11 Artists Who Were Known For Only One Role, But Actually Have Dozens Of Other Successful Actings

Of course, everyone knows that sometimes actors end up becoming hostages to a remarkable role. And no matter how many other projects they starred in afterwards, the public will still associate them with that character, always mentioning the film or series in question and sometimes even overshadowing their more recent work.

We, from awesome.club, we decided to explore the filmography of 11 artists who ended up marked by a successful character, but have dozens of other successful performances. Check out!

Kevin McNally can be considered a “king” of secondary roles, after all, his filmography is full of them. For example, the actor starred in Downton Abbey, The Crown, Doctor Who, The Phantom of the Opera, Johnny English and many other projects. We could also see him in the miniseries Wuthering Heights, in which he played opposite Tom Hardy, giving life to the character Mr. Earnshaw — a wealthy man of high morals.

Kevin’s most famous performance was as the dashing pirate Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Incidentally, he is one of only three artists to have appeared in all five films in the franchise. Despite the extensive filmography, which includes a variety of supporting roles, Kevin Mcnally does not have any film awards.

In an interview, the actress said that her father often noticed children screaming as they drove by in front of his house: “Harry Potter’s grandfather lives there!” And that’s a good example of how film fiction and real life can mix in the minds of younger fans.

For most people, Fiona became known exactly for her performance as the strict Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise. However, the artist points out that she also has fans in the theater world, and that they know her for other works that are quite different from those about the wizarding universe. In addition, the actress has several productions in her filmography. For example, Fiona played the touching role of Dr. Eileen Cole, in the drama My Left Foot; and for her performance on Killing Eve: Double Obsession, she was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Ian McDiarmid played Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise, the character for which he is best known. On the big screen, the actor also acted in the film adaptation Crime and Punishment, and gave life to Dr. Thomas Lancaster in The Legend of the Headless Horseman. Furthermore, Ian McDiarmid is also quite popular in the theater world.

In 2003, Kristanna Loken gave life to her most famous character – the Terminator robot TX in the feature film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, by Jonathan Mostow. Two years later, the actress got the lead role in the film BloodRayne, based on the story of a video game.

The production was a failure, however, some critics pointed out that Kristanna was precisely responsible for “saving a little” the film. However, the merits of the artist are not limited to this. She was awarded as best supporting actress for her performance in Lime Salted Love (no Portuguese version).

The actor gave life to the scary and ruthless Imhotep in two films of the franchise The Mummy, which, by the way, brought him worldwide fame. Vosloo continues to record for various projects, but no longer in lead roles. You could see him, for example, as Zartan in GI Joe – The Rise of Cobra, and in the series Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Blacklist.

Gimli, one of the most charismatic “dwarfs” in The Lord of the Rings franchise, turned out to be such a charming character in large part due to the talent of John Rhys-Davies. In addition to this work, the actor is also known for his role as the Egyptian Sallah in the Indiana Jones film series. In addition, John’s filmography has a series of supporting performances, as, for example, in the series The Chronicles of Shannara and Star Trek: Voyager. And for his work on the Shogun miniseries, the artist was nominated for an Emmy award.

In the 2000s, the series about the charismatic Dr. House became a real success, reaching the top of the ratings and even entering the Guinness Book of Records. And the actors, naturally, gained unprecedented fame. So much so that Robert Sean Leonard was etched in the public’s memory as Dr. James Wilson. By the way, the artist could not have recorded this role: at the time, he had to choose between two projects, but he ended up opting for Dr. Casa, Lar.

Before achieving worldwide fame, Robert acted brilliantly in Much Ado About Nothing and Dead Poets Society. And for his performance as Neil in the latter, the actor was nominated for an award from the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Rachel Brosnahan has starred primarily in sitcoms including The Good Wife — For the Right to Start Over, CSI: Miami and Grey’s Anatomy. And her most prominent role was as Rachel Posner in House of Cards, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination. The actress continued playing supporting characters in several projects until she received a Golden Globe and an Emmy award for her performance as Miriam Maisel, in the series Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

The portrayal of this brilliant housewife certainly overshadowed Rachel’s other works, although she has continued to record steadily ever since. An example was her brilliant performance in The English Spy, in which she played opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

In addition to Agent Smith in The Matrix, there was also Agent Brown. And he was played by Australian actor Paul Goddard. The character participated in the pursuit of Trinity and the interrogation of Morpheus. However, few remember that Paul also acted in a small role as the protagonist’s son-in-law in the charming children’s film Babe.

Many, of course, remember Julian McMahon as the charismatic, cunning and charming character of Young Witches Cole Turner. The guy appears in season three as an assistant district attorney and wins Phoebe’s heart. However, after a while, the Halliwell sisters end up discovering that Cole is, in fact, the demon Belthazor.

The series brought worldwide fame to the actor and, with that, several job offers. Julian has acted in Aesthetics and in two films in the Fantastic Four franchise. However, it is difficult to recognize the artist in the feature films about the superhero quartet: he played Doctor Doom, who constantly wears a mask.

The beautiful and fearless wildling Ygritte from Game of Thrones was played by Rose Leslie. For this performance, the actress was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award, but did not win it. Although the series brought her fame, certainly few remember Rose’s other work, such as, for example, her portrayal as an employee of the Crawley family in Downton Abbey.

The artist also landed an important role in the recent adaptation for the big screen of the homonymous novel by Agatha Christie Death on the Nile, in which she gives life to the character of Louise Bourget.

What other artists who have had their image heavily tied to a successful character would you add to our list? In your opinion, how can this problem be solved? Tell us in the comments section.