History Main / ClassicallyTrainedExtra

** The ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, being rather unique in American television for being filmed on location in New York City, utilizes the talent pool of Broadway more extensively than most other shows; alongside some well-known Broadway titans as regulars such as Raul Esparza on ''SVU'' and Jerry Orbach on the Mothership, well-known theater stars frequently show up at one-shot victims or suspects, (and like ''Murder, She Wrote,'' these roles can frequently be to help theater actors either obtain or renew their SAG membership to work in film and television.) ''SVU'' Showrunner Warren Leight stated outright his use of this trope during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, stating he planned to hire as many Broadway actors as he could for the show to help sustain them while the theaters were closed during quarantines.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'':
** Any episode portraying the duo as [[AnimatedActor real cartoon actors]] has Stimpy revealed to be a serious actor doing a silly role while Ren is a glory hound.

** After Stimpy goes on strike in the episode "Stupid Sidekicks Union", one of the replacements Ren auditions is a Shakespearean actor who "played Stimpy for the Queen."
** Any episode portraying the duo as [[AnimatedActor real cartoon actors]] has Stimpy revealed as a serious actor doing a silly role while Ren is a glory hound.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'': After Stimpy goes on strike in the episode "Stupid Sidekicks Union", one of the replacements Ren auditions is a Shakespearean actor who "played Stimpy for the Queen."

** ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' was well-known for having various well-known stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood randomly appear in various one-off roles (considering the show only had one lead character and its format required multiple guest stars to be both murder victims and suspects, this meant the show had a '''lot''' of these one-shot roles to fill.) These were often done at the behest of star Creator/AngelaLansbury, who would learn of her friends and compatriots being at risk of losing their Screen Actors Guild membership due to lack of work and would arrange roles for them to stay in good standing and retain their union benefits.

* Invoked in the "Gallimaufrey" episode of ''Series/{{QI}}''. Creator/PhillJupitus mimics the "kind of out of work actor they would have on ''Series/CallMyBluff'' when defining the word "grog blossom".

%% ** Phillip of ''Terrance and Phillip'' was like this in the episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS5E5TerranceAndPhillipBehindTheBlow Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow]]".

* Robert Reed, who really was a serious actor and had done Shakespeare in the past, reportedly hated playing Mike Brady on ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' because he felt the role was "beneath" him. This resulted in numerous disputes with producers over the course of the series, even to the point where Reed's character was written out of the series finale.

There is often a strong overlap with TheatreIsTrueActing in the case of actors with a strong stage background thinking that schmaltzy on-camera acting is beneath them. Compare WTHCastingAgency, AllStarCast. For ''actual'' classically trained actors, see ShakespearianActors.

* Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack Hackett in ''Series/FatherTed'', was a trained stage actor, whose lines were limited to saying 'Feck' and 'Girls' whereas the two leads were stand-up comedians. Frank Kelly would often mutter "feckin' amateurs" during takes. One trailer purported to show the cast rehearsing their catchphrases, while Dermot Morgan addressed the viewers. At the end, Frank Kelly interrupted him in a plummy "classically-trained actor" voice.

* Alexander Dane on ''Film/GalaxyQuest''. Although Alexander isn't exactly an extra -- he's the #2 star of the show -- [[IAmNotSpock he still seems miffed he's best known as Dr. Lazarus]] instead of his stage roles. It's understandable given how painfully one-dimensional his character comes off as. He learns of his importance to people [[spoiler: when an (alien) fan of his dies, and he finally says his CatchPhrase (which, until then, he hated) ''[[AlternateCatchphraseInflection and means it]]''.]] He acts like this even after Gwen rightfully points out that he had a character people genuinely loved, while her only real purpose on the show was to provide [[MsFanservice fan service]] and [[ShallowLoveInterest be the captain's love interest]].