Help shape these rankings by voting on this list of 14 Actors You Forgot Starred On Huge '90s TV Shows
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Vote up the celebrities you forgot joined classic shows.
Everyone knows that familiar feeling of when you turn on a show - maybe it is new to you or maybe you are rewatching an old nostalgic favorite - and as you watch, all of a sudden, you see a face that you recognize and point and say, “Hey, I didn’t know they were in this!” It is easy to forget that movie stars have to start somewhere, but they aren’t usually remembered for their stints on sitcoms or police procedurals before they hit it big. There will always be easy examples of stars hitting it big after first coming up on the small screen, such as George Clooney in ER. But sometimes, it is hard to recall where someone got their start, and their performances have been largely forgotten by audiences over time.
Other times, maybe after an actor is further along in their career but needs work, they may find themselves being introduced into an already successful TV show - oftentimes replacing a cast member leaving - and these sorts of performances often evaporate from fans' mental databases of actor roles as well.
Whether either or neither is the case, below are performances and characters that, despite the celebrity or prestige of the actor, have largely been left behind and forgotten about.
Known for her roles in classic films like 9 to 5 or for her hilarious characters in shows like The West Wing or Grace and Frankie, Lily Tomlin has been a staple of the entertainment industry for a long time, and there are seemingly endless roles you may recognize her from. One that seems to be talked about much less, however, was when she filled in during Grant Shroud’s absence from the 9th and 10th seasons of Murphy Brown as the show's fictional news programs producer. Tomlin has been celebrated throughout her entire career for her ability to weave comedy seamlessly into her characters, and in Murphy Brown, this was no different.
She had begun her career as a comedian, gaining popularity on the sketch show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In with a variety of characters, then after releasing multiple highly successful comedy albums, she made the transition to movies. Striking gold early in her film career, in her very first movie role, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part in Robert Altman’s 1977 film Nashville, and from there on out, she was a bonafide star. After a flurry of successful comedy films in the '80s, she would then dip her toes back in the waters of TV, by first voicing Miss Frizzle of The Magic School Bus series, and then her role in Murphy Brown as the investigative journalist’s producer. Her character, Kay Carter-Shepley, at first clashes with the reporter Brown, but eventually the two develop a genuine friendship as well as a good work relationship throughout the rest of the show.
With David Duchovny’s fame largely coming from X-Files, a show based around government agents launching investigations into the supernatural, it seems only fitting that he plays a part in Twin Peaks, a show with that same general concept. Not only that, but in it, he is playing a government agent as well. Only one thing is different from his character Fox Mulder in X-Files, and that is that in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks the actor plays Denise, a transgender DEA agent. So, maybe you remember Duchovny’s appearance now, or maybe not, but either way, it is a performance and character that you won't forget about again.
It was radical for the time to feature a transgender character on a cable show like this, and the treatment of Denise is remarkably forward-thinking with very few remarks or comments being made that would be seen as insensitive today. Prior to the show taking place, FBI agent Dale Cooper had worked with Duchovny’s character, but when the lipstick-wearing and long-haired Denise walks into the Sheriff's office, all the officers are surprised. They quickly adapt, though, and the rest of the town accepts her similarly, like in a heartwarming moment in which a shocked Audrey Horne remarks how she didn’t know there were female agents. It is a nice moment of acceptance rather than a setup for a cruel joke.
It seems like for such a unique and ground-breaking role that there would be more discussion about Denise and Duchovny’s portrayal of her, but she has mostly remained solely among the thoughts and minds of Twin Peaks’ dedicated base of fans.
Unless you are a dedicated fan of The X-Files, you may not even know that star and series lead David Duchovny left the show after the 8th season, and though he did return afterward, he was no longer really the main focus of the show. Leaving his partner Dana Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, meant that she was in need of a new partner to investigate the paranormal activity of the X-Files with, and Robert Patrick’s new character, a former marine and police officer named John Doggett, filled the opening admirably. Patrick was, and still is, known mainly for his big break of a part in The Terminator franchise's second film T2: Judgment Day, in which he plays the main antagonist, but here, he got to play one of the good guys for once - not a common occurrence in his career full of villainous roles.
