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6[[caption-width-right:350:RIP [[Franchise/StarTrek Spock]]\
72230-[[Creator/LeonardNimoy 2015]]]]
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12
13->''"How many times have I told you not to call me '[[Series/FamilyMatters Urkel]]'?! My name is Jaleel White! Urkel was a character I played when I was a child!"''
14-->-- '''Creator/JaleelWhite''' ([[AsHimself played by himself]]), ''Film/BigFatLiar''
15
16One of the most severe forms of {{typecasting}}, in which an actor or actress is not only defined as a certain character archetype, but in a specific role.
17
18This is most certainly a double-edged sword, as it often guarantees that the performer will be famous for some time to come, but on the other hand, that role may end up stifling the performer's future acting prospects, as he or she may get rejected for other roles that may be seen as being [[PlayingAgainstType against type]]. This can be tough on actors who, as artists, may have a strong desire to move on. As viewers and historians, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between an actor who lucked out by getting one iconic role, and an actor whose career was hampered by an over-association with it.
19
20Typecasting may have been more common in the early days of television as a holdover from motion pictures. It was common in the 1930s and '40s for a movie actor who was not a leading man or lady to make a career out of playing the same type of character. This seems to disproportionately happen to actors from sci-fi and fantasy works, possibly because [[SciFiGhetto some casting agencies may feel their credibility as a "serious" actor has been hurt by working on such shows]].
21
22For extra bad luck, the character may have a [[IndexOfCatchphrases catchphrase]] the actor will be asked to repeat incessantly, or even worse be a PhraseCatcher and [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore have to endure hearing it]] yelled at them by every LoonyFan.
23
24Named for the 1975 autobiography by none other than Creator/LeonardNimoy. [[NonIndicativeName An autobiography that, incidentally, didn't actually say what everyone thought it said because of the title.]]
25
26See also ButIPlayOneOnTV and [[OneHitWonder/{{Acting}} One Hit Wonder: Acting]]. Compare AdamWesting and NeverLiveItDown. Contrast IAmNotLeonardNimoy. And see ContractualPurity for those trapped in kids' show wholesomeness. Finally, see JustForFun/RoleAssociation for the JustForFun version. Not to be confused with IAmNotShazam. For the writer equivalent, see AuthorUsurpation.
27
28!!Remember that Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent when adding examples here.
29----
30!!Example subpages:
31
32[[index]]
33* [[IAmNotSpock/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
34* IAmNotSpock/LiveActionTV
35* IAmNotSpock/MultipleMedia
36[[/index]]
37
38!!Other examples:
39
40[[foldercontrol]]
41
42!!!'''RealLife:'''
43
44[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
45* It's generally agreed within the anime fandom that Creator/RieKugimiya [[PigeonholedVoiceActor will be always]] be associated with {{Tsundere}} characters (particularly flat-chested [[TokenMiniMoe little girls]] who are [[ACupAngst very sensitive about it]]). So much so that most of her non-tsundere roles have long been forgotten, ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist including Al]]''. Apparently, this could be Creator/JCStaff's part.
46* It doesn't matter how long his career goes on and what roles he plays, Creator/ShuichiIkeda will forever be [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Char Aznable]] to fans all over the world. Unlike many examples though, Ikeda actually revels in this, having said that "''Gundam'' has been very kind to me" and that he'll gladly return to play Char in any project (be it anime or video games) for the rest of his life. He's even had a bit of fun with it by playing Char {{Exp|y}}ies in other ''Gundam'' shows, such as Gilbert Durandal in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny SEED Destiny]]'' and Full Frontal in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Unicorn]]''.
47* ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'': Creator/MariIijima has certainly forever been labelled as Lynn Minmay, and for a while resented ever playing the character, since it meant that people would come to her concerts just to hear Minmay's songs, not ''her'' songs. This is said to be a major reason why she quit voice acting and focused entirely on her singing career. Fortunately, some decades later, she has come to terms with Minmay, and agreed to [[MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor reprise her role for the English dub]] of ''Macross'' (she had been living the US for some time and could speak reasonably good, if accented, English) in part as a way of reconciling herself with the character.
48* Veteran Italian voice actress Creator/ElisabettaSpinelli has voiced a great deal of major characters, often protagonists, in many Italian anime dubs in TheNineties, but grown-up 90s kids will forever hear Anime/SailorMoon speaking whenever she's talking. She has embraced her legacy and remembers very fondly her role as [[DubNameChange Bunny]] over twenty years later.
