This is a list of television programs in which one character was played by multiple actors. In numerous television programs, producers have cast multiple actors for the part of the same character.[1] This list does not include different actors briefly playing the same character at significantly different ages, but it does include actors playing the character continuously as the character ages. Actors are listed in chronological order, where possible. For a list specific to soap operas, see list of soap opera recasts.
#
A
- The A-Team (1983–1987). Character: Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck. Actors: Tim Dunigan (in the pilot), Dirk Benedict.
- Adventures of Superman. Character: Lois Lane. Actresses: Phyllis Coates, Noel Neill.
- The Adventures of William Tell (1950s). Character: Gessler's second in command, Frederick. Actors: Derren Nesbitt (first six episodes), Willoughby Gray (seventh episode), Jack Watling.
- Alice Character: Tommy Hyatt. Actors: Alfred Lutter (pilot – carry-over from original movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), Philip McKeon (rest of series).
- All American Character: JP Keating. Actors: Elvis Nolasco (2018–2020), Ray Campbell (2021–).
- All in the Family.
- 'Allo 'Allo!.
- Altered Carbon.
- Character: Takeshi Kovacs. Actors: Byron Mann (2134, Mercenary), Morgan Gao (Child Birth Sleeve), Will Yun Lee (2130, Birth Sleeve), Joel Kinnaman (2384, Elias Ryker sleeve), Jihae Kim (2414, Lounge Singer), Anthony Mackie (2414, combat sleeve).
- Character: Reileen Kawahara. Actors: Dichen Lachman (Birth Sleeve and several cloned sleeves), Riley Lai Nelet (Child), Arnold Pinnock (2384, As Hemingway), Anna Von Hooft (2384, As Clarissa Severin), Maddie Dixon-Poirier (2384, As Little Girl), Martha Higareda (While impersonating Kristin Ortega).
- American Housewife.
- Another Period. Character: Hortence Bellacort. Actresses: Artemis Pebdani (pilot), Lauren Ash (first season), Lauren Flans (second season), Donna Lynne Champlin (third season).
- Arrested Development. Character: Ann Veal. Actresses: Alessandra Torresani (1 episode), Mae Whitman.
- Arrow (2012–2020). Character: Sara Lance. Actresses: Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (pilot), Caity Lotz (seasons 2–8).
B
C
- Cadfael. Character: Hugh Beringar. Actors: Sean Pertwee (four episodes), Eoin McCarthy five episodes and Anthony Green for the final three episodes.
- Charmed. Character: Victor Bennett. Actors: Anthony Denison (one episode, where his last name was Halliwell), James Read.
- Cheers. Character: Gary. Actors: Alternating between Joel Polis and Robert Desiderio.
- Citizen Smith. Character: Charles “Charlie” Johnson. Actors: Arto Morris (pilot only), Peter Vaughan (Series 1–2), Tony Steedman (Series 3–4; 1980 Christmas special).
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1998).
- The Crown (2016–2023).
- Character: Queen Elizabeth II. Actresses: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton.
- Character: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Actors: Matt Smith, Tobias Menzies, Jonathan Pryce.
- Character: Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. Actresses: Vanessa Kirby, Helena Bonham Carter, Lesley Manville.
- Character: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Actresses: Victoria Hamilton, Marion Bailey, Marcia Warren.
- Character: Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Actors: Greg Wise, Charles Dance.
- Character: Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. Actors: Alex Jennings, Derek Jacobi.
- Character: Wallis, Duchess of Windsor. Actresses: Lia Williams, Geraldine Chaplin.
- Character: Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon. Actors: Matthew Goode, Ben Daniels.
- Character: Anne, Princess Royal. Actors: Erin Doherty, Claudia Harrison.
- Character: Charles, Prince of Wales. Actors: Josh O'Connor, Dominic West.
- Character: Diana, Princess of Wales. Actors: Emma Corrin, Elizabeth Debicki.
- Character: Camilla Parker Bowles. Actors: Emerald Fennell, Olivia Williams.
- Cuckoo. Character: Rachel Thompson. Actresses: Tamla Kari (series one), Esther Smith.
D
- Dallas.
- Dark Shadows (1966–1971). Character: Willie Loomis. Actors: James Hall (4 episodes), John Karlen (106 episodes).
- Days of Our Lives. Character: Roman Brady. Actors: Wayne Northrop, Josh Taylor.
