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{{trope}}
{{Cleanup|Although there are multiple sections of examples, their contents are inconsistently organized with occasional duplicates. Either the examples should be more carefully sorted and organized, or they should be consolidated into a single list. Please do not create subpages for this page until this page has been sorted.}}
[[File:
▲{{quote| ''"You look familiar"'' <br />
▲''"Like your dead girlfriend?"''<br />
▲''-[[Rent]]'' }}
▲A guest actor who returns to play more than one character in the same continuity.
As usual, ''[[Star Trek]]'' is particularly guilty (although perhaps somewhat understandable, with over 700 episodes across the various incarnations plus 11 movies). Alien makeup helps them get away with this, and using the same actors is actually advantageous. After all, if they've made a Ferengi prosthetic for you before, they don't have to go to quite as much effort to do so again...
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The use of the same actor for different characters is typically intended to go unnoticed or at least unremarked. Ed Wasser played Shadow minion Morden in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' but also appeared in the series pilot as a character credited as Guerra. Since that series was so intricately plotted, fans wondered if the Shadows were influencing events as far back as the pilot. No, said [[Word of God|series creator]] [[J. Michael Straczynski]], they just liked the actor's work in the pilot and cast him in a recurring role.
Spin-off shows will often encounter this, as the producers find actors they like for the new show.
This is such a common occurrence amongst the various incarnations of ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'', that fans of that show have come to call those who look familiar [[Fan Nickname|"Repeat Offenders"]]. Primary cast members the late Jerry Orbach and S. Epatha Merkerson both played small one-off roles prior to being cast in the series. Other examples: Diane Neal, who played ADA Casey Novak in seasons 5-9 of SVU, previously appeared as a Wall Street broker who joined two more women in the gang rape of a male dancer during a party (see [[Double Standard Rape (Female on Male)]]), then killed one of those women, because she was going to come clean to the police about the rape.
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When it is done for a purpose, you have an [[Identical Stranger]], an [[Identical Grandson]], or an [[Uncanny Family Resemblance]].
Compare [[Celebrity Paradox]], [[Hey, It's That Guy!]], [[Hey, It's That Voice!]], [[You Might Remember Me From]]. Contrast with [[The Other Darrin]]. Can be [[Hand Wave|Handwaved]] by the [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]].
[[You All Look Familiar]] is not related, unless character sprites and models can be considered "guest actors."
{{examples}}
== Actors who appear as guest actors in multiple roles ==
* As mentioned above, the ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise does this all the time:
** Mark Lenard has had speaking roles as a Romulan, a Vulcan (Spock's father), and a Klingon. Most notably, he was the first Romulan to be completely seen on screen and he was one of the first Klingons with the forehead ridges.
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*** Plus she played ''13'' different characters during the ''Animated Series''. This was because she and James Doohan pretty much voiced all the minor roles so the studio didn't have to hire more actors.
*** A non-canon pre-Original series novel (''The Rift'' by [[Peter David]]) involves Barrett's character "Number One," who is a computer engineer, recording her voice as a template for a new voice-interactive computer interface, which would explain her appearance as the ship's computer voice in TOS as well as later series.
*** Lampshaded in the book series ''New Frontier'' which introduced the character Morgan Primus, an immortal woman that author [[Peter David]] suggested had actually been Number One, changed identities to Christine Chapel,
** Speaking of Commander Data, Brent Spiner actually played five different characters across the ''Treks'', three of whom had android makeup (Data, Lore, and B-4), one of whom had old-guy makeup (Noonien Soong), and one where he didn't need any makeup at all (Arik Soong). (Really a variant case of [[Identical Grandson]], as Arik Soong is Noonien Soong's great-grandfather and the three androids are Noonien Soong's "children".) Not to mention all the one-off holodeck characters he played as sort-of-Data. Spiner ''also'' played a young version of Noonien Soong, looking much like a younger version of Arik Soong, not surprisingly.
** Character actor James Sloyan appeared in at least ''four'' different roles across ''The Next Generation'', ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'', and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]''.
** Suzie Plakson also has four different ''Trek'' roles, most notably as K'Ehleyr, Worf's brief love interest and mother of Alexander. She also played the Vulcan doctor Selar and Q (but not ''that'' Q).
** Margot Rose played Picard's wife in "The Inner Light" and also showed up in ''Deep Space Nine'''s "Hard Time".
** With the aid of makeup, [[Jeffrey Combs]] had recurring roles as Weyoun and Brunt on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' (once playing both in the same episode although unfortunately the characters didn't share any scenes), Shran on ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'', and several characters in single episodes of various ''Star Trek''s. Total count (including a cameo in the ''Deep Space Nine'' finale):
*** And things get really complicated when you remember that there was actually a series of Weyouns (clones with pre-loaded personalities). One episode featured two Weyoun clones interacting, albeit through a viewscreen.
** In a rare double-YLF, Merritt Butrick and Judson Scott both appeared in both ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' and the ''Next Generation'' episode "Symbiosis."
** Marc Alaimo, best known as ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'''s Gul Dukat, is one of the few Trek guest actors to have appeared as a bunch of aliens ''and'' as a human (in "Time's Arrow").
*** In another [[Expanded Universe]] [[Lampshade Hanging]], similar to [[Peter David]]'s Morgan Primus, the ''Deep Space Nine'' novels reveal that Gul Macet, the first Cardassian to appear in ''TNG'' was Dukat's [[Uncanny Family Resemblance|cousin]]. Macet was also played by Alaimo.
** Vaughn Armstrong is probably the record-holder here. He's appeared in every modern Trek series and been a member of eight alien races. He finally landed a recurring
** J.G. Hertzler is another repeat ''[[Star Trek]]'' performer. He played several roles on ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'', and ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]''. His most well known role is the Klingon General, Martok on ''Deep Space Nine'' - when he made a one-off appearance as an unrelated character between appearances in this role, he was credited as Garman Hertzler.
*** He played a Klingon Lawyer in ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'' making it a YLF in full Klingon make-up.
