Multi-Tasking TV Acting
by yrnej | created - 16 Dec 2016 | updated - 17 Dec 2016 | PublicWhich of these actors who had two jobs on TV at once did the best job pulling it off?
Discuss the list here
* must have been regulars to count, not just guest stars
1. Pamela Adlon
Actress | Better Things
Pamela Adlon comes from an acting family and began her career in television in 1983. She has appeared in many popular TV shows, including as a voice actress in a number of animated TV series including, most famously, King of the Hill (1997) for which she won an Emmy for her role as Bobby Hill.
- played Pamela on Louie while playing Marcy Runkle on Californication
- played Marcy Runkle on Californication while playing Bobby Hill on King of the Hill
- played Bobby Hill on King of the Hill while playing Kim on Lucky Louie while playing Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks while playing Spinelli on Recess
2. Odette Annable
Actress | Cloverfield
Odette Annable was born Odette Juliette Yustman on 10 May, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Lydia (Nodarse), is Cuban. Odette's father, Victor Oscar Yustman, was born in Bogotá, Colombia, of Italian and Polish Jewish descent. Odette started her career with a minor role in the movie ...
- played Melanie Garcia on Breaking In while playing Jessica Adams on House
3. Fred Armisen
Music_department | Portlandia
Fereydun Robert Armisen is an American actor, comedian, and writer. After having begun his career as a musician for groups such as Trenchmouth and the Blue Man Group, he would get his big break as a comedy actor when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) in 2002, having remained with the...
- played various roles on Saturday Night Live while playing various roles on Portlandia
- played various roles on Portlandia while playing various roles on Documentary Now!
4. Will Arnett
Actor | The Lego Batman Movie
Will Arnett is a Canadian-American actor, voice actor, and comedian. He is most famous for playing George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox series Arrested Development (2003). He also appeared in films such as The Lego Movie (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: ...
- played Steve Wilde on Running Wilde while playing Brent Wilts on The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret
5. Jim Backus
Actor | Rebel Without a Cause
Jim Backus was born James Gilmore Backus on February 25, 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was one of the few actors to do it all: radio, Broadway, movies, television and cartoons. After attending preparatory school in his hometown Cleveland, Backus enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, to ...
- played Mr. Magoo on The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo while playing Thurston Howell on Gilligan's Island
6. H. Jon Benjamin
Actor | Archer
Harry Jon Benjamin is an American actor, voice actor and comedian from Worcester, Massachusetts who is known for playing Bob Belcher from Bob's Burgers, Sterling Archer from Archer, the Mothmonsterman from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a trainer from Not Another Teen Movie, a Can of Vegetables from Wet ...
- played Sterling Archer on Archer while playing various roles on Bob's Burgers
7. Ted Danson
Actor | Cheers
Ted Danson is well known for his role as Sam Malone in the television series Cheers (1982). During the show's 11-year run, he was nominated nine times for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and won twice, in 1990 and 1993. The role also earned him a Golden Globe Award for ...
- played Arthur Forbisher on Damages while playing George Christopher on Bored to Death
- played DB Russell on CSI while playing Hank Larsson on Fargo
8. Ian Gomez
Actor | My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Ian Gomez was born on December 27, 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), The Drew Carey Show (1995) and Felicity (1998). He was previously married to Nia Vardalos.
- played Javier Quintata on Felicity while playing Danny Sanchez on The Norm Show
9. Jon Hamm
Actor | Mad Men
Jon Hamm is an American actor and producer from St. Louis, Missouri who is known for playing Don Draper in Mad Men. He also played Mister Sinister in a deleted scene of The New Mutants and Legion, Brogan from Shrek Forever After, and other films and shows including Sucker Punch, Million Dollar Arm,...
- played Don Draper on Mad Men while playing Older Dr. Vladimir Bomgard on A Young Doctor's Notebook
10. Nick Jonas
Actor | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Nick Jonas is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a band formed with his brothers Kevin and Joe. He has appeared in films such as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and Careful What You Wish For (2015). He has also appeared television series Last Man Standing (2011) and ...
- played Boone Clemens on Scream Queens while playing Nate Kulina on Kingdom
11. Heather Locklear
Actress | Melrose Place
Heather Locklear was born on September 25, 1961 in Westwood, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Melrose Place (1992), The Perfect Man (2005) and The Return of Swamp Thing (1989). She was previously married to Richie Sambora and Tommy Lee.
- played Sammy Joe Carrington on Dynasty while playing Stacy Sheridan on TJ Hooker
12. Zosia Mamet
Actress | Madame Web
Zosia Russell Mamet is an American actress and musician who has appeared in television series including Mad Men, United States of Tara and Parenthood, and played the character Shoshanna Shapiro on the HBO original series Girls. She stars as Annie Mouradian in the HBO Max original series The Flight ...
