10 Unexpected Roles from Famous Actors, According to Reddit (original) (raw)

Published Jul 23, 2023, 7:30 PM EDT

Anja Djuricic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1992. Her first interest in film started very early, as she learned to speak English by watching Disney animated movies (and many, many reruns). Anja soon became inspired to learn more foreign languages to understand more movies, so she entered the Japanese language and literature Bachelor Studies at the University of Belgrade.

Anja is also one of the founders of the DJ duo Vazda Garant, specializing in underground electronic music influenced by various electronic genres.

Anja loves to do puzzles in her spare time, pet cats wherever she meets them, and play The Sims. Anja's Letterboxd four includes Memories of Murder, Parasite, Nope, and The Road to El Dorado.

Moviegoers are used to seeing popular actors and actresses in roles typical for them. For example, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is always the physical hero type that saves the day, and Will Smith the charming comic relief. However, Johnson showed complexity in his skills by starring in the underrated sleeper hit Ballers, while Smith stepped away from his usual roles and won an Oscar for King Richard.

Viewers are often surprised at these transformations, although Johnson and Smith are just two of many examples of acting versatility. Reddit users in the r/movies thread started one such discussion - the surprising roles of certain typecast actors. The ten actors they voted on the most showed massive changes from their usual roles, which were worth mentioning for Redditors.

10 Tom Cruise in 'Tropic Thunder'

Tom Cruise as Les Grossman avoiding Matthew McConaughey as The Pecker in Tropic Thunder

Image via DreamWorks Pictures

One of the most surprising roles from an A-list actor was delivered in Tropic Thunder. No, it's not Robert Downey Jr. as the Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus - it's Tom Cruise as the studio hotshot Les Grossman. Ben Stiller, Tropic Thunder's director, and actor, said that Cruise invented Grossman, adding that the movie needed an evil studio executive to work.

Redditors agreed this was one of Cruise's most surprising roles, even adding that he was hysterical in it. The user xxmindtrickxx wrote this about the performance: "Try and say this whole monologue, out loud without laughing with the same emphasis as Cruise, it's impossible I crack up hysterically everytime."

9 Will Ferrell in 'Stranger Than Fiction'

Image via Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group

Everyone's used to Will Ferrell being silly. From Ron Burgundy to Ricky Bobby, his satirical roles are hilarious and over the top. Some people can't even keep a straight face when they see Ferrell, which could be negative for an actor like him. This is especially true if they put on Stranger Than Fiction,thinking it's just another Will Ferrell movie.

People were pleasantly surprised at Ferrell's acting chops in Stranger Than Fiction, and it's not the last time he got serious for a role. However, it was one of the first instances of fans seeing him in a different light. The Reddit user Yackemflaber agreed, saying: "I love how he was able to restrain his silliness to a more realistic level while mixing it with a great dramatic performance."

8 Matt Damon in 'Eurotrip'

Matt Damon's sense of humor hasn't gone unnoticed. Although he's the king of Dad movies, people were surprised to see him in a teenage comedy about high school grads going on a trip around Europe. Adorned in face piercings, neck tattoos, and black-painted nails, Damon became the face of Eurotrip. Many folks still sing "Scotty doesn't know" when he's mentioned.

Redditors agreed that Damon surprised them here, although he is known to take on smaller roles and cameos, seemingly, for the thrill of it. No matter which of Damon's hilarious cameos Redditors picked, the user named ThatRandomIdiot wrote: "This is still my favorite Damon cameo."

7 Steve Carell in 'Foxcatcher'

Image via Sony Pictures

Although fans see Steve Carell and think of The Office, Carell continuously proves he's more than Michael Scott. Although it's tough to imagine him in more serious roles when he's created such an iconic character, Carell's career is full of them. Foxcatcher was the first time wider audiences saw his serious side, believing he can nail any role he's cast in.

