Saw Neil Patrick Harris in an episode of Murder She Wrote, and reflected on the fact that to many he'll always be Doogie Howser, while to many others he's Barney Stinson. Made me think that while there are tons of movie stars who are well known for multiple roles, the duration of a successful show makes it so that there are far fewer small-screen actors with multiple career-defining characters. So, who are some of your favorite actors who have had multiple massively-successful TV roles? Also (just my opinion), playing the same role in a successful spinoff doesn't really count.
For me, I think Mary Tyler Moore is the first one I think of, being Laura Petrie in "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and then of course starring in her own show. And of course Bob Newhart having two separate eponymous series. But for shows that were more in my lifetime, I'd have to go with Ed O'Neill as the archetype for this question, being Al Bundy on "Married with Children", and then Jay Pritchett on "Modern Family".
Cranston I get (although one might argue that he wasn't actually "well-known" for his role on "Malcolm in the Middle" until after he became a household name through "Breaking Bad"). But Shalhoub? I don't think anyone would say that Abe Weissman could be a career-defining role. Like... he's there, and the show has had multiple seasons, but nobody seriously thinks of him as anything other than "Monk" first and foremost. To me, that's on the level of Kaley Cuoco on "8 Simple Rules for dating my Teenage Daughter" (or John Ritter or Katey Sagal, for that matter). For most people, that's just that show where the girl who became Penny had Jack Tripper and Peggy Bundy as parents. To contrast with Mayim Bialik, who is just as likely to be thought of as "Blossom" as "Amy Farrah Fowler". Kind of in-between them (IMO) is Johnny Galecki who was absolutely memorable and identifiable as "David" on "Roseanne" for several years, but there's clearly no comparison with his fame from his BBT role.
Yeah, he is firstly and mostly Monk. But, he has been nominated and won Emmys as well for his role as Abe Weissman. I'd say that counts as career defining. Before all of that, he was on Wings as Anthony Scarpacci, his big break. I remember Cranston first as the cool dad from Malcolm in the middle, then the cool chemistry teacher who peddles meth.
That one certainly can't be omitted in this forum. Also because I watched that show, James Spader is (to me) first and foremost Alan Shore before Raymond Reddington. But I definitely think I'm in the minority on that one.
Another one that's well before my time is Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright on Bonanza, and then as Trapper John MD. I have to say, it's crazy to see how completely different he looked from the first show to the second
Rare actor that can legitimately star in both dramatic and comedic roles. He was also very good in "Brothers and Sisters" (underrated show), is excellent now as the captain on "911 Lonestar", and I personally really enjoyed him in a short-lived sitcom with Fred Savage called "The Grinder".
