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Actors cast more than once as different characters--good or bad?

^Well, less so in the '60s than the '80s-'00s. The majority of the "aliens" we saw in TOS were just humans with odd clothes, hairstyles, and sometimes complexions. We got full-mask monsters like the Gorn or Salt Vampire from time to time, but it was unusual to get aliens with the actors' features visible under facial prosthetics. The only ones I can think of are the Talosians, the Tellarites, and the Vians. Not counting Andorians since they had fully visible faces. And I thought of Ruk, but he just had a bald cap.

But the later shows definitely got a lot of mileage out of people like Vaughn Armstrong, Jeffrey Combs, Randy Oglesby, Scott McDonald, and Lee Arenberg by having them play multiple different aliens. They even managed to sneak in some familiar faces, like having Aron Eisenberg as a Kazon, Ethan Phillips as a human holodeck character and a Ferengi (the one in ENT, since he wasn't familiar yet when he played one in TNG), Rene Auberjonois as a Kantare, etc.
 
And Mark Lenard not only appeared on the show as two different characters, but wearing essentially the same alien makeup in both roles....
 
Nevermind guest actors, Shatner played both Jim Kirk and his brother Sam in Operation Annihilate.

I think this is the only time in TOS that one of the regulars played another character, even though we only see Sam for about a second or two onscreen. (Not counting James Doohan's voice work, of course, or Majel playing Number One and Chapel, I never considered her to be a regular member of the cast)
 
^Understandable in that case, since they were going for a family resemblance.

I'm sure that a lot of the actors being put on people's lists of exceptions would have done just fine if they'd been given another role in the show--for example, I'm sure William Windom could have done a character who wasn't a starship captain having a breakdown and been almost unrecognizable as Decker. Likewise, some of the actors who did play two roles would certainly be on those lists if they hadn't (Mark Lenard, William Campbell...).
 
Push The Button said:
I think this is the only time in TOS that one of the regulars played another character, even though we only see Sam for about a second or two onscreen. (Not counting James Doohan's voice work, of course, or Majel playing Number One and Chapel, I never considered her to be a regular member of the cast)
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Well, technically, Shatner also played an Exo III android, Sargon, Garth of Izar, and Janice Lester (and Martia), Nimoy also played Henoch and Garth (and arguably the Horta), and Kelley played the Salt Vampire. Not to mention the entire main cast playing their Mirror Universe doubles at least briefly. But aside from that, no, I guess Sam Kirk is the only time that one of the regulars played a character who wasn't meant to be either occupying or duplicating their primary character. (Although putting on a moustache and lying on the floor doesn't really count as playing a character.)
 
The Old Mixer said:
And Mark Lenard not only appeared on the show as two different characters, but wearing essentially the same alien makeup in both roles....
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They also wanted Lenard to play Lincoln in "The Savage Curtain". He was willing to do it, but he was doing another series at the time and the scheduling didn't work out.
 
t_smitts said:
They also wanted Lenard to play Lincoln in "The Savage Curtain". He was willing to do it, but he was doing another series at the time and the scheduling didn't work out.
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The Old Mixer said:
^That I would like to have seen.
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Nerys Myk said:
And Lawrence Montaigne played Decius and Stonn.
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That, I never noticed.
 
Course, it would have been kind of odd having Lenard in an episode playing opposite somebody else as Surak....We'd all be looking at Lincoln and thinking, "he could do such a better job at that...!"
 
Christopher said:
Push The Button said:
I think this is the only time in TOS that one of the regulars played another character, even though we only see Sam for about a second or two onscreen. (Not counting James Doohan's voice work, of course, or Majel playing Number One and Chapel, I never considered her to be a regular member of the cast)
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Well, technically, Shatner also played an Exo III android, Sargon, Garth of Izar, and Janice Lester (and Martia), Nimoy also played Henoch and Garth (and arguably the Horta), and Kelley played the Salt Vampire. Not to mention the entire main cast playing their Mirror Universe doubles at least briefly. But aside from that, no, I guess Sam Kirk is the only time that one of the regulars played a character who wasn't meant to be either occupying or duplicating their primary character. (Although putting on a moustache and lying on the floor doesn't really count as playing a character.)
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I remember trying to convince a friend of mine, back in the pre-internet 80s, that it was indeed Shatner doubling as Sam Kirk, since it was such a brief shot, and we didn't have the episode on tape so we couldn't pause and analyze the scene.

Oh, and Mark Lenard was awesome, and it was great that he was able to reprise Sarek in the movies and on TNG.
 
Columbo had the same actors play several different murderers. (And Nimoy play the best one)

It's not a problem, so long as the script and the makeup differentiate them and the actor is good enough to differentiate the performances.
 
I really never thought of it possibly being "bad." It's just how TV was. Morgan Woodward played different characters on at least a dozen Gunsmokes, and a bunch of Wagon Trains and Bonanzas, too.

BTW I have to mention one of my favorite TOS repeat guest stars since she hasn't come up: the lovely Barbara Babcock. Four episodes, if you count voice work.
 
J.T.B. said:
I really never thought of it possibly being "bad." It's just how TV was. Morgan Woodward played different characters on at least a dozen Gunsmokes, and a bunch of Wagon Trains and Bonanzas, too.

BTW I have to mention one of my favorite TOS repeat guest stars since she hasn't come up: the lovely Barbara Babcock. Four episodes, if you count voice work.
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Indeed. I can't say it bothered me at the time. As discussed, people may be more sensitive to it these days now that home video allows people to rewatch old episodes more easily.

And it wasn't just a TV thing. Watch a lot of old movies from a given studio during a given era and you'll plenty of familiar faces popping up. And lots of directors have their unofficial "repertory companies." Look at Hitchcock or John Ford . . . or even Woody Allen.
 
30 Rock did it with various SNL alums. They don't do it as much in drama now but they do it all the time in comedy.

It is true it was easier to get away with it back when TV was expected to be strictly episodic with no relation between episodes. And if an actor doesn't have very much range it weakens the drama to have basically the same character as multiple different characters with a major recurring role in your show. But if you've got a guy like Jeffrey Combs who is more than capable of seeming like several completely different people, it's not a problem at all.
 
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