Summary
Many actors stick to the roles that suit them best, but this can lead to actors playing practically identical characters in completely unrelated movies. There are plenty of actors who are known for playing Western gunslingers or film noir detectives, for example. It’s a little less common for actors to make two movies where they inhabit a similar niche role, and this leads to some strange coincidences.
Being typecast in Hollywoodis one thing, but choosing two weirdly similar roles is far weirder. Any actor can play a gangster or a soldier more than once without raising any eyebrows, but playing something a little rarer, like a stunt double or an animal sidekick, is unusual. Many different actors have taken on surprisingly similar roles during their careers, and it often seems like a conscious choice to draw parallels between two of their movies so that their body of work can be seen holistically.
10 Actors Who Are Great At Playing Cops & Detectives
Great cop movies need protagonists who are just as interesting as the cases they investigate, and the right actors can elevate these characters.
10Russell Crowe
The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) & The Exorcism (2024)
Although it’s fairly common for actors to play similar roles at some point if they enjoy a long career,Russell Crowe has recently played two strikingly similar characters just a year apart.The Pope’s Exorciststars Crowe as an exorcist working in Italy. 2024’sThe Exorcismhas a different angle, with Crowe playing a movie star, who is himself playing an exorcist.
The writers ofThe Exorcismpublicly hoped that the serendipity of the two movies being released so close together would give them a boost.
In a way, it seems as thoughThe Exorcismis a twist on the production ofThe Pope’s Exorcist,but there is no direct relation between the two movies. Thewriters ofThe Exorcismpublicly hoped that the serendipity of the two movies being released so close together would give them a boost.The Pope’s Exorcistreceived mixed reviews from critics, but it was a surprise box office hit.
9Michael Caine
Gambit (1966) & The Italian Job (1969)
For whatever reason, Michael Caine has always been drawn to heist movies. Perhaps it’s his tough guy persona which fits the archetype of on-screen British gangsters so well. He lends this roguish charm toHarry and Walter Go to New York, Now You See MeandKing of Thieves.Even considering this pattern, his characters inGambitandThe Italian Jobare strikingly similar.
For whatever reason, Michael Caine has always been drawn to heist movies. Perhaps it’s his tough guy persona which fits the archetype of on-screen British gangsters so well.
Both movies are among thebest heist moviesever, and Caine deserves credit for providing much of their allure.In both movies, he plays an affable cockney thief who delights in constructing elaborate schemes.The Italian Job’s Charlie Croker is the leader of a big gang, whileGambit’s Harry only recruits Nicole when he deems it to be strictly necessary, but the two men have a lot in common.
8Judi Dench
Mrs. Brown (1997) & Victoria and Abdul (2017)
Judi Dench doesn’t just play similar roles inMrs. BrownandVictoria and Abdul;she plays the exact same character. Both movies focus on one of Queen Victoria’s odd platonic relationships with male servants following the death of her husband. This means that not only does Dench play Victoria in both movies, but she’s dealing with a lot of the same emotions, and the two movies are structured in similar ways.
Dench has had the opportunity to play Victoria at two different stages of her life. It’s just a shame she didn’t begin sooner.
Dench has a supreme sense of gravitas that helps her play royalty.She also famously played Queen Elizabeth I inShakespeare in Love.Dench’s Victoria is more vulnerable and human than her Elizabeth, but both portrayals showcase her powerful screen presence. Dench has had the opportunity to play Victoria at two different stages of her life. It’s just a shame she didn’t begin sooner.
7Jeffrey Wright
The French Dispatch (2021) & American Fiction (2023)
Jeffrey Wright earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance inAmerican Fiction,but he had already played a similar character two years earlier inThe French Dispatch. American Fictionstars Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a highbrow author who achieves massive commercial success when he dumbs down his writing and plays up to the stereotypes of Black literature, with a story about inner-city strife written in AAVE.
Jeffrey Wright earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance inAmerican Fiction,but he had already played a similar character two years earlier inThe French Dispatch.
In Wes Anderson’sThe French Dispatch,Wright also plays an intellectual writer. Here, he is Roebuck Wright, a journalist seemingly based on James Baldwin, who uses his remit as a food critic to examine the world around him.Monk and Roebuck both have an unflappable sense of integrity.They want to stay true to who they are, even when Monk sees the racial stereotyping of the publishing world, and Monk sees the inside of a jail cell.
6Andy Serkis
Black Panther (2018) & Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Andy Serkis is most famous for his motion-capture work. After his brilliant performance as Gollum in Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy,he went on to star as the 21st century’s two most famous cinematic apes, King Kong in 2005 and Caesar in thePlanet of the Apesfranchise. He has taken on more live-action roles in recent years, but he has still found himself playing similar characters even when he’s a human.
Luther: The Fallen Sunis more grounded thanBlack Panther,but Serkis' characters are surprisingly similar.
