Typecasting (acting)

: "For other meanings, see typecasting."Typecasting is the process by which a film, TV, or stage actor is strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters with the same traits or ethnic grouping.There have been instances in which an actor has been so strongly identified with a role as to make it impossible for him or her to find work playing other characters, as in the cases of Adam West, who played Batman, Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" movies and William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in - although Shatner's highly-acclaimed perfomance in "Boston Legal" has by now undone most of the the Kirk typecast.

Some actors attempt to escape typecasting by choosing roles that are opposite the types of roles that they are known for; alternatively, a director may choose to cast an actor in a role that would be unusual for them to create a dramatic (or sometimes comedic) effect, such as Liam Neeson, who is usually casted in mentor-type roles, being cast as the villain Ra's al Ghul in "Batman Begins". Typecasting also occurs in other performing arts. An opera singer who has a great deal of success in one role, such as Denyce Graves as "Carmen", may become typecast in that role.

Actor selection

Actors are selected for their roles either by a casting director, typically found in small productions, or, in larger productions such as motion pictures, a group referred to as central casting. Central casting often exhibits a pattern of placing an actor in subsequent similar character roles after his or her first success, especially if an actor is particularly well-received in that role by the audience or by critics. Typecasting happens to actors of both great and modest ability: an actor may become typecast either because of a strong identification with a particular role or because he or she lacks the versatility or talent to move on to other roles. Some actors welcome the steady work that typecasting brings, but in general it is seen as undesirable.

With character actors

There have been instances in which an actor has been so strongly identified with a role as to make it impossible for him or her to find work playing other characters. Typecasting is a problem for character actors in particular. It is especially common among leading actors in popular TV series and films. Clayton Moore and George Reeves, who played the Lone Ranger and Superman, respectively, in the Golden Age of television, were victims of typecasting, Reeves to such an extent that his large role in "From Here to Eternity" was practically removed from the film after test audiences shouted "There's Superman!" whenever he appeared.

Adam West, who played Batman, has had incredible difficulties with typecasting, and has taken many roles since as a parody of himself because of this, in various shows including the children's cartoon show Fairly Odd Parents, and the animated sitcom Family Guy.

Woody Allen has frequently portrayed characters that uses his real-life personality in his early films. However, Allen begin to cast other actors to take over his neurotic protagonist roles due to his age.

Jason Alexander, who portrayed George Costanza in "Seinfeld", as well as Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Michael Richards (Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer respectively) have been typecast into their Seinfeld roles. This has been mocked in several episodes of the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, co-written by Larry David who has claimed his own personality traits and escapades were the basis for the George character.
Dennis Farina, who was a policeman in Chicago before becoming an actor, is frequently cast as a cop, examples being his roles on the shows "Crime Story" and "Law & Order". He is also sometimes cast on the opposite side of the law, as a criminal, such as a Mob henchman in "Thief" and a Mob boss in "Midnight Run".

Richard Roundtree, who portrayed John Shaft in the Shaft films, has tried numerous attempts to disassociate himself from being known as a Black Action Hero - from playing authority figures (e.g. Capt. Stevens in the Chuck Norris film An Eye for an Eye or a gay uncle in the TV series "Roc" - he has came to terms that he would always be associated with the Shaft character for life. Since "Shaft" was one of the key contributors to the 1970s-era blaxploitation genre, actors who appeared in blaxploitation films (Ron O'Neal in "Superfly" , Rudy Ray Moore in "Dolemite" , or Pam Grier) have embraced typecasting (O'Neal being cast as a villain in films e.g. "A Force of One" or "Red Dawn" where he was seen as a Cuban colonel).

Bela Lugosi would be forever known as Count Dracula, even though he only played him once in Universal Studios' 1931 production of "Dracula". Boris Karloff would be forever known as Frankenstein. Edward G. Robinson would be forever known as Little Caesar-and playing other "villianous/gangster roles" such as Key Largo (film) and The Ten Commandments (film)-even though he had a acting career for over 60 years. Judy Garland would be forever known as "Dorothy Gale" from "The Wizard of Oz". Mark Hamill found it difficult shaking off his lightsaber-wielding "Star Wars" persona after three movies playing the space opera hero Luke Skywalker and had a similar concern as a voice actor where his acclaimed role as the Joker in "" typecast him into villain roles. As well, Ralph Macchio became strongly associated with his martial arts role in the 1980s-era movie "The Karate Kid".

R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine drill instructor, has been typecast as a drill instructor since his breakout role as one in "Full Metal Jacket". At minimum, he has been typecast as a military actor, though he has played non-military roles as well. Kelsey Grammer, known for his character Frasier Crane, an intellectual, classy and cultured man, also did Sideshow Bob's voice-overs and played the Beast in the "X-Men" movies. Both Sideshow Bob and the Beast are cultured and intellectual characters. DeForest Kelley had a thriving career as a character actor before being typecast as "Bones," the ship's doctor on the television series "Star Trek", after which he was very seldom cast in any other role.

