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Ilana Becker can barely go a day without someone asking her, "'You're the girl with the stomach, right?' "
Many actors are known for their signature roles. In Ms. Becker's case, that role is of a dysfunctional digestive system. She plays Irritabelle, that adorably annoying redhead in tights in Arnold Worldwide's campaign for Allergan's Viberzi, a prescription drug to treat IBS-D, or irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea.
"I've been blown away by the response" to the ad, said Ms. Becker, who was once followed in an airport from baggage claim to the exit by someone who recognized her. "It's just thrilling that the ads are resonating like that with strangers," Ms. Becker said. "Irritabelle has been a real gift. She sort of sprinkled her fairy dust on me in terms of helping me embrace what makes me uniquely me. She's me, but with the volume turned up."
In the cottage industry of voice and commercial actors who play diseases and afflicted citizens in healthcare and pharma ads, there are a host of actors who welcome the chance to embrace the quirkiness.
Take, for example, Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Mr. Mucus. Mr. Jackson originated the voice and personality of the wiseguy ball of phlegm back in 2004, when the ads were handled in-house by then-owner Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, which later sold to RB. Mr. Jackson, who also voiced Ghostface in the "Scream"...