18 Actors Who Appeared in Remakes of Their Movies Years Later

It’s always a pleasure to see our favorite actors, especially when they reappear in the movies we love. And it seems the directors enjoy these appearances as much as we do, as the original cast artists add something really special to the remakes, especially when it ties back to the first version.

At the awesome.club we’ve compiled some simply memorable appearances by original cast members in remakes.

Ricki Lake, who played Tracy, the protagonist of hairspray from 1988, appeared in the 2007 adaptation (Hairspray — The Quest for Fame), watching the final show. And while she may have changed a bit physically, her hair has remained the same.

Jerry Stiller played the protagonist’s father in the 1988 film, and returned in 2007 as Mr. Pinky, the owner of a women’s clothing store who wanted Tracy to be his spokesperson. And it looks like he’s the only one who hasn’t changed at all in 19 years!

Murray played Peter Venkman, one of the main characters in the original film. The ghost hunters (1984). And although he fought paranormal beings at the time, in the 2016 version he comes across as a skeptic of the supernatural, who tries to discredit the new ghost hunters.

Another actor from the original cast of The ghost hunters who appeared in the remake was Dan Aykroyd. Ray Stantz became a taxi driver, and while his cameo is pretty short, it’s still fun. In his scene, he refuses to give one of the ghostbusters a ride, and what he says comes from the film’s original song: “I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

Believe it or not, this The ghost hunters 2016 still brought 3 other actors from the original version:

Annie Potts, who was the Ghostbusters secretary, returned for the 2016 version as a hotel receptionist, answering the phone with all the charm of the first version. She even repeated her phrase “Waddaya want?” (“What do you need?”), from the original film.

You probably know the Steven Spielberg movie, The War of the Worlds (2005), but you may not know that it’s a version of a 1953 hit. Rachel and Robbie’s grandparents in the remake are played by Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, who played the two lead characters in the original 1953 version, Dr. Forrester and Sylvia.

Charlton Heston played the main character, George Taylor, in the film Planet of the Apes, in 1968. In the 2001 adaptation, he appears as Thade, Zaius’ father. He also repeats the famous outburst “Damn you! Cursed from hell!”, using the same words spoken by him in the original version.

Another special appearance in Planet of the Apes, of 2001, was by Linda Harrison, who played Nova in the original film. At the beginning of the story she makes a brief appearance as one of the captured people who are taken to Monkey City in a cage. The character doesn’t say anything, which is a reference to the fact that Nova was mute.

In case you didn’t know, Eleven men and a secret, released in 2001, with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and other stars, it is not the original film, but a remake of the 1960s production of the same name. Unfortunately, there were not many actors from the first cast alive when the remake came out, so Angie Dickinson and Henry Silva were the only ones who could show up. Angie played Danny Ocean’s wife Beatrice in the original version, and Henry was Roger Corneal. Both appeared briefly in the adaptation, as spectators to a fight during the heist.

LeGros and Christopher, who played robbers Roach and Grommet in the original 1991 version, appear briefly in the 2015 film as FBI agents.

Leonard Nimoy played Spock in the original Star Trek films and surprisingly, he returned in its 2009 remake as… Spock! But as in the adaptation the character was played by Zachary Quinto, Nimoy became the Spock of the future.

Marc McClure acted in Very Crazy Friday original playing Boris, the neighbor Annabel liked. In the remake, he had a cameo role as a postman named… Boris! We’re not sure if he’s the same character from the first movie, but it’s definitely an intriguing question.

Patty McCormack played an assassin, Rhoda, in Cursed Tara, from 1956. In 2018, in the new version of Rob Lowe, she also got a role, and a very surprising one! Playing the psychiatrist of a murderer, at one point she says: “I did exactly the same as you at your age”, in a clear allusion to the original production.

Did you find any apparitions you didn’t know about on this list? Do you know other actors who appeared in an original film version? Tell us in the comments.