Actors in two hit series

pickarooney

Most of the time when a major hit series comes to an end half the cast disappears into oblivion, one or two make a few films and the others bounce around from one failed venture to another. To my mind it's rare to find an actor who comes right back to star in another hit series.

Ones that spring to mind are David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider, Baywatch) and Teri Hatcher (Lois and Clark, Desperate Housewives).

I thought of Matthew Fox but Party of Five didn't really kill in the ratings. Lee Majors (6 Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy) at a stretch but the Fall Guy didn't last too long for whatever reason.

What obvious ones am I missing?
Bryan Cranston maybe - I don't know what the viewing figures for Breaking Bad are like.
Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter)
Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Mr. Bean)
Ed O'Neill (Married... With Children, Modern Family)
David Duchovny (X-Files, Californication)
Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, How I met Your Mother)?

JerryHandbag

Joshua Jackson.

Dawsons Creek, Fringe. I prefer the latter

Sandwlch

Ricky Gervais.

The Office - Greatest TV Show Of All Time
Extras - Pretty darned good

Dman001

The likes of Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert started out on Saturday Night Live and ended up on successful TV Shows. Not sure if SNL really counts though, as many comedians started out on it.

Edit: Edie Falco-The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie

Skerries

David Boreanaz - Buffy/Angel, Bones
Michael Chiklis - The Commish, The Shield, No ordinary Family
Bill Bixby - My Favourite Martian, The Hulk, The Magician
Larry Hagman - I dream of jeannie, Dallas

McLoughlin

The greatest TV actor of all time Michael Landon 3 decades as a leading actor in a prime time role in 3 differant televison shows.

Bonanza 1959 - 1973
Little House On The Prairie 1974 to 1984
Highway To Heaven 1984 - 1989

Another great TV actor Tom Bosley

Happy Days 1974 - 1984
Murder She Wrote 1984 - 1989
Father Dowling Mysteries 1987 - 1991

Hugh Laurie House and Blackadder

phasers

How about Neil Flynn? The Middle does well and Scrubs was a hit show (at least I think it was :pac:)


Katey Sagal is another siccessful cast member from Married With Children. how does Sons or Anarchy do? She was in that Godawful comedy with John Ritter too, and Futurama obviously.

Corkfeen

These two sprung to mind for me. Both of them have a bit of a cult following from the shows they were on etc..
Kelsey Grammar - Cheers and Frasier (Playing the Same Character counts right?).
Richard Dean Anderson - Stargate and Macgyver.

McLoughlin

Corkfeen wrote: »

These two sprung to mind for me. Both of them have a bit of a cult following from the shows they were on etc..
Kelsey Grammar - Cheers and Frasier (Playing the Same Character counts right?).
Richard Dean Anderson - Stargate and Macgyver.

Oh Richard Dean Anderson well what about Amanda Tapping - Stargate and Sanctury

Kelsey Grammar doesn't count.

Revolution9

John Cleese- Monty Python and Fawlty Towers


The guy who played Angel in Buffy was in Angel and Buffy!

Kojak

Scott Bakula - Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Rubik.

David Jason - Open All Hours, Only Fools and Horses, Darlings Buds of May and A touch of Frost
John Thaw - The Sweeney, Home to Roost, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC
Dennis Waterman - The Sweeney, Minder, On the Up and New Tricks.
Kevin Whately - Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Inspector Morse and Lewis.
John Nettles - Bergerac and Midsomer Murders.
James Bolam - The Likely lads, Only when I laugh and New Tricks
Peter Davison - All Creatures Great and Small, Dr Who and The Last Detective
Todd Carthy - Grange hill, EastEnders and The Bill.
Joanna Lumley - The New Avengers, Sapphire and Steel and Absolutely Fabulous
David McCullum - The Man from Uncle, Sapphire and Steel, The Invisible Man and NCIS
Trever Eve - Shoestring and Waking the Dead
Ricky Tomlinson - Brookside, The Royle Family and Cracker
Sue Johnston - Brookside, The Royle Family and Waking the Dead
Martin Shaw - The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently
Gordon Jackson - Upstairs Downstairs and The Professionals
Dennis Franz - Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue
Paul Eddington - The Good Life and Yes Minister
Penelope Keith - The Good Life and to the Manor Born
Edward Woodward - Callan and The Equalizer
Leonard Rossiter - Rising Damp and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perin
Richard Beckinsale - Raising Damp and Porridge

