Actors Who Owned Their Characters

Peter Falk made about 68 Colombo TV movies with the eccentric detective that always closed the case and often the guilty party would underestimate him and fail to take him seriously. He had such a great way of getting inside of someone's head to the degree that it seemed like the guilty party was ready to confess after Colombo had been rattling around in their head. Peter Falk had played distinguished part before, during, and after Colombo so he was never trapped by the part. It is a part that no one else will probably want to tackle since no one could ever hope to do it as well as Mr. Falk.

James Arness thought his career was over when John Wayne recommended him for the part after The Duke turned it down. James Arness was quite happy working as a part of John Wayne's stock company. Wayne prevailed upon him to take the part and Arness never regretted it. More than one generation of TV watchers grew up knowing who Marshall Matt Dillon was.

Before WW2, George Reeves' career was a steady progression of good parts usually in supporting roles or villains. He was just about at the breakout stage when he stepped up to serve in WW2. After the war, he returned to acting but the momentum was slowed and he never could get it going again. His work, some of it good, can be found on the classic and action channels and it is worth a look. He was pretty much set in B movies when the part of a lifetime came, Superman. He embraced the part and gave it his all even though the production budget was limited. He began to chafe at the part but took seriously the influence that Superman had on the children who were his devoted fans. When the series ended, there were few parts available for him but he gave each part he got all that he had. Who knows how far he would have gone if he had not died so soon. Such a tragedy since he was preparing to get married and had booked a honeymoon cruise. He was also developing a career as a director and producer.

Bela Lugosi was a distinguished actor in his native Hungary and served in WW1 as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army. When he got the part of Count Dracula, it was a critical success and he was at the peak of his career. However, he fell into the rut of repeating it and other parts in the same genre and became type cast. A tragic incident when did not give him the chance to use the great talent that he had.

Johnny Weismuller was a successful olympic swimmer. He embraced the part of Tarzan and never looked back. The part allowed him to use his athletic skills and that made up for his limited acting experience. When he went beyond the age of being Tarzan, he became Jungle Jim and extended his career further. He never resented being identified as Tarzan and used his to the best of his ability.

When someone thinks of Dennis Weaver on Gunsmoke, Chester Goode comes to mind. He created the character. Story is that he failed the first audition because he played his strait dramatic. He persuaded them to give him another chance and he played Chester as we came to know him. A few years later, Dennis Weaver left Gunsmoke and one of the reasons was that he felt he was being typecast. He played other parts while playing Chester but Chester followed everywhere. He knew after leaving Gunsmoke that he had to get as far away from Chester as he could and he succeeded when he became Marshall Sam McCloud. After that, Chester never followed him again but he owned Chester rather than Chester owning him.

James Gandolfini owned Tony Soprano and made the part his own. The Sopranos was a very successful series and made James Gandolfini a household name. The Sopranos probably ended at that right time and he walked away with the pride of a job well done. He did other parts and was very effective as the warden who Robert Redford challenged in The Last Castle. James Gandolfini played the warden as far away from Tony Soprano as he could and that is how he played the rest of his parts until his untimely death from a heart attack while taking his family on vacation to Italy. He would have probably escaped Tony Soprano had he lived longer.

Clayton Moore was The Lone Ranger in the minds of millions of children in the 1950's. Like many actors, Clayton Moore paid is dues in a variety of parts before he donned the mask. He had a total of 80 screen credits including the Lone Ranger. Others played the part including one (John Hart) who took the part for about 52 episodes while Moore was absent due to a contract dispute. In 1980, Moore was legally prohibited from doing public appearance because of a new movie, which flopped, and his argument was that he needed to do this to make a living. He was later allowed to resume the part that he loved. RIP Mr. Moore.

When one thinks of Paladin, Richard Boone comes go mind. Paladin was a hired gun who was hired when people could not get help anywhere else, like The Equalizer. His back story was very mysterious but he had graduated from West Point and had served in the Civil War. As a gentleman in San Francisco, he cultivated an image of one who was very rich and who enjoyed the good life and was absent often because he would be gone managing he various investment in different areas. He quoted the classic writers and was extremely well educated. No one else has played Paladin and Richard Boone moved on to other parts and was never haunted by Paladin. I really don't know of anyone who could be Paladin so maybe Richard Boone definitely owned Paladin and not the other way around.

From 2002 to 2009, Tony Shaloub endeared himself to fans as Monk. A very eccentric detective, it was explained that he was always that way but it kicked into high gear when his beloved wife was killed in a car bomb that was meant for him. He was OCD to the max and had about all of the phobias that one can have with that. After seven years, I think he was one of the producers, the show was brought to an end and all of the story lines were tied up. He has moved on to other things and he will always be Monk but it appears that he dodged the bullet of being typecast but still owning Monk. When Peter Falk was alive, it would have been a delight to have Colombo and Monk work a case together or by getting in each other's way. THAT would have been a hoot. Best wishes and a job well done. Good luck Mr. Shaloub.

It goes without saying that when one thinks of Psycho that Anthony Perkins comes to mind. This is a clear case when Mr. Perkins definitely owned the part of Norman Bates but it did not keep him form other parts. In the 80's it became clear that this could be a franchise vehicle since Mr. Perkins did at least two sequel. There have been other actors who later was Norman Bates but IMHO none of them ever did it as well as Anthony Perkins. Rest in peace, Mr. Perkins.

I have seen other actors put forth a good effort to play Inspector Clouseau but no one could touch Peter Sellers on the part.