** David Warner appeared as Federation ambassador St. John Talbot in ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]'', as Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in the very next movie, ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'', and a year later as the Cardassian Gul Madred in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'': "Chain of Command"
** Stuntman Tom Morga has appeared in every ''[[Star Trek]]'' program since the last of the original series movies, playing everything from Borg to Cardassians to Romulans, not to mention quite few [[Red Shirt]] humans. He's developed a small following, despite having almost no spoken dialogue.
** Another actor who played a large number of roles (particularly notable as these were usually without make-up and thus make him readily identifiable) is Tim Russ, who played an ''Enterprise''-B crewmember in ''[[Star Trek Generations]],'' a criminal in the [[Die Hard on an X|"Starship Mine"]] episode of ''The Next Generation,'' and a Klingon named T'kar in ''Deep Space Nine'''s "Invasive Procedures," and finally became a primary cast member as Tuvok on ''Voyager'' - a role ironically requiring make-up, although to a very minor degree. Made somewhat more ironic in that, in one episode, a Tuvok impostor would appear portrayed by yet another reoccurring actor.
** Morn, played by Mark Allen Shepherd, was one of the most beloved characters on ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'' and appeared in almost every episode despite never having a line of dialogue. In an episode where he apparently dies (he actually staged his own death) Quark holds a memorial service in the bar and grabs a random patron to sit in Morn's chair to 'keep it warm'...a random patron played by Mark Allen Shepherd.
** Eddie Paskey played a variety of characters in at least 51 episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''. They include his main character Mr. Leslie, a technician named "Conners", a bridge crewman named "Ryan", a citizen of the planet Eminiar 7, and a resistance fighter on the [[Planet of Hats|Nazi planet]] Ekos. He has been an unnamed member of the bridge crew, Security, Engineering, a helmsman/weapons officer, navigator, and transporter chief. Though unseen, he even drove the truck that killed Kirk's true love Edith Keeler. Mr. Leslie actually died in the episode "Obsession" but he continued appearing afterward (including in ''the same episode'').
** Tony Todd who played Worf's brother Kurn in TNG, an elderly Jake Sisko in ''Deep Space Nine'', and the Hirogen Alpha in ''Voyager'''s "Prey".
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** Iphicles and Ares were both played by Kevin Smith; they're not related to each other but they're ''both'' Hercules's half-brothers! (Iphicles is the son of Alcmene and her husband; Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera.)
** And let us not forget Ted Raimi playing the triplets Joxer, Jett and Jace.
** Before Ceasar & Cupid Karl Urban was in the episode Altared States & in a late series episode called Lifeblood, which was a reuse of an unsold Pilot Episode. Also in Lifeblood were Danielle Cormack, who played Ephiny, & Claudia Black, who was Cassandra in two Hercules episodes.
* Francesca Buller ([[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine|Ben Browder's wife]]) has played at least four different characters on ''[[Farscape]]''. Since most of them involved significant effort from the prosthetics department, this is not readily apparent.
* Jonathan M. Woodward first played a vampire named Holden in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. He was killed at the end of his single episode. Shortly thereafter, the actor turned up on the spinoff ''[[Angel]]'' as Knox, and stuck around for seven episodes. He became a "hat trick" (an actor appearing in all three of Joss Whedon's shows) with his guest star appearance as Tracey on ''[[Firefly]]''.
** Woodward is actually one of four [[Joss Whedon]] hat-trick actors - Andy Umberger had both a recurring role as D'Hoffryn on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'', and an early one-shot villain role on ''[[Angel]]'' in "I Fall To Pieces" (with a small role as an Alliance Captain in ''[[Firefly]]''), Carlos Jacott played villain Ken on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'' and hilarious villain Richard on ''[[Angel]]'' (before playing an important villain role in the ''[[Firefly]]'' pilot), and Jeff Ricketts played both the character Weatherby in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'' in a crossover arc, and a spider monster in ''[[Angel]]'' (along with one of ''[[Firefly]]'''s memorable Blue Gloves).
** Tom Lenk, known for playing Andrew in the evil geek trio during ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'''s sixth season (and beyond), originally appeared in a bit part as one of Harmony's vampire minions.
** A well-known example from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'' is Kali Rocha, who first appeared on the show in a minor role in a flashback, playing Cecily, Spike's hopeless crush from his time as a human. Later on she was re-hired in a completely different role as Halfrek, Anya's fellow vengeance demon. Keen-eyed fans, of course, immediately spotted that they were the same actor, and a lot of [[Fanon]] built up over how Cecily could have become Halfrek in the intervening
*** Since this was a retcon due to fans noticing Kali Rocha playing dual roles rather than planned continuity, Cecily = Halfrek created some issues with
** Jeff Kober played the psycho vamp Kralik in the third season episode "Helpless", and later played Rack, the magic pusher who hooked Willow on dark magic during Season Six.
** Brian Thompson played the vampire Luke in the first two episodes, then showed up again in Season 2 as The Judge.
** Andy Hallett, best known as Lorne from ''Angel'', was originally an extra in the ''Buffy'' episode "Hush."
** Kal Penn of [[Harold
** Carlos Jacott (who is also known for his role as Lawrence Dobson in the first two episodes of ''[[Firefly]]'') appeared as the demon Ken in the ''Buffy'' Season 3 opener, "Anne", and later appeared as another demon, Richard, in the ''[[Angel]]'' Season 1 episode "Bachelor Party".
* Lance LeGault appeared as Delta Agent John W. Newton on ''Magnum PI'', then returned as recurring character Colonel Buck Greene for several episodes. Also on Magnum, Kathleen Lloyd played a client of Magnum's then returned as recurring character D.A. Carol Baldwin for several seasons.
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** Dana Elcar (The guy who plays Mac's boss, Pete) appeared in the opening pilot episode, as a different character named Andy Colson. Later on, no recognition was shown between him and Mac.
* On [[wikipedia:CHiPs|CHiPS]], Ponch & Jon had to rescue "[[wikipedia:Robbie Rist|Cousin Oliver]]" quite often, once as [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534440/ Jeff], once as [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534491/ Brian], once as [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534541/ Russell].
