Actors in two hit series

I'm just not buying Timothy Olyphant. Deadwood was axed for poor ratings, Justified is a new show and not well known and honestly I wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line-up. If I'm not mistaken he featured heavily in a thread a few months back on actors who didn't get enough work, which is kind of contradictory.

I'll take Betty White and also Ed Asner by association.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'd count Busy Phillips then too. She was in Freaks & Geeks (she wasn't in the opening credits but was in almost every episode), Dawson's Creek for 46 episodes, ER for 14 and now Cougar Town.

I know F&G was cancelled after one season but it's one of those cult shows. And if we're counting F&G then count Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Linda Cardellini (ER) and John Francis Daley (Bones) too.

Forget about Freaks and Geeks. Much as I loved it, it failed.

Jane Krakowski - Ally McBeal and 30 Rock.

That's more like it.

Jared Padalecki maybe? Gilmore Girls and Supernatural.

Probably not a household name, but borderline.

Oh and the woman who played Sookie on Gilmore Girls is in that thing about the fat people now. I think it's only had one season but it's a big hit as far as I know.

Come on! You don't know her name or the show she was in!

Ron Rifkin - Alias and Brothers and Sisters.

More of a 'that guy from'

Greg Grunberg - Alias and Heroes.

as above.

Does Everwood count as a successful show? Emily van Camp was on that and Brothers and Sisters.

Who?

Much as I hated Spencer For Hire, I have to admit Robert Urich.

Does the term 'guest star' not mean anything to you?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

OK another one who's name I don't know and can't be bothered to look up, but, she's in Brothers and Sisters and was in 30 Something back in the day. I'm sure one of you older types knows her name....

Patricia Wettig? I've never seen Brothers and Sisters but it sounds like a good call. Is the show any good, while we're on the subject?

Tiffany (Amber) Thiessen is a maybe. The quality of the shows is of absolutely no consequence.

Milo Ventimiglia is a no, Lauren Graham is a likely yes, but I'm not quite convinced of its hit status. Peter Krause's admission depends on the same.

Amanda Seyfried was in Veronica Mars for all of five minutes (hint: ). Mac wasn't really a main character either, only coming into the show later on. Enrico Colantoni is borderline. Fact is, Veronica Mars did not do as well as it should have both in terms of viewers and the dramatic dip in quality in season 3.

I had to guess who Johnny Galecki was (I was right ) and I remembered him only as a peripheral character in Roseanne, but I see he was in 92 episodes and both Roseanne and TBBT would count as hits. He probably deserves a point.

Jeffrey Tambor is an interesting one. How many people have seen both Arrested Development and the Larry Sanders Show? If I remember correctly he played himself facing this exact problem in Entourage. Jeremy Piven, who would get halfway with Entourage, had a large number of appearances in the bizarely popular Ellen and a handful in TLSS but that's not enough to merit a credit.

Chris Noth - over 40 appearances as Mr. Big as well... while technically not a starring role, he does have a huge "hey it's X!" quotient. I don't know enough about those Law and Order franchises and have never seen the Good Wife but he's a distinct possibility.

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Alison Brie - Community and Mad Men

Much as I love Trudy she's not a primary cast member.

Rosemarie DeWitt - Mad Men and United States of Tara

Bizarely I'd never realised Tara's sister and Midge were the same actress even though I loathed them to the exact same degree. Needless to say she's not a star in the Mad Men world.

John Corbett - Northern Exposure and Sex and the City and United States of Tara

Star billing on two niche shows and a recurring role on a big hit... almost makes it, I'd say.

Rob Morrow - Northern Exposure and Numbers

Interesting one. Entirely depends on what constitutes a hit.

I would have pegged Samantha Who? as Applegate's "Joey" show but it seems not to have done so badly. A hit though? Not sure.

I've been convinced of Chris Noth's credentials with The Good Wife. I might even watch is some time.

I'm going to go with Julie Louis-Dreyfus. TNAOOC was a pile of cack but it ran for 5 seasons and won Emmys. Extra credit for appearing in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm centred around Jason Alexander's inability to find work after Costanza.

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Heather Locklear

Dynasty - Melrose Place - Spin City

And TJ Hooker. A no-brainer. I thought Morgan Fairchild would be a shoo-in as well but she's had more of a nomadic career.

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Holland Taylor

The Naked Truth - The Practice - Two and a Half Men

Seems to fit the bill.

Someone mentioned Larry Hagman a while back, which I forgot to acknowledge.

Clareman wrote: »

Kevin McKidd - Rome and Grey's Anatomy

Is that Tommy from Trainspotting? Big to little screen actors can be tricky. For some, it's a step down from Hollywood (too many examples to list), for others a career-maker (e.g. James Gandolfini), others, like the ubiquitous Mr. Sheen make out like bandits either way.

That guy will always be Tommy to me. That reminds me, I must really get round to watching the rest of Rome...