Not so famous celebrities?

You Can't Run Away From Who You Are

I just wanted to share my thoughts regarding our pop culture world. The other day, I started thinking about celebrities who are actually “famous characters.” What I mean is there are certain actors/actresses who are simply famous for the role they played. The criteria for a “person turned character” is as follows:

1) If you were to see this person strolling through the streets of your hometown, your first instinct would be to yell out his movie/TV characters name instead of his/her own real name.
2) If you are flipping through the television and stumble across this actor. You become physically uncomfortable watching the actor play a different role.
3) If you see the actor/actress in another movie/show, you keep waiting for him to bust out one of your favorite lines from his previous role.


1) Jason Alexander – Who can help it? When one plays such a classic role in such a great comedy, it’s a hard stigma to lose. Jason will always be the loveable George Costanza, and that’s not a bad thing. Yada…yada…yada

2) Jennifer Anniston – Though she’s made some great efforts at expanding her image, I think she still falls in this category. Perhaps this one is debatable. If I saw here walking along the streets of Jackson, MS….I would more likely call her Jennifer than Rachel. Oh well. I’ve just convinced myself this was a poor choice.

3) Reginald VelJohnson – Maybe not a specific character. You might think of him in Family Matters, or you might remember him from Die Hard. But he will always be an overweight cop that loves to eat. (Turner and Hooch anyone?)

4) Ralph Maccio – When I saw Ralph in My Cousin Vinny I screamed…. “Daniel Larusso is gonna fight” Let’s face it, the reason he is out of acting is he just can’t get past it. I kept waiting for him to drop a crane kick on Joe Pesci.

5) Mario Lopez – attempting to play Greg Luganis as your big breakthrough was a poor choice. Animal Planet appearances and other gigs have never been able to shake the stigma of being Albert Clifford (A.C.) Slater. Just slip back on the elastic waistband jeans and revel in your role.

6) Mark Paul Gosselar – Again, who doesn’t see him on another show and accidentally say “that’s Zach Morris.” Every time I see him, I expect to see basketball High tops being worn with his pants.

7) Richard Dean Anderson – you can’t wear a mullet for that long, stop a bomb with a hockey ticket and not expect to be eternally remembered for your role. When ole Rich appeared in the T.V. show “Stargate”, for me it was simply watching Macgyver uncomfortably live in some future world.

8) Robert Patrick – That’s right, you probably don’t even know his real name, that’s because he will always be T-1000 from Terminator. Heck, instead of yelling his name, if I saw this guy strolling downtown streets in a police uniform, I might just run away screaming for Arnold!

9) John Stamos – Saw him the other day on a talk show. What were my thoughts? There is Uncle Jessie, Elvis lover, motorcycle rider, yet a tender-hearted uncle to his nieces. Heck, go ahead and lump any Full House character into this category.

10) Mark Hamill – Mark will always be Luke Skywalker. Hands down, no questions asked. Few can be the central character of the greatest trilogy of all time and expect to lose the label. I refuse to believe that the reason Mark didn’t have starring roles in other movies was due to a lack of ability (snicker)…it’s simply because he would be Luke Skywalker in whatever movie he made an appearance.

11) Carrie Fisher – Nice try in “The Burbs.” However, Carrie will always be the bun style haired Princess Lea.

12) ALF – Come on, have you ever seen the lovable 80’s alien in any other show or movie? Of course not, he will always be ALF.

13) Kazaam – Whenever I see Shaquile O’Neal on the basketball court, I think…”look at Kazaam play basketball.”

I hope you enjoyed the discussion. Here at sweet emotion we deal with all the important issues in life. I hope this will enhance your pop culture lens and create some stimulating discussions. Any other ideas?