5 Actors Who Played the Same Character in Totally Different Movies
These actors were so good in their roles they were invited to reprise them in other films.
Signing a contract to play a character in several movies is the ultimate dream for many actors. For instance, Marvel stars know they will remain relevant and financially secure for years to come, portraying the same heroes in the upcoming installments of the MCU.
But sometimes, an actor does so well in their role that they are invited to continue portraying their character in a completely different movie. Here are five notable examples.
J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
Fans of the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man trilogy loved J. K. Simmons' portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson, the eccentric editor of the newspaper where Peter Parker worked as a photojournalist.
Twenty years later, the actor reprised role in the new Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland. This made Simmons the first actor to play the same character in movies from different comic universes.
Damon Herriman as Charles Manson
Australian actor Damon Herriman may not be a household name, but he has starred in various projects by Quentin Tarantino and David Fincher.
One of his most prominent roles is that of Charles Manson, the infamous real-life madman. He first portrayed the character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and then in the TV series Mindhunter.
Bruce Willis as John McClane
John McClane is a cult movie character from the Die Hard film series, played wonderfully by Bruce Willis.
After the first two Die Hard movies came out in 1988 and 1990, John McClane had made a brief appearance in the 1993 parody movie Loaded Weapon 1, which was full of references to popular action movies of the time. In the film, his house was accidentally blown up.
Seeing the familiar character was a great and pleasant surprise to viewers.
Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz
One of the most popular roles in Dan Aykroyd's career is undoubtedly Ray Stantz in the famous comedy Ghostbusters, which was a big hit in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s.
In 1995, the actor also appeared in Casper, a movie about a friendly ghost, playing the same character from the Ghostbusters series. This time not accompanied by his team, Ray had to make Casper vacate an old mansion.
Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown
Christopher Lloyd is known for many great roles, one of which is character Doc Brown, the wacky inventor of the DeLorean time machine.
After starring in the Back to the Future franchise, the actor returned to the iconic role once again in another project — A Million Ways to Die in the West. In the movie, Doc Brown can be seen working on his DeLorean, which is a reference to Doc getting stuck in 1885 in Back to the Future Part III.