John Travolta has lived with typecasting throughout his acting career (from his 1970s roles e.g. "Welcome Back Kotter", "Saturday Night Fever", or his association with two Brian DePalma films - Carrie and Blow Out) - especially during the 1980s after the sequel to "Saturday Night Fever" ("Staying Alive" ) became a box office flop - his agent intervened several times - some of his aborted roles went to actor Richard Gere or recast (he was suggested by the producers of "Splash" where Tom Hanks became the lead. After a friendship with Bruce Willis (for the "Look's Who's Talking" films c. 1989 - his acting career was considered resurrected until his Oscar nomination for "Pulp Fiction". Kiefer Sutherland spent most of his big-screen career playing heartless killers, although he has played heroes on occasion. This typecasting had been since shaken off after he starred in "24"

Child actors may also suffer from typecasting (e.g. Macaulay Culkin in "Home Alone", Jay North in "Dennis the Menace"). The appearance of the adult actor may differ so much from his or her childhood persona as to make him or her less marketable. Typecasting in children is seen as less of an issue when the child is portraying a dramatic or mature character, such as Haley Joel Osment, the child actor in "The Sixth Sense" and "A.I.", Bill Mumy, the ex-child actor in "Lost in Space", or Brandon Cruz, the former child actor in "The Courtship of Eddie's Father".

In rare cases, it is a medical condition that gives an actor a distinct appearance and contributes to typecasting. Michael Berryman, whose hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia caused him to fail to develop hair, sweat glands, fingernails or teeth, has been typecast as an array of disturbing characters, mostly in horror films. Michael J. Anderson's case was parodied in an episode of "The X-Files" in which the three-foot tall actor bridled at being mistaken for a former circus freak.

Reportedly Ted Knight nearly left "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" because fans typecast him as Ted Baxter; he later played the comic role in "Too Close for Comfort". Other reported examples of fans typecasting were "Gilligan's Island" stars Bob Denver, Russell Johnson and Natalie Schafer. Larry Linville also played typecast roles of unstable Frank Burns types. Khigh Dheigh played Asian villain types. Werner Klemperer and John Banner played stereotype Germans. In addition, many actors whose roles have been particularly typecast were Ray Walston and Bill Bixby of "My Favorite Martian", who both had difficulty finding roles, Raymond Burr of "Perry Mason", Don Adams and Barbara Feldon both from "Get Smart", found lesser roles after playing Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, respectively, "Lost in Space"'s Jonathan Harris was no longer working, despite his Dr. Zachary Smith, role, which was obviously typecast, Paul Petersen of "The Donna Reed Show" had trouble finding adult roles. Sam Melville (actor) would forever be known as Officer Danko of The Rookies-even though he played villains on episodes of Gunsmoke and Hawaii Five-O. Other "Rookies" actors identified with their particular roles Georg Stanford Brown as Officer Webster and Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Ryker. Other Hawaii Five-O actors forever known as their "5-0" roles would be Jack Lord as "Book em Dano MacGarret"; James MacArthur as "Dano" {even through he played exceptional roles in Walt Disney adoptations of Kidnapped and Swiss Family Robinson}; Kam Fong as "Chin Ho"; Richard Denning as the "Governor".

Andy Griffith found lesser-known roles after starring in "The Andy Griffith Show", Carroll O'Connor of "All in the Family", was not having any luck in finding better known roles, Barbara Eden also had trouble finding roles after starring in "I Dream of Jeannie", long before her former co-star Larry Hagman was extremely typecast for portraying J.R. Ewing in "Dallas", and William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, whose characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, have also been extremely typecast (Nimoy published two books - "I Am Not Spock" and "I Am Spock" based on his personal experiences). In addition, Buddy Ebsen who portrayed the role of Jed Clampett in "The Beverly Hillbillies", was severely typecast, but found another role, playing "Barnaby Jones", and Delta Burke had a hard time finding roles after her Suzanne Sugarbaker character, was severely typecast.

The entire cast of "Gilligan's Island" has been pretty much typecast as their respective roles in the series since its cancellation. This explains Tina Louise's desire to all but divorce herself from the series entirely.

Sometimes, actors begin as one form of character in their break-out role and subsequently become typecast for a role that is polar opposite, such as the case with actor Sean Penn, who in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" portrayed a friendly, stoned "surfer dude", but has since become known for intense, unsympathetic roles. Katt Williams is considered typecast, as many of his characters are based on the stereotype of a pimp. Actor Juan Fernandez faced the same - portraying hitmen Crocodile Dundee II, pimps , and a suicide bomber in the film Executive Decision. American actor Seann William Scott is considered typecast, due to his role as Steve Stifler in the "American Pie" teen sex comedy series, who is considered a 'jerk' and a person who only cares about sex rather than relationships. Further roles of his, such as in "Road Trip" , contain many similarities to the Stifler character.