49* Creator/VeronicaTaylor, a.k.a. [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Ash Ketchum]], has apparently had a hard time getting other work and seems rather bitter about it all. At a panel, she said something along the lines of "Being 'the voice of Ash Ketchum' is a great party trick, but it's never gotten me a job." Still, she doesn't hold it against the character, and Ash is still one of her favorite roles.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
53* Creator/AuliiCravalho has been in various feature films and TV Shows including other works made by Disney despite that she is best known for being the voice of Disney's ''{{WesternAnimation/Moana}}''.
54* Creator/IreneBedard is a Golden Globe nominated actress and has had a couple of notable mainstream roles like ''Film/SmokeSignals''. However she is best known for being the voice of Disney's ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}''. She doesn't seem to mind however, comparing it to being Santa Claus.
55* Creator/JodiBenson has been in many things over the years, but to most of the world, she will always, ''always'' be [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]]. She ''loves'' it, adores meeting her fans, has voiced the character in just about every Disney project she appears in, and has always said that she will never get tired of singing "Part of Your World" because the memory of recording that song is so special to her.
56* Following Disney Princess tradition, Paige O'Hara was an accomplished Broadway performer (playing lead roles in ''Theatre/ShowBoat'' and ''Theatre/SouthPacific'') before being cast as Belle in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. That is the role with which she is associated most and, although she retired from voicing Belle in the Disney Princess merchandising (due to her voice changing so much over the years), she still returned to voice her in ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet''.
57* Although an accomplished opera singer, Mary Costa will always be best known as the voice of Princess Aurora in ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. It's better remembered than her other roles, because naturally, opera is less mainstream than Disney films.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Music]]
61* Latin rap OneHitWonder Gerardo Mejia will always be known by the same name as his one hit, "Rico Suave." This was reflected in his music video for "We Want the Funk", where funk musician Music/GeorgeClinton calls out to Gerardo, "Hey, you're that Rico Suave guy!", as well as Gerardo appearing in the mockumentary ''Film/PaulyShoreIsDead'' as Rico Suave. Despite all this evidence that Gerardo is happy with his reputation, however, one song on his second album was named "My Name Is Not Rico", very much mirroring the style of Leonard Nimoy.
62* A tragic example is Denise Matthews, the pastor formerly known as {{Creator/Vanity}}, a pop singer infamous for her hedonism. After a near-fatal drug overdose in 1995, she gave up show business and the Vanity moniker and dedicated the rest of her life to evangelical Christianity, even refusing to collect the royalty payments from her [[OldShame previous albums and movies]]. Sadly she died relatively young in 2016 due to mounting health issues stemming from her OD, and worse, all the media headlines were "Vanity dead at 57", the exact kind of attention she DIDN'T want.
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
66* Terry Taylor, in his two-decade long career, hasn't been able to live down one infamous gimmick: the Red Rooster.
67* Former TNA Tag Team champion Chris Harris. Despite his successful run with the company and as an indie circuit star, Harris is mostly remembered for his embarrassingly brief stint in WWE's revival of ECW as Braden Walker.
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Radio]]
71* Danny Matthews (well-known OopNorth as a presenter on British station Key 103, but he's also worked for 105.4 Century FM, UTV's Wave 96.5, Imagine FM 104.9, Tower FM, as well as Bauer Media's 97.4 Rock FM, 96.9 Viking FM, Hallam FM and Magic AM, plus stints at Dune FM in Southport, and Capital Gold (now Gold) in Manchester, Heart in Cumbria and North Lancashire, yet if you mentioned his name people would see him as being [[NeverLiveItDown known only for being on Key 103 overnights in the 1990s or being on 105.4 Century FM, depending on your interpretations.]] Ironically enough, he did return for a spell between 2004 - 2006.
72* Dan Wood, invariably known for presenting on Viking FM and Radio Aire, despite doing a nationwide radio show on [=GCap=] Media's "One Network".
73* Creator/DonAmeche and Frances Langford worked to avert this trope while doing ''The Bickersons'' on radio, since they did not want the audience to believe that they were in fact [[AwfulWeddedLife spiteful creatures who hated each other]]. They would step out of character at the end of episodes to reassure the audience that while their characters fought all the time, the actors were good friends.