- Deep Space Nine. Character: Ishka. Actresses: Andrea Martin, Cecily Adams.
- Diff'rent Strokes. Character: Maggie McKinney-Drummond. Actresses: Dixie Carter, Mary Ann Mobley.
- dinnerladies. Character: Norman. Actors: Andrew Livingston (series 1), Adrian Hood (series 2).
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Character: Colleen Cooper. Actresses: Erika Flores, Jessica Bowman.
- Doctor Who (1963–).
- Character: The Doctor. Actors: William Hartnell (1963–1966, 1973), Patrick Troughton (1966–1969, 1973, 1983, 1986), Jon Pertwee (1970–1974, 1983, 1993), Tom Baker (1974–1981), Peter Davison (1981–1984, 1993, 2007, 2022), Richard Hurndall (1983 – replacement for Hartnell), Colin Baker (1984–1986, 1993, 2022), Michael Jayston (1986),[4] Sylvester McCoy (1987–1989, 1993, 1996, 2022), Paul McGann (1996, 2013, 2022), Christopher Eccleston (2005), David Tennant (2005–2010, 2013, 2022-2023), Matt Smith (2010–2013), John Hurt (2013), Peter Capaldi (2013–2017), David Bradley (2017, 2022, for Hartnell), Jodie Whittaker (2018–2022), Jo Martin (2020-2022), Ncuti Gatwa (2023-).[5]
- Character: Romana. Actresses: Mary Tamm (1978–1979), Lalla Ward (1979–1981).
- Character: The Master. Actors: Roger Delgado (1971–1973), Peter Pratt (1977), Geoffrey Beevers (1981), Anthony Ainley (1981–1989), Gordon Tipple (1996), Eric Roberts (1996), Derek Jacobi (2007), John Simm (2007–2010, 2017), Michelle Gomez (2014–2017).[6][7]Sacha Dhawan (2020-2022).
- Character: Rassilon. Actors: Richard Mathews, Timothy Dalton, Donald Sumpter, Don Warrington (voice).
- Character: Davros. Actors: Michael Wisher (1975), David Gooderson (1979), Terry Molloy (1982–1988), Julian Bleach (2008, 2015).
- Character: River Song. Actresses: Alex Kingston, Sydney Wade, Nina Toussaint-White, Maya Glace-Green.
- Character: Borusa. Actors: Angus MacKay (1976), John Arnatt (1978), Leonard Sachs (1983), Philip Latham (1983).
- Character: The General. Actors: Ken Bones (2013–2015), T'Nia Miller (2015).
- Character: Jamie McCrimmon. Actors: Frazer Hines, Hamish Wilson (only: The Mind Robber episodes 2–3).
- I Dream of Jeannie. Character: Tony Nelson. Actors: Larry Hagman, Wayne Rogers (I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later).
- Dream of the Red Chamber. Character: Jia Yingchun. Actresses: Jin Lili and Mu Yi.
- Dynasty.
- Dynasty (2017 TV series).
E
F
G
- Game of Thrones.
- Game On.
- The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. Character: Harry Morton. Actors: Hal March, John Brown, Fred Clark, Larry Keating.
- Ghost Whisperer. Character: Ned Banks. Actors: Tyler Patrick Jones and Christoph Sanders.
- Ghostwriter.
- Character: Gaby Fernandez. Actresses: Melissa Gonzalez, Mayteana Morales.
- Character: Reggie Jenkins (Jamal's father). Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Dean Irby.
- Character: Mr. Frazier (Lenni's father). Actors: Richard Cox, Keith Langsdale.
- Gilligan's Island. Character: Ginger Grant. Actresses: Kit Smythe (pilot), Tina Louise, Judith Baldwin (Rescue From Gilligan's Island and The Castaways on Gilligan's Island), Constance Forslund (The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island).
- The Goldbergs. Character: Adam Goldberg. Actors: Sean Giambrone, Patton Oswalt (adult Adam narrating the episodes).
- The Golden Girls. Character: Big Daddy. Actors: Murray Hamilton, David Wayne.
- Gotham (TV series). Character: Selina Kyle. Actresses: Camren Bicondova, Lili Simmons(finale only).
- Grace Under Fire (1992–1998).
- Grounded For Life. Character: Dan O'Keefe. Actors: Floyd Van Buskirk (2001), Gregory Jbara (2002–2005).