Bruce Willis played a hero cop in "Die Hard" ; "Die Hard 2" ;"Die Hard with a Vengeance" and "Live Free or Die Hard"; he rarely strays from this type (except for his role as a professional killer in "The Jackal (film)"). Victor McLaglen {an Englishman} played stupid or bullying Irishmen in films such as "The Informer (film)" or "The Quiet Man". Ironically Edward Mulhare {Irish}; Michael O'Herlihy {Irish} and Patrick McGoohan {Irish-USA} played upper class Englishmen. Thomas F. Wilson is known as Biff Tannen in the "Back to the Future" films as a menacing bully although have portrayed a police officer in "Action Jackson" and "Blood In Blood Out" . Don Knotts played bumbling Barney Fife types on TV, movies and cartoons. Adam West; Burt Ward;Burgess Meredith; Cesar Romero; Frank Gorshin; and Julie Newmar would be forever identified as playing Batman; Robin;Penguin; Joker; Riddler and Catwomen.

Playing against type

Some actors attempt to escape typecasting by choosing roles that are opposite the types of roles that they are known for; alternatively, a director may choose to cast an actor in a role that would be unusual for them to create a dramatic effect. This is called "playing against type" or "casting against type". Tom Hanks eschewed his "nice guy" image by playing a gangster in "Road to Perdition", and a relentless FBI agent in Catch Me If You Can. Dustin Hoffman played the disreputable, manipulative Ratso in the gritty film "Midnight Cowboy" after playing the naive Benjamin in "The Graduate", which may have helped him to avoid typecasting. Elijah Wood attempted to escape typecasting after his portrayal of the Hobbit Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by playing a trio of undesirables—a football hooligan in "Green Street", a cannibalistic serial killer in "Sin City" and a dishonest employee in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Actress Deborah Kerr, who before 1953 was well known as the "English Rose", a prim, proper English lady, was cast as discontented, lustful Karen Holmes in "From Here to Eternity". Another pair of examples are Ronny Cox and Kurtwood Smith in "RoboCop". Prior to 1987, Cox had been known for his "good guy" roles, so to play against type, Cox accepted the role of villain Dick Jones. Smith also chose to play against type; in addition to reading for Dick Jones, Smith ended up taking the role of Clarence Boddicker, a "thinking man's villain".

Daniel Radcliffe, the child actor in the wizard-themed "Harry Potter" film series, recently starred in a stage production of the controversial play Equus that involved an on-stage simulated sex act and full-frontal nudity. Although the role may not have been chosen to counter any typecasting he may face as an adult, Daniel let people know he was willing and able to move beyond the Harry Potter universe. To avoid being typecast as a comedy actor, Robin Williams accepted a number of dramatic roles, including Sy Parrish, a film developer who becomes obsessed with a particular client's family in "One Hour Photo"; the neurologist Oliver Sacks in "Awakenings"; and a sociopathic writer in "Insomnia". Williams also won an Academy Award in 1998 for his role as the glum psychologist in "Good Will Hunting". In a similar vein, actor Josh Peck changed his light-hearted, moral-learning personality in the 2007 dramedy film, The Wackness, in which he is a lonely, socially awkward drug-dealing teenager.

Though accounts differ, it has been reported that Christopher Eccleston's departure from his role in Doctor Who as the Ninth Doctor after only one series was to avoid typecasting that other actors to play The Doctor have experienced, such as Tom Baker.

Some actors turn down otherwise desirable roles for fear of typecasting. Denzel Washington declined to portray Martin Luther King Jr. after playing two civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Steve Biko.

Within some shows, an actor who has one of the leading roles may also play another part, for a change of pace. For example, on "Bewitched", Elizabeth Montgomery played the occasional role of Serena in addition to the regular role of Samantha. Max Baer, Jr. who was on The Beverly Hillbillies for nine years was worrried that he would be typecast as "Jethro Bodine", so he produced, wrote and acted in 1974 movie Macon County Line.

In 2001 and 2004, Anne Hathaway became recognized for her girl-next-door role as Mia Thermopolis in Disney's "The Princess Diaries" and its . To play against type, Hathaway next appeared in the adult-oriented erotic thriller "Havoc"; her character appeared in several scenes topless, and engaged in simulated oral and vaginal sex acts.

Playing within type

Some actors embrace typecasting. Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris usually portrays heroic characters, at least after his first two roles, in which he was a hitman in "Way of the Dragon" and a crime boss in the Hong Kong–produced "Slaughter in San Francisco". Later, Norris turned down the role of Sensei Kreese in "The Karate Kid" because, as a martial arts champion, he felt he should not be connected to an evil character. Embracing typecasting is sometimes referred to as "Seagalism", named for the often-typecast actor Steven Seagal, who always stars as a heroic figure in his action/martial arts films. Fans often expect a particular actor to play a "type", and roles which deviate from what is expected can be commercial failures. This beneficial typecasting is particularly common in action movies (e.g., Jackie Chan) and comedies (Adam Sandler) but much less common in drama, although many B-list character actors make careers out of playing a particular dramatic type, and it is often suggested to would-be actors that they audition for roles that fit their type.Fact|date=June 2007 Some actors e.g. Harold Sakata or Fred Berry have adopted their character names as part of their legal names (Harold "Oddjob" Sakata or Fred "ReRun" Berry).

ee also

* Child actor
* Rat pack
* Brat pack
* Frat pack
* Hollywoodland: a film about George Reeves, who was typecast as Superman