12 Times Supporting TV Characters Stole The Show And Became The Lead
It isn't uncommon for actors to come out of nowhere and essentially steal a project from the lead star. The big screen has seen instances of this for decades upon decades, and the small screen is no stranger to it, either. The differences between movies and television make these occurrences stand out more in the memory, though, as a lot of these "supporting actors" went on to lead their shows for years. Instead of stealing a movie with a couple of scenes, these actors stole hours and hours of television right out from under the initial central characters' noses.
Do you remember that Steve Urkel didn't even show up in Family Matters until halfway through the first season? Did you forget that Fonzie was a mere supporting character when Happy Days originally hit the airwaves? Martin Sheen was hardly supposed to be in The West Wing until his President Bartlet won everyone over and ended up being the primary focus for much of the show's seven seasons. Sometimes, a supporting character is just too incredible to be left on the sidelines.
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? Family Ties was a huge hit for NBC in the 1980s. The story of former hippies raising their three (and, eventually, four) kids in suburban Ohio proved to resonate with audiences across the country during the Reagan era. Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter starred as Steven and Elyse Keaton, and though they began the series as the central characters, the kids quickly took over the show, as is common on family sitcoms. Well, one kid in particular...
Who Actually Became The Main Character? If there is one name you know from Family Ties, it is Alex P. Keaton - not to mention the actor who played him, Michael J. Fox. The precocious young adult with an eye on becoming an extremely successful entrepreneur became the standout part of the show. Alex was a Republican through and through, something that wasn't (and isn't) all that common on television, especially in the form of a teenager. Fox won three straight Emmys for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" as Alex - and notice that does say "lead" actor, not "supporting."
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? Early in Happy Days' 11-season run on ABC, the show's future was in doubt. Set in an idealized version of 1950s America, the show followed Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham, his family, and his best friend Potsie (played by Anson Williams). It turns out audiences weren't all that interested in this initial idea, and the ratings began to slip after the formula got a bit stale. Thank goodness for the comedic brilliance of Henry Winkler.
Who Actually Became The Main Character? It's easy to forget now, as he's gone on to be a legendary television character, but Winkler's Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli was nothing but a minor supporting character in the first season of Happy Days. Though Fonzie seems pretty goofy by today's standards, at the time, Winkler's high school dropout was the very epitome of cool. Maybe it's Winkler's subsequent career playing zany characters in projects like Arrested Development and The Waterboy that colors Fonzie retroactively, or maybe it's just that Fonzie was never all that suave in the first place. Whatever the case, the Fonz will forever be a television icon.
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? Before starring on The Big Bang Theory, Johnny Galecki had enjoyed a pretty lengthy Hollywood career. Galecki had a memorable multi-season run in the early '90s as David Healy in Roseanne and also appeared in some major feature films, including National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and I Know What You Did Last Summer. But landing the lead role as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom was a huge break for the TV veteran. Alas, Galaecki's character would soon be completely overshadowed by his roommate, Sheldon.
Who Actually Became The Main Character? When Jim Parsons was cast in The Big Bang Theory, he had a mere handful of notable acting appearances on his resume. Granted, acting credits are not a marker of talent, and his turns in Garden State and Judging Amy showcased his ability quite well. Still, there was no way to predict just how big Parsons would become on the back of The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon Cooper, his socially awkward genius, would become the show's breakaway character, eventually earning his own spinoff Young Sheldon. Bazinga, indeed.
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- Good Morning, Miss Bliss
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? Saved by the Bell wasn't always Saved by the Bell. The show actually originated on the Disney Channel in 1988 as Good Morning, Miss Bliss, with Hayley Mills as the titular lead character. The show was supposed to be about a junior high teacher and the wacky situations she finds herself in with her students. That idea lasted a total of 13 episodes.
Who Actually Became The Main Character? After the Disney Channel canceled Good Morning, Miss Bliss after the first season, NBC brought the series over to its network as Saved by the Bell and changed its focus to the kids, primarily Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Zack Morris, a holdover from the original version of the show. Of course, Saved by the Bell would go on to be a huge hit - spawning television movies and spinoff series - and Gosselaar would become a teen icon on the back of the show's success. Poor Miss Bliss...
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? How did the creative team behind The West Wing get former Brat Pack-er Rob Lowe to sign on to play Sam Seaborn in 1999? It's true that the prestige ensemble piece was going to focus on a wide cast of characters, but Lowe's Seaborn was supposed to be the focal point of the whole series. Lowe actually opens the pilot episode, talking to a reporter in a Washington, D.C., bar. As it turned out, Martin Sheen was too magnetic a performer to deny.
Who Actually Became The Main Character? When Sheen boarded The West Wing as President Bartlet, his New Hampshire-born politician was supposed to be a mostly unseen supporting character. This wasn't going to be a series about the president, but about the people who work directly under him. This didn't last long, as Bartlet quickly became the emotional core of the show for the entire seven-year run through the majority of his fictional presidency.
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Who Was Supposed To Be The Main Character? CBS' over-the-top soap opera Dallas was one of the must-watch television shows of the 1980s. In typical soap opera fashion, Dallas focused on the beautiful and wealthy and marveled at all the ludicrous backstabbing that occurred between the members of the Ewing family. Barbara Bel Geddes served as the matriarchal Ellie Ewing and Patrick Duffy was the fresh-faced Bobby Ewing... though these two would soon be eclipsed by the most infamous member of the Ewing family, J.R.
Who Actually Became The Main Character? With his career falling off a bit after I Dream of Jeannie ended a few years earlier, Larry Hagman signed on to play J.R. Ewing in 1978. Little did he know the ruthless and unscrupulous J.R. would become the defining role of his career and one of the most popular television characters in the history of the medium. Ask anyone who watched Dallas in the '80s, J.R. was the dude on that show.
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