[[Whos the Boss (TV)|Whos the Boss]]'') has made him the butt of a few jokes, for example, [http://web.archive.org/web/20001023203628/http://www.teevee.org/archive/1999/04/01/sunday.html this one] for April Fools Day from Teevee.org.
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
== Anime & Manga ==
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** Shiraishi also played an aspiring seiyuu named Shiraishi in [[Kiddy Girl-and (Anime)|Kiddy Girl-and]].
* ''[[Akahori Gedou Hour Rabuge]]'' has Tomokazu Seki starring as himself. Mostly.
* ''[[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 With 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]].
** 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]].'"
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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, Inc. (Animation)|Monsters Inc.]]''
** Guido Quaroni as Guido from ''[[Cars (Animation)|Cars]]''.
** John Ratzenberger as (SURPRISE!) John from ''[[WALL-E]]''.
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* [[The Marx Brothers]] did this in some of their films, and on stage.
* 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 ''[[GreysGrey's Anatomy (TV)|Greys 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.
* 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 (Film)|Batman]]'', subverted in that Jack Napier becomes and goes by [[The Joker]] early on.
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* 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 (Film)|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 in the 2006 film ''Jack's Law'', a character named Bobby Mewes.
* 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".
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* 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.
* [[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''.
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* David Wong, main character of ''[[John Dies At the End (Literature)|John Dies At 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 With a Trope|Zigzagged]] [[Bleached Underpants]]; the [[Ascended Fanon|heroine merits a mention]] in one [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novel. [[Oh God, With 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]].
** Similarly, Jack Kerouac wrote many novels starring a protagonist named Jack Duluoz.
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* A couple of author John Iriving's characters are named John: Johnny Wheelwright, narrator of ''[[A Prayer for Owen Meany]]'' and John Berry, narrator of ''[[The Hotel New Hampshire]]''.
* 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 ''[[BlakesBlake's Seven (TV)|Blakes Seven]]'', penned a novella called "Kill the Dead." The story's protagonist was named Parl Dro. He bore a striking resemblance to ''[[BlakesBlake's Seven (TV)|Blakes Seven]]'' actor [[Paul Darrow]], and his personality was much like that of Darrow's character, Avon.
* J(ames) G(raham) Ballard in his novels ''Empire of the Sun'' and 'The Kindness of Women'' has the protagonist "Jim Graham".
 
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* Both Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as Kenan Rockmore and Kel Kimble, respectively, in ''[[Kenan and Kel]]''.
* Jim Belushi as Jim in ''[[According to Jim (TV)|According to Jim]]''.
* Victoria Jackson as Victoria in the failed 1984 ''[[MashM*A*S*H (TV)|Mash]]'' 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 ''[[Thirty30 Rock (TV)|Thirty Rock]]''. Tracy Jordan is essentially an [[Adam Westing|exaggerated, simple-minded caricature]] of Tracy Morgan.
* Full-name Danzas include:
** Jerry Seinfeld in ''[[Seinfeld (TV)|Seinfeld]]''. Estelle Costanza fits the trope too, though her real life surname is Harris.
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** 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).
*** The page quote comes from an interview Will did with [[David Letterman]], where he says Alfonso Ribero (Carlton) told him to use this trope.
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** 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?
** Ozzie Nelson's entire family, in ''The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet''.
** 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.
** Jon Dore on ''The Jon Dore Television Show''.
** ''[[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 castmembers 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.
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* 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, ''[[Thirty30 Rock (TV)|Thirty 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).
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** Vivian Vance played Vivian Bagley on ''The Lucy Show'', and had a recurring guest role as Vivian Jones on ''Here's 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 (TV)|Mash]]'' 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 -- Corpsman Roy Goldman was played by..... Roy Goldman.
** 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.
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* ''[[Prison Break (TV)|Prison Break]]'' featured Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman and Sara Wayne Callies as Sarah Tancredi.
* Claire Keelan as Claire Ashcroft in ''[[Nathan Barley]]''.
* Charlie on ''[[ItsIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV)|Its 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.
** Also, Artemis is played by Artemis Pebdani.
* Steve from ''[[Blues Clues (Animation)|Blues Clues]]''--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.
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* 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, Kotter (TV)|Welcome Back Kotter]]'' starred Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter.
* Martin Lawrence played Martin Payne on ''[[Martin (TV)|Martin]]''.
** Character Tommy was played by actor Thomas Michael Ford
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* ''[[Corrupting the Classics With Contemporary Crap]]'' is hosted by Angus Hepburn as Angus Leech and Natalia Fedner as Natalie Knickerbocker.
* [[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 the Glasses]], and the Nostalgia Critic is the only one to share his name.
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* 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 Macfarlane|yes, that MacFarlane]])
* Minor character example -- 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.
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** Lunchlady Doris was originally voiced by script supervisor Doris Grau.
*** Grau also voiced Doris Grossman, Jay Sherman's makeup lady on ''[[The Critic (Animation)|The Critic]]''
* ''[[Batman: theThe Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the 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.
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