In many ways, being offered a recurring role in a successful television show is the equivalent of a golden ticket. It can provide actors with not only a platform from which to move on to bigger and better things, but also the kind of job security that a big movie role just can’t offer. Sometimes, however, things don’t always work out that way.
Over the years, plenty of prominent television characters have been recast during their shows’ lifetimes, some of them on multiple occasions. Many of the actors involved choose to leave in order to pursue new opportunities while others are forced out due to friction with key decision-makers. Whatever the reason though, their departures have led to many a double take from bewildered fans and viewers.
10 Vivian Banks (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air)
Janet Hubert played Aunt Viv throughout the first three seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but left suddenly in 1996 due to a series of “creative differences”. She was promptly replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid, who went on to portray the character for the show’s final three seasons. It wasn’t just the actress that changed though, but the very character herself.
Hubert’s Vivian Banks was an incredibly strong and independent woman with dreams and aspirations that would regularly take center stage. With Reid at the helm, however, the character became little more than a housewife and a new baby was even written into the show to reinforce this position.
9 Laurie Forman (That ’70s Show)
That ’70s Show helped to launch the careers of some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, and Topher Grace all cutting their teeth in the period sitcom. Not all of them stuck around until the series finale though, leading to several characters being written out of the show. For some reason, however, the show’s writers opted to take a somewhat different approach with Eric’s sister Laurie.
Lisa Robin Kelly played the character for the first two and a half seasons but left abruptly during season three for personal reasons. She returned for a few episodes during the show’s fifth season but was replaced by Christina Moore for season six. Moore didn’t fare much better than her predecessor though and left the show after just six episodes with the character taking a permanent trip to Canada after her departure.
8 Gregor Clegane (Game Of Thrones)
While the core cast of Game of Thrones remained the same throughout its eight seasons on the air, a surprising amount of secondary characters were replaced at varying points in the story. These include Daenerys’ side-piece, Daario Naharis, the immortal Beric Dondarrion, and even King Tommen Baratheon as well. Perhaps the most notable character to be recast, however, was Ser Gregor Clegane, who is often referred to simply as “The Mountain”, for obvious reasons.
Conan Stevens was handed the role for the show’s first season but was replaced by Ian Whyte for the character’s limited appearances in season two. When the character next returned in season four, he was instead portrayed by Icelandic bodybuilder Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, with the 400 pound behemoth holding onto the role until the show’s disappointing climax.
7 Bobby Draper (Mad Men)
Working on a big budget television show or movie can be incredibly demanding for anyone, let alone young children. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not too surprising that Don’s son, Bobby, was recast so many times throughout Mad Men‘s seven season run. What is surprising, however, is that the casting department put so little effort into finding actors who at least bore some resemblance to those they were replacing.
The many faces of Bobby Draper became something of a joke amongst fans of the show, with each of the four actors who played the character having their own affectionate nicknames. Maxwell Huckabee and Aaron Hart shared the role in season one before the latter went solo in season two. Jared Gilmore then picked up the part for the show’s third and fourth seasons while Mason Vale Cotton saw out the final three.
6 Allison Stark (‘Til Death)
Krysten Ritter is perhaps best known for her role as Jane in AMC’s fantastic Breaking Bad series, but a few years prior to that, she was offered the role of Allison Stark in ‘Til Death. She only appeared in five episodes across the show’s first two seasons, however, before departing the show in 2007. From here, things become a little confusing.
Laura Clery was brought in to replace Ritter, despite the pair looking nothing alike, and appeared six times throughout the course of the next two seasons. For the show’s final season though, the part was played by both Lindsey Broad and Kate Micucci, with the actresses often switching out between episodes and the latter also appearing as a waitress in the season’s ninth episode.
5 Meg Griffin (Family Guy)
Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy is right up there with the likes of The Simpsons and South Park when it comes to its impressive longevity, but not all of its core cast have been with the show since its humble beginnings. Mila Kunis has been voicing Meg Griffin for more than two decades now, but she didn’t actually join the cast until the beginning of the show’s second season.
Meg was first voiced by MacFarlane’s sister, Rachael, in the show’s pilot episode before the role was later given to Lacey Chabert. Due to her still being in school at the time, however, she opted to leave the show after just a single season, which led to Kunis landing the gig. It’s a change that’s worked out pretty well for both actresses, although the latter has undoubtedly been the more successful of the pair.
4 Ann Veal (Arrested Development)
George Michael’s religious girlfriend, Ann, is incredibly forgettable, a recurring joke throughout Arrested Development, with Michael regularly drawing a blank when trying to remember her name. She’s so forgettable, in fact, that not a single one of the Bluth family noticed when she was recast between the first two seasons.
Alessandra Torresani portrays the character in season one but was replaced by Mae Whitman for the show’s next three seasons. Had the show’s creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, stuck with his original plan though, audiences would have seen significantly more recasts. In a 2013 podcast appearance, the writer revealed that he’d originally wanted to use a different actress for each episode, but ultimately had a change of heart.
3 Carol Willick (Friends)
As any Friends fan should already know, Carol was the first of Ross’ many ex-wives, as well as the mother of his firstborn child, Ben. She only features in 16 episodes throughout the show’s ten seasons though, with her first appearance coming in the second-ever episode, “The One With The Sonogram At The End”.
Played by actress Anita Barone, Carol shows up at Ross’ work to tell him that she’s pregnant with his child. This was to be Barone’s sole appearance, however, as the young actress quit the show shortly after in the hopes of securing a more prominent role. The next time that the audience sees Carol, she is instead portrayed by Jane Sibbett, who, much like her character, had very recently given birth to her first son.
2 Robin Hood (Once Upon A Time)
Prior to being cast as the titular character in Lucifer, popular British actor Tom Ellis made a single appearance in the ABC series Once Upon a Time. It came in the season two episode, “Lacey”, and saw him play the part of Robin of Locksley, although most tend to just call him Robin Hood. When Robin returns the following season, however, he’s instead portrayed by actor and musician, Sean Maguire.
Maguire proved to be a big hit with the show’s fans and would go on to feature in more than 50 episodes. He also made a solitary appearance in the short-lived spinoff series, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, before it was prematurely canceled after only a single season.
1 Becky Conner (Roseanne)
When it comes to tales of recast characters, few are as interesting or as confusing as Becky Conner from Roseanne. After featuring in all of the show’s first 100 episodes, Becky’s appearances began to dry up shortly after the beginning of the show’s fifth season. Up until that point, she had been portrayed exclusively by Lecy Goranson, but the young actress left the show to focus on her education following her 101st appearance.
Becky did return the following season but was this time played by Sarah Chalk. The future Scrubs star appeared in 33 episodes across seasons six and seven, but was forced to share the role with a returning Goranson throughout season eight with the pair regularly swapping in and out between episodes. Chalk then had the role all to herself for season nine before the reigns were returned to Goranson for the show’s tenth and final season.
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