Christian Bale assays a rare pop culture two-fer as he signs on for the role of grown up John Connor in the planned TERMINATOR relaunch:
Bale will play Connor, now in his 30s, in the fourth installment of the “Terminator” franchise, to be set in the future. McG is directing the project, skedded for an April start in Budapest.
Bale has been rumored to be involved in the project for weeks, but there had been conflicting reports about his role.
What other such two time heroes are there? The original Schwazenator was both the Terminator and Conan, of course. Harrison Ford was Han AND Indy. Wallace Shawn was Wallace Shawn AND Vizzini. We’re spacing here…there must be lots more. Knock yourself out.
Eastwood was Dirty Harry and the Man With No Name. Stallone was Rambo and Rocky. Connery was Bond and Zardoz.
Wait, scratch that last one.
Ian McKellen was Gandalf AND Magneto!
Peter Weller was Buckaroo Banzai and Robocop. Oh, and Alec Baldwin was Jack Ryan and The Shadow.
Ben Affleck has played both a comic book creator and a comic book character!
Let’s not forget the women:
Jessica Alba (Sin City and FF)
Halle Berry (X-Men and Catwoman)
Rebecca Romijn Stamos (X-Men and Punisher)
Rosario Dawson (Sin City and MIB II)
Kirsten Dunst (The Crow and Spider-Man)
Jennifer Connaly (The Rocketeer and Hulk)
Threefer: Kim Catrall… Miss Honeywell in Porky’s, a Vulcan that fans hate in Star Trek II, and Samantha in Sex In The City.
Then you’ve got great character actors who headline, like John Cleese, Peter Sellers, and John Lithgow.
And Sir Sean was in Time Bandits, and two different Robin Hood movies! George Clooney in Batman and Oceans 11+. Chris Marsden in Xmen and Superman? Tim Allen in Toy Story and Santa Clause.Marlon Brando in the Godfather and Superman. Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek and Planet Of The Apes? Roddy McDowell in Apes and Batman TV?
My cell browser only has one window, so this is from memory… but doesn’t Jason Bourne moonlight as Jack Ryan? And isn’t Buckaroo Banzai also Robocop? Austin Powers is Shreck, and Donkey is a Beverly Hills Cop. (do I get points for a degree of separation?)
Orson Welles was Harry Lime and Unicron.
Too many to count. I’ll go for oldies:
Gary Cooper: Lou Gehrig and Sgt.York
George Arliss: Disraeli, Voltaire
Marlon Brando: Jor-El, Godfather
Lon Chaney: Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera
Gregory Peck: Atticus Finch, Douglas MacArthur
Douglas Fairbanks: Zorro, Robin Hood
George Hamilton: Zorro, Evil Knievel(!)
Enuffa dat.
Did we get Patrick Stewart? Both Jean Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier.
What’s more important than who else has played multiple fan favorites is that now everybody viewing the new Terminator movies will be waiting, consciously or not, for John Connor to announce, “I’m Batman” in a gravelly voice and pull some whupass out of his utility belt. Much as we waited for Hugo Weaving’s Elrond to turn to Frodo and say something like, “That is the sound of inevitability, Mr. Baggins.”
To be nitpicky, it’s Kirstie Alley in Star Trek II and Kim Catrell in Star Trek VI.
Oh, I’ve wasted my life.
Nobody much cares for Robin Curtis as Saavik in Parts III and IV, either. And speaking of Star Trek: You have William Shatner as Kirk and T.J. Hooker; and Ricardo Montalban as Khan and Mr. Roarke.
Also, going further back, Humphrey Bogart was both Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe.
Bogie wins!
I think McKellen’s Gandalf/Magneto double wins for most famed literary (*ahem) characters. That’s the one I was trying to think of.
Buster Crabbe was Tarzan AND Flash Gordon AND Buck Rogers AND Billy the Kid!
Kirk Alyn was Superman and Blackhawk.
Charlton Heston was Moses and Taylor
Tom Tyler was Captain Marvel and the Phantom, as well as lots of cowboys.
Linda Carter was Wonder Woman and had a teacher role in Sky High.
Keanu Reeves was in Matrix and Constantine
Urma Thurman in Kill Bill and My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Stallone was also in Judge Dredd and Spy Kids 3D
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywaker and Guyver (live action Manga Superhero) – not to mention all his voice acting for Superhero Cartoons.
Natalie Portman in Star Wars Prequels and V for Vendetta
Will Smith for Men in Black and I, Robot.
Tommy Lee Jones for Men in Black and Batman.. Forever was it? He played Two Face.
Arnold was Mr. Freeze and Conan.
Johnny Depp in From Hell and Pirates of the Caribbean (rumored for Sin City II & III)
James Earl Jones:
Vader.
Mufasa.
CNN.
Admiral Greer in the Jack Ryan series.
He’s even in Dr. Strangelove.
But the real winner? Lon Chaney Jr.
The Wolfman
The Frankenstein Monster
The Mummy
Count Dracula
Sinbad
Lennie from Of Mice and Men
Kids, you are losing sight of the game a bit. It is not just playing two characters in genre films….any schnook can do that. It’s characters of roughly equal value! Thus Lynda Carter playing WW AND a character in SKY HIGH doesn’t count because the Sky High character was clearly an homage to her role as Wonder Woman.
Jessica Alba as Nancy and Sue Storm does count, though.
I think Lon Chaney is the winner. For extra credit: imagine internet reaction to Lon Chaney’s career.
Asked my fanboy coworkers… Mel Gibson in Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. Frank Langella in Superman, Dracula, and Skeletor. John Rhys Davies in Raiders/last Crusade and Lord Of The Rings (you can link him with Connery and Ford). Orlando Bloom.
Ron Ely was Tarzan & Doc Savage.
Phillip Jose Farmer must have creamed his shorts when he heard that.
~
Coat
Christopher Lee was Saruman and Count Dooku (and Dracula, King Haggard, Scaramanga, Sherlock Holmes ….)
Clancy Brown — The Kurgan and Rawhide in Buckaroo Banzai and the voice of Lex Luthor.
Anthony Perkins — Norman Bates and Jimmy Peirsall.
Malcolm McDowell — Caligula and Alex
David Warner — Evil and ra’s al ghul
Scott Bakula was Sam Beckett and Cap… um… wait, nevermind, that other show didn’t exist. (At least, I keep telling myself that.)
Kurt Russell was Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China) and Snake Plissken (Escape from New York)
I left off