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Theatre]]
77* Andrea [=McArdle=] as ''Theatre/{{Annie}}'', as well as most girls who played Annie on Broadway (except Creator/SarahJessicaParker). In fact, [=McArdle=] declined to be in the documentary ''Life After Tomorrow'', chronicling many of the women who played orphan roles on Broadway. This ran the gamut from fairly well-adjusted women to actresses still in the business to women who just can't shake their association, and it's likely she declined because she fell into the latter. Sarah Jessica Parker didn't have a problem with it; neither did Kristin Vigard, ThePeteBest of the musical.
78* Creator/PaulReubens as Pee-Wee Herman, which caused considerable problems when he was [[ContractualPurity busted for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater.]] Note that Reubens brought much of the typecasting on himself with years of rarely, if ever, appearing out of character in public engagements (talk shows, interviews, etc.) and acting jobs after the general public became aware of Pee-Wee Herman; even his character in ''[[Creator/CheechAndChong Cheech and Chong's Next Movie]]'' is a thinly-veiled Pee-Wee Expy. Even [[spoiler:up to 2023]], Reubens has been on social media such as Website/{{Facebook}} and Website/{{Twitter}} not as himself, but as Pee-Wee.
79* An even more unfortunate example in the same vein is Creator/AndrewDiceClay, due to his insistence on never breaking character and playing his stage persona in all public appearances, including one-on-one interviews. His career nosedived once his brand of vulgar TestosteronePoisoning fell out of favor, as audiences were unable to divorce the real Andrew Silverstein from the "Diceman" character he played for so long.
80* Ted Neeley in ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar''. He's still playing the role in stage productions, for crying out loud!
81* The talented Norwegian actor ''Henki Kolstad'' had a long acting career behind him, starring in many Norwegian movies and stage productions for ''decades'' (among other things a memorable performance as Willy Loman in ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' in 1962) before he took the role as a gentle cobbler in a Christmas Calendar series in 1979. Kolstad, being 64 years of age at the time, did a wonderful performance, and never lived it down afterwards. To a generation of Norwegians (possibly two generations), he was "cobbler Andersen" and almost nothing else. He admitted that he had appreciated the role, but in his last years, he made it quite clear that it annoyed him a lot that ''this role'' was the only one that would give him lasting memory.
82* Creator/DavidSuchet is to many the definitive Literature/HerculePoirot. Suchet is often unrecognizable in public because he wore a hairpiece and a FatSuit as the portly Belgian.
83* Creator/NathanLane likes to tell the story about the premiere of ''Theatre/AngelsInAmerica'', a seven-hour long meditation on AIDS, homosexuality, America, Life and Death, and how he was at the after-party when he heard an extremely loud, extremely Scottish voice echo through the room: '''"THEY DIDN'T TELL US [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 PUMBAA]] WAS GOING TO BE IN THIS SHOW!"''', a quick beat and then '''"SEE! I TOLD YOU IT WAS TIMON, NOT PUMBAA!"'''
84* SoapOpera actors frequently run into this problem. Either A)rabid fans fail to separate them from the villainous characters some of them play--which has even lead to them being attacked in public, or B) they become so well known for playing one character that they fail to catch on as another.
85* Michelle Nicastro was the original Eponine in ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' and had a few other impressive stage appearances. But to a generation of 90s and 2000s kids, she's Princess Odette from ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess''. Helped by how she was one of the few cast members from the first film to remain on board for the sequels.
86* Lea Salonga achieved this uniquely for a stage role; she originated Kim in ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' and was so iconic in the role, she continued to reprise it over the years (the first run was when she was 17 and she kept playing it as late as her 30s). Especially surprising for someone who's managed to be the [[NonSingingVoice singing voice]] for two Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es (Jasmine from ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'' and {{WesternAnimation/Mulan}} if you're curious).
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Video Games]]
90* To a minor degree, Rand Miller (co-founder and CEO of Cyan Worlds Inc.) is identified with his role as Atrus, which he played in all of the live-action ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' games. He's not even an actor; he's a game designer and programmer. For bonus points, he dislikes playing the role and only kept doing it for four games (the others use CGI characters) because he could not possibly have been switched out without a major discontinuity and fandom uproar.
