It might sound illogical to make the same movie twice, but there are plenty of actors who have repeated themselves by starring in two films that tell almost the same story. This can occur when an actor pops in for a cameo appearance in a remake of one of their old films, but it can also happen in more cryptic ways than this.

Whether it’s movies that are so similar in premise and execution that they’re almost identical, or films that mirror each other in different ways, plenty of actors double-dip when it comes to film roles. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as actors can reinvent and find new meaning through similar endeavors, often adding to the enjoyment of both films.

Dwayne Johnson

San Andreas (2015) / Skyscraper (2018)

Even though Dwayne Johnson is one of the biggest box office draws of modern times, it’s impossible to deny that some of his big-budget blockbuster releases all blur together. This was certainly the case with San Andreas and Skyscraper, two action movies that were essentially the same film and stood as excuses for mᴀssive stunts and huge setpiece spectacles.

In San Andreas, Johnson played a heroic rescue pilot saving his family from a catastrophic earthquake, and in Skyscraper, he was yet another brave man trying to save his family from a burning building. With some minor tweaks, both films played out exactly the same and stood as generic disaster movie vehicles that skirted by on Johnson’s name recognition.

James Earl Jones

The Lion King (1994) / The Lion King (2019)

James Earl Jones had one of the most iconic voices Hollywood has ever heard, as he lent his deep and authoritative gravitas to both Star Wars’ Darth Vader and The Lion King’s Mufasa. Jones’s contribution to Disney’s animated classic was so integral to The Lion King that he even returned to reprise the voice in the 2019 pH๏τorealistic remake of the story.

While other iconic voices, such as Matthew Broderick’s Simba or Jeremy Irons’ Scar, were recast for the updated release, Jones returned to voice Mufasa in one of his final film roles before his death in 2024. With the recent release of the prequel film Mufasa: The Lion King in 2024, we heard Jones’s voice one last time through archival recordings.

Bruce Campbell

The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1981) / Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ II (1987)

The directing and acting duo of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell revolutionized the horror movie landscape with the release of The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in 1981, a groundbreaking supernatural horror that introduced the world to Ash Campbell. As a low-budget independent horror movie, once Raimi was given a bigger budget, he opted to remake the same movie as Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ II.

Despite being тιтled as if it were a sequel, Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ II retold the same story again with a far more comedic slant that allowed Campbell to truly let loose. While the first film had already gained a cult following, Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ II truly embodied Raimi’s unique cinematic vision and was the role that turned Campbell into a comedy icon.

Bruce Willis

Die Hard (1988) / Striking Distance (1993)

Bruce Willis changed the face of modern action movies through his portrayal of John McClane in Die Hard, a role that turned the typical muscle-bound action hero persona on its head to focus on an everyman in extraordinary circumstances. Countless later movies would rip off Die Hard’s one-location premise, and Willis himself even starred in the Die Hard knockoff Striking Distance.

In between reprising his role as McClane in Die Hard sequels, Willis played a very similar character in Striking Distance as a homicide detective who must investigate a string of murders while dealing with corruption on his force. Whether it was the witty wisecracks or its intense boat setting, the plot of Striking Distance came right out of the Die Hard playbook.

Michael Douglas

Fatal Attraction (1987) / Basic Instinct (1992)

Michael Douglas was one of the most sought-after leading men of the 1980s and 1990s, thanks in no small part to his roles in two of the defining erotic thrillers of the era. As the star of both Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, each film revolved around a dangerously seductive woman.

While Fatal Attraction saw Douglas become the victim of a violently obsessive woman who begins stalking him after a one-night stand, Basic Instinct saw him play a detective investigating Sharon Stone’s Catherine Tramell for her involvement in a grisly murder. However, both movies saw Douglas undone through his attraction to these unpredictable women.

Rita Moreno

West Side Story (1961) / West Side Story (2021)

There are not a lot of performers who can claim to have appeared in the same movie 40 years apart, but that’s exactly what happened with Rita Moreno. As an EGOT-winning star who achieved her breakout role as Anita in the original adaptation of this classic Broadway musical, Moreno returned to play the supporting role of Valentina in Steven Spielberg’s remake.

The appearance of Moreno in both movies adds a nice sense of synchronicity to the remake, as Moreno’s original performance as Anita was one of the best things about the original film. While Moreno no longer took center stage in Spielberg’s production, she remained a vital presence, bridging the gap between the two movies.

Burt Reynolds

The Longest Yard (1974) / The Longest Yard (2005)

Back in 1974, Burt Reynolds starred as the disgraced former quarterback Paul Crewe, who leads a prison football team to victory in a game against the guards in The Longest Yard. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and he’s starring in the same movie, but this time as Coach Nate Scarborough, a veteran footballer who helps train the inmates.

The reappearance of Reynolds in The Longest Yard remake was a knowing nod to his career and legacy, as the original film was one of his career-defining performances. While the broad comedy of this Adam Sandler remake lacked the darker edge of the original, Reynolds’s presence helped ground the film in its past.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Bloodsport (1988) / Lionheart (1990)

The martial arts icon Jean-Claude Van Damme achieved his breakout role in the cult classic Bloodsport, which tells the story of an expert fighter participating in an underground fighting compeтιтion. Then, just two years later, Van Damme did the exact same thing in Lionheart, a movie with a shockingly similar premise.

While Lionheart wasn’t said to be based on a true story, the legitimacy of Bloodsport’s real-life fighter Frank Dux’s claims is in dispute; it followed essentially the same structure as a French Foreign Legionnaire who enters an underground fighting compeтιтion to raise money for his murdered brother’s family. Both films deliver action-packed thrills and stand as early Van Damme classics.

Penélope Cruz

Open Your Eyes (1997) / Vanilla Sky (2001)

Penélope Cruz has always had international appeal, as she’s equally comfortable in Spanish-language productions like Open Your Eyes as she is in Hollywood sci-fi like Vanilla Sky. But everyone might not be aware that these are actually the same movie, with Penélope Cruz reprising her same role in the Hollywood remake.

Cruz played Sofia in both Open Your Eyes and Vanilla Sky, where she was the love interest in a story that blended dreams, reality, and idenтιтy. This reprisal was a major turning point in Cruz’s career, as she acted opposite Tom Cruise, which set the stage for her to later become a global star and an Academy Award winner.

Rachel McAdams

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) / About Time (2013)

It seems Rachel McAdams has a thing for hard-to-pin-down men, as she’s been the romantic interest of a time traveler several times. While this may seem like an incredibly niche setup, McAdams starred in The Time Traveler’s Wife in 2009 before returning four years later with Richard Curtis’s shockingly similar rom-com, About Time.

With both films serving as metaphors for the unpredictable nature of romance and the lack of control we have over significant life changes, McAdams brought a distinct energy to each role as it explored its themes in different ways. McAdams even has a third time-travel romance movie to her name, as she also starred in Midnight in Paris.