The actors who are most likely to keep getting hired in Hollywood are the ones who are able to bounce from genre to genre without blinking an eye. Just because an actor has a diverse filmography, however, doesn’t mean that they don’t necessarily have a particular niche for which they’re best known — as is often the case with sitcom stars.
Once an actor stakes their claim in comedy and stays there, it can sometimes be difficult for viewers to resonate with their more dramatic work. As such, one could argue that it’s even more challenging to see a sitcom star try their hand at a science-fiction series — but it’s not unprecedented or impossible to pull off. These are five actors best-known for their work in sitcoms who took a stab at sci-fi during their careers.
Courtney Cox – Misfits of Science (1985)
“When the unusual becomes the usual, the impossible becomes possible, the incredible becomes credible, and the weird gets weirder, who do you blame? The Misfits of Science!”
So went the promotional tagline for the short-lived NBC superhero series created by James Parriott, which ran for a sum total of 16 episodes between October 1985 and February 1986. The cast included Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, Mark Thomas Miller, Diane Civita, Max Wright, and a young, up-and-comer — and future “Friends” star — named Courteney Cox. Hall’s character, El, could shrink, Miller’s character, Johnny B, possessed electrical powers, and Cox as Gloria possessed telekinetic abilities and may or may not have been half-alien. Sadly, Courteney Cox’s “X-Men”-esque ’80s sci-fi show didn’t last long enough for that plot thread to be pursued.
At the time, Cox’s most notable credit was appearing in the video for Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” Despite her limited on-camera experience, Parriott’s decision to cast her in “Misfits of Science” paid off in spades. “She was young and beautiful, and she was the kind of girl that everyone in the whole cast and crew adopted as their little sister,” said Miller, in “Misfits of Science: An Oral History.” “I mean, there wasn’t a single person that had anything negative to say, not a single person who wasn’t in love with her and didn’t want to take her home. That’s just who she was. You were just, like, ‘Wow, you got the job …'”
Jeffrey Tambor – Max Headroom (1987)
For a brief window in the ’80s, Max Headroom was all the rage. The supposedly computer-generated TV presenter was actually played by actor Matt Frewer, and after making his debut in a 1985 British TV movie, Max hosted his own show in the U.K. where he introduced music videos and interviewed celebrities. In 1987, the character made the jump to the U.S., starring in a trippy sci-fi drama that was ahead of its time on ABC. “Max Headroom” was set in a dystopian future ruled by television networks, with Frewer starring as both Max and TV journalist Edison Carter.
Carter’s high-strung producer, Murray McKenzie, was played by Jeffrey Tambor, who was offered the role outright. “We were wildly expensive, I remember — I think we cost almost $2 million a week. We were wildly heralded, and Max’s picture was on the cover of Newsweek, and we were still canceled,” Tambor recalled to the A.V. Club. “That show was ahead of its time.” Fortunately, Tambor would soon find greater success as part of the ensemble casts of “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Arrested Development.”
Debra Messing – Prey (1998)
Created by William Schmidt, “Prey” starred Debra Messing as Dr. Sloan Parker, a bio-anthropologist whose mentor has collected genetic samples from violent criminals and come to the conclusion that a new murderous species is on the rise — the Homo dominant – that may overtake humanity in much the same way Homo sapiens succeeded Neanderthals. When her mentor is murdered, Parker joins forces with federal agent Tom Daniels (Adam Storke), a Homo dominant himself (but an understanding one), to try and stop the species’ rise to power, along with help from Dr. Walter Attwood (Larry Drake) and Ray Peterson (Frankie Faison).
The unique blend of sci-fi and serial-killer horror in “Prey” might have resonated with audiences a few years later, but at the time, it didn’t capture viewers quickly enough to earn a second season. Not only was “Prey” the last series that Messing did before jumping into “Will & Grace,” she was so drained from the experience, she had to be cajoled into meeting with “Will & Grace” series creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. “I told them I was going to sleep for three months and to call me then,” she told Variety in 2017. Thankfully, her agents insisted that Messing meet with them, and the rest is sitcom history.
Brian Van Holt – Threshold (2005)
The fall of 2005 was a wonderful yet heartbreaking TV season for sci-fi fans, as it featured no less than three series that would never see a second season. On ABC, there was “Invasion,” which involved aliens infiltrating a small Florida town, while NBC had “Surface,” about a teenager who stumbles upon a sea creature of uncertain origins. CBS, however, had the most intriguing entry of the three with “Threshold,” starring Carla Gugino as Dr. Molly Caffrey, a crisis management consultant surprised when the government suddenly calls her in about the contingency plan she created in case of first contact with an alien species.
“Threshold” had a sci-fi ensemble cast to die for, including Charles S. Dutton (“Mimic”), future “Supernatural” alum Rob Benedict, Brent Spiner (Data on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), soon-to-be “Game of Thrones” star, Peter Dinklage, and — wait for it — future “Cougar Town” mainstay, Brian Van Holt. Van Holt played Sean Cavennaugh, a freelance paramilitary operative with the obvious potential to double as a romantic interest for Caffrey should the need arise.
Executive-produced by Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer, “Threshold” had a fascinating premise, but CBS pulled the plug after only eight episodes. 14 episodes were produced, however, and when the inevitable DVD box set was released, it contained all of them. “The problem with ‘Threshold’ was just, unfortunately, I think CBS was never that comfortable with it being a serialized show,” Goyer told Bullz-Eye.com. “And it was always intended to be a serialized show.”
Zooey Deschanel – Tin Man (2007)
The 2007 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, “Tin Man,” was a reimagining of the classic L. Frank Baum novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” with Zooey Deschanel starring as DG, a waitress in small-town Kansas whose visions of a lavender-eyed woman warning her of an impending storm ultimately lead her to being transported to the O.Z., a.k.a. the Outer Zone.
In short order, DG discovers that the lavender-eyed woman is her real mother, and crosses paths with characters taken straight out of “The Wizard of Oz” — albeit with different names. Glitch (Alan Cumming) is basically the scarecrow, Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough) is the titular Tin Man, Raw (Raoul Trujillo) is a half-man, half-lion hybrid … You get the idea. Also in the mix are Kathleen Robertson as the Wicked Witch equivalent, Azkadellia, and Richard Dreyfuss as The Mystic Man, who’s more or less the Wizard of Oz.
Described by Variety as “a semi-surreal adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ stitched together from bits of ‘The Matrix,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ and ‘Snow White,'” “Tin Man” scored nine Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries. Nowadays, “Tin Man” is a forgotten fantasy series that deserves more fans. Following her time on the show, Deschanel went back to film work for the most part. Four years later, she scored the role of Jess on Fox’s “New Girl” and found seven years of small-screen success.