- played Shoshanna Shapiro on Girls while playing Amber on High School USA!
13. Matt McGorry
Actor | Orange Is the New Black
Matt McGorry was born on April 12, 1986 in Manhattan, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Orange Is the New Black (2013), How to Get Away with Murder (2014) and Thursday (2006).
- played John Bennett on Orange is the New Black while playing Asher Millstone on How to Get Away with Murder
14. Joel McHale
Actor | Community
Joel Edward McHale was born in Rome, Italy, to a Canadian-born mother, Laurie (Jackson), and an American-born father, Jack McHale. His father, from Chicago, is of Irish descent, and his mother, from Vancouver, has Norwegian, Finnish, and English ancestry. Joel was raised in Seattle, Washington, and...
- hosted The Soup while playing Jeff Winger on Community
15. Christopher Meloni
Actor | Man of Steel
Blessed with a piercing, blue-eyed glint, brawny looks, cocky "tough guy" stance and effortless charisma, TV's Christopher Meloni has grabbed audiences' attention, male and female alike, finding breakthrough small screen stardom playing both sides of the law. Audiences first were taken in by his ...
- played Chris Keller on Oz while playing Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU
16. Niecy Nash
Actress | Reno 911!
Niecy Nash was born on February 23, 1970 in Palmdale, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Reno 911! (2003), Guess Who (2005) and Claws (2017). She has been married to Jessica Betts since August 29, 2020. She was previously married to Jay Tucker and Don Nash.
- played Lolli Ballentine on Soul Man while playing Didi Ortley on Getting On
- played Lolli Ballentine on Soul Man while playing Denise Hemphill on Scream Queens
17. John Noble
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Artistic Director of Stage Company of South Australia 1977 - 87. Head of Drama, Brent St. School of Arts (Sydney) 1997-00. Directed over 80 plays, including 'Sons of Cain' on London's West End (1986). Freelance actor. Semi-regular in TV series 'All Saints'. Voice and acting teacher.
- played Walter Bishop on Fringe while hosting Dark Matters: Twisted but True
18. Kelly Ripa
Actress | All My Children
Kelly Ripa had been performing in her senior high school play, The Ugly Duckling, when she was approached by her current manager, Cathy Parker, who encouraged her to pursue acting. After attending new Jersey's Camden County Community College, she performed in local theater productions before ...
- played Hayley Vaughan on All My Children while hosting Live! with Regis and Kelly
- hosted Live! with Regis and Kelly while playing Faith Fairfield on Hope & Faith
19. Paul Scheer
Actor | The League
Paul Scheer is a SAG Award-winning actor, writer, producer, pod-caster, and director. Scheer is a series regular on the Emmy nominated Showtime series Black Monday opposite Don Cheadle. He also is known for his role as Andre on the hit FX show The League, as well as his role of Mitch in Fresh off ...
- played Andre on The League while playing Trent Hauser on NTSF:SD:SUV
20. Armin Shimerman
Actor | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Armin Shimerman was born on November 5, 1949 in Lakewood, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), The Hitcher (1986) and BioShock (2007). He has been married to Kitty Swink since May 16, 1981.
- played Quark on Deep Space Nine while playing Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
21. Chris Sullivan
Actor | This Is Us
Chris starred as 'Toby' in NBC's award-winning drama, "This Is Us", which earned him 2 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Also well known for starring on Steven Soderbergh's drama series "The Knick" (2014-2015), in which Chris, along with his cast ...
- played Toby on This Is Us while playing Tom Cleary on The Knick
22. Aisha Tyler
Actress | Archer
Aisha Tyler is an award-winning director, actor, comedian, New York Times bestselling author, podcaster and activist. She is an Emmy-winning television host and multiple award-winning voice actor for Archer (2009).
Aisha's feature directorial debut, Axis (2017), was shot in just seven days on ...
- played Lana Kane on Archer while hosting The Talk and Whose Line Is It Anyway? while playing Tara Lewis on Criminal Minds
23. Michael Kenneth Williams
Actor | The Wire
Emmy-nominated actor and producer Michael Kenneth Williams was one of his generation's most respected and acclaimed talents. By bringing complicated and charismatic characters to life--often with surprising tenderness--Williams established himself as a gifted and versatile performer with a unique ...
- played Leonard Pine on Hap and Leonard while playing Freddy on The Night Of while hosting Black Market with Michael K. Williams
24. Natalie Zea
Actress | Justified
Natalie Zea is an American actress known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000-2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC prime time soap opera Dirty...
- played Gwen Hotchkiss Winthrop on Passions while playing Karen Darling on Dirty Sexy Money and Winona Hawkins on Justified
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