Summary

Casting tricks can contribute an extra layer of use to even thebest telecasting display , and read a meta approach when pick out an worker can better the viewer ’s experience . While many meta castings can take space because an actor has a pre - existing association with a franchise , it ’s not always the casing . It ’s also potential thata ego - aware be sick selection can be a nod to something that ’s accept spot in the real world .

There are many decisions that go into cast for a use in a TV show , but sometimes a specific histrion can sum up something extra to the part beyond their strong-arm portrayal of the character . A meta cast often do with huge expectations . This is because the reputation and chronicle of the actor in question may instil preconceptions in the show ’s audience . However , context is key , andthere ’s more than one understanding a meta cast can work brilliantly .

10Andy Serkis As Kino Loy In Andor

Serkis Already Played Another Character In The Star Wars Franchise

Cast

Serkis ' face may not be as recognizable as his consistence of employment . The actor is better known as a question capture specialist , often serving as a guide and voice artist for CGI characters . make hisStar Warsdebut in 2015’sStar Wars : Episode VII - The Force Awakens , Serkis used his skill set to bring Supreme Leader Snoke to life .

Fans of Serkis ' work may have been cognisant that he toy the scoundrel inThe Force Awakens , so seeing the histrion in his true form during another entry in theStar Warssaga would have placed them on the back foot . Although Kino Loy ab initio does fall across as the bad guy inAndor , Serkis ' newStar Warscharacter terminate up being instrumental in aiding the titular Italian sandwich ’s escape from regal prison house . Serkis ' existing affiliation with the Disney prop allowed a more impactful revealthan if it had been another thespian in the role .

9Dean Stockwell As Colonel Grat In Star Trek: Enterprise

The Casting Meant Stockwell’s Reunion With His Former Quantum Leap Castmate

Star Trek : Enterprisestarred Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathon Archer . Before the show , Bakula was perhaps most recognized for leading another sci - fi classic : Quantum Leap . While the mold ofQuantum Leapchanged on a hebdomadary basis , bothBakula and Dean Stockwell remained in their respective roles of Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci from 1989 - 1993 .

Some actors seem like they were bear to run a specific office , so it ’s a real ruth when they do n’t get to share their talent with the worldly concern .

InStar Trek : Enterpriseseason 1 , episode 21 , " confine , " theQuantumLeapduo join force play once again . Although the dynamic of their characters is n’t the same as inQuantum Leap , Enterpriseincludes a handful of ocular clew to verify its audience bonk the ramble option is designed . The cast of Stockwell may not mold the instalment ’s story , but it ’s still a decent reference to the history of both histrion involved .

Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars and Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit

8Ricky Gervais As David Brent In (The US Version Of) The Office

Michael Scott meets his creator

It does n’t get much more meta than a show ’s remake colliding with the original . InThe Officeseason 7 , sequence 14 , " The Seminar , " that ’s exactly what occur . Gervais , who createdThe Office , reprize the role of Michael Scott ’s U.K. vis-a-vis , David Brent . Michael and David have a brief and jocularity - laden exchange near an elevator , exhibit the similarities between two versions of what is fundamentally the same character . Although Gervais was involve with the U.S. adaption of his work , this was the only time he stepped in front of the photographic camera to bizarrely link the two worlds together .

Ricky Gervais starred as David Brent in the original interpretation ofThe Office , which ran from 2001 - 2003 .

7Patrick Troughton As The Second Doctor In Doctor Who

Troughton’s Casting Stemmed From A Real-World Situation

Dr. Who ’s revolving door of actors in its lead persona may seem normal now , butthe concept of positive feedback was never mean to be a part of the show . The First Doctor was played by William Hartnell , who had to step back from the show for medical rationality . The BBC , not wanting the show to end , ingeniously added to the lore ofDoctor Whoby openly treat the change in the forcible visual aspect of its leading world with an in - creation explanation . Subsequent recastings of the Doctor of the Church are n’t so meta and are rather just an extension of the plot of land twist .

