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« on: April 18, 2009, 05:33:53 AM »
His perspective may been skewed a bit by the tradition on DS of actors playing multiple parts. On any other show the situation wouldn't even have come up. It wouldn't have occurred to the star of any other successful show to ask to switch roles. It's not just the actor the audience tunes in for... the lead character is crafted not just by an actor but by writers as well. A lot of thought and work is put into it. It isn't just an overcoat to throw off and replace with a new one. It's the specific character the audience cares about. Caroll O'Connor was an accomplished actor who played many different roles over the years, but he didn't say "Let me play a different role on 'All in the Family' than Archie, please."
Well, that sounded far more critical than I intended. It was just a passing thought. And I would have loved to see human Barnabas, who could have been written with conflicts too, over past actions to start with. And I'm sure Mr. Frid did what was best for him at the time, as we all need to.