91* Creator/MichaelIronside recounts one time he was on a plane and a guy came up to him, immaculately dressed in a suit, and said, "Hey, you're [[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]]." Lost for a second his reply is, "No, I'm... wait a minute, yes I am."
92* Creator/CharlesMartinet will ''always'' proudly be known as the voice of [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario (and Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi)]][[note]]Even after he retired in 2023.[[/note]]. Oh, and one of the dragons in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''.
93* Merle Dandridge, the voice actress of [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Alyx Vance]] reports in the commentary saying that co-workers tend to peek out of the corridor when they hear her talk.
94* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Some rare examples, though none of the actors particularly seem to mind.
95** Poor Creator/BrandonKeener will perhaps ''never'' escape the TypeCasting from his voice acting role as the turian badass, Garrus Vakarian. He hasn't been in anything major ever since aside from a few commercials and a few guest movie/show appearances, but anything you come across that Keener shows up in in any shape or form will have, no doubt, been overrun by Garrus jokes. In addition, it doesn't help that Keener's actual real life voice sounds just like an in-game turian without the need of a voice-modulator. Seriously, just check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O6iaSoNsa0 this link]]. It sounds like he's doing a Garrus line reading. The voice is what connects people to Garrus every time they hear Keener speak. Some ''Mass Effect'' fans even joke that it's actually Garrus that voice acts for Keener, because his voice is just ''that'' unique.
96** Creator/SethGreen gets some TypeCasting due to his role as the ''Normandy's'' pilot, Joker, but because of how distinguished his acting career is compared to Keener's, it's a much rarer occurrence.
97** Creator/JenniferHale has gotten some of this for her portrayal of female Shepard, though her already-established career helps matters.[[note]]She's had more video game roles than anyone else in the entire voice acting industry, save for Creator/SteveBlum.[[/note]]
98** Creator/MarkMeer, on the other hand, once made a convention appearance cosplaying as male Shepard. Make of that what you will.
99** Thanks to ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''[[VideoGame/MassEffect3 3]]'', Creator/MartinSheen has become famous to a new generation of fans who know him as the Illusive Man.
100* Creator/DavidHayter has no shame of being known primarily for his role as the English voice of Solid Snake and the young Big Boss in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, and is actually quite proud of the fact (despite his extensive screenwriting work; most famously the ''X-Men'' film trilogy). In fact, when Konami announced that they would be replacing him with Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Snake in ''Metal Gear Solid V'', Hayter wasn't too pleased, but would eventually return to Snake in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
101* Have you ever tried looking for an Wikipedia article on Joseph D. Kucan? If you do so, you would be redirected to a page about a villain character he's most famous for[[note]]which is [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Kane]], of course[[/note]], instead of a note about the actor himself. It's not just Wikipedia though, fans of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' also refer to him by [[NameOfCain this name]].
102* Almost every actor who played a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' protagonist suffers this, especially from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' onwards as Rockstar Games started to use more obscure talent due to complications with Creator/RayLiotta after ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''’s release.
103** Young Maylay will always be [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas CJ]].
104** Michael Hollick will always be [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV Niko Bellic]], despite landing roles in works such as ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and ''VideoGame/DyingLight''.
105** Scott Hill doesn’t have much of a career, if at all, outside of playing [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned Johnny Klebitz]] in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned its]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony episodes]], and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''.
106** Likewise, Mario D’Leon is mostly known for playing [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony Luis Lopez]] despite roles in other works such as ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.
107** Shawn “Solo” Fonteno, Ned Luke, and Creator/StevenOgg are almost completely doomed to being referred to as [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Franklin, Michael, and Trevor]], respectively. This has affected Ogg to the point where he expressed backlash to the character of Trevor on a Cameo request to re-enact him and declined to reprise the role for ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoOnline'' in recent years. Solo and Ned on the other hand were quite grateful for their roles as it helped reinvigorate their acting careers and brought them to a larger audience, with them opining that Steven Ogg could have just mellowed out and realise how the game opened doors for his career and that fans do sincerely admire him for his character.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Web Videos]]
111* Creator/JamesRolfe is almost always referred to as ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', even though he has stated that the AVGN is not ''him'', but a ''character''.
112* ''Website/ChannelAwesome'':
113** Even after ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', some fans of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic have a hard time accepting that he's a fictional character and nothing like Creator/DougWalker.