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Adewale Akiinouye Agbaje (Oz, Lost)
Harold Perrineau Jr (Oz, Lost)
David Boreanaz (Buffy/Angel, Bones)
Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, HIMYM)
Seth Green (Buffy, Family Guy)
Mila Kunis (That 70s Show, Family Guy)
Ed O'Neill (Married With Children, Modern Family)
Katey Sagal (Married With Children, Futurama)
Jesse Spencer (Neighbours, House)
Ryan Kwanten (Home and Away, True Blood)
Neil Flynn (Scrubs, The Middle)
Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills 90210)
Alison Brie (Mad Men, Community)
Jensen Ackles (Dark Angel, Smallville, Supernatural)
Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter)
Lauren Velez (Oz, Dexter)
David Zayas (Oz, Dexter)
Edie Falco (Oz, The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie)
Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break, The Walking Dead)
Steve Buschemi (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire)
Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire)
JD Williams (Oz, The Wire)
Seth Gilliam (Oz, The Wire)
Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme)
Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme)
Lance Reddick (The Wire, Lost, Fringe)
Kirk Acevedo (Oz, Fringe)
Christopher Meloni (Oz, Law and Order: SVU)

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's plenty more.

phasers

Courtney Cox is another one, Cougar Town is successful right? And if she counts then Christa Miller does too.


Marcia Cross was in an American soap for years and years, as well as being in Desperate Housewives now. Kyle MacLachaln has been in a ton of successful programmes too.

Chris P. Bacon

Tom Selleck.

Magnum P.I.
Blue Bloods.

pickarooney

Some good suggestions there, and some terrible ones. Bear in mind the two basic criteria are 'star' and 'hit' so characters like Frasier in Cheers and Mr. Eko don't count, nor do shows that are scrapped before the end of the first series!

Basically, if the actor's name is not in the first couple of credits, or if he/she only appeared in a few episodes, forget about them - we could list thousands of those.

It's obviously easier to star in multiple hits in the UK, as exemplified by Rubik's list, with the smaller pool of talent, shorter series and lower number of channels, although I'd have my doubts about how many of those actors would be recognised outside of the UK and Ireland. Lumley most likely, possibly Jason, maybe Thaw.

I didn't include Gervais because I thought Extras was kind of a niche show but that was probably harsh. Bakula, Boreanaz, Bixby, Boxleitner would all have appeared early in the credits one way or another so those are all good shouts.

Michael Landon is a brilliant example.

sink

Nathan Fillion - Firefly & Castle

Colmo52

sink wrote: »

Nathan Fillion - Firefly & Castle

I was just about to post that!!!

KeanSeenan

Matt Le Blanc in Friends and Joey....riiiiiiight?

phasers

KeanSeenan wrote: »

Matt Le Blanc in Friends and Joey....riiiiiiight?

oh no you didn't!!!!!!!! *finger snap*

RolandIRL

Juliana Marigules (ER/The Good Wife)
Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal/Brothers & Sisters)

are about the only two i can think of that haven't been mentioned already

mike65

Dennis Waterman has made a career of long running hits - Sweeney and Minder were nearly back to back.

staker

Steve Buscemi-The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire.
Although he may have directed more episodes than starred in with regards to The Sopranos

colinod0806

phasers wrote: »

How about Neil Flynn? The Middle does well and Scrubs was a hit show (at least I think it was :pac:)


Katey Sagal is another siccessful cast member from Married With Children. how does Sons or Anarchy do? She was in that Godawful comedy with John Ritter too, and Futurama obviously.

how dare you, i will always love that show because its how i first fell in love with my future wife kaley cuoco:pac:

Rubik.

James Garner - Maverick and The Rockford Files
William Shatner - Star Trek, T.J. Hooker and The Practice/Boston Legal
Rodger Moore - The Saint and The Persuaders

phasers

colinod0806 wrote: »

how dare you, i will always love that show because its how i first fell in love with my future wife kaley cuoco:pac:

They carried on after John Ritter died. On set. shudder.


And Kaley Cuoco is another one who's been in more than one hit show! :cool:

pickarooney

Roger Moore is an interesting one. The Persuaders was kind of a flop in the US and only lasted one season, but it was huge in Europe.