* ''[[Dragnet]]'', the 1950s-1970s [[Police Procedural]], routinely had actors and actresses play multiple non-recurring roles during the series. In one of the movies, a man is a rapist and serial killer, who ends up becoming a police chemist in the series. Virgina Gregg, one of Jack Webb's friends, was routinely cast in many episodes as a typical woman victim of crime, or in some cases, as the perpetrator. Generally, Jack Webb (as Sergeant Joe Friday), his partner and his boss were the only recurring characters from week to week, with one very special exception. In the 1950s, the program did a [[Christmas Episode]], in which a baby Jesus was missing from the manger scene at a Catholic church. The police officers interviewed the Padre, a pawn broker, an altar boy, and eventually meet the little boy who took the doll, because he promised it that if he got a wagon for Christmas, he would give it the first ride. About fifteen years later in the 1970s, they did a [[
* ''[[Stargate]]'' is a prime example of this trope, thanks to the relatively small Vancouver acting pool.
** Garwin Sanford played Narim, Carter's Tollan love interest, in [[Stargate SG-1|SG-1]] before being cast in ''[[Stargate Atlantis|Atlantis]]'' as Dr. Weir's husband Simon.
** Anne Marie DeLuise (wife of Peter DeLuise who directed and cameoed in several episodes, but then SG-1 sometimes resembles the DeLuise family reunion) as Amy Vandenberg in "Bounty" and Farrell in "The Other Side", for example.
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** Courtenay J. Stevens, plays Lieutenat Elliot in a couple of SG-1 episodes and Leader of a plant of children in Atlantis
** And of course, James Lafazanos and Andee Frizzell play most of the unmasked wraiths (the males and the queens respectively)
* In Season 1 Episode 5 of ''[[Lois and Clark]]'', a nebbish scientist played by Leslie Jordan who created an invisibility suit was used as a one-shot character. The same actor appeared as Resplendant Man in Season 2 Episode 8, changing absolutely none of his mannerisms.
* ''[[Taggart]]'', not surprisingly for a series that has lasted over 25 years, constantly features this trope. A particular blatant example is Colin McCredie who played three different characters in three consecutive episodes, the last one being a recurring character.
* In the earlier seasons of ''[[Smallville]]'', Jor-El was played by Terrence "General Zod" Stamp, leading to no end of [[Epileptic Trees]] theories by the fans.
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* In Season 2 of ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', James Jordan appeared as the mentally unstable janitor Tommy "Lucky" Dohanic for a few episodes, then reappeared in Season 3 as recurring character Tim Foyle, the graduate student of Dr. Landry.
* While this is so common in the [[Law and Order]] franchise that listing every example would require an entire page of its own, Jennifer Van Dyck has played ''eight'' different characters in the franchise over the course of nine episodes. Not surprisingly, she is ''very'' good at what she does.
* Same goes for the ''[[CSI]]'' franchise. All of them are set in the same reality, still they constantly interchange actors. [[Castle|Seamus Dever]] for example was a beguiled architect on ''[[CSI: NY]]'', a rich boy {{spoiler|who threw his drug-dealing brother overboard}} on ''[[CSI: Miami]]'' and an airline executive AND a TV producer {{spoiler|who liked having sex with underaged talent-show contestants}} on ''[[CSI]]''.
** And since ''[[Without a Trace]]'' and ''[[Cold Case]]'' are acknowledged to exist in the [[Crossover|same world]], he also was a junkie in New York and respectively a petty thief in the sixties.
* ''[[The Adventures of Superman]]'', owing to its shoestring budget, did this all the time. On any given episode, you could expect the [[Monster of the Week|mob-boss of the week]] to be played by one of about a dozen guys.
* Tony Todd appeared in ''[[24
** Faran Tahir appeared in season 2 as a friendly mosque greeter, and then in season 4 as a fearsome terrorist.
* The same actress that played a patient in an episode of ''[[Private Practice]]'' went on to play the (Completely unrelated) regular role of April Kepner in the [[Grey's Anatomy]], the show that spawned the former.
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* [[Nana Visitor]] played two different characters on [[Matlock]] {{spoiler|Both times she was [[Femme Fatale|guilty]].}}
* Tony Shaloub's real-life wife Brooke Adams appeared in several episodes of ''[[Monk]]''. For example in season 1 she played a airline stewardess who is driven crazy by Monk's actions and later made a brief cameo in the 100th episode, while in season 5 she played a local sheriff.
* A&E's ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' employs a repertory cast to play non-recurring roles.
* ''[[Space: 1999]]'' had [[Brian Blessed]] play two different characters in two different seasons.
* On ''[[McCloud]]'', Sam apparently doesn't notice that he falls for characters played by [[Jaclyn Smith]] at least three times.
* This is even lampshaded in the ''[[Star Trek: Lower Decks]]'' episode "Old Friends, New Planets". When Nicholas Locarno — disgraced former Starfleet cadet, terrorist leader and [[Big Bad]] of season 4 — opens communications with the Cerretos to make his demands, several members of the crew can't help but mention how much he looks like Tom Paris. Indeed, this is a [[Mythology Gag]], as in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Next Generation]]'' both Locarno and Tom Paris were played by [[Robert Duncan McNeill]], who reprises the role as Locarno's VA here.
== Actors who play roles as guest actors, then return in other roles as regular actors ==
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' does it some more:
** Both Tim Russ and Robert Duncan McNeill appeared in TNG before becoming Voyager regulars. However, McNeill's character was originally intended to be a reprisal of his original role, but Locarno was decided to be irredeemable, so he's made into a different character... who gets the ''very same backstory'' that supposedly made Locarno irredeemable (with one minor change: ''three'' people died in the incident instead of one. Ooo-kay...) Another theory that's been put forth is they didn't want to pay royalties to the writer of Locarno's episode.
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*** Tim Russ also played an (apparently human) bridge officer on the Excelsior in [[Star Trek VI]], which becomes quite amusing when they expand Tuvok's background to make him a low-ranking crewman on the same ship at the same time.