- Growing Pains (1985–1992).
- Character: Carol Seaver. Actresses: Elizabeth Ward (1985) (pilot, can be glimpsed in first episode wide shot), Tracy Gold (1985–92), Judith Barsi (1988) (1 episode flashback).
- Character: Chrissy Seaver. Actresses: Kirsten Dohring & Kelsey Dohring (1988–1990) (contemporaneously due to child labor laws), Ashley Johnson (1990–92), Khrystyne Haje (1990) (1 episode flash forward).
- Character: Mike Seaver. Actor: Kirk Cameron (1985–1992), Victor DiMattia (1988) (1 episode flashback).
H
- Hamish Macbeth (1995–1997). Character: Lachlan McCrae, Sr. Actors: Jimmy Yuill (Series 1), Billy Riddoch (Series 2–3).
- Hannibal (2014–2015). Character: Mason Verger, Actors: Michael Pitt (Season 2), Joe Anderson (Season 3).
- Happy Days (1974–1984).
- The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020).
- Character: Danielle Clayton. Actors: Elizabeth Allhands (young), Victoria Pedretti.
- Character: Jamie Taylor. Actors: Amelia Eve, Carla Gugino (old).
- Character: Edmund O’Mara. Actors: Daxton Gujral (young), Roby Attal.
- Character: Owen Sharma. Actors: Rahul Kohli, Kamal Khan (old).
- Character: Viola Willoughby-Lloyd. Actors: Kate Siegel, Daniela Dib (as the Lady of the Lake).
- Character: Flora Wingrave. Actors: Alice Comer (young), Amelie Bea Smith, Christie Burke (old).
- Character: Henry Wingrave. Actors: Henry Thomas, Duncan Fraser (old).
- Character: Miles Wingrave. Actors: Kasen Kelly (young), Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Thomas Nicholson (old).
- The Haunting of Hill House (2018).
- Heroes.
- Character: Hiro Nakamura. Actors: Masi Oka (main actor), Garrett Masuda, Sekai Murashige and Mikey Kawata. The other actors were seen in the same time period with Masi Oka via time travel.
- Character: Charlie Andrews. Actresses: Jayma Mays, K Callan.
- Character: Molly Walker. Actresses: Adair Tishler (original series), Francesca Eastwood (Heroes: Reborn).
I
J
K
L
M
- Mad About You.
- Mad Men. Character: Robert "Bobby" Draper. Actors: Maxwell Huckabee, Aaron Hart, Jared Gilmore.
- Maude.
- Make Room For Daddy. Character: Terry Williams. Actresses: Sherry Jackson, Penney Parker
- M*A*S*H.
- Me, Myself & I.
- Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.
- Mike and Angelo. Character: Angelo. Actors: Tyler Butterworth, Tim Whitnall.
- Mixed-ish.
- Character: Rainbow Johnson. Actresses: Arica Himmel, Tracee Ellis Ross(as an adult narrating the episodes, as well as being seen in flash-forwards, and in young Rainbow's mirror.).
- Monday Night RAW. Character: Doink the Clown. Actors: Matt Osborne, Steve Keirn (a "double Doink", concurrently with Osborne), Steve Lombardi, Ray Apollo.
- Monk.
- The Munsters. Character: Marilyn Munster. Actresses: Beverly Owen, Pat Priest, Debbie Watson (Munster, Go Home!), Jo McDonnell (The Munsters' Revenge). In the pilot episode, the roles of Lily Munster and Eddie Munster were played by different actors.
- My Hero. Character: Thermoman. Actors: Ardal O'Hanlon, James Dreyfus.
- My Parents Are Aliens. Character: Sophie Johnson. Actors: Barbara Durkin, Carla Mendonça.
- My Wife and Kids.
N
O
P
- Paper Girls (2022).
- Character: Tiffany Quilkin. Actors: Camryn Jones (1988), Sekai Abenì (1999).
- Character: Erin Tieng. Actors: Riley Lai Nelet (1988), Ali Wong (2019).
- Character: KJ Brandman. Actors: Sofia Rosinsky (1988), Delia Cunningham (1999).
- Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Character: Parker's mother. Actors: Anne Bloom, Mary Ellen Trainor.
- Party of Five. Character: Owen Salinger. Actors: Alexander and Zachary Ahnert, Brendan and Tyler Porter, Andrew and Stephen Cavarno, and Jacob Smith.