114** The same has been going for WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick and Creator/LindsayEllis lately. The fans think that she really does treat Nella badly and that she really is a neurotic mess. Lindsay's even said that maybe she needs to go even more hyperbolic to hammer the differences in. This has died down since Lindsay has transitioned from the Nostalgia Chick to a more serious critic/video essayist.
115* British actor [[https://twitter.com/lawrencerussell Lawrence Russell]] got notability in 2020 for a series of Twitter comedy sketches, in which he portrayed an irritated casting assistant. Despite posting the sketches under his own name, he's remarked how many people forget that 'Mark from Casty Cast' is just his character's name.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Western Animation]]
119* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
120** Jack [=DeSena=] will always be Sokka. That is, if you're too young to remember his time as [[Series/AllThat Randy Quench: Volunteer Fireman]] and other characters.
121** Creator/DanteBasco, who played Zuko, barely escaped this. For 20 years he was [[Film/{{Hook}} Rufio]] (it didn't help that he looked and sounded the same age for over 20 years). Thanks to ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}''[='=]s *ahem* memorable treatment, however, he's still Rufio among its fans.
122** Had Creator/MaeWhitman not landed ''Avatar'', she almost certainly was doomed to be remembered as... "[[Series/ArrestedDevelopment her?]]"
123** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': David Faustino, like Dante Basco above, ''escaped'' this through ''Korra''; until he became Mako, Faustino couldn't escape being [[Series/MarriedWithChildren Bud Bundy]].
124* Meagan Smith will always be remembered as [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 Gwen Tennyson]].
125* Almost fifty years after it was made, Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'' is still called by its working title, ''Stop that Pigeon''. This was even lampshaded in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt''. And Paul Winchell will always be either Dick Dastardly, [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Tigger]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs Gargamel]].
126* Creator/MelBlanc credited this as having ''saved his life''. A near-fatal car accident left him in a coma for weeks, and everyone feared the worst. Then, one day, his doctor thought to ask him: "How are you today, WesternAnimation/BugsBunny?" Mel answered back in Bugs' voice and went on to have a full recovery.
127* Steve Burns and Donovan Patton are ''always'' going to be [[WesternAnimation/BluesClues Steve and Joe]], respectively.
128* A large part of the regular cast on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had their previous career achievements be overshadowed by the famous sitcom.
129[[/folder]]
130
131!!!'''InUniverse:'''
132
133[[folder:Advertising]]
134* A commercial for Allstate Insurance features a group of people in the diner recognizing their spokesperson, Creator/DennisHaysbert, but instead of referring to him by name, saying "That's safe drivers save 40%!"
135* A 2006 Israeli UsefulNotes/McDonalds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlfGbA3BKHQ ad]] which had achieved memetic status called ''This Is Hell'' (actually, a textbook example of ThisIsntHeaven) got a "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTDHdW6Byt0 sequel]]" in 2023. It starts with the old actor being offered the role in a new ad on the same subject, and him bemoaning how that old role is one he cannot escape. It then shows things like him trying to play {{Theatre/Hamlet}} only to be interrupted by someone in the audience saying "[=McDonalds=]".
136[[/folder]]
137
138[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
139* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/ActAge''. Young actor Akira (the son of his casting agency's president) gets pretty annoyed when people − including the protagonist Kei − call him "Ultra Kamen", a character he plays in a kids' TV show.
140* ''Manga/SkipBeat''
141** This is a major arc for Kyouko, when she gains some fame by playing the antagonistic [[LoveToHate Mio]]. She starts to get offers for roles in other productions, but all the roles are antagonistic and the directors even want her to 'just act like Mio', and she wants to reject all the offers because she doesn't want to be stuck doing one type of role. Kuu Hizuri sets her straight by saying that, since Mio was her first role that people know her acting as, of course she'll be asked to be like Mio because they have no other role to judge her on or compare her to. His words make her realize that each antagonistic role has its own way of acting, eventually leading to Kyouko to figure out ways to portray [[AlphaBitch Natsu]] in ''Box R''.
142** Chiori Amamiya had this problem as a child star. Her first role was that of [[LittleMissBadass Akari]] in ''The Scarlet Dice'', and people were so amazed by it that they chose to hire her because she's 'the girl who played Akari'. Unlike Kyouko, though, she was unable to shed the stigma this left her with, to the point that she had to restart her acting career under a new name.
