Dual role
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Dual role (also known as Double role) refers to one actor playing two or more roles, which may be deliberately scripted in a play or film, or merely be a by-product of a low budget in one particular production.
In theater, such as in the works of absurdists such as Tom Stoppard, characters played by the same actor may be of thematic significance. A good example of this is Tony Kushner's Angels in America, which has a cast of eight despite having many roles. Debate exists over William Shakespeare's use of such, with a famous example being whether the characters of Cordelia and the Fool in King Lear are one and the same.
In film, this technique has often been used for comic effect, examples being Peter Sellers in movies such as Dr. Strangelove and Mike Myers in the Austin Powers films. Buster Keaton infamously played nearly every part in his 1921 film The Playhouse. Alec Guinness played all eight members of one family in Kind Hearts and Coronets. In The Nutty Professor and its sequel, Eddie Murphy played almost every member of his family.
In some cases of low-budget films, or community theater, actors may play more than one role to save money. In one of Peter Jackson's early films, Bad Taste, he played two characters; in one scene, one of them tortures the other.
In television, soap operas will commonly use the technique to either portray twins (or even similar looking relatives), or to bring an actor back whose character has been killed. This technique is uncommon, although not unheard of, in primetime television. In Friends, Lisa Kudrow plays Phoebe and her twin sister Ursula.
Notable soap opera examples include:
- Dr. Sonni Carrera and Solita Carrera (played by Michelle Forbes) in The Guiding Light.
- Angie and Josie Russell (played by Laurie Foell) in Home and Away.
Notable primetime examples include:
- American Patty Lane and her Scottish cousin Cathy Lane (played by Patty Duke in "The Patty Duke Show".
- Samantha and Serena (played by Elizabeth Montgomery) in Bewitched.
- Jeannie and her sister (played by Barbara Eden) in "I Dream Of Jeannie".
- Laura Palmer and Maddy Ferguson (played by Sheryl Lee) in Twin Peaks.
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