Actors referencing their previous roles...

Indy Magnoli · Jul 19, 2015

After seeing the Deadpool trailer and Reynold's line about not making his suit green and animated, it got me thinking about actors who have referenced their previous characters in unrelated works. Like when Stallone says "Rambo was a *****" in Tango and Cash...

One of my favorites has got to be when Rick Castle dressed up as a "Space Cowboy" for Halloween:

So... any other examples?

Kind regards,
Magnoli

Probe Droid · Jul 19, 2015

Ahnold does it in those Expendables films and in another of his recent films (can't remember the name) there's a Conan sword.

Indy Magnoli · Jul 19, 2015

I loved when Willis and Schwarzenegger quoted each other's classic lines!

The Mad Professor · Jul 19, 2015

The phenomenon you are referring to is called Actor Allusion.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActorAllusion

There's a treasure trove of references from the very obvious to the extremely subtle.

My personal favorite, though, was in 3rd Rock From The Sun. The Big Giant Head (played by William Shatner) has taken human form to visit Dick and his family on Earth. They ask him how the flight over was, and BGH said it was fine, except he kept seeing something on the wing. Dick (John Lithgow) exclaims "The same thing happened to me!"

This was a double whammy of an Actor Allusion, as Shatner played an airline passenger who was being menaced by a gremlin in the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." John Lithgow would later take on the same role in a remake for the Twilight Zone movie.

SmilingOtter · Jul 19, 2015

That bit from 3rd Rock had me in hysterics when it first aired. Brilliant bit of writing. And Castle has had a number of Firefly references, though the above was the most obvious.

There was an Andromeda episode where they describe Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) as looking like a Greek god. They later find a Hercules wig and sword hidden in his quarters.

In an early NCIS episode, someone asks what Ducky (David McCallum) looked like when he was younger. Gibbs says he looked like Ilya Kuryakin - McCallum's character in The Man from UNCLE.

At the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, Nick Fury's tombstone bears the inscription "The path of the righteous man" referencing Pulp Fiction.

harrisonp · Jul 19, 2015

SmilingOtter said:
At the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, Nick Fury's tombstone bears the inscription "The path of the righteous man" referencing Pulp Fiction.

The Boondocks was on TV last night and I caught SLJ's character doing the "Say what again" speech. I never really watch the show but thought that was a funny reference

AJTaliesen · Jul 19, 2015

Third rock was was great for these. My favorite was Lithgow returning to his footloose roots

glunark · Jul 19, 2015

The opening titles of the A team after its second season had Face at universal studios looking at the cylons and recognising them.

Michael Bergeron · Jul 19, 2015

Live Action Hero when Arnie sees the Terminator Marketing material with Sly in it.

The Terminator · Jul 19, 2015

Michael Bergeron said:
Live Action Hero when Arnie sees the Terminator Marketing material with Sly in it.

*LAST Action Hero

I remember that so vividly :lol a true "what the heck" moment

Michael Bergeron · Jul 19, 2015

The Terminator said:
*LAST Action Hero

I remember that so vividly :lol a true "what the heck" moment

:lol

Mistyped! Yes, Last Action Hero.

robn1 · Jul 20, 2015

Newhart, in one episode Dick and Michael are discussing old 70s TV shows and Michael says "Remember the one with the shrink who stuttered?" And Dick said "St- stammered."

Inquisitor Peregrinus · Jul 20, 2015

^ Hell, the end of Newhart -- or Breaking Bad, for that matter -- where the main character wakes up in his previous hit show's bedroom set next to his previous hit show's TV spouse and remarks on the really weird dream he just had.

One of my favorites is from "The Men Who Stare At Goats", when Ewan MacGregor's character finally catches up to George Clooney's character and is asking him about the secret military program the latter had been part of. George says "I am a Jedi warrior" and Ewan manages to say "I have no idea what that is" with a straight face.

--Jonah

Nth · Jul 20, 2015

Edward James Olmos using the term "Skinjob" to describe Cylons in Battlestar Galactica. Term was originally from Blade Runner.

Solo4114 · Jul 20, 2015

Nth said:
Edward James Olmos using the term "Skinjob" to describe Cylons in Battlestar Galactica. Term was originally from Blade Runner.

And Olmos himself was Gaff in that film. "It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does?"

PHArchivist · Jul 20, 2015

I have mixed feelings...

For me, in the fictional world of film, when there is a direct reference to another film, it's weird to me. Like Stallone mentioning Rambo... Generally, it takes me out of the story. For me, for the most part, the fictional world of film exists in a different universe than our real world of film, and blending the two - for me - usually doesn't work.

This is not a hard and fast rule, and there are exceptions. Donner's inclusion of The Lost Boys on the theater marquee in Lethal Weapon is an example of a subtle - but direct -reference that doesn't bug me.

INDIRECT references, nods, homages, however, I tend to dig... Talking about LW (and Donner), Danny Glover's appearance in Maverick was golden!

Cam McFly · Jul 20, 2015

PHArchivist said:
I have mixed feelings...

For me, in the fictional world of film, when there is a direct reference to another film, it's weird to me. Like Stallone mentioning Rambo... Generally, it takes me out of the story. For me, for the most part, the fictional world of film exists in a different universe than our real world of film, and blending the two - for me - usually doesn't work.

This is not a hard and fast rule, and there are exceptions. Donner's inclusion of The Lost Boys on the theater marquee in Lethal Weapon is an example of a subtle - but direct -reference that doesn't bug me.

INDIRECT references, nods, homages, however, I tend to dig... Talking about LW (and Donner), Danny Glover's appearance in Maverick was golden!

Yeah, I have the same feeling. Like in Scream the kids are all watching the first Halloween movie. Then in Halloween: H20, they play Scream 2. So, in Scream, Halloween is just a movie. But in Halloween... Scream is just a movie.... so how can a universe that Halloween is just a movie appear in a universe that Scream is just a... ah screw it. It makes my head hurt!

glunark · Jul 20, 2015

One I probably like the least is Robert DeNiro doing the "you looking at me" speech in Rock and Bullwrinkle.

mattycsi · Jul 20, 2015

Sly about to punch a load of meat in Grudge Match.

JLeezy23 · Jul 20, 2015

These bits are always fun, but at the same time take me out of the monent. Shia LeBlah has a Bad Boys poster in TF:ROTF, so either Michael Bay exists in that world, or somebody else directed it. That always makes me overthink these cool moments, maybe its just a film poster that looks similar to one we saw and its totally different than what we saw?
Or The Jaime Foxx show, one ending scene he was leaving his house, then another cast member asks "where you going?" He replies with something like: "Home, this is a tv show" And that just totally threw me off :lol

Actors referencing their previous roles...

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