** Armin Shimerman played a Betazoid gift box and two Ferengi in ''Next Gen'' before becoming Quark in ''Deep Space Nine''.
*** And Max Grodenchik, best known for playing Quark's brother Rom, also played a couple of Ferengi in ''Next Gen'', as well as a Trill in a deleted scene from [[The Movie]] ''Star Trek: Insurrection'', and an unnamed human in the ''Deep Space Nine'' finale.
*** Shimerman himself wrote the obligitory [[Lampshade Hanging]]; in his book ''The 34th Rule'', much is made of the inability of humans to tell Ferengi apart, and a character insults Quark by saying a Betazoid gift box resembles him. Both of Shimerman's earlier Ferengi characters also appear in the novel.
** Diana Muldaur played two one-shot characters in [[The Original Series]] before returning to play TNG's [[Recurrer]] Dr. Pulaski.
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** Suranne Jones played a manifest Mona Lisa in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''' third series. Two years later, she played {{spoiler|the TARDIS}} in the parent show.
** Jeff Rawle played Plantaganet in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''Frontios'', before taking the role of a museum curator in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''.
** William Thomas played the undertaker for the Hand of Omega's casket in ''Remembrance of the Daleks'' and a nuclear advisor in "Boom Town" 17 years later. He later had a recurring role on ''Torchwood'' as Geraint Cooper, Gwen's father.
** [[Sophie Okonedo]] played companion to an alternate Ninth Doctor in the special ''Scream of the Shalka''. She later played Liz X in the episode "The Beast Below" on the show proper.
** Yasmin Bannerman played Jabe in "The End of the World", before playing a police officer in the ''Torchwood'' episode "They Keep Killing Suzie".
** Nigel Havers played Nick in the Eighth Doctor audio drama ''No More Lives'', before playing Sarah Jane's fiancé Peter Dalton in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' story ''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith''.
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* Dennis Franz came in as a very memorable several-episode character on ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'', then was cast as Buntz the next season.
* Garret Dillahunt played the coward Jack McCall on the first season of ''[[Deadwood]]'', then came back the next season to play Francis Woolcott. McCall was, however, featured in five episodes, and was a very memorable character, which is probably why Dillahunt grew a beard for playing Wolcott, to lessen the visual similiarities between the two characters.
* Main cast members of ''[[Reno 911!]]!'' frequently play one or more supporting roles in the same episode in which their main character also appears. This is accomplished by having the actor appear as a suspect with his or her face blurred out.
* Nicholas Lea appeared in an early ''[[The X-Files|X-Files]]'' episode "Gender Bender" playing a character named Michael, then returned later as series regular Alex Krycek.
** However, Terry O'Quinn trumps this, playing Lt. Brian Tillman in the episode "Aubrey", then Special Agent Darius Michaud in the first X-Files movie, and finally a mysterious contact {{spoiler|and super soldier}} in the final season's "Trust No 1".
*** If [[Crossover
** Chris Owens plays three different characters on the show: a young Cigarette-Smoking Man, Jeffrey Spender, and the Great Mutato. Justified in that {{spoiler|the Cigarette-Smoking Man is Jeffrey Spender's father}}. Also, the Great Mutato is under so much make-up that you can't really tell who's playing him.
** Also, before he played Eddie Van Blundht in "Small Potatoes", Darin Morgan made an unrecognisable appearance as the Flukeman in "The Host".
** "Quagmire" and "War of the Coprophages" both feature a trio of actors playing teenage stoners, though the characters are not the same in both episodes.
* Catherine Bell was originally cast as Harmon Rabb's girlfriend who is murdered in a first-season episode of ''[[JAG]]'', which never aired during the U.S. network run due to cancellation of the show by NBC. When CBS picked up the series, Bell was cast as the new female lead Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie. Harmon Rabb acts like he's seen a ghost when she is introduced to him, and we later learn why in a [[Whole-Episode Flashback]] incorporating the original episode.
** [[Donald P. Bellisario]] is known for bringing back actors he likes as this was done on his other shows as well. Sean Murray had a six-episode arc as Danny Walden on ''[[JAG]]''. A few years later, he joined its spinoff ''[[NCIS]]'' as Special Agent Timothy McGee.<ref>Sean Murray is Belisario's stepson.</ref>
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** A tradition continued by the two newest cops: Jeremy Sisto played a defense attorney, while Anthony Anderson appeared as a different cop on ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]].''
** Also, Annie Parisse and Milena Govich were each on the show once before being cast as series regulars.
** Jim Gaffigan appeared on [[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]] as Russell Matthews and Mart Palin, and in original flavor as George Rozakis and Larry Johnson.
** Annabella Sciorra played a defense lawyer in ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury|Law and Order Trial By Jury]]'' before being cast as Carolyn Barek on ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]''.
** [[Bebe Neuwirth]] appeared as a one-shot character in ''[[Law and Order SVU]]''. Six years later she was cast as EADA Tracey Kibre, the lead character on ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury|Law and Order Trial By Jury]]''.
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** In ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', ''[[Firefly]]'' actress Jewel Staite plays a Wraith in season 2's "Instinct". In season 4 she returns as Dr. Keller.
** Peter Kelamis played a scientist and an alien news anchor, Mark Burgess played Wraith's victim before they became recurring ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' characters.
* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'', Ed Wasser played a crewman named Guerra in the pilot movie before returning as the regular guest character Mr Morden throughout the series.
** Another note, check the Narn and the Drazi whenever one of them gets a speaking part. There's one guy who appears almost EVERY time, best known as Drazi Green, Narn from Shattered Dreams who mocks Londo, amongst others. William forward, alias Lord Refa, had the possibility of one but apparently didn't get it.
*** Also John Vickery as Neroon the Minbari warrior in several episodes, and as a completely human Mr. Welles in one - with his role as Welles falling in the middle of his appearances as Neroon. Welles later reappeared in an episode of ''[[Crusade]]''.