6Lani Tupu As The Voice Of Moya’s Pilot In Farscape

Farscapefans will recognize Lani Tupu as Captain Bialar Crais , the fallen Peacekeeper officer . However , Tupu actually gave life to two characters in the show ’s earth . As well as portraying Crais , Tupu also voice Moya ’s alien Pilot . InFarscape , sure ship are alive . Moya is one of these living ship , sleep together as Leviathans , and births a son . When it ’s considered that Crais goes on to be the senior pilot / archetype of Talyn , Moya ’s boy , an artistic parallel starts to mold . As a result of Tupu ’s threefold - casting , he goes on to make for the original of both female parent and son .

Moya ’s Pilot was prove on - projection screen as a tool , made by The Jim Henson Company .

5John Wesley Shipp As Henry Allen In The Flash

The Flash From The ’90s Returned To The Franchise In A Different Way

The casting of John Wesley Shipp imbue the Arrowverse , but the clearest lesson of his employment as a meta choice is as Henry Allen , father of Grant Gustin ’s Barry Allen . Shipp play The Flash in the ' ninety , so installing the actor as the hero ’s father in the Arrowverse is a nice way to recognise Shipp ’s contribution to popularizing the fictitious character during his original stint with the franchise .

Because of the multiversal nature ofThe Flash , Shipp was also afforded the luck to semi - reprise his part as the title characterin later season . Although his character ’s name was Jay Garrick , Shipp ’s version of the speedster was simply a interpretation of Barry from a different timeline . Having Shipp as such a big part of the Arrowverse was an intricate piece of devotee service , but one that worked well .

4Christina Ricci As Marilyn Thornhill In Wednesday

Ricci Played A Key Part In Wednesday In Her New Role

Christina Ricci was synonymous with the purpose of Wednesday Addams for many years before Tim Burton ’s TV show . While she had aged out of playing the lead role in the Netflix original , the actor was still asked to be involve inWednesday . Due to her history with the franchise , the machine ofRicci being the villain inWednesdayworked perfectly , with many not watch the development derive . Clever castings such as this often take the form of a small cameo appearance .

HBO ’s Harry Potter show require to recast the series ’ iconic characters , and there ’s a Netflix show that can serve as divine guidance on how to go about it .

However , Burton ’s decision to have Ricci become a central part of the secret plan as Marilyn Thornhill mean her role go far beyond a pernicious wink to the consultation . The show was much better for it . As a result of Ricci ’s participation withWednesday , the interactions between Marilyn Thornhill and Jenna Ortega ’s Wednesday Addams take on an summate layer of interest group .

Images of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams against Hogwarts Castle

3Mark Hamill As The Trickster In The Flash

Hamill Is More Commonly Associated With Another DC Villain

Although Mark Hamill ’s most famous role is that of Luke Skywalker , he ’s also cut up out a career for himself in the DC universe . In the ' ninety , he played a baddie called The Trickster , a role that he reprised during the CW ’s reboot ofThe Flash . However , the vocalism he use for both operation is essentially the same as his voice work for Batman ’s pixilated nemesis , the Joker , in the animatedBatmanmovies .

While the fuzzy line between Hamill ’s portraiture of both the Joker and the Trickster is already quite meta , his casting really goes deeper than that . In season 1 , installment 17 ofThe Flash , " Tricksters , " Hamill is afforded the opportunity to let loose the immortal words that sport in the franchise that made him . get across down Axel Walker , Hamill ’s Tricker deliver the line , " I am your father . “So , Hamill ’s molding as the Trickster does n’t just tie together his DC function , but also his prison term as Luke Skywalker .

Mark Hamill also had an interesting cameo inStar Wars : The Clone Wars , voicing the Sith Lord , Darth Bane .

