Badmovies.org Forum

One thing that bugs me is when a character shows up in a movie or TV show and is played by a different actor than the one who appeared in a previous movie or episode.

This happens a lot in James Bond movies (different Felix Leiters, different Ms, different Moneypennys . . . even different Bonds), but I'll give this one a Mulligan because the franchise has been around for so many years and the movies aren't really sequels . . . they are fine standing on their own as individual movies.

Here are a few that drive me nuts:

* The Lionel Jefferson who started out on ALL IN THE FAMILY was replaced by another guy who appeared frequently when THE JEFFERSONS got their own show.

* HAPPY DAYS had two different Chuck Cunninghams (and eventually, the character just mysteriously disappeared)

* The original WALKING TALL and its sequels had different Buford Pussers (Joe Don Baker and Bo Svenson) . . . and different Carl Pussers (Noah Beery and Forrest Tucker).  Then there was a TV movie with Brian Dennehy as Buford Pusser and a short-lived TV series with Bo Svenson (again).

Those are just a few.  Let's see how many we can come up with.

First example I thought of was Maria Bello replacing Raqhel Weiz in the last mummy movie.  The character (not just the actor) seemed completely different.

Then there was Maggie Gyllenhall replacing Katie Holmes in the new Batman movies.

Kristen Parker (From NOELS Part.III & IV) is played by two different actresses, Patricia Arquette and Tuesday Knight.

Those two are great examples of how changing a character can be a really, really, bad idea (bello) or a really, really, great idea( Gyllenhaal)..

The two Darren's in "Bewitched."

The two Becky's in "Roseanne."

Thomas Jane in The Punisher, Ray Stevenson in Punisher War Zone.

Michael Gambon taking over as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series.  I actually preferred him though over Richard Harris. 

To add to the confusion Mike Evans (the original Lionel) returned to the role in the last few seasons.

In Bewitched there were also two Gladys Kravitzes and two Louise Tates.

FUN FACT! Kasey Rogers, the second Lousie Tate, also played Farley Grainger's scheming wife in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. She's the one whose murder by Robert Walker is reflected in her glasses.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rp2rZVdcgwc/R5DEfjYlB4I/AAAAAAAAABg/REJ8DWgcrzw/s320/stranger_train+glasses.gif)

Julianne Moore taking over for Jodie Foster in Hannibal. 

I agree ~ that was a real what-the-hell moment for me. Julianne Moore is a talented actress but she wasn't Clarice Starling at all.  :smile:

This one really broke my heart.  I've seen Ray Stevenson in other things.  He is a much better actor than this movie shows, and he could have been an awesome Punisher.  But, he was saddled with a director who didn't know how utilize him properly, a horrible script, and two hokey villains.  The poor guy's career may never recover from this.

I remember when I first heard that Richard Harris would be playing Dumbledore: I was excited to see what he would do with the role, knowing Dumbledore from the books as a half-crazy, bizarre character. Harris could have done this wonderfully a few years earlier. Then I saw the movie and was very disappointed that they'd turned him into a perfectly reasonable, serious-minded mentor. They really dropped the ball there. That said, after Harris died and they brought in Gambon, the Dumbledore character worked much better. Gambon still plays a too-serious headmaster, but he does it well, even if he looks too much like the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr).

iirc there was even a funny in-joke on the show when the 1st Becky came back about her appearance changing.

One that always grated on my nerves, and this is not live action, but when Daws Butler subbed for Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble on the Flintstones for a few episodes. Something about it was just very wrong.

The producers of the 90s Batman movies missed out on a golden opportunity in not casting Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face for the third movie as he was Harvey Dent in the previous two. Instead Tommy Lee Jones came off as a second rate imitation of the Joker/Riddler with very little characterization of his own.

Good one . . . even when I was a little kid I noticed the difference and I didn't like it.

From what I understand-War Zone isn't really a sequal.  They just decided to start the movie franchise again and start again.  Kind of how The Incredible Hulk isn't really a sequel to the first Hulk movie.

"Yeah, just replace Dick York with Dick Sargent. We'll run the credits fast and nobody'll know the difference." :teddyr:

I always refer to Bewitched as the show with two Dicks.

I was gonna submit that one.  I was like, "They don't look a damn thing alike!!!"

How about Peter Weller being replaced by Robert John Burke in the 3rd Robocop.

Darth Vader - first he was James Earl Jones, then he's...Hayden Christenson.  WTF?!?!  That really didn't work for me.

That's probably the most convoluted one of all. First he's David Prowse voiced by James Earl Jones (added at the last minute), then he's Sebastian Shaw, then he's Hayden Christensen, then Christensen voiced by Jones, then Shaw got digitally replaced by Christensen, and I'm not even including young Anakin. George Lucas is one decisive fellow.

That and Patricia Arquette can actually act. 

The ultimate...The Griswald kids in the Vacation movies.  I love how in Vegas Vacation they do an inside joke on that. 

Miami Vice had tons of actors, who had parts in 3 or 4 episodes, where they'd play different characters everytime. John Leguizamo played Orlando Claderone in a major storyline that closed season 2, was back in season 3 being killed in the conclusion and then appeared again in season 5 as another character!  :lookingup:

David Watson as Cornelius in Beneath the Planet of the Apes...one really misses Roddy McDowall. Was happy he came back to the role later on.

Believe it or not, the WWF tried to replace their wrestling characters one time and we got a fake Diesel and a fake Razor Ramon. Really it should have been no one's surprise that it would bomb with fans, disappointed they weren't given the originals, big time.

I loved it when they did that. It was so hilarious!  :bouncegiggle:

Ohhhh yes, I remember that too.  Believe it or not, the Fake Diesel was the same guy who later went on to play Kane, Glen Jacobs.

Oh man, I hate that too. The daughter is hideous in European Vacation, while she's HOT in Vegas Vacation. Oh, and in the first 2 movies the daughter is younger than the son, while in Christmas Vacation she's older than her brother.

Oh, and anyone remember the noe Kevin in Home Alone 4. Not only are there different actors for the same characters from the first 2 movies, and Marv looks like Harry, but Kevin is younger than he should be. :question: