Merrin Dungey (born August 6, 1971 in Sacramento, California) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles as Francie Calfo/Allison Doren on Alias and Ursula on Once Upon a Time.
Works with pages on TV Tropes:
- Martin (1995; episode: "Girlfriend") as Monique
- Babylon 5 (1996; episode: "Messages from Earth") as Security Guard #2
- Living Single (1996; episode: "Woman to Woman") as Laura
- Caroline in the City (1997; episode: "Caroline and the Buyer") as Female Prostitute
- ER (1997; episode: "When the Bough Breaks") as Daphina
- Murphy Brown (1997; episode: "From the Terrace") as Woman
- Seinfeld (1998; episode: "The Bookstore") as Cashier
- Deep Impact (1998) as Sheila Bradley
- EDtv (1999) as Ms. Seaver
- Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1999; episode: "Prescription for Trouble") as Coach Williams
- The West Wing (1999; episode: "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc") as Daisy
- The King of Queens (1999 – 2007) as Kelly Palmer
- Friends (2000; episode: "The One Where Paul's the Man") as Hildy
- Grosse Pointe (2000 – 2001) as Joan
- Malcolm in the Middle (2000 – 2001) as Kitty Kenarban
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001; episode: "The Doll") as Amy
- Alias (2001 – 2003, 2006) as Francie Calfo/Allison Doren
- Summerland (2004) (2004-2005) as Susannah Rexford
- Boston Legal (2007; episode: "Angel of Death") as Sandy Zionts
- Grey's Anatomy (2007) as Dr. Naomi Bennett
- Better Off Ted (2009 – 2010) as Sheila
- Castle (2010; episode: "Den of Thieves") as Monica Finch
- The Closer (2010; episode: "Heart Attack") as Ms. Reed
- Hung (2010; 2 episodes) as Liz
- Revenge (2012; 3 episodes) as Barbara Snow
- 90210 (2013; episode: "Brother From Another Mother") as Therapist
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2014 – 2015) as Sharon Jeffords
- Episodes (2014; episode: "Episode Four") as Tonight Show Producer
- Trophy Wife (2014; episode: "The Wedding, Part 1") as Agent Dawn Johansen
- Shameless (2014; episode: "Lazarus") as Nurse
- Rizzoli & Isles (2014; episode: "It Takes a Village") as Nurse
- CSI (2014; episode: "Road to Recovery") as Twyla Owens
- Chasing Life (2014 – 2015) as Dr. Susan Hamburg
- Once Upon a Time (2014 – 2015) as Ursula
- Backstrom (2015; episode: "Enemy of My Enemies") as Eleanor Deering
- Conviction (2016 – 2017) as Maxine Bohen
- The Resident (2017 – present) as Claire Thorpe
- Star Trek: Picard (2020 - present) as Richter
- Bob's Burgers (2021) as Judith
- Shining Vale (2022) as Kam
Merrin Dungey provides examples of the following tropes:
- Ability over Appearance: When she was cast as Ursula in Once Upon a Time. The creators specifically asked for her after seeing her in Alias. Ursula is famous for being overweight and purple-skinned with short white hair. Dungey is slim, African-American and went blonde for the role.
- Awesome, Dear Boy: She immediately agreed to move to Vancouver to film Once Upon a Time and dye her hair blonde, as she had been a big fan of The Little Mermaid (1989) — and jumped at the chance to play Ursula.
- Creator-Chosen Casting: She was the first choice for Ursula, based on her work in Alias.
- Dyeing for Your Art: Dyed her hair blonde for Ursula in Once Upon a Time.
- Non-Singing Voice: Her voice is dubbed for when Ursula has her singing returned to her.
- Playing with Character Type: Her role in Lucifer seems unusually stern and strict compared to her more helpful characters, but she turns out to be pulling a Secret Test of Character.
- Playing Their Own Twin: She plays twins in Alias.
- Typecasting: At the same time, she was playing a no-nonsense cop in Conviction (2016) and Big Little Lies.
- Word of Saint Paul: Alias never stated the name of Francie's restaurant, but she says it's called 'Deep Inside'.