In Foxcatcher, Carell is unrecognizable for a couple of reasons - one is his prosthetic nose, but the other is his performance. Commenters on Reddit mentioned the movie as a big surprise role for him. Still, after several other mentions, including The Big Short, the user roboticbrady wrote: "At that point, I think people understood he has a lot of range. I certainly don't recall anyone being surprised."

6 Matthew McConaughey in 'True Detective'

Matthew McConaughey in Season 1 of True Detective.

Image via HBO

Matthew McConaughey hasn't surprised people as Rust Cohle because he was typecast - it was because of the immense range he showed throughout. Before True Detective, McConaughey starred in Dallas Buyers Club, earning him an Oscar win. However, True Detective is a modern cult classic and the first time wider audiences saw McConaughey knock it out of the park, performance-wise.

McConaughey transformed people's opinions from being a mostly unserious actor to one to watch. People connected with Rust Cohle, maybe the first time anyone connected to any of his characters. This may be why people loved Interstellar later on and attached him to bigger roles. The user HenroTee agrees, saying: "True Detective was what his career had been building towards."

5 Ryan Gosling in 'The Nice Guys'

Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys.

Ryan Gosling started off as a heartthrob; audiences swooned over him in The Notebook, often lauding him as the sexiest man alive. Then, in 2016, he starred in The Nice Guys alongside Russell Crowe and showed why he's bigger than his pretty boy roles. Gosling is hilarious in The Nice Guys, with impeccable delivery and a physical comedy sense.

It seems like, after The Nice Guys, Gosling's been able to embrace his comedic side and agree to bolder roles (Ken in Barbie is the freshest example). The user LivinDavideLoca said this about his performance in The Nice Guys: "Can't remember laughing as hard in a cinema ever as at that toilet scene. Amazing physical comedy."

4 Robin Williams in 'One Hour Photo'

Image Via Fox Searchlight

The world's favorite comedic actor, Robin Williams, surprised many after starring in a serious leading role in One Hour Photo. He plays a photo film developer who becomes obsessed with one of the families that bring in their films. This nuanced role helped people see a more serious side to Williams. A fun fact says that, when the film aired at Sundance Festival, audiences didn't notice Williams was the lead at first, which helped him break the mold.

The commenter randomaccount178 said in a thread: "It's something people unfortunately tend not to realize, the key to being a great comedic actor isn't being a great comedian, but being a great actor." Williams' later performance in David Fincher's Insomnia gave him the great versatile actor credential.

3 Chris Evans in 'Captain America' and 'The Avengers'

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Chris Evans played another cocky, self-assured guy when The Fantastic Four made him an international star. Besides the hate for that film overall, Evans was typecast, which is why he was an unusual choice to play Captain America in his next Marvel adventure. However, he turned out to be perfect for the role. Redditor legochemgrad agreed: "Most people had only seen him play cocky guy stereotypes. People didn't think he could play a genuine good-hearted guy without hamming it up."

Evans leaned into being Steve Rogers while staying true to himself; Rogers is just and serious but charming nevertheless. After Cap, Evans was able to get more serious roles, like in Snowpiercer, The Iceman, and _The Red Sea Diving Reso_rt.

2 Jim Carrey in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'

Similarly to Robin Williams, people weren't used to seeing Jim Carrey without expecting him to pull a funny face or a gag. Having to be in that sort of persona all the time put him in a box. Although he's caused many laughs, Carrey impressed folks more after starring in the widely beloved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Written by Charlie Kaufmann, Eternal Sunshine became more famous for being Carrey's biggest serious role. Although _The Truman Sho_w and Man on the Moon had already happened, audiences (and possibly studios) still found his best work limited to comedy. Redditor johnnytightlips2 expressed their opinion on this, adding: "Jim Carrey doing straight acting is so much better than Jim Carrey doing comedy."

1 Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight'

Image Via Warner Bros

Heath Ledger is among the most praised actors on Reddit. The Dark Knight has a wide dedicated audience, but Ledger's performance as The Joker is the thing that swept people off their feet. He brought dimensions to a villain who was thus far played with a villainous demeanor and without clear motivation. He created a character that defines many