I Thought I Recognised Him

It still seems strange to me to see Hugh Laurie in House and speaking in that American accent, to me he is Prince Regent and George from Blackadder or the other half of a Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry, and there he is doing proper acting.
It's the same with Ian McShane, he's Lovejoy the dodgy antiques dealer so what's he doing popping up in Deadwood and how did the homosexual homehelp from Alf Garnett, Eamonn Walker, end up in American show Oz ?
Someone pointed out Stephen Moyer in an episode of Midsomer Murders and he knows plays Bill Compton in True Blood and a movie career seemed a million miles away for Anna Friel when i watched her playing Beth in Brookside. It took me a while to get my head around Anthony Head being vampire fighting Giles on Buffy and not the man from the Nescafe series of adverts.
During a brief flirtation with Australian soaps such as Neighbours and Home and Away, Alan Dale is always Jim and Guy Pearce is Mike whatever American show they pitch up and Ryan Kwanten who plays Jason Stackhouse in True Blood is still the lifeguard from Home & Away.
Seeing someone on the television in a place that you don't expect to see them, especially if you associate them with another role, is always strange, i still don't believe that Darth Vader was the same man who put on green tights and taught us how to cross the road when i was a kid, but apparently it is.
It's the same with the mobile phone advert where Kevin Bacon is stood in a British Fish & Chip shop talking about Paul Daniels or walking around a football pitch, i always think of him dancing around in Footloose or hiding on a shed roof from giant worms. 
Good luck to them i say but you can't forget your roots, especially with Dave & UK Gold showing your old shows.