143[[/folder]]
144
145[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
146* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' parodied the dilemma of the cast of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', where the entire cast of the [[ShowWithinAShow in-universe sci-fi series]] is known for nothing else. One of them - Alexander Dane, playing the Spock {{Expy}} Dr. Lazarus - laments that he was [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra a respected stage actor]] who'd earned acclaim starring in ''Theatre/RichardIII'' ("There were five curtain calls!") before he was cast in the series. Not only did several of the original ''Franchise/StarTrek'' cast act in Creator/WilliamShakespeare before their ''Franchise/StarTrek'' roles (including Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/PatrickStewart), but so did Creator/AlanRickman, who plays Alexander Dane. And despite his hatred for the role, Dane is never seen without his [[RubberForeheadAliens make up on]], even when he's at home by himself.
147* In ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'', Hormel Chavez, the [[ShowWithinAShow Ow! My Balls!]] guy, appears to have the defined role of "the guy who gets hit in the balls", considering that during Joe's "rehabilitation", an audience member runs onto the field to give Hormel a kick from behind while he tried to sing the national anthem, to the applause of the crowd.
148* In ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'', just like real life, Andy Kauffman gained a large audience from his role of Latka in the sitcom ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' which he actually hates. This same audience quickly loses interest in him when realizing that he isn't the comedian they would expect.
149* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'': Marvin says that this trope is why Rick Dalton, a faded Hollywood actor best known for his role of Jake Cahill in Western television series ''Bounty Law'' a decade earlier, keeps getting cast as villains in pilots for new shows: the audience doesn't see a hero defeating an villain, but instead a new, younger hero kicking Jake Cahill's ass. The television pilot that Rick stars in in the movie is intended to subvert this: while he's still cast as a villain, his looks are changed so that the audience won't recognize him, and Sam specifically says that he was cast because of his talents as an actor and not because he played Jake Cahill.
150* In ''Film/{{Soapdish}}'', everyone in the dinner theater washed up soap actor Jeffrey Anderson is working at calls him "[[Theatre/DeathOfASalesman Mr. Loman]]", whom he plays.
151[[/folder]]
152
153[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
154* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
155** Parodied in an episode where Sheldon meets Creator/JamesEarlJones. Jones immediately realizes that Sheldon likely knows him as [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]], and not any of the other roles he had throughout his lengthy career. Though it seems at first that he is annoyed by this attention, he quickly reveals that he too is a fan of ''Star Wars'' and does not mind that so many people immediately associate him with the franchise.
156* Subverted in ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Jake gets Mario Lopez to appear at a party for Gina, since they both loved ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' as kids. Jake spends the entire episode reminding himself to be cool and not overreact to meeting his childhood icon/mancrush. Then this exchange happens:
157* ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'': The {{speculative fiction}} {{fandom}} {{homage}} episode "[[Recap/CastleS5E6TheFinalFrontier The Final Frontier]]" has actress Stephanie Frye, who played Lieutenant Chloe on the short-lived SpaceOpera ''Nebula 9''. Beckett loved the show and {{cosplay}}ed as Chloe in college, but Frye considers the role an OldShame despite it being her StarMakingRole, [[spoiler:and murdered her former co-star in an attempt to keep the show's revival from wrecking her non-''Nebula 9'' career]]. For her part, Beckett decides she can still like the character regardless of what she thinks of the actress.
158* ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'' had a whole plotline in Season 2 where Larry tried to pitch a show about one of the actors from ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' facing this, first with Creator/JasonAlexander, then with Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption He fails with both attempts]].
159* Parodied in ''Series/{{Extras}}'' with Shaun "Barry from Series/{{Eastenders}}" Williamson ([[AsHimself playing himself]]). Now an out-of-work actor (and the hapless Darren Lamb's only client besides Andy), he is resigned to the fact that he is only recognizable as his ''Eastenders'' character and will probably never get another decent part again. Most people even refer to him as Barry; when the name Shaun Williamson does crop up, his own agent doesn't recognise it.
160* When Creator/RichardWilson guest starred in ''Series/FatherTed'' AsHimself, he beat Ted up for using [[Series/OneFootInTheGrave Victor Meldrew's]] catchphrase on him.
161* In an episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Fraiser and Niles tries to bring a Shakespearian actor from their youth back from being Spocked in a sci fi show. It backfired, not because no one could divorce him from the role, but because he's a [[BadBadActing dreadful actor]].
