22 Actors Who Appeared In The Same Show, But As Different Characters — Some Were On Purpose And Some Were Not

NOT on purpose:

1.Sean Gunn appeared as both Kirk Gleason — a quirky Stars Hollow townsfellow — and Mick — a maintenance repair man — in Gilmore Girls:

Kirk working behind the counter of a beauty shop
The WB

2.Alex Borstein appeared as both Drella — a sassy harpist — and Miss Celine — Emily's annoying stylist — in Gilmore Girls:

Drella playing the harp in the lobby
The WB

3.Pablo Schreiber appeared as both William Lewis — a deranged killer obsessed with Benson — and Dan Kozlowski — the father of a victim — in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit:

William Lewis smirking menacingly
NBC

4.Mouzam Makkar appeared as both Raina Punjabi — a video game developer who gets attacked by incels — and Dara Miglani — a defense attorney — in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit:

Raina looking scared with a gun pressed to her head
NBC, NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

5.Hayden Panettiere appeared as Ashley Black — a neglected child who develops a close bond with Benson — and Angela Agnelli — a school girl with a double life — in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit:

Ashley laying in a hospital bed

(This is the last one from SVU, I promise.)

NBC

6.Dean-Charles Chapman appeared as King Tommen — Cersei and Jaime's second son — and Martyn Lannister — a murdered squire — in Game of Thrones:

King Tommen sitting in his chambers
HBO

7.Justin Theroux appeared as both Jared — a self-absorbed writer — and Vaughn Wysel — a boyfriend of Carrie's whose family she liked more than him — in Sex and the City:

Jared luring at Carrie
HBO

8.Garret Dillahunt appeared as both Jack McCall — the drunk murderer of Bill Hickok — and Francis Wolcott — a geologist for the Hearst empire — in Deadwood:

Jack standing before the court
HBO

9.Keegan Connor Tracy appeared as both Sera Siege — a book publisher — and Witch Mother — Jacinda and Emily's mom — in Supernatural:

  The CW
The CW

10.Queen Latifah appeared as both Hilary's annoying boss and Marissa — Will's love interest — in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:

Will asking a Hillary's boss a question as she ponders
NBC

11.Michelle Williams appeared as two different one-off characters in Baywatch:

A blonde girl talking to a boy at the beach
NBC

TOTES on purpose:

12.Tobias Menzies appeared as both Frank Randall — Claire's husband in present day — and Black Jack Randall — Frank's ancestor who assaults and harasses Claire and Jamie in the past — in Outlander:

Frank hugging Claire and caressing her hair
Neil Davidson / Starz Entertainment, Starz

13.D'Arcy Carden appeared as several iterations of Janet as well as other characters in The Good Place:

All the Janets in one room
NBC

14.Donald Glover appeared as both Earn Marks — Paper Boi's cousin and manager who's prone to making bad decisions — and Teddy Perkins — a creepy and mysterious recluse — in Atlanta:

Earn fixing to get into a fight
FX

15.Evan Peters appeared as various characters in American Horror Story:

Tate talking to someone offscreen

ICYMI: AHS is an anthology series — each season is a whole new story with a whole new set of characters.

FX

16.Sarah Paulson appeared as various characters in American Horror Story:

Bette and Dot being presented with a cupcake

ICYMI: AHS is an anthology series — each season is a whole new story with a whole new set of characters.

FX

17.Jessica Lange appeared as various characters in American Horror Story:

Elsa singing to an audience

ICYMI: AHS is an anthology series — each season is a whole new story with a whole new set of characters.

FX

18.Nina Dobrev appeared as both Elena Gilbert — a high school student torn between two vampires — and Katherine Pierce — Elena's evil doppelgänger — in The Vampire Diaries:

Elena walking towards Stefan
The CW

19.David Schwimmer appeared as both Ross — one of the core six — and Russ — Rachel's episode-long boyfriend — in Friends:

Ross making gun-fingers against his head
NBC

20.Jeffrey Wright appeared as Bernard Lowe — a host created by Dr. Ford and made in the image of the late Weber — and Arnold Weber — the late co-founder of Westworld — in Westworld:

Bernard looking off into the distance
HBO

21.Sheryl Lee appeared as Laura Palmer — a murdered teen girl who led a double life — and Maddy Ferguson — Laura's cousin who comes to the town to help comfort her aunt and uncle — in Twin Peaks:

A portrait of Laura Palmer
ABC

22.Last, but not least, Tatiana Maslany appeared as almost everyone in Orphan Black:

All the clones gathered together around the fire
BBC