re: GLAAD Calls on Gaming Industry to Hire More LGBT Workers, Add More Gay Characters

It depends on both how iconic the role is and how much range someone has to get away from that role.


The original Star Trek crew, minus Shatner, couldn’t really escape it.


Ray Walston, who was My Favorite Martian, traded one iconic role for another when he became Mr Hand in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

David Caruso was associated with NYPD Blue for years despite only appearing for a little more than one season. He finally got a new lease in life when he got the CSI Miami role, which was effectively a new coat of paint on his past one.

And then you have people like George Clooney who were somewhat iconic in a role (Dr Doug on ER) who manage to transcend that.



Ed’s big problem was that MWC ran for 11 years and the role I mentioned was in the middle of its run. It takes time out of the public’s eye to find a new role after something like that, though he tries in various ways such as being Joe Friday on a Dragnet revival.

In his case, he ended up back on a sitcom (Modern Family) but, unlike Caruso, his new role was pretty different from his previous one. That’s helped him transcend from being Al Bundy to an actual actor in the eyes of the public, as it was something showing his range that actually got wide exposure.