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* Similarly, on ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', before voicing main character Toph, Jessie Flower voiced Meng from "The Fortuneteller".
* Another animated examples is {{spoiler|Simon in the epilogue}} of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', who in both the original and the dub had the same voice actor as the narrator, or possibly ''was'' the narrator.
*
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' TV movies, Alberto Malich, the greatest wizard in Discworld history bears a striking resemblence to Rincewind, the ''worst'' wizard in Discworld history.
* The dub of ''[[Naruto]]'' does this a lot: the [[Steve Blum|voice actor]] for Zabuza, the villain from the first story arc, later voiced Orochimaru, the main villain for most of the series. Deidara's voice actor is the one that voiced two [[Filler]] character (Idate and Raiga) and Tsunade's death boyfriend Dan, the voice actors for Sasori's two forms previously voiced [[Talking Animal|Pakkun]] and borderline background character Genma Shiranui, and Itachi's voice actor ([[The Other Darrin|after his short first appearance]]) was previously Ebisu's. This is probably because [[Loads and Loads of Characters|the show's cast is so huge]] nearly every voice actor who would ever work on it has done at least ''one'' role by now.
* Many of the actors who became regulars on ''Matlock'' initially appeared before in different episodes.
* On ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' Howard Caine played a couple of one-off German officers before settling in as the recurring Major Hochstetter. And since he played them all exactly like Major Hochstetter, it again became a bit confusing.
* Rebecca Breeds plays Cassie Cometti in season 3 of ''[[Blue Water High]]'', but she made her first appearance in season 2, episode 3 as Tina.
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* Patrick Newell had brief roles in ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' episodes "The Town of No Return" and "Something Nasty in the Nursery" before playing Mother in the show's final season.
* John Larroquette guest starred several times on ''[[The Practice]]'' as [[Magnificent Bastard]] Joey Heric. A few years later, he became a regular on the show's spin-off, ''[[Boston Legal]]'', playing senior partner Carl Sack.
* A notable ''[[CSI]]'' variation was Carmine Giovinazzo, who appeared on the original ''CSI'' in the season 3 episode "Revenge is Best Served Cold" about two years before being cast as Danny Messer on the spin-off ''[[CSI: NY]]''.
* Martin Milner appeared as a high school drug user in the '50s version of ''Dragnet'', then in the color '60s version, he frequently appeared as his ''[[Adam
* Catherine Schell played the Servant of the Guardian in ''[[Space: 1999]]''{{'}}s first-season episode "Guardian of Piri". She would return to play Maya in every episode of the second season.
* ''[[Three's Company]]'' had many, many instances of this, though the most notable was Jeffrey Tambor, who appeared three times as different characters. Syndication makes it four different characters, as two episodes of spinoff ''[[The Ropers]]'' (on which Tambor was a regular) have been added to the ''[[Three's Company]]'' rotation.
* An earlier version of the 'repeat offender' on ''[[Law and Order]]'' occurred on ''[[Barney Miller]]''; many of the one-shot petty criminals and crime victims were played by repeat actors. Before joining the main cast of cops as Sergeant Dietrich, Steve Landesberg had played a criminal-of-the-week.
* ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' reused almost all of its character actors throughout its
* All of the supporting cast on ''[[Good Eats]]'' play multiple characters. As this is essentially a [[Cooking Show]] crossed with low-budget [[Sketch Comedy]], that is not surprising.
* Martin Trenaman appears as three different characters in as many episodes of Britcom '15 Storeys High'.
* Although many of the cast members of ''[[Blackadder]]'' played different versions of the same characters over the course of the show, some of them played completely unrelated characters. Hugh Laurie appeared in a minor role as one of Edmund's drinking buddies in an episode of ''[[Blackadder]] II'', before playing Prince Ludwig in the very next episode. He became a regular cast member in the two subsequent series, as a third character, George (or arguably two different characters called George).
** On a related note, Tim McInnerny played versions of Percy in ''The [[Blackadder]]'' and ''[[Blackadder]] II'', before playing Le Comte de Frou Frou in an episode of ''[[Blackadder]] The Third'', and the regular role of Captain Kevin Darling in the final series, ''[[Blackadder]] Goes Forth''.
** Similarly, Miranda Richardson who played Queenie in ''[[Blackadder]] II'' makes a guest appearance as Miss Hardwood in an episode of ''[[Blackadder]] The Third'' and as Nurse Mary in ''[[Blackadder]] Goes Forth''.
* ''[[Father Ted]]'': Irish comedian Jon Kenny played a cinema owner in "The Passion of St Tibulus" and a Eurosong MC in "Song for Europe" (in the latter role, he was filling in for Steve Coogan who pulled out at the last minute). Pauline McLynn played main character Mrs Doyle, and also appeared as a nun in "Flight Into Terror" (because Mrs Doyle only had one scene in that episode).
** Also in ''[[Father Ted]]'', the fortune teller from the first episode ("Just give me a pound!") is one of the old ladies who go to see The Passion of St. Tibulus ("He got his lad out and everything!").
* Tahj Mowry played three different characters on his sisters' show, ''[[Sister, Sister]]'', including a character from his ''own'' show, ''[[Smart Guy]]'' (making this a YLF, [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine|Old Friend]], and [[Crossover]] all in one.)
* Jon Lovitz appeared on ''[[News Radio]]'' as two different characters before coming in permanently as the [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] to Phil Hartman's character, following the latter's death.
* Thanks to [[Executive Meddling]], [[Tina Fey]] couldn't get her friend Rachel Dratch a major role on her show ''[[30
* ''[[Friends]]'' had Giovanni Ribisi playing a teenager who accidentally dropped a condom in Phoebe's guitar case, about half a season before he was cast as Phoebe's half-brother. Arguably, they are the same character (they have very similar mannerisms), but he claimed he has never actually been in Manhattan.
** ''[[Joey]]'' also brought Adam Goldberg and Jennifer Coolidge as regulars, both of whom had appeared as completely different characters in ''[[Friends]]''.
