10 TV Characters They Couldn't Stop Recasting

Livia Soprano is one of The Sopranos' most unforgettable characters, and also its most frequently recast.

Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) cantankerous mother was played by Nancy Marchand for 21 episodes across the show's first two seasons, before the character was written out due to Marchand's real-life death.

But Marchand was ultimately one of just four actresses to play Livia throughout the show's history, even though the character was killed off following Marchand's death.

Laila Robins played a younger Livia in two flashback episodes in the first and third seasons, while Laurie Williams portrayed her in a season five flashback.

And most recently, a younger Livia was finally played by the great Vera Farmiga in the recent Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, a role for which Farmiga received considerable acclaim in matching Marchand's memorable mannerisms.

At least in this case the recasting wasn't too distracting given that the new actors were playing the Livia in the past, and in the case of Robins and Williams their parts were relatively minor.