162* In the first Thanksgiving episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Joey does modeling for a stock photo company and ends up on a poster for [= STDs=]. His family then thinks he actually has one.
163** In [[Series/{{Joey}} the spinoff]], Creator/BrentSpiner (who's best known as Data from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'') gets called Data by Michael. His agent just tells him to go with it. It's a bit of a TruthInTelevision parody as Spiner suffers from this in RealLife as well.
164* Parodied in a ''[[Series/MADtv MADtv]]'' HalloweenEpisode featuring Creator/RobertEnglund (best known for playing [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]), where everyone, much to his growing frustration, keeps referring to him as "that guy who played Willie in ''Series/{{V 1983}}''".
165* In an episode of ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', a martial arts instructor is famous for a series of action movies called ''The Dragon Killer''. One scene has him arguing with his agent over the phone saying, "I just want to play the dad in the telephone commercial!" suggesting he suffers from this in-universe. For reference, the actor was Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Shang Tsung in ''Film/MortalKombatTheMovie'', AdamWesting as an expy of himself.
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169* Satirical TV puppet show ''Series/SpittingImage'' lampooned this with sketches where a post-Franchise/StarTrek Creator/LeonardNimoy is desperately auditioning for film and theater roles, trying to demonstrate he is something more than just a guy who played an emotionless alien with funny ears. His audition for the lead role in ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' does not go well at all.
170-->To be... or not to be. Is illogical, Captain... oh SHIT!
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174* A skit on ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'' has Finnemore AsHimself at a dinner party, where another guest has learned that he worked with Creator/BenedictCumberbatch on ''Radio/CabinPressure'' and asks him "What's he ''really'' like?" And ''keeps'' asking until she gets the answer she wants, which is "He's [[Series/{{Sherlock}} a high-functioning sociopath who goes round London solving murders]]."
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178* In ''Webcomic/TheEnd'', this was what defined the career of actor Victor Smart. It's also another ''Franchise/StarTrek'' parallel, as his most famous role was a starship captain.
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181[[folder:Web Original]]
182* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' invokes and plays this for laughs during his ''Film/{{Sidekicks}}'' video, when the protagonist's LoveInterest is played by Danica [=McKellar=] and he calls her [[Series/TheWonderYears Winnie]]. The Critic says he's sure the character has her own name, but it won't matter because they'll just see her as Winnie, anyway.
183** In his ''WesternAnimation/RapsittieStreetKidsBelieveInSanta'' review he uses this trope to refer to the fact that a rather prolific cast would be involved in a bad, low-budget movie, stating that the voice actors for [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]], [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]], and [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]], a ''Series/MadTV1995'' star, a former [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Power Ranger]], and even [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]] were involved. With Creator/GreyDeLisle, he cites [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Azula]], although unlike the other stars that role does not eclipse everything she’s ever done.
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186[[folder:Western Animation]]
187* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
188** Actress Mary Dahl, a.k.a. Baby Doll, suffers a genetic disorder which keeps her from growing, leaving her trapped in a child's body, and went insane because nobody would accept her as anything but the lovable, troublesome tot Baby Doll. She strove to establish a legitimate acting career outside of the Baby Doll role, including starring in a stage production of ''Macbeth'', but it was largely panned and ignored. This echoes the real life case of Gary Coleman, who likewise suffered from a similar health condition and was typecast.
189** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE18BewareTheGrayGhost Beware the Gray Ghost]]": Actor Simon Trent, a.k.a. The Gray Ghost, sank into poverty after typecasting kept him from getting other roles after the series ended. Things turned around for him after he helped Batman capture a criminal who was using an episode of the show as a template for a series of extortion bombings. Trent is voiced by Creator/AdamWest, and the episode is a [[AffectionateParody tribute]] to [[Series/Batman1966 the 1960s]] ''Batman'' series.
190* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' stars professional actor [=BoJack=] Horseman, who's only known as "the Horse from ''Horsin' Around''", a painfully '90s sitcom about a horse that looks after some orphans. The third season reveals that in 2007 he attempted PlayingAgainstType as an "[[DarkerAndEdgier edgy]]" character whose EstablishingCharacterMoment is a scene where he literally takes a dump on a VHS copy of ''Horsin' Around'' while shouting "wazzup, bitches!", but this was hugely unsuccessful and he regards it as an OldShame.
191* ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'': Creator/MichaelRichards reacts angrily at being called [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} "Kramer"]]: "My name is Michael Richards, pal! Kramer is just the character I play on TV." (He of course says this in a [[IResembleThatRemark perfectly Kramer-like cadence.]])
192* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
193** In the episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS3E17BrianWallowsAndPetersSwallows Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows]]", Brian meets a reclusive singer who made a fortune singing advertising jingles. When she tried to branch out into opera, her debut performance of ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' was ruined because the audience kept shouting at her to sing their favorite jingles instead.
194** Subverted in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS17E19GirlInternetted Girl Internetted]]". Stewie and Brian end up buying a Hummer, and do donuts on Creator/MarkRuffalo's lawn. They then proceed to tease him since he can't actually [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse turn into the Hulk and do soemthing about it]]. Then Mark Ruffalo got angry... [[MuggingTheMonster Turns out ol' Mark really]] ''[[MuggingTheMonster was]]'' [[MuggingTheMonster the Hulk]], and Brian and Stewie got tossed clear up to New Hampshire.
195* ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'' has another Creator/MarkHamill AsHimself example. Milo lines up to get his autograph, but only because he confused him with ''Dorothy'' Hamill. As Mark Hamill tries to explain who he actually is, listing various roles he's played, someone in the back of the line screams that he was Luke Skywalker. Hamill immediately has security drag that fan away, then screams that he had that role ''twenty years ago, people,'' get over it.
196* In a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch parodying ''Film/Armageddon1998'', Creator/HarrisonFord complains that he doesn't want to go into space because he's just an actor, only for a fat nerd to shout "You go, [[Franchise/StarWars Han Solo]]!" Later inverted in the same sketch, where Creator/MarkHamill says he should have gone up to space because he "destroyed the Death Star", only for the very same nerd to tell him "That was just a movie, dude."
197** This wasn't the first time Hamill's done that - his appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' had him crash-land as Luke Skywalker, and insist on fetching his "[[UncannyFamilyResemblance cousin]]" Mark Hamill whenever he was asked to perform in a sketch.
198** Another episode had Creator/BillyDeeWilliams get recognized in a grocery store checkout line. When he asks which of his many roles the customer preferred, the customer admits he only knows him as [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Lando Calrissian]] and starts criticizing him for betraying his best friend. Billy Dee exasperatedly defends Lando's actions (even into a second sketch later in the episode) ''without'' trying to separate himself from the character - and, reportedly, he will defend Lando's actions at length like this in real life if questioned about them too - so he's probably not too concerned with the confusion.
199* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
200** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E9MayoredToTheMob Mayored to the Mob]]", Creator/MarkHamill, [[AsHimself voiced by himself]], gets quite annoyed by the fact that everyone wants to see him only as Luke Skywalker -- even when he is playing a role in a work as far away from ''Franchise/StarWars'' as you can imagine, such as ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls''.
201** Parodied in the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E4TreehouseOfHorrorX Treehouse of Horror X]]" segment "Desperately Xeeking Xena", in which everyone who encountered ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' star Creator/LucyLawless addressed her as "Xena", much to her exasperation. Eventually, at the end of the segment when Bart and Lisa have rescued her from The Collector (Comic Book Guy as a nerdy supervillain), she offers to take them home -- and so picks them up and begins to fly. "Xena can't fly!" Lisa exclaims. Lucy's response? "I told you, I'm ''not'' Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless."
202** Comic Book Guy is seen having three books on his shelf - “I Am Not Spock”, “I Am Spock” and “I Am Also Scotty”!
203* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': The entire plot of the movie would not happen if not for this trope. Because Ralph was quite literally designed to serve as the BigBad antagonist of his game, over a 30-year "career", he grew to feel strangled by being pigeonholed as TheHeavy and being ostracized and not at all treated nicely by the [[{{Irony}} Nicelanders]]. Even game protagonist Fix-It Felix himself initially feels awkward interacting with Ralph though he's not as nasty as the others, allowing him to attend their game's 30th anniversary when he wasn't even invited originally. After a public outburst and being told to his face that he'll never amount to anything more than a DumbMuscle human wrecking ball, Ralph has enough and escapes from his game world to try and prove that "the bad guy" doesn't always have to be a "bad" guy.
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