Star Wars Stormtrooper

2Ashley Johnson As Ellie’s Mother In The Last Of Us

Johnson Voiced Ellie In The Last Of Us Game

WhileThe Last of UsTV show will have been the first exposure to the story for many , Bella Ramsey was n’t the first actor to play Ellie . In the picture game serial , the original actors broughtThe Last of Us’characters to living via movement capture and spokesperson dissemble . Ashley Johnson was among this initial radical , playing the original theatrical role of Ellie . Despite not being throw up once more as her game character , the show still managed to include her in an disingenuous manner .

time of year 1 , episode 9 ofThe Last of Us , " Look For the Light , " show Johnson ’s character , Anna , pregnant and hide from the Infected . sports fan of the franchise may have recognized Johnson , but the reveal thatshe is play Ellie ’s motheris a brilliant cast decision that acts as a metaphor for the histrion ’s role in creating the character . The conniption , while partially fan service , also tote up to the canon of the show , as it unwrap why Ellie is resistant to the infection that turns everyone else into monster .

Troy Baker , who act as Joel inThe Last Of Usvideo game , also appear in the goggle box show . However , his cast was unrelated to his original fictitious character .

A custom image of Supreme Leader Snoke and Michael Scott against a backdrop of various TV shows

1Evan Peters As Fake Pietro In WandaVision

Peters Played Pietro Maximoff In The X-Men Movie Franchise

The MCU has n’t always been a multiversal saga , andWandaVisionwas one of its first launching to hint at the possibility of alternative dimensions . Due to the reality that Wanda had created for herself within the world of the show , it seemed conceivable that she could melt off the watershed between universe of discourse . This hypothesis was strengthened during the concluding seconds of time of year 1 , installment 5 ofWandaVision , " On a Very Special Episode … , " whenEvan Peters entered the affray , on the face of it as Pietro " Quicksilver " Maximoff .

The MCU ’s Pietro , primitively played by Aaron Taylor - Johnson , buy the farm before the events ofWandaVision , with the fictitious character meeting his end during the events ofAvengers : Age of Ultron . Peters ' version of Quicksilver was , at the clock time , canonically unlinked to the MCU , playing the grapheme in theX - Menmovies . As a termination , his mien inWandaVisionsent fans into a frenzy regarding the expectant implications . However , Peters’Wandavisioncharacter end up being a fake , someone by the name of Ralph Bohner who had been placed under a magic spell . While apt , the casting was as meta as it was misleading .

Headshot Of Diego Luna In The 24th Annual Critics' Choice Awards

Headshot Of Stellan Skarsgård In The premiere of ‘Dune: Part Two’

Headshot Of Kyle Soller

Headshot Of Denise Gough In The 2024 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall

Dean Stockwell as Colonel Grat holding Scott Bakula’s Captain Archer at gunpoint in Star Trek: Enterprise

Headshot of Scott Bakula

Cast Placeholder Image

Steve Carrell as Michael Scott staring at Ricky Gervais as David Brent in The Office

Headshot Of Steve Carell In The premiere of Illumination’s ‘Despicable Me 4’

Headshot Of Rainn Wilson In The Homeboy Industries' 2024 Lo Maximo Awards

Headshot Of John Krasinski In The Premiere of ‘If’ at the SVA Theatre

Headshot Of Jenna Fischer

Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor holds a sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who

Headshot Of Ncuti Gatwa In The US premiere of the new season of the Disney+ series Doctor Who

Headshot Of Millie Gibson In The US Premiere Of The New Season Of The Disney+ Series Doctor Who

Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp as their respective versions of the Flash stood side by side

Headshot Of Grant Gustin

Headshot Of Danielle Panabaker In The Hallmark Channel Summer TCA

Headshot Of Candice Patton

Headshot of Jesse L. Martin

Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill reading a book in Wednesday

Headshot Of Jenna Ortega In The Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024 - Dior

Headshot Of Catherine Zeta-Jones In The 76th Cannes Film Festival

Headshot Of Luis Guzman

Headshot Of Gwendoline Christie In The Fashion Awards 2023

Mark Hamill as The Trickster in The Flash

Ashley Johnson as Anna holding baby Ellie in The Last of Us episode 9

Headshot Of Paul Bettany In The GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2021

Headshot Of Elizabeth Olsen In The National Board of Review Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street

Headshot Of Kathryn Hahn In The 49th Annual People’s Choice Awards 2024

Headshot Of Teyonah Parris In The LA premiere of ‘They Cloned Tyrone’