- The Partridge Family. Character: Chris Partridge. Actors: Jeremy Gelbwaks, Brian Forster[1]
- Pee-wee's Playhouse. Character: The King of Cartoons. Actors: Gilbert Lewis (first season), William H. Marshall (subsequent seasons).
- Peter the Great. Character: Tsar Peter the Great. Actors: Maximilian Schell, Jan Niklas, Graham McGrath.
- Petticoat Junction.
- Phyllis. Character: Julie Erskine. Actresses: Barbara Colby and Liz Torres.
- Picket Fences. Character: Myrian Wambaugh. Actresses: Ann Morgan Guilbert and Erica Yohn.
- Power Rangers Turbo. Character: Divatox and Dimitria. Actresses: Carol Hoyt and Hilary Shepard Turner. Hilary played in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, then replaced Carol after several episodes.
- The Prisoner.
- Character: Number Six. Actors: Patrick McGoohan, Nigel Stock (episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling")
- Character: Number Two. Actors: George Baker, David Bauer, Patrick Cargill, Georgina Cookson, Guy Doleman, Clifford Evans, Colin Gordon, Kenneth Griffith, Rachel Herbert, Leo McKern, Mary Morris, Derren Nesbitt, Eric Portman, Anton Rodgers, John Sharp, Andre Van Gyseghem, Peter Wyngarde.
- Private Practice. Character: Naomi Bennett. Actors: Merrin Dungey (in the backdoor pilot episode), Audra McDonald.
- Psych.
R
- Red Dwarf.
- Roseanne (1988–1997).
- Character: Rebecca "Becky" Conner-Healy. Actresses: Lecy Goranson (seasons 1–5 and 8), Sarah Chalke. (seasons 6, 7, 8 as guest star, 9).[1][3]
- Character: David Jacob "DJ" Conner. Actors: Sal Barone (in the pilot), Michael Fishman.
- Character: Lonnie Anderson. Actors: Josh C. Williams (1988–1989), Luke Edwards (1989), Kristopher Kent Hill (1991–1994).
- Character: Audrey Conner. Actors: Ann Wedgeworth, Debbie Reynolds.
S
- Saved by the Bell. Character: Derek Morris. Actors: Robert Pine, John Sanderford.
- Seinfeld.
- Serenade of Peaceful Joy. Character: Huirou (Princess Fukang). Actors: Ren Min (Adult), He Sitian (Teenager), Ren Feier (Pre-teen), Zhang Yuyi (Child), Su Yike (Toddler).
- Sense8. Character: Capheus "Van Damme" Onyango. Actors: Aml Ameen (2015), Toby Onwumere (2016)
- Sesame Street.
- Shameless. Character: Carl Gallagher. Actors: Luke Tittensor (2004), Elliott Tittensor (2004–present).[10]
- Sharp Objects (2018). Character: Camille Preaker. Actors: Sophia Lillis (young), Amy Adams.
- Shazam! Character: Captain Marvel. Actors: Jackson Bostwick, John Davey.
- The Six Million Dollar Man.
- Smallville. Character: Morgan Edge. Actors: Rutger Hauer, Patrick Bergin.
- Spartacus. Character: Spartacus. Actors: Andy Whitfield (First season) and Liam McIntyre (Seasons third and fourth).
- Split. Character: Carmel. Actresses: Anna Zaikin (2009) and Agam Rodberg (2010–2012).
- Stargate SG-1. Character: Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Actresses: Jessica Steen (2 episodes), Torri Higginson.
- Station Eleven (2021–2022).
- The Son. Character: Eli McCulloch. Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Jacob Lofland.
- Superboy.
- Star Trek. Character:Christopher Pike. Actors: Jeffrey Hunter.
- Supergirl.
- Superman & Lois.
- Character: Jonathan Kent. Actors: Jordan Elsass and Michael Bishop.
- Survivors. Character: Lizzie Willoughby. Actresses: Tanya Ronder (1975–1976) and Angie Stevens (1977).[11]
- Sweet Valley High. Character: Todd Wilkins. Actors: Ryan Bittle (1994–1996) and Jeremy Garrett (1996–1997).
- Sydney to the Max. Character: Max Reynolds. Actors: Ian Reed Kesler(adult), Jackson Dollinger(child).