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* ''[[Married... with Children]]'' - Ted McGinley appeared in the Season 4 [[Christmas Episode]] "It's a Bundyful Life", which parodies ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'', as Peggy's "alternate history" husband, before joining the regular cast as Jefferson D'Arcy the following season.
* ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' - Jack Dodson appeared in one Season 6 episode as an insurance agent before taking on the role of county clerk Howard Sprague the following season.
* John Mahoney, later Frasier Crane's father Martin in ''[[Frasier]]'', appeared as a piano player in a ''[[Cheers]]'' episode.
** Peri Gilpin also appeared in the final season of ''[[Cheers]]'' before being cast on ''[[Frasier]]''.
* Conchata Ferrell played the main character's ex-wife's lesbian lover in one episode of the first season of ''[[Hearts Afire]]'', but she joined the series as a regular in the second season, playing straight-as-an-arrow Madeline. Both characters were therapists, but otherwise had no connection. Similarly, Beth Broderick, who played Dee Dee Starr in the first season, appeared as Dee Dee's twin sister Lee Ann in two episodes of the second season. It's stated that Lee Ann grew up there in the Midwest, but it had previously been said that Dee Dee grew up in Texas. The explanation never made sense and they shouldn't have even bothered to attempt to [[Hand Wave]] the stunning resemblance away.
* ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' did this quite a bit. Noam Pitlik played ''seven'' one-shot characters over the course of the show, including a German spy in the first episode of the series. Many of them were German officers with similar personalities, which could get a bit confusing.
* ''[[
** Richard Lee-Sung
** Soon-Tek Oh
** Mako
** Eldon Quick appeared as Captain Sloan in season 2's "The Incubator" and season 3's "Payday", then as Captain Pratt in season 4's "The Late Captain Pierce".
** Edward Winter first appeared as Captain Halloran in the season 2 episode "Deal Me Out", before returning for many guest appearances as Lt. Colonel Flagg. Halloran was later retconned into a cover identity for Flagg.
** John Orchard was a semi-regular in season 1 as anesthesiologist Ugly John, a holdover from the novel and feature film who was subsequently [[Demoted to Extra]] and then written out of the show entirely. Years later in the season 8 episode "Captains Outrageous", Orchard returned for a guest appearance as a visiting Australian MP.
** Each of the two men who voiced the camp's P.A. Announcer appeared as a different character in one episode apiece. (Admittedly, this may not quite count as "You
** Harry Morgan had a guest role as Maj. Gen. Bartford Hamilton Steele in one episode before joining the cast full-time as Colonel Sherman T. Potter.
** Sab Shimono has appeared at least twice in the series, each as a different character. Once as Winchester's house boy {{spoiler|that was really a spy}}, and another time as one of three Korean doctors that shadowed the very same Winchester.
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* In the first two seasons of ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'' Kevin James played Ray's friend [[The Danza|Kevin]]. In the third season, after Kevin was [[Put on a Bus]], he played [[The King of Queens|Doug Heffernan]] in a few crossover episodes.
* In the ''[[All in The Family]]'' episode "Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood", Vincent Gardenia plays Archie's neighbor who sells his house to the Jeffersons. In "The Bunkers and the Swingers", a swinger couple is played by Gardenia and Rue McClanahan. Gardenia would appear in the recurring role of Frank Lorenzo from the next season. McClanahan would later appear as Maude's friend, Vivian in ''[[Maude]]'', which was a [[Spin-Off]] of ''All in the Family''.
* Actor Jack Riley appeared on seven episodes of [[Night Court]] playing five different characters.
** Also, Will Utay & John Astin each played a different character in episodes of season 2 (although Astin's character, named Kenny, was quite similar to Buddy) before appearing as [[Bumbling Sidekick|Phil]] & [[Cloudcuckoolander|Buddy]], respectively.
* ''[[According to Jim]]'' used the same guest actor to play Jim's son in [[Imagine Spot
* In ''[[The George Lopez Show]]'', Hilary Duff plays one of Carmen's friends and later on, Angie's mentor when she starts selling La Marie cosmetics. Lampshaded when Max says, "You look like one of Carmen's friends."
** Actually, the one where Hilary Duff plays the mentor came out two years before the one where she plays Carmen's friend, so it's more ''[[Hilarious in Hindsight]]''.
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* Two instances on ''[[Happy Days]]'': Lynda Goodfriend was cast as Richie's date Kim a good while before being brought back as his girlfriend-turned-wife Lori Beth Allen in season five. Linda Purl, meanwhile, actually appeared ''before'' Lynda Goodfriend as Richie's girlfriend Gloria in a couple of second season episodes; she returned nearly a decade later as Fonzie's steady Ashley Pfister in the penultimate season.
** And if we're also counting spinoffs, Goodfriend also appeared on ''Happy Days''' forgettable spin-off ''Blansky's Beauties'', alongside a considerably more familiar face -- Scott Baio, who later joined ''Happy Days'' as Fonzie's cousin Chachi.
* On ''[[Bewitched]]'', before he became better known as Dr. Bombay, Bernard Fox played Osgood Rightmire, a witch hunter; and Paul
* Jonathan Winters played Mindy's aunt on ''[[Mork and Mindy]]'' a couple of years before joining the cast as Mearth.
* ''[[Made in Canada]]'':
** A Film/Theater professor in an earlier episode later is seen as reoccurring character as the gay actor who plays the parson from Beaver Creek.
** [[Gordon Pinsent]] appears as Walter Franklin, the lead actor of Beaver Creek who dies in season 1, and {{spoiler|the business owner who buys and shuts down Pyramid}} in the very last episode.
* On ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'', Debbe Dunning played a one-off role in the season two episode "Overactive Glance" before she started playing Heidi in season three.
* ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' had many cases of this, some more noticeable than others. For example, the actor who played Angela's dad in season 7 also played a college professor in one episode of season 5.
* [[Eagles|Joe Walsh]] appears [[As Himself]] in the ''[[The Drew Carey Show|Drew Carey Show]]'' episode "Drewstock" where he's one of the thousands of guests at Drew's house party. The next year he appeared in six episodes as Ed, a [[Dreadful Musician|not very talented guitarist]] Drew hires to be in his band.
