The Actors Behind the Most Important TV Characters We’ve Never Seen

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Ah, the elusive TV character we never see. Many sitcoms have one. You know, a person who is often integral to the show, but whose face or body is left to the imagination. In many cases, there isn’t even a voice or a silhouette associated with the unseen character at hand — for example, Bob Sacamano on Seinfeld, Diane on Twin Peaks, or Tino on My So-Called Life. Occasionally, however, there’s a distant voice or an obscured body associated with these mysterious characters. We’ve always been curious about these folks, so we decided to put some unseen characters side by side with the actors who played them. Check ’em out after the jump, and hit the comments to let us know who we missed.

Wilson Wilson, Jr., played by Earl Hindman, Home Improvement

We have to admit — some admirable effort went into hiding the bottom half of Earl Hindman’s face from the world. Alas, a simple Google image search can ruin one of the greatest secrets of the ’90s. He looks a little naked without the fisherman’s cap, eh?

Vera Peterson, played by Bernadette Birkett, Cheers

The most we ever saw of Norm’s wife was in a Thanksgiving episode of Cheers, and although her full body was visible for the very first time, her face was covered with pie. So it goes.

George Steinbrenner, played by Larry David and Lee Bear, Seinfeld

The illusion of a real George Steinbrenner was created by the voice of Larry David and the back of Lee Bear. The Internet knows no photos of Lee Bear, unfortunately, but who can turn down a classic scowl from Larry David?

Coustin Itt, played by Felix Silla, The Addams Family

It never really occurred to us that there was supposed to be a human under all that stylish hair, but in the original TV show, that human was played by Felix Silla. Fun fact: He was the stunt double for Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Charlie, played by John Forsythe, Charlie’s Angels

Regardless of which Charlie’s Angels episode or film you’re watching, there’s always that same, mysterious voice — Charlie’s. We never see him, but that voice belongs to John Forsythe, who has been the one and only Charlie throughout the decades.

Anubis, played by David Palffy, Stargate SG-1

Anubis has the ability to make his skull visible, but he doesn’t have a face, so we never get to see the man who is truly behind the cloaked character. Turns out it’s David Palffy, as seen on the right, who also played SG-1 villain Sokar and is married to Erica Durance.

Hoodie Kenny and Real Kenny, South Park

Last but not least, we have Kenny from South Park. Okay, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to put cartoons on this list, but Kenny is one of the only obscured animated characters whose real face was actually exposed. That being said, we think it’s high time we get a glimpse of Nanny from Muppet Babies‘ face. Can you do that for us, Jason Segel?