T
- 'Til Death. Character: Allison Stark. Actresses: Krysten Ritter, Laura Clery, Lindsey Broad, Kate Micucci .
- That '70s Show.
- The Andy Griffith Show.
- The Office. Character: Pam's Mother. Actresses: Shannon Cochran, Linda Purl.
- The Time Traveler's Wife.
- Character: Claire Abshire. Actresses: Rose Leslie(adult), Caitlin Shorey and Everleigh McDonnell (younger).
- Character: Henry DeTamble. Actors: Theo James(adult), Brian Artemus and Jason David (younger).
- The Way Home.
- Character: Elliot Augustine. Actors: Evan Williams and David Webster.
- Character: Kat Landry. Actresses: Chyler Leigh and Alex Hook.
- This Is Us.
- Character: William Hill. Actors: Ron Cephas Jones, Jermel Nakia(as a young man).
- Character: Kate Pearson. Actresses: Chrissy Metz (as an adult in the present), Mackenzie Hancsicsak (as a child), Hannah Zeile (as a teen).
- Character: Kevin Pearson. Actors: Justin Hartley (as an adult in the present), Parker Bates (as a child), Logan Shroyer (as a teen).
- Character: Nick Pearson. Actors: Michael Angarano (as a young man), Griffin Dunne (present day).
- Character: Randall Pearson. Actors: Sterling K. Brown (as an adult in the present), Lonnie Chavis (as a child), Niles Fitch (as a teen).
- Too Close for Comfort. Character: Arthur Wainwright. Actors: Hamilton Camp, Graham Jarvis.
- Two and a Half Men. Character: Delores Pasternak. Actresses: Missi Pyle, Alicia Witt.
- Two Guys and a Girl. Characters: Berg's Parents. Actors: Howard Hesseman, Steve Landesberg, Cheryl Ladd, Bo Derek.
- True Blood. Character: James. Actors: Luke Grimes, Nathan Parsons.
V
- V. Character: Elizabeth. Actresses: Jenny Beck and Jennifer Cooke.
- The Vampire Diaries. Character: Silas. Actors: Paul Wesley, Raymond Scott Parks, Jason Spisak, Camille Guaty, Jasmine Guy, David Alpay, Candice Accola, Steven R. McQueen, Claire Holt, Ian Somerhalder, Joseph Morgan, Zach Roerig, Marguerite MacIntyre, Matthew Davis and Nina Dobrev.
W
Y
- Young Rock. Character: Dwayne Johnson. Actors: Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, and Dwayne himself.
- Young Sheldon.
- Character: Sheldon Cooper. Actors: Iain Armitage, Jim Parsons (adult Sheldon narrating the episodes).
- Character: Amy Farrah Fowler. Actors: Lily Sanfelippo (1 episode), Mayim Bialik (adult Amy narrating 2 episodes).
- Character: Howard Wolowitz. Actors: Ethan Reed Stern (1 episode), Simon Helberg (adult Howard narrating 1 episode).
Z
- Z Nation. Character: Lucy Murphy. Actors: Cora M. Abdallah, Madelyn Grace, Bea Corley, Caitlin Carmichael, Kelly Washington, Tara Holt, Sara Coates, Madonna Magee.
- Zoo Doctor: My Mom the Vet.
- Character: Jonas Mertens. Actors: Ludwig Zimmeck, Lennart Betzgen.
- Character: Luisa Mertens. Actresses: Paula Hartmann, Deborah Mary Schneidermann, Lilly Wiedemann.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Veryan Khan (September 2001), Beacham's encyclopedia of social change, vol. 3, p. 1339, ISBN 9780933833661
- ^ "Bella Thorne talks about being the new Teenie on Big Love". 28 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d Jon Hein (2003), Jump the Shark, p. F-4, ISBN 9780452284104
- ^ see Valeyard
- ^ This list does not include stand-ins, impersonators, or portrayals in other media, such as Peter Cushing, who played the character for two theatrical films produced in the 1960s, or any stage portrayals, or audio adventure portrayals.
- ^ Due to the gender change, Gomez's version of the character is known as Missy, short for "The Mistress"
- ^ "The Master (Character)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ "Jennifer Grey". IMDb.
- ^ "Jana Marie Hupp". IMDb.
- ^ "Shameless UK Cast and Crew". TV.com. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ "Lizzie Willoughby Character Review". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
External links
- TV's most memorable recastings