* Israeli sitcom ''[[Ha Pijamot]]'', which is noted for having [[No Fourth Wall]], uses this thoroughly and lampshades this with one extra. When Yamit mocks extras and insults the one other patron in the Hamburgary at that point, Gary tells her that he was the one extra they keep using over and over, followed by a flashback showing him in the various roles they cast him as over the years. Later on, when Kobi, Ilan, and ‘Oded tell her they want to try finding a job as extras, Yamit makes sure no extras are around, and then says, ‘Extras? That’s the peak of your aspirations?’
----
* [[Sketch Show
** Played with in a ''Catherine Tate Show'' sketch in which [[David Tennant]] guest stars as Lauren Cooper's teacher. She asks "Are you [[Doctor Who|the Doctor?]]"
** ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'' stretches it further: almost everyone in a ''single town'' looks like Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton or Reece Shearsmith.
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** Of course, whether those movies are even in the same continuity remains [[Shrug of God|ambiguous at best]].
* There are at least two examples from the [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] films, with Charles Gray playing a British agent in ''[[You Only Live Twice]]'' before returning as the arch-villain Blofeld in ''[[Diamonds Are Forever]]'', and Maud Adams appearing as Bond Girl Andrea in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' before returning as the titular ''[[Octopussy]]''. The James Bond series is, of course, also full of examples of [[The Other Darrin]].
** Joe Don Baker played villain Brad Whitaker in ''[[The Living Daylights]]'' and Jack "[[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|Totally Not Felix Leiter]]" Wade in ''[[
* Since ''[[Power Rangers]]'' switched filming locations from California to New Zealand, this started happening more often. It's listed in other examples, however, because it's done guest to regular and regular to regular both. Commonly caused by [[Only So Many Equity Members]]. Examples include:
** Katrina Devine played Marah, a bumbling villain regular, in ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm|Ninja Storm]]'', and Cassidy, an annoying reporter regular, in ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder|Dino Thunder]]''. A [[Shout-Out]] was done in the [[Reunion Show]] of the two seasons, with both characters passing each other briefly and commenting on each other's beauty, then (in a [[Split Screen]]) claiming that they are moreso.
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** Sarah Thomson played a sneaky [[Monster of the Week]] alien criminal (again with a [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|temporary human form]]) in ''S.P.D.'', and Fran, a bumbling pizzeria regular customer/employee, in ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury|Jungle Fury]]''.
** ''Samurai'' gives us three actors from previous seasons: Rene Naufahu played Emperor Gruumm, the [[Big Bad]] of ''S.P.D.'', and now is the Rangers' mentor Ji (though, like with the aforementioned John Tui, he wore a full body suit in ''S.P.D.'', except for one episode); Ricardo Medina, Jr. played Cole, the Red Ranger of ''Wild Force'', and now is the renegade immortal swordsman Deker; and in a two-parter we had Grant McFarland, who played Lothor, the [[Big Bad]] of ''Ninja Storm'', as well as voicing the Rangers' mentor in that season for most of it, playing Daisuke, the elderly monk/caretaker of a Shinto temple.
* As they were non-union actors, the Playing With Time Acting Repository, the group of actors who performed in ''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'' and ''[[Degrassi High]]'', are the only actors on the show. Minor characters who had starring roles in some episodes would be seen standing around or acting in the background during different episodes, and the cast rotated around to allow everyone the chance to have episodes focused on them.
** However, the first episode plays the trope straight: One of the Diesach twins appears in the role of "Stacey". The twins would play the roles of Heather and Erica Farrell in later episodes.
* The ''[[Pink Panther]]'' movie series had Graham Stark, an extremely close friend/frequent co-star of Peter Sellers', play several different roles over the years:
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** In ''Revenge of...'' and ''Son of...'' he was Clouseau's costumer Auguste Balls (see [[The Other Darrin]] for why he didn't always play this role).
** And he has a cameo as a waiter in ''Curse of...''
* It is sort of weird this page has gone this long without a mention of [[Professional Wrestling]], as [[Gimmick
** You remember Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.? That's Kane.
** How about Terra Rysing? You know him now as Triple H.
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* Jerry Adler played a police sergeant early in season 2 of ''[[Mad About You]]'', before taking on the recurring role of Mr. Wicker.
* ''[[Boston Legal]]'', despite being a spinoff from ''[[The Practice]]'', featured [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0488662/ John Laroquette] in its last season. John Laroquette also played the serial killer Joey Heric in ''[[The Practice]]''.
* Andy Griffith appeared in an episode of ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'' as Ben [[Matlock]], claiming that he & Dr. Sloan have been very good friends for quite some time. If that is true, how come he never noticed that "the evil" Judge Carter Addison looked exactly like his old friend?
* The ''[[Forgetting Sarah Marshall]]'' spin-off/SpiritualSequel ''[[Get Him to The Greek]]'' is set in the same universe and once again features [[Russell Brand]] as Aldous Snow...yet he co-stars with Jonah Hill, playing a completely different character than the one he played in the first film.
* Peter Jackson's kids, Billy and Katie, can be seen in all three [[The Lord of the Rings]] movies.
* Ben Healy's bitchy wife in [[Problem Child]] and his love interest in Problem Child 2 are played by the same actress. Oddly, no-one [[Lampshade Hanging|points out the resemblance]].
** It's probably not a coincidence that said actress, Amy Yasbeck, happened to be John Ritter's (who played Ben) real life wife...
* ''Nearly'' subverted by the [[Disney Channel]], which is odd considering their habit of reusing every actor in at least one series and one TV movie. The reason it isn't a subversion is that [[Selena Gomez]] had guest roles in [[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]] (and by extension, its spin-off/sequel ''Suite Life On Deck'') and ''[[Hannah Montana]]'' before landing the lead role on ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]''. The three shows eventually crossed over during the ''Wizards On Deck with Hannah Montana'' event. This means that three Selena Gomezes exist in the [[Disney Channel]]-verse.
** Another ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' example is Amanda Tepe, who played eight different characters over the first two seasons, most of whom speak in a monotone.
* The [[Dan Schneider]] series of shows contains a shared universe between ''[[
** Victoria Justice has appeared in all three shows. The first was on
** [[Miranda Cosgrove]] played a one-episode character on
** Leon Thomas III played one-episode character Harper in ''[[
** Jennette Mc Curdy was in one episode of ''[[Zoey 101]]'', then was cast as Sam in ''[[
** Austin Robert Butler was a recurring character in ''[[Zoey 101]]'', and then a guest star in ''[[
** Daniella Monet is a main character in ''[[Victorious]]'' but had a cameo role in an episode of ''[[
** Doug Brochu played one-episode characters in ''
** Allison Scagliotti was a one-episode character in ''
* [[Kevin Smith]] reuses actors so
** There's even more Walt Flanagans, Scott Mosiers and Dave Kleins when you consider that they all played multiple roles in ''[[Clerks]]'' - four for Flanagan, three for Mosier and five for Klein.
* [[That Guy With The Glasses]]. While most of the contributors to the site have one main character and a few recurrers, That Guy (Doug Walker) has four series running, each of which stars himself as a different character, plus any number of stand-alone shorts which star him as someone completely different. Most of the characters played by Doug have interacted with at least one other.
** Site admin Bhargav Dronamraju played "[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers|Ma-Ti]]", alongside appearing as himself in a one-off sketch and a perverted leerer in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film review.
** In [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s "Inside the NChick Labs" video, Nella plays both the organiser of the meeting of recurring characters, but also played a scientist from the "Playing God" video in the audience. One of Lindsay's other real-life friends plays both a Makeover Fairy and a "[[Hot Scientist|babe scientist]]". Beforehand, it was uncertain if the pairs of characters were actually the same person.
* ''[[Hawaii Five-O]]'' had a lot of recurring one-off characters and one-off characters whose actors returned in a recurring role. In fact, one might say that aside from the main characters, the entire cast was made up of these. Probably due to the combination of its [[Long Runner|extremely long run]] and the tiny casting pool in Hawaii. It would be interesting to document all the roles various actors have had on the show.
** Moving on to guest stars, meanwhile, pilot guests Lew Ayres (as the governor, played by Richard Denning in the series), Andrew Duggan and Leslie Nielsen all returned in guest roles in later episodes, setting a tradition maintained by, among others, Bruce Boxleitner (who played two different characters in season seven's "We Hang Our Own" (featuring the aforementioned Leslie Nielsen) and "And The Horse Jumped Over The Moon" - and was killed off in the former!).
* The [[Mary
* Happens occasionally in live theatre, with long-running shows.
** For example, several actors including Tim Martin Gleason, Brad Little, John Cudia and Ramin Karimloo first played Raoul before playing [[The Phantom of the Opera]] himself.
** In ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]'', Lea Michele played young Cossette and later returned as Eponine, Nick Jonas (yes him) played Gavroche and later Marius and Lea Salonga played Eponine and later Fantine.
* In ''[[Miss Saigon]]'', Ruthie Henshall was one of the nameless bar girls during the initial London production before eventually being cast in the role of Ellen (the wife of the titular character's lover). In fact, many of the actresses playing the bar girls where eventually cast as Kim or Ellen. Similarly, many of the actors playing the numerous
* Reading the cast list of any Broadway show will demonstrate this trope in spades. Actors tend to not only have many shows to their credits, but many roles in common--''[[Les Misérables]]'' Marius and ''[[Miss Saigon]]'' Chris, ''[[Miss Saigon]]'' Kim and ''[[Les Misérables]]'' Eponine, ''[[Miss Saigon]]'' Ellen and ''[[Les Misérables]]'' Fantine, etc.
* Pick a movie directed by Sam Raimi, any movie. Odds are pretty good his brother Ted will show up somewhere as one of the minor characters, and [[Army of Darkness|in some cases]] several.
** As does [[Bruce Campbell]].
* Dario Fo's play 'Can't Pay? Won't pay!" plays with this by having a cast consisting of two couples and four other characters-all to be played by the same actor. (The script has numerous references to the couples recognising this).
* As mentioned above, ''[[The X-Files]]'' was quite fond of re-using actors. Nicholas Lea, known for his role as Alex Krycek, first appeared in "Genderbender" as a minor character. Terry O'Quinn appeared on the show ''three times'' ("Aubrey", "Fight the Future", and "Trustno1"), all three times playing a different character. Chris Owens, known for his role as Agent Spender, first appeared as a young CSM in "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man"; he later played the Great Mutado in "Post Modern Prometheus" before being cast as Agent Spender.
* The various cameos of [[Stan Lee]] in the films that made up the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], imply there are several identical looking individuals running around in the verse. Either that or "Stan the Man" gets around.
** His cameo in ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]]'' all but announces that he's a Watcher, which would explain why he seems to be ''everywhere''.
* Nia Long from ''[[Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]'' played two different characters. In her first appearance she played the role of a psychotic girlfriend in universe in an attempt to terrify Will. In her second appearance she played Lisa, Will's longest lasting relationship.
* Similarly Andrew McFarland on ''[[My Wife and Kids]]'' amusingly played the daughter Claire's first on screen crush Roger, then came back and played her boyfriend Tony as a regular for the rest of the series. Claire on the other hand [[The Other Darrin|switched actresses]] in-between these events.
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* In ''[[Men in Black]]'', David Cross played the morgue attendant who was hilariously killed by the Bug. In ''Men In Black II'', he plays Newton, the video store owner who has the clue to restore Kay's memory. Sadly, he is not in ''Men In Black III''.
===Film===
* The titular character of ''[[The Truman Show]]'', not knowing his whole life has been a reality show, begins to suspect things are weird when the actor who played his now-dead father sneaks back in town as a homeless man.
** Also, in a [[Deleted Scene]], Truman runs into a jogger played by the same actor who played a homeless man in a wheelchair two days earlier.
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