Richard L. Duran appeared as Afghan Man in "To Be A Man" and as Soldier in "The Treasure of Manco"
(For the latter episode, he appeared as Richard Duran, just for the record)

Ted Pitsis appeared as Technician in "To Be A Man" and as Man in parking lot in "Split Decision" (Again, for the record, he appeared as Theodore Pitsis in "Split Decision")

Also, this is unrelated, but I thought I'd throw this out here- I also noticed that Russell Johnson guest starred as a Federal Agent in the "Ugly Duckling" episode. It's really pretty cool to me, because he also starred as "The Professor" (Roy Hinkley) on "Gilligan's Island"- and it's fitting because MacGyver is sometimes compared to The Professor in terms of their scientific genius!

Also, something else struck me about the "Ugly Duckling" episode. MacGyver helps out a girl named Kate Lafferty whose mother is Carol Lafferty. I'm sure it's probably not the case but perhaps Pat Lafferty is the father? (And it's been a while since I've seen this episode, so I can't remember if the father is mentioned at all)

no the fathers not mentioned.

Those two appearances you mentioned sound like they only had background or bit parts?

I don't think I'll worry about adding background type appearances on the list. But we can certainly mention them here. Might be interesting to see how many of the crew members got dragged in front of the camera on a regular bases to make a scene look busy.

I've also found that Nick Dimitri played "Thug" in "The Eraser" and probably also a similar role in "Second Chance"

By the way- on the list we have Beau Billingslea listed as portraying "Obadiah Moss" in "Family Matter"
IMDB lists (and of course, it MAY be wrong) him portraying "Boone" in "Family Matter", as well as "Rev. Roy Thatcher" in "Rush to Judgement"
Jeffrey Josephson is listed as portraying "Obadiah Moss"

Might want to double check that.

I also noticed on the list we have Paul Batten listed as playing bit roles in various episodes. Again, I don't know if IMDB is wrong or not, but I've seen him listed on there as portraying Pettigrew in "Lost Love" (Parts 1 and 2), Walter Reese in "Early Retirement" and Clerk in "Passages". And IMDB does not list any of the episodes that are mentioned on the online list.

Another question- Is Hakim supposed to be the same character in "Passages" and "Eye of Osiris"- given that they're portrayed by Anthony Stamboulieh both times?

Marcel Maillard appeared as Worker in "Blow Out" and Security Guard in "The Black Corsage"

Also, as a little aside, if you ever want to see like a ton of actors and actresses who have appeared on MacGyver in one place- watch the 1989 "Who's Harry Crumb?" movie starring John Candy. In scrolling through lists of guest stars on MacGyver, I'm pretty sure I've seen at least 4 or 5 now who also appeared in this movie!!!
Also, I've seen 2 or 3 show up in the 1989 TV-movie "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (featuring Bill Bixby as David Banner, Lou Feriggno as The Incredible Hulk, and the first ever live action appearance of Daredevil, as portrayed by Rex Smith, as well as John Rhys-Davies showing up as The Kingpin.)
(Not to mention all the TONS of MacGyver people that have shown up on StarGate SG-1 - but that's a list in and of itself.)

This isn't exactly related, but I think it might also be worth mentioning on the Recurring Characters page- Pete Thornton's secretary, Helen Wilson. Susan Chapple portrays the character in "The Odd Triple", "The Spoilers", "Rock the Cradle", and "Cleo Rocks" and her voice is heard in "The Battle of Tommy Giordano", "Blind Faith" and "Strictly Business".

Yeah, I had those and about a dozen others. We decided that if at least one of their appearances wasn’t actually given a name ie they were “man in parking lot” or “security guard” they weren’t much more than a credited extra and we weren’t going to add them to the list unless they had more than two appearances or had a seemingly interesting role.

Same thing as above.

That’s a mistake on IMDB

I have Batten listed correctly on the pervious page.

I have Batten listed correctly on the pervious page.

I figured it out.

I'm going to take the blame coz I was really bombarding Rocky with information.

Rocky. Remember when you said you were in the P's and I said "ohhhh, but I found another B" ? Teehee.

The table got goobered up. The information for Paul Bittante (was a police officer in The Challenge, a security cop in The Lost Amadeus, a police officer in The Gun & a guard in There But for the Grace) bumped the information for Paul Batten (was Pettigrew in Lost Love pt1&2 ... Walter Reese in Early Retirement & a clerk in Passages)

Sooooorrry.

Also, Pat Bermel is listed on the online list as Steve in "Murderers' Sky" and Barns in "Rush to Judgement". IMDB actually has him listed as Steve in "Murderers' Sky", Marshal in "Rush to Judgement" and Barnes in "Jerico Games"

Okay- I'm already going through all these lists anyway, trying to doublecheck the online list- so I may just list these actors and actresses, even if they are just bit roles. You don't have to add them to the list- but it can't hurt to have them on the thread just in case anyone really wants to know!

Douglas Stewart appeared as Ambulance Attendant on "Blood Brothers" and Orderly on "Lesson in Evil"

Also, might want to double check the list for the William Samples and Alvin Sanders entries. Alvin Sanders portrayed Ryan in "Deadly Dreams", not William Samples. That's probably just part of the mix-up already mentioned though.

Ah- here's a named character that it seems was missed- Stephen Dimopoulos portrayed Arcade Manager Fontaine in "Deadly Dreams" and Pilot in "Legend of the Holy Rose" (Parts 1 and 2)


Also, on the online list we have Peter Black listed as portraying Motel Clerk in "The Battle of Tommy Giordano" and Parnell in "The Visitor"
IMDB lists the actor's name as Ian Black.