Scully and Mulder were always filling the screen with sexual tension, and their complicated work and personal relationship dynamics, along with vastly differing beliefs, were always a large part of the show. So when Duchovny left, fans worried they would never be able to recapture the same sort of partnership that made people love the show so much. But new characters open up new possibilities, and a major shift occurred in the foundation of the show's dynamic after he departed.
Patrick’s new character took over the unofficial “no-nonsense non-believer” role in the partnership that had previously belonged to Scully, and now thanks to her years spent with the idealistic and alien-obsessed Fox Mulder, the special agent from then on found herself filling the role of “believer” and was no longer the skeptic she once was - thanks to the numerous pieces of unexplained evidence she had come across over their investigations. So while Patrick’s Doggett may not be anyone's favorite character in the X-Files, his appearance, which has been largely forgotten by audiences, was a vital one in keeping the show afloat.
When you see Steve Carell’s face, it is very hard not to see him as Michael Scott, and this is despite his numerous substantial characters from all kinds of projects - serious or comedic. The guy was nominated for an Oscar for his work in Foxcatcher, but he was also one of the most beloved comedy protagonists ever as Andy in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He has had success in all kinds of genres and different platforms, though many forget where Carell got his first notable spot on TV, as a correspondent for The Daily Show.
First appearing in the third season of the show - the show then just having been taken over by host Jon Stewart - Carell is just one of the several high-profile actors and comedians who first were correspondents on the comedic news show. Though, looking at some of the top names on the rest of the list like Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, Hasan Minaj, Samantha Bee, and more, it seems as though most, if not all of them, still do some sort of comedic news or host some sort of similar program. Carell went in a very different direction than the rest clearly, as after his days as a reporting correspondent for the show, he transitioned seamlessly into the acting work we all know and love. But not many remember that both he and his The Office co-star Ed Helms both initially rose to fame on the long-running Comedy Central show.
Universally loved and one of the most recognizable celebrities of today, Paul Rudd, long before being known as Ant-Man of the MCU or a newscaster in Anchorman, was Mike Hannigan, Phoebe’s final love interest and eventual husband in Friends. Rudd’s famous charisma and nice-guy charm were always in full effect with this character, leading to his quick rise to becoming a fan favorite.
Those qualities along with his goofy disposition and eccentric behavior perfectly matched that of the wildcard Phoebe, and the two seemed as if they couldn’t be a better pair. Luckily, fate brought the two characters together… if you call “fate” Joey lying to Phoebe about having set up a date for her with a friend named Mike, and then going into the park and yelling the name until finally someone with that name responds and says they will go out with her. That classifies as fate still, doesn’t it?
It is well known that before Bryan Cranston was everyone’s favorite meth-cooking chemistry teacher Walter White in Breaking Bad, he was Malcolm’s wacky father Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. But even before this came a significant part that would end up being one of his biggest breaks and highest profile roles up until that point in his career, and that was playing Tim Whatley of Seinfeld.
Playing Jerry’s dentist as well as being a short-lived love interest of Elaine’s who, like most people, has multiple awkward or questionable interactions with the crew, that result in many group discussions at the coffee shop about his behavior, and a larger conversation about people like him in society. The Seinfeld norm, basically. And, man, is there some weirdness being dished out by the four-time Leading Actor Emmy winner in the different appearances he makes over the course of the show. In one episode, it is brought to Jerry’s attention that not only is Cranston’s character sleeping with his dental assistants, but he may be involving patients involuntarily when they are put under during dental procedures. Just leave it to the '90s to go and try to make a storyline about a doctor sexually assaulting patients seem funny, but this crass episode plot doesn’t seem to effect his standing with the main characters as Jerry returns to his office again in a later episode.
