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December 6

Is it common for actors to be nicknamed after their roles?

I rarely ever follow celebrities, but it seems almost inevitable that people would start nicknaming actors after the characters that they play — perhaps there are more than a few real people who are in the habit of referring to Mark Hamill as ‘Luke’, for example. I can’t confidently say for myself that I remember witnessing this phenomenon more than once, though. —(((Romanophile))) ♞ (contributions) 22:24, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think that that can be considered a nickname, more of a weak grasp of reality for some folks. See "From Lena Headey to Milo Ventimiglia: TV Actors Who Have Been Confused for Their Characters" and "Actors Who Get Mistaken for Their Characters in Real Life". William Powell and Myrna Loy played a husband and wife in all of their films together, so some of their fans thought they were married in real life. Clarityfiend (talk) 04:18, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Barış Arduç and Elçin Sangu played the role of partners in the Turkish romantic drama television series Kiralık Aşk, and for months on end IP editors tried to make them romantic partners too here on Wikipedia. --Lambiam 10:59, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

One of the child actresses in The Sound of Music (Charmian Carr) entitled her autobiogrpahy Forever Liesl, after the character she played in the film, since she became indelibly associated with that character. In her case, the fact she played very few roles after that one helped to fuse the two personalities in the public's mind. And I also remember someone who played a famous doctor in the early days of doctor saying strangers would continually ask him for medical advice, using his character's name (it could have been Richard Chamberlain, who played Dr. Kildare). So the phenonemon is quite common. Xuxl (talk) 13:38, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Similarly consider Leonard Nimoy's two volumes of autobiography, I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock. --184.144.99.241 (talk) 14:04, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

So he's Schrödinger's Spock? Fascinating. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:57, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

From our article Mariette Hartley: "In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hartley appeared with James Garner in a popular series of television commercials advertising Polaroid cameras. The two actors had such amazing on-screen chemistry that many viewers erroneously believed that they were married in real life. Hartley's 1990 biography, Breaking the Silence, indicates that she began to wear a T-shirt printed with the phrase 'I am not Mrs. James Garner'." Deor (talk) 15:35, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

One I can think of is Larry the Cable Guy, which is the name universally used by the actor Dan Whitney. He's pretty much always called "Larry the Cable Guy", but that's a character he invented, originally used on a radio program.--Jayron 32 14:01, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A court ruled that Lorraine Kelly isn't a real person, but a character. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/20/lorraine-kelly-theatrical-artist-tax-tribunal-judge-rules --TrogWoolley (talk) 14:15, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

No, that's actually a deliberate misrepresentation. What they ruled was that her on-screen performance allowed her to claim her agent as a business expense. No where did they say that she wasn't real. They said that because she acts and performs as that character, the fees she pays her agent are tax deductible. Similar, in America, to Stephen Colbert (character) and Stephen Colbert. --Jayron 32 16:05, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It seems like there's a slippery scope between "normal" actors, actors who adopt a personality both off-screen and on-screen (Elvira, Pee Wee Herman, Dame Edna Everage, etc.) and actors sometimes being referred to by their most famous roles. Like, if you call Cassandra Peterson "Elvira" are you using her on-screen role as a nickname or are you simply calling her by the personality she's used? I don't think there's always a bright-line difference there. Matt Deres (talk) 17:27, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

_{I would assume you meant to link to Cassandra Peterson with Elvira and not the disambig page for the name Matt Deres― Blaze The Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 17:48, 8 December 2021 (UTC)}[reply]

Elvira and Herman are more like drag or wrestling personas than roles. Everage is a drag persona. --Khajidha (talk) 21:54, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Everage isn't a drag persona. Just a female character created by an actor who created many male and female roles. HiLo48 (talk) 01:55, 11 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what distinction you are trying to draw here. --Khajidha (talk) 13:46, 11 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Drag" has obvious overtones of sexuality. That is not what the characters created by Barry Humphries are about. We don't give equivalent labels to the male characters he has created over the years such as Sir Les Patterson. HiLo48 (talk) 01:26, 12 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Huh. I've never considered "drag" as necessarily having sexual overtones. And I've actually done drag. --Khajidha (talk) 03:32, 12 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Well, what kind of persona is Sir Les Patterson? HiLo48 (talk) 06:17, 12 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Reading over the description, I am not sure what exact description I would give him, but he does seem (like the Elvira or Pee Wee Herman characters mentioned before) to have more in common with the personas used by professional wrestlers or drag queens than he does with the characters in movies, tv programs, or theatre.--Khajidha (talk) 14:39, 12 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In Australia, a Gold Logie is warded to the most popular personality on Australian TV each year. (Like an Emmy Award.) Australian actor Garry McDonald played the role of a character called Norman Gunston, a seemingly naive celebrity interviewer with a very popular weekly TV show. In 1976 the Gold Logie was awarded to the fictional character Norman Gunston, not Gary McDonald. HiLo48 (talk) 22:58, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]