Also, another for the record- Serge Houde portrayed Lawyer in "The Battle of Tommy Giordano" and French Delegate in "Humanity"

Also, I noticed Suleka Matthew appears as Darlene in both "The Challenge" and "Runners" - I didn't realize that before, so there's another briefly recurring character.

Again, for the record- Paul Bittante appeared as Police Officer in "The Challenge" and Security Cop in "The Lost Amadeus" and Officer in "The Gun" and Guard in "There But For the Grace". So apparently we have a nameless man who has been steadily working in law enforcement, but I don't think that quite counts as a recurring character.

And Paul McLean played Security Guard in "Runners" and Security Guard in "The Gun" ... Hmm, perhaps he worked with Paul Bittante's nameless character.

I also noticed Darcia Carnie appeared as Veronica in "Renegade" and again as Veronica in "The Ten Percent Solution"- I'm guessing that just has to be coincidence, right? Is Veronica meant to be the same character here?

And Kevin Hayes shows up as a newscaster in "Legend of the Holy Rose" (Parts 1 and 2), Reporter in "The Madonna", Newscaster in "Jenny's Chance" and a specifically named Reporter- Vince King, in both "Jerico Games" and "Blind Faith". Does that mean we also have a recurring reporter, Vince King, that MacGyver gets his news from?

Another one for the books- Ron Halder appeared as Auctioneer in "The Ten Percent Solution" and Cop in "Blind Faith"

Brock Johnson appeared as Punk #1 in "The Madonna" and as Store Manager in "Squeeze Play" (well, that's a nice step up anyway)

IMDB also apparently has an interesting interpretation on "The Madonna" episode- Jeanette Nolan is listed as guest starring as Carol/demonic impersonator???
Um- I think the writers were going for the other end of the spiritual realm- try angel!

(I also like that Dana Elcar is listed as Pete Thornton/Santa Claus for this episode- I guess in case you weren't paying attention to the episode in the part where Cynthia specifically asks Pete to play the role of Santa Claus. I mean- I guess it's good to know for those who haven't seen the episode yet- but it still sounds funny to list Dana Elcar as Santa Claus, implying that he appeared as the "real" Santa Claus or something...)

And David Symons appeared as Bailiff in "Rush to Judgement" and Policeman #1 in "Bitter Harvest"

Yet another observation- John Hostetter appeared as Sgt. Rudley Lee in "The 'Hood" and in "Walking Dead"- so it would seem we have another briefly recurring police officer role.

Okay, I have finished going through every episode of MacGyver on IMDB, as well as the two TV-movies and even the "Young MacGyver" pilot just for fun. So, as near as I can tell, this completes the list of people who have appeared more than once in different roles, even if they are just bit parts. (Of course, there could always be others that were uncredited that haven't been listed on IMDB yet)
Anyway, in conclusion, after going through all this I learned that-

MANY actors and actresses from MacGyver also appeared in such shows as- Canadian productions- "Neon Rider" (never heard of before- and I don't think it has anything to do with "Knight Rider") or "Mom P.I." (I'm guessing a female take on "Magnum, P.I."- never heard of this one either) and "The Beachcombers" (classic Canadian show- used to watch this one some as a kid)- and "Danger Bay" (have heard of before- used to watch this A LOT as a child- great rocking theme song!)
You might also very likely find them in productions of "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" (apparently a 1991 live action version- I've only seen the '70s cartoon) as well as the 1989 "hit" movie "Lobster Man from Mars"
One would also be very likely to spot them in the 1989 TV-movie "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" and the 1990 follow-up TV-movie "The Death of the Incredible Hulk"
Classic TV show spin-off movies seems to be the trend, as a number of them also appeared in the 1991 TV-movie "I Still Dream of Jeannie" or the 1993 TV-movie "The Odd Couple: Together Again"
Also- an overwhelming number of them appeared in the 1989 John Candy movie "Who's Harry Crumb?" and a good number in "The Fly II"
A handful of them were also in the 1989 movie "We're No Angels" and the 1987 TV-movie "The Return of the Shaggy Dog" and a 1990 TV-movie called "Sky High" and the 1991 movie "Mystery Date"

A lot of them also had the tendency to voice cartoon characters, such as those on anime shows like Ranma 1/2 or '80s classics- G.I. Joe or Captain N and the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

There is also a good probability of seeing them on such shows as Hunter, Wiseguy, Street Justice, Hawkeye, Airwolf and Quantum Leap. There's also a very good probability that the person was also involved in Star Trek at some level, whether in the movies or one of the series- most likely Star Trek: The Next Generation, but also Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. (And even a few from Star Trek- The Original Series)
And I spotted a few that appeared in the Star Wars prequels and a couple who were also in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. And there's also seems to be a good likelihood of seeing them later on in such shows as Smallville and short-lived favorite of mine, The Hat Squad.

Some had very long careers and some basically have no career beyong their quick 15 minutes of fame on MacGyver. (Well, no acting career, that is)
Some people started their careers with MacGyver and some ended them on MacGyver.

Interestingly, some people have also shown up in other movies with the same name as a MacGyver episode like "Passages" or "The Widowmaker"

Above all, the main thing I learned is that even if you showed up as a bum on the street for 2 seconds in just one MacGyver episode, most likely you were offered a guest starring role on StarGate SG-1 or StarGate: Atlantis some time down the road!