Serkis' most notable live-action movie role could be his part as Ulysses Klaue inBlack Panther. Klaue is a flashy, eccentric villain who uses his technological genius to challenge the hero. In theLuthermovie, he also plays a villain with a sense of showmanship and a deep understanding of cutting-edge technology.Luther: The Fallen Sunis more grounded thanBlack Panther,but Serkis' characters are surprisingly similar.
5Ralph Brown
Withnail and I (1987) & Wayne’s World 2 (1993)
Ralph Brown had his breakthrough role in the British comedyWithnail and Ias Danny the drug dealer. His performance was so popular that it inspired Dana Carvey to write a similar role forBrown inWayne’s World 2.Although Brown’s two characters have different names, they have identical styles, and they speak with the same laconic cockney drawl. Wayne and Garth are immediately taken in by his idiosyncratic character.
Although Brown’s two characters have different names, they have identical styles, and they speak with the same laconic cockney drawl.
Ralph Brown’s character inWayne’s World 2initially seems to be little more than a tribute to his work inWithnail and I,but the legendary roadie develops into a much stranger creation as the plot progresses. Del Preston and Danny the drug dealer both spout bizarre conspiracy theories, but Del is put in a position of power inWayne’s World 2,so he has the opportunity to drag others into his warped logic.
4James Stewart
Rope (1948) & Rear Window (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock’s collaborations with James Stewartoften played with the director’s favorite story archetype: an ordinary man drawn into a dangerous criminal plot. InVertigo,Stewart plays a retired detective who works as a private eye on one last case, butRopeandRear Windowboth feature him as a regular Joe who has to take on the role of a detective, putting himself in danger in the process.
Alfred Hitchcock’s collaborations with James Stewart often played with the director’s favorite story archetype: an ordinary man drawn into a dangerous criminal plot.
Ropeis a masterful feat of contained storytelling, with the entire narrative playing out in one room over the course of one evening. Stewart plays a publisher who slowly cottons on the fact that his two hosts at the dinner party have murdered one of their associates. InRear Window,Stewart is a photographer who suspects his neighbor of murdering his wife.Both movies utilize Stewart’s charms as a relatable everyman.
3Octavia Spencer
The Help (2011) & The Shape of Water (2017)
Octavia Spencer rarely plays the lead. More often than not, she manages to shine in supporting roles. Spencer has an inherent warmth about her, and this helps her play the part of a supportive friend to the main character. InThe Help,she delivers one of her best performances as Minny, a maid who provides a moral compass for Viola Davis' main character, as well as showing another side to the hardships that Black maids in wealthy white neighborhoods are forced to endure.
Octavia Spencer rarely plays the lead. More often than not, she manages to shine in supporting roles.
Six years later, Spencer once again garnered praise for portraying a cleaner who helps to stabilize her best friend, this time in Guillermo del Toro’sThe Shape of Water.The sci-fi romance features Sally Hawkins as a mute woman who falls in love with a strange amphibious creature at a government research facility.BothThe HelpandThe Shape of Waterare set in the early 1960s.
2Eddie Murphy
Mulan (1998) & Shrek (2001)
Although he has an instantly recognizable voice, Eddie Murphy doesn’t often play animated characters. His two most famous voice roles are surprisingly similar in some ways, even though the two characters aren’t even the same species. InMulan,Murphy plays a wise-cracking animal sidekick to the titular character, just as he does inShrek.Donkey may be a little more important to the plot inShrek,but he provides comic relief just like Mushu does inMulan.
InMulan,Murphy plays a wise-cracking animal sidekick to the titular character, just as he does inShrek.
ShrekandMulanare two ofEddie Murphy’s best movies, because they both give him free rein to play around with his character. Donkey and Mushu are a little annoying, but ultimately endearing, and their movies wouldn’t be the same without them.One strange connection between the characters is that Donkey’s love interest inShrekis a dragon, although Mushu never falls in love with a Donkey.
1Ryan Gosling
Drive (2011) & The Fall Guy (2024)
In bothDriveandThe Fall Guy,Ryan Gosling plays a Hollywood stunt performer who has to engage in some dangerous extracurricular activity. Despite the similarities in their premises,DriveandThe Fall Guytake completely different approaches.Driveis a tense crime thriller, whileThe Fall Guyis a fun action romcom. This allows Gosling to show two different sides to his talent.
Both movies show Gosling’s character being motivated by a love interest, played by Carrey Mulligan inDriveand Emily Blunt inThe Fall Guy.
The Fall Guyis filled with dangerous actionas a tribute to the global community of stunt performers, which is no surprise considering that David Leitch started his career in Hollywood as a stunt double.Driveis just as thrilling, but it’s less splashy and more grounded. Both movies show Gosling’s character being motivated by a love interest, played by Carrey Mulligan inDriveand Emily Blunt inThe Fall Guy.
