History IAmNotSpock / LiveActionTV

* Creator/DennisHaysbert as President David Palmer on ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''. So much so that ever since then, he's mostly been cast in the "authoritative, deep-voiced leader" roles in projects like ''Series/TheUnit'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCell Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow]]'' and the Allstate commercials. This, despite a good chunk of his earlier work being in comedic roles, most notably as Pedro Cerrano in ''Film/MajorLeague''.

** The cast have had mixed success since the show ended, but they are still remembered, first and foremost, as Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Ross and Rachel. Specifically Creator/JenniferAniston fared the best with a good number of movies, and Creator/CourteneyCox and Creator/MatthewPerry are now heading their own shows (having done several others already), but they still fall prey to 'hey, is this a friends rerun?' But Creator/LisaKudrow's, who's been focusing on her family, has only had a few roles, and Creator/DavidSchwimmer's disappearing behind the camera to direct (exception, Captain Sobel on ''Series/BandOfBrothers''). Creator/MattLeBlanc probably had to work hardest to escape this, as he not only played Joey for ten years on ''Friends'', but played the same character for a brief period afterwards on a positively ''disastrous'' spin-off in which he was the central character.

** Jean Stapleton stated that she wanted to be a screen actress, but never wanted to be a star, because then she'd end up being typecast. Unfortunately, that's just what happened. Stapleton shot herself in the foot when she was offered, but declined, a role that would have saved her from typecasting as Edith: Jessica Fletcher on ''Series/MurderSheWrote''.[[note]]Ironically, this is Creator/AngelaLansbury's own example of this.[[/note]]

** Carroll O'Connor is also remembered only as Archie. Not even a run on the television version of ''Series/InTheHeatOfTheNight'' was enough to break that. Given that he was the only cast member to stay on through the end of ''Series/ArchieBunkersPlace'', he may have been okay with that.
** Sally Struthers is Gloria Stivic. Fortunately, she had a moderately successful career afterwards with shows like ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'', ''Series/GilmoreGirls'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{TaleSpin}}''. Nevertheless, none of them hold a candle to the fame she has achieved as Gloria.

* Danny Bonaduce is, and always will be, [[Series/ThePartridgeFamily a partridge in a pear tree]].

* Applies to the whole ''Series/TheATeam'' main cast. Only sci-fi geeks would associate Creator/DirkBenedict with the ace pilot Starbuck from ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' and Creator/DwightSchultz with Lt Barclay from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''; for the rest, they're Templeton "Faceman" Peck and H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdoch. Only a few '80s movie freaks remember that besides being B.A. Baracus, Creator/MrT (because yes, Mr. T will always be remembered by [[IAmNotLeonardNimoy his stage name]], [[CatchPhrase fool!]]) once clobbered the snot out of Rocky in ''Film/RockyIII''. And seriously, who knows that John "Hannibal" Smith was the male main actor in the classic ''Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys''? (Creator/GeorgePeppard, who played Hannibal, seemed to have been seriously bothered by this, as he had been a big box office movie draw in the '60s and '70s.)

** Creator/EdONeill, a.k.a. [[Series/MarriedWithChildren Al Bundy]]. He was so famous for portraying Al that when he appeared in ''Film/FlightOfTheIntruder'' as a JAG prosecutor in a court martial scene, [[{{Narm}} the test audience laughed at the sight of him]], yelling "Al Bundy!" [[TheOtherMarty The scene had to be reshot with Fred Thompson playing the part]]. He has since found success on ''Series/ModernFamily''. It helps that on ''Modern Family'', his character is extremely laid back, in contrast to the angry and bitter Al.

* Creator/BruceCampbell, a.k.a. "Don't call me [[Film/TheEvilDead Ash]]", what with being so firmly tied to one character that people have a hard time remembering his real name at conventions, despite having had excellent roles in several television series and having done a great deal of voice acting since. This has happened so often he's gone and made a movie about it. It's called ''Film/MyNameIsBruce'', and it features Bruce as himself, who everyone expects to save them from an ancient Chinese demon. He later got past this due to his role as Sam Axe on ''Series/BurnNotice''.

** Creator/JamesMarsters is still very much associated with Spike. Unless you're a ''Franchise/{{Dragon Ball}}'' fan, in which case he's known for either portraying Piccolo in the widely panned ''Film/DragonBallEvolution'' or for the more well-received role of voicing Zamasu in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. He's also the voice of ''Series/TheDresdenFiles'', having read all the aduio books. (You'll be forgiven if you thing Kyle from Grave Peril is an {{expy}}.)

* The success of ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'' led to this for Patricia Routledge. She had an impressive body of stage work and opted to end the show in its fifth season so as not to get typecast as the pompous, nagging Hyacinth Bucket. One driver was picking her up from the airport and expected that he would get henpecked to death - but was surprised to discover that she was nothing like Hyacinth at all.

** Wayne Rogers (who played "Trapper" John [=McIntyre=] on the show) seems to have avoided to some extent -- while he has had a spotty career record since ''M*A*S*H'' (though he did go three seasons as one of the leads of the TV series ''House Calls'' opposite Lynn Redgrave), his later TV appearances has been as a financial commentator on Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}}. Early on, he saved and invested his pay and ended up with sizable wealth and financial acumen.

** Creator/GillianAnderson as Dana Scully, initially. She lived in England as a child and moved back after ''The X-Files'' finished its run precisely to avoid this. But after critically and commercially successful appearances on shows like ''Series/TheFall'', ''Series/TheCrown'' and ''Series/SexEducation'', it's fair to say she's escaped the shadow of ''The X-Files'' to be seen as a versatile actress in her own right.

** Roger Lloyd-Pack (Trigger) has carved out a successful stage career, as well as being Owen in ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley''. To younger audiences, Lloyd-Pack will be known as [[Film/HarryPotterandtheGobletofFire Barty Crouch Sr.]]

** Creator/BobOdenkirk was a part of the Kids In The Hall comedy troupe alongside the likes of Creator/DaveFoley and Creator/DavidCross for years, with a number of bit parts in various TV shows in TheNineties, but the role of sleazy comic relief lawyer Saul Goodman is so synonymous with him that they gave him [[Series/BetterCallSaul a spinoff]].

* During a long hiatus between series of ''Series/RedDwarf'', Craig Charles took a role on long-running soap opera ''Series/CoronationStreet''. Those who knew him as Dave Lister found it impossible to adjust to seeing him as Scouse taxi-driver Lloyd.

* Amongst {{Tokusatsu}} fans, the prime example is Joe Odagiri, who played ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga''[='=]s Yuusuke Godai. Though rumors that he considered the role OldShame persisted for years before finally being debunked, Odagiri still only took the job as a favor to the producer, and is reportedly not a fan of the Toku genre in general. While he still acknowledges ''Kuuga''[[note]]One prominent rumor claimed that he'd had it taken off of his resumé, but when asked point-blank he responded "Of course I haven't! Don't say such unpleasant things!"[[/note]], he's since moved onto more serious roles and would generally rather not talk about it, even rebuffing attempts by Toei to get him to {{Cameo}} for {{Milestone Celebration}}s like ''[[Series/KamenRiderDecade Decade]]'' and ''[[Series/KamenRiderZiO Zi-O]]''.

* Several of the actors from ''Series/TheWire'' had difficulty finding new roles after the show ended. Gbengga Akinagbe (Chris Partlow) remarked "It was so authentic, people thought we weren't actors. At industry events, people would ask 'What are you doing here?' And I'd say, 'What do you mean?' and they'd say 'What are you doing out of Baltimore?' ". Creator/MichaelKWilliams suffered an identity crisis because people on the street would always recognize him as [[KarmicThief Omar Little]] and expected him to live up to that part.

** Those who have seen Anna Cathcart in ''Film/Descendants2'' onwards are more likely to associate her with her role of Olympia in ''Odd Squad''.

* Harry H. Corbett, who played Harold Steptoe in the UK sitcom ''Series/SteptoeAndSon'', in the 1960s and 70s. Could be a trope definer; before Steptoe, he was considered to be one of Britain's finest actors -- "The British Creator/MarlonBrando". But Steptoe was a smash hit, and he was unable to break away from it for the rest of his life, despite coming to hate the character, the show, and especially his co-star Creator/WilfridBrambell. (Note for U.S. readers: ''Series/SanfordAndSon'' was based on Steptoe, if you didn't already know that.)

* Eric [=McCormack=] is more remembered for his role as Will in ''Series/WillAndGrace''. His starring role in a different series, ''Series/{{Perception}}'', where he plays a paranoid schizophrenic professor, may be his attempt to escape this. Interestingly, one of his co-stars in said series is Rachael Leigh Cook, also marked by this trope for a very infamous anti-drug ad involving eggs. He's gotten this to the point that the producers of ''Film/FreeEnterprise'' said they were glad that they ended up getting him '''before''' he made it big as Will, because they don't think he would've been believed as his character otherwise.

** No matter how hard he tries, Dustin Diamond will always be Screech. He has resented the role so much that he was the only major cast member not to show up in a ''Saved by the Bell'' reunion.

** Seemingly aware of this trope, for his SNL host monologue, he sang a song all about how he is NOT Will Truman, that, for one thing, he is straight, and goes on the talk about his love for Steve McQueen movies, professional wrestling, and beer.

* Creator/ChristinaRicci = [[Series/TheAddamsFamily Wednesday Addams]].

** Angelines Fernández originally had a bad case of this trope, with kids calling her a witch and generally being scared of her, which got her sad, but eventually got over it. Fernández was Spanish and she had a very ''very'' long carere in theater, film and television as a dramatic actress in both Spain and Mexico since the 50s with much of critical acclaim, thus she did resented a little that of her whole prestigious carere her role in a comedy show was her most remembered, however she did cope with the issue and her pre-Chavo works also became popular after her death.

** After the show was cancelled, Rubén Aguirre (Profesor Jirafales) and Edgar Vivar (Señor Barriga/Ñoño) did the same thing as Carlos Villagrán and María Antonieta de las Nieves, and played their characters in circus shows in latin america.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Creator/AaronPaul is often considered inseparable from Jesse Pinkman in the eyes of many TV viewers; most of the roles he's had since then have been Jesse clones since then.

** Carroll O'Connor is also remembered only as Archie. Not even a run on the television version of ''Series/InTheHeatOfTheNight'' was enough to break that.

* Though he never had a major television or movie role since playing Arnold Horshack on ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'', Ron Palillo kept busy acting, directing, and writing for the theater, doing voiceover work, and writing/ illustrating children's books for the remainder of his life. However, he will always be remembered as Horshack. This was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Ellen'', when he played a season-long recurring role as "Ron Palillo, TV's Arnold Horshack." Gabe Kaplan had a similar problem, according to his stand-up routine:
-->'''Kaplan:''' When people see me now, they don't say, "Are you Gabe Kaplan?". They don't even say, "Are you Mr. Kotter?" They say, [[IAmNotShazam "Are you Welcome Back Kotter?"]]

* Fellow 70s sitcom star Gabe Kaplan of ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'' has made light of being remembered for the show in his standup comedy. Among his gags is being approached by two women at the airport:
-->'''Woman 1:''' Are you Gabe Kaplan?
-->'''Woman 2:''' You ain't done shit since, have you?

** Time will tell if this remains for Creator/DanaiGurira (Michonne) given that she gained another acclaimed role as Okoye in the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead''’s main stars are mostly known for their roles on the show.

** Creator/NormanReedus’ most famous role is undeniably Daryl Dixon, despite also playing [[Film/TheBoondockSaints Murphy MacManus]] and starring in the upcoming video game, ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' as Sam.

** Time will tell if this remains for Creator/DanaiGurira (Michonne) given that she gained another acclaimed role as Okoye in ''Film/BlackPanther2018''.

* Creator/StephenColbert (the actor) is not [[Series/TheColbertReport Stephen]] [[NamesTheSame Colbert]] (the character). In order to distance himself, Colbert used a different pronunciation of his last name while in character (in real life, he pronounces it as Col-Bert, rather than Col-Bear). Despite this, he's kept the different pronunciation when he started doing ''[[Series/TheLateShowWithStephenColbert The Late Show]]'', despite actually establishing the character from ''The Colbert Report'' as being a separate person on the show, having him actually appear together with Stephen (the actor) on a few occasions and do segments during the 2016 election.

** Creator/TomBaker will forever be seen as the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor Fourth Doctor]] no matter how much he wants not to (and he really, ''really'' doesn't want to). After playing the role he spent several decades only able to play crazy {{Large Ham}}s or spooky, otherworldly geniuses, or as characters who directly inspired the Doctor's character (Literature/SherlockHolmes, Creator/OscarWilde, etc). He also came under pressure to perform these roles in the style of the Doctor ("in all but whipping out a Sonic Screwdriver"), because this was all people wanted to see him do and there was no point casting him to do anything else. Before he took the part he was considered unusually talented and was winning awards for being an up-and-coming star. After he left the part, he was (in the words of Creator/StevenMoffat) "a mad, sad, bad old ham locked away safely [[VoiceOfDramatic in a voiceover booth]]". Late in his life, with short, wavy white hair and ''Doctor Who'' remembered only by TV nostalgia shows and hardcore SF anoraks, he was able to get non-{{Expy}} roles in soap operas and sitcoms that allowed him to act in a different style, but interviews suggest he has a certain amount of bitterness over being forced to waste his talent simply because he was very good in one part. He has mellowed a ''lot'' in his 70s and 80s (better late than never). After years of refusing to even talk about the show, he appeared in the 50th anniversary episode "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]" and was prominently featured in the publicity surrounding it, and he continues to play the role of the Fourth Doctor in audio productions.

* Creator/EdONeill, a.k.a. [[Series/MarriedWithChildren Al Bundy]]. That is, him and the rest of the cast. In O'Neill's case, he was so famous for portraying Al that when he appeared in ''Film/FlightOfTheIntruder'' as a JAG prosecutor in a court martial scene, [[{{Narm}} the test audience laughed at the sight of him]], yelling "Al Bundy!" [[TheOtherMarty The scene had to be reshot with Fred Thompson playing the part]]. He has since found success on ''Series/ModernFamily''. It helps that on ''Modern Family'', his character is extremely laid back, in contrast to the angry and bitter Al. Creator/KateySagal, who famously portrayed Peggy Bundy, will be remembered [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} for]] [[Series/EightSimpleRules different]] [[Series/SonsOfAnarchy roles]].

* Creator/ChristinaApplegate's StarmakingRole was ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' where she played Kelly, the promiscuous DumbBlonde daughter. And while she doesn't regret the role, she also didn't want to be typecast as MsFanservice, so she has spent the rest of her acting career playing intelligent, driven women even in comedies.

** Most of the actors who were unknowns or relative unknowns are often associated with their character. Creator/SophieTurner was frequently called "Sansa Stark" by the media when discussing her part in ''Film/XMenApocalypse''. Maisie Williams likewise is treated as though she's basically Arya Stark.