Steve Buscemi? He had a mid-sized role in one season of the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire has had a total of 13 episodes so far. Besides, he's been a famous film actor for years. Absolutely does not fit the criteria. Nor does John Lithgow, for much the same reasons.

Katey Sagal is an interesting one. I was under the impression that Futurama was a bit of a niche series with poor viewing figures but it went for 6 seasons and picked up a few Emmys so she should be inducted. Shatner, also no doubt. Sci-Fi seems to be something of a theme. Which reminds me of Dirk Benedict (The A-Team, Battlestar Galactica). James Garner has had a string of successes, he makes it.

Two of you suggested Nathan Fillion, citing Firefly as a hit

Blue Bloods - hit series? Let it at least finish out the year!

We actually need Richard Dower to confirm whether the likes of Cougar Town and Brothers and Sisters are considered hits

I'm going to say Marcia Cross is a yes. Over a hundred episodes in two major soaps (which is what DH has been reduced to) - hard to argue that's star quality right there.

Matt LeBlanc is more or less the ultimate example of how difficult it can be to go from one hit show to another.

I'm on the fence about Lance Reddick. He shows up in everything but only The Wire and Fringe could be considered starring roles for him. How popular is Fringe?

How big was The Commish? I remember catching a few episodes on late night TV about 15 years ago but that's about the extent of my knowledge. No Ordinary Family is not, and will never be, a hit.

I personally gave up on The Middle after 10 episodes, assuming the network would follow suit. If it's a hit, so be it. Do we count Sarah Chalke for Roseanne (Scrubs was obviously a hit)?

phasers

I was thinking about Sarah Chalke, but IIRC she was kind of a replacement actor for another character so I couldn't decide whether to mention her.

The Middle is doing really well in the US it seems (I think it's total crap and want to murder the little kid in it but what the hey)

McLoughlin

Patrick Duffy came to mind today 1977-78 Man From Atlantis then Dallas from 78-85 and 86-91 then Step by Step from 91-98, Step by Step wasn't a sucess over here but was well liked in USA. So 20 years 3 differant leading roles

Rovi

How about Lucy Lawless?
Xena: Warrior Princess, (the new) Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus (2 series to date).

pickarooney

Rovi wrote: »

How about Lucy Lawless?
Xena: Warrior Princess, (the new) Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus (2 series to date).

She wasn't a major cast member in BSG, only appearing in 16 episodes. Put her on the 'pending' list as Spartacus has only had 1.5 seasons.

Man From Atlantis seems to have been popular outside the States, where it only lasted one season; I'm not sure about Duffy in this respect. I'm going to allow Roger Moore, having thought about it a bit as having played Bond in seven films he's proved he can go on from being associated with one famous character to incarnating another (with mitigated success).

horsey24787

Julie Bowen (Ed and modern family)
John Cleese (Monty Python and Fawlty Towers)

Richard Dower

Kojak wrote: »

Scott Bakula - Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise.

:eek: - you're taking the p!ss...right?

Richard Dower

Charlie Sheen - 2.5 men + Spin City

hardCopy

Edward James Olmos - Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica

Colmo52

Simon Cowell - American Idol and X-Factor

Colmo52

Mark Harmon - NCIS & Chicago Hope

Clareman

Dana Delaney - I always remember her from China Beach when I was younger, she was in Desperate Housewives as well, Body of Proof is just starting (I know, I know),

Clareman

Just thought of Hugh Laurie, Jeeves & Woochester, Blackadder (4 series) and House. In that vein, Stephen Fry, J&W, Blackadder and QI, I think he was a title actor in Bones for a while but can't be sure.

pickarooney

Richard Dower wrote: »

Charlie Sheen - 2.5 men + Spin City

He only joined Spin City when it was past its sell-by date. I'd be more inclined to include Michael J. Fox for Family Ties and Spin City.

hardCopy wrote: »

Edward James Olmos - Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica

Possibly, although Miami Vice didn't really hinge on his presence and he left after season 3.

Colmo52 wrote: »

Mark Harmon - NCIS & Chicago Hope

No question, these plus St. Elsewhere give him three starring roles.

Dana Delaney - no, joining a series for one year doesn't cut it. I'm not sure why I didn't include Hugh Laurie originally, possibly because he avoided the problem* by completely reinventing himself. Neil Patrick Harris did similar, ageing 15 years and making the reverse move from an unconventional MD to a comedy mainstay, although it's arguable if Dougie Howser was really a hit.

*Just as another way of looking at it, this is not about "hey, isn't that the guy that was in..." but "Ha!, it's Magnum!" (or the Joey conundrum).

Sinfonia

pickarooney wrote: »

Nor does John Lithgow, for much the same reasons.

Why, because he was only in one season of Dexter?

Even if that doesn't fit the criteria, I'd personally make an exception, because he was just so damn good.

pickarooney

Sinfonia wrote: »

Why, because he was only in one season of Dexter?

Even if that doesn't fit the criteria, I'd personally make an exception, because he was just so damn good.

Yes, because he was only in one season, and not even from the start. The show didn't live or die because of him.

Kyle Chandler is a possibility - star of Homefront, Early Edition and Friday Night Lights but were any of them truly hits?

RolandIRL

pickarooney wrote: »

Two of you suggested Nathan Fillion, citing Firefly as a hit

Firefly wasn't popular when it was on air, but it has huge DVD sales, same with its tie-in film Serenity.

pickarooney

whiteman19 wrote: »

Firefly wasn't popular when it was on air, but it has huge DVD sales, same with its tie-in film Serenity.

Fair enough, but it's still very much a niche success and there was only one series. I reckon if you showed his photo to 100 people more would recognise him from Desperate Housewives than anything else.

iguana

Zachary Levi, Chuck and nearly as long on the godawful Less Than Perfect.

Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls and Parenthood.

Sarah Lancaster, Chuck and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, plus Everwood and What About Brian(2 seasons, so not a huge hit).

Mark Paul Gosselar, Saved by the Bell and NYPD Blue.

Maura Tierney, ER and Newsradio.

Ming-Na, ER and SGU.

Julianna Margulies, ER and The Good Wife.

Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser MD and How I Met Your Mother.

Ian McShane, Lovejoy and Deadwood.

Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood and Justified.

William Sanderson, Deadwood and True Blood.

Shannon Doherty, Charmed and Beverly Hills 90210.

Jennie Garth, Beverly Hills 90210 and What I Like About You.

Alyssa Milano, Charmed and Who's the Boss.

Tony Danza, Taxi and Who's the Boss.

Judd Hirsch, Taxi, Dear John and Numbers.

Judith Light, Who's the Boss and Ugly Betty.

Do we count Roswell?
Katherine Heigl, +Grey's Anatomy. Emilie de Raven, +Lost.

Then once you take Australian soapstars into account you have,
Ryan Kwanten. 3 years (min) on True Blood, 5 years on Home and Away.

Julian McMahon, Home and Away, Charmed (3 seasons credits as "starring"), Nip Tuck.

Alan Dale, Neighbours, The OC and Ugly Betty.

Jesse Spenser, Neighbours and House.

Not to mention all those who did long stints on both soaps.

im invisible

Harold Perrineau, Lost/ OZ (edit, just noticed he's mentioned already)

prob. only known in britain/ireland, but
Andrew Lincoln, this life/ teachers

Nhead

im invisible wrote: »

Harold Perrineau, Lost/ OZ (edit, just noticed he's mentioned already)

prob. only known in britain/ireland, but
Andrew Lincoln, this life/ teachers

Andrew Lincoln is also in The Walking Dead (US series)

SB-08

Ted Danson - Cheers and Becker. Also the fantastic 'Damages' although he is not the main actor in it.

Rob Lowe with The West Wing and Brothers and Sisters is another that comes to mind.

pickarooney

It might seem like I'm shifting the goalposts but none of those Aussie soap stars count. Home and Away and Neighbours must have had 1000 'stars' between them but only the likes of Ray Meagher and Kate Ritchie could be seen as integral parts of the shows.

Danza, Dohery and Milano are all good shouts.

Perrineau was part of a large ensemble cast in two shows. I'd OK him for narrating Oz, though he didn't feature in many story arcs. He left Lost pretty quickly though and wouldn't be in the top 10 acting credits for the show.

I didn't realise the awful Becker had been so successful. Danson in!

Dozen Wicked Words

Olden but golden:

Robert Vaughn. Man from Uncle + Hustle

Kate Jackson. Scarecrow and Mrs King + Charlies Angels

Don Johnson. Miami Vice + Nash Bridges

Ronnie Barker. Open All Hours + Porridge

longshanks

Marylin left Summer Bay to go live in Emmerdale.