Seeing actors who have been in the show in other things

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

So I’ve commented before about how I find it hard to watch Kevin Eldon or Johnny Vegas (not that I’ve done that more than a couple of times) in Red Dwarf without just seeing them as those actors appearing in the show rather than the character they’re meant to portray.

I don’t have that problem so much with the BBC run. I don’t see Jenny Agutter, I see Mamet for example. Though perhaps because I’ve not been exposed to a huge deal of her work.

But does anyone have an actor (or actors) that have appeared on the show that they can’t decouple from their character on the show?

Adrian Lukis played Professor Telford in Cured, yet whenever I see him in anything else, all I can see is Telford. Despite the fact he plays Telford very differently to most of his other roles. It’s very weird, but it is all I see.

[GlenTokyo]

Not in the original run, but all I can think of is Oak Furniture Land adverts when I see the young Rimmer bloke.

And I agree with Johnny Vegas and Kevin Eldon, particularly Johnny Vegas, who’s character was Johnny Vegas in a pink policeman’s uniform.

As for actors I can’t divorce from Dwarf, whenever I see Robert Bathurst in anything, it’s Todhunter, which is odd because he’s hardly in Red Dwarf and doesn’t say much.

[Dave]

When Denis Lill turned up in Gunmen, all I could think was “that’s Cassandra’s dad”.

In the other direction, I guess probably Mac for me. Whenever I see him turn up in something, I just see Hollister. But that’s all down to me rather than anything to do with his performance.

[Warbodog]

Seeing Charles Augins in Blake’s 7 and Lenny von Dohlen in Twin Peaks are the only ones that come to mind.

I mainly had it the other way around by seeing most of the guest stars in other things before I saw them in Red Dwarf, since even though I started watching at 8, it took me years to catch up on all the episodes. So Deb Lister was (and still kind of is) the councillor from the Only Fools and Horses non-finale trilogy, Lee Cornes was the pub landlord from Bottom, Selby was D.I. Beach from Operation Good Guys, Mark Williams was the Fast Show guy, Sara Stockbridge was the starship commander from Roy “Chubby” Brown’s UFO The Movie.

When a Red Dwarf original has been in newer things I’ve often not made the connection that it’s them until afterwards due to age difference, beards or make-up, like Frances Barber in Doctor Who and Robert Bathurst in The Pillars of the Earth.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Oh, Lenny von Dohlen turns up in an episode of The Orville too. It’s a very different character though, so I believed the character, despite desperately Googling to see where I recognised him.

Weirdly, I can’t disconnect Lee Cornes from Grange Hill, even when watching him in Red Dwarf which I have definitely seen him more of.

[Warbodog]

Just remembered that I also saw Chris Barrie play Brittas shortly before (pretty much immediately before) Rimmer, so I had the usual Mr Bean > Blackadder decoupling there at first with his normal voice.

I didn’t recognise Danny from Maid Marian though, a beard and hat was too crafty a disguise.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Danny’s voice in Maid Marian is a big one too.

[si]

When I first saw Anastasia Hille’s name in the Keeping Faith credits, I remember thinking, ‘fucking hell’, and having to rewind to have another look at her, because, for some reason, I hadn’t recognised her 27 years after her line of dialogue in Back to Reality.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I hadn’t even realised that Rack to Reality character was her to be honest. She’s been in a few things over the years but never would have made the connections without your comment and a look on IMDB just now.

[Ian Symes]

RACK TO REALITY

Remake of the classic episode, in which all parts are played by Scooby Doo.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

My voice unit isn’t working and the malfunction has been reported to the Skutters.

[Jenuall]

Haha :)

Speaking of Back to Reality I don’t think it was the first place I saw Timothy Spall as I think I had been shown Auf Wiedersehen Pet by that point, but it’s so ingrained in my mind that I can’t see him now as anything other than the Brummie Git

[RunawayTrain]

I don’t tend to have this problem, once I’ve worked out where I’ve seen or heard the actor before.  The only time really is if I’ve been immersed in something and then immediately see an actor from that on another show – happens a lot with Stargate, especially as there are so many episodes and some of the characters cross iterations too, and Star Trek for similar reasons.  Not so much with Red Dwarf though, probably because I spend more time watching the actors as themselves (e.g. convention panels, behind-the-scenes features, etc.) than as the characters.

 

I do enjoy seeing character actors popping up here and there though (which is what I thought this thread would be, from the title).  So off the top of my head, the actor playing alternate!Lister in The Inquisitor also plays Danny-with-a-criminal-record-for-bigamy in The Brittas Empire (I think the ep is ‘Stop Thief’).  David Ross is the pirate doing the birthday party (Snap Happy); Gordon Salkild is the annoyed man waiting to swim with the dolphin (Mr Brittas Falls in Love); and I only very recently realised Lucy Briers appeared in both – as Harrison (Holoship) and one of the visiting staff from the other leisure centre (Two Little Boys).

 

[International Debris]

Angela Bruce and Robert Bathurst are the two I always see as their Red Dwarf characters. Everyone else I can just about separate.

In terms of the opposite, Johnny Vegas is hard to watch because he’s so utterly himself. On first watch I didn’t actually realise it was Kevin Eldon in the first half of the episode, somehow, so I’ve always been able to maintain a touch of distance. I suppose also he’s been in so many things as bit parts that he’s always able to slide in as a background character quite well.

[clem]

I do enjoy seeing character actors popping up here and there though (which is what I thought this thread would be, from the title).  So off the top of my head, the actor playing alternate!Lister in The Inquisitor also plays Danny-with-a-criminal-record-for-bigamy in The Brittas Empire (I think the ep is ‘Stop Thief’).  David Ross is the pirate doing the birthday party (Snap Happy); Gordon Salkild is the annoyed man waiting to swim with the dolphin (Mr Brittas Falls in Love); and I only very recently realised Lucy Briers appeared in both – as Harrison (Holoship) and one of the visiting staff from the other leisure centre (Two Little Boys).

Spatz is a show with a notably high concentration of Red Dwarf actors. Jennifer Calvert is in all but one of the 33 episodes, and Danny, Chloë, Emile Charles, Lucy Briers, Geoffrey Beevers and Richard O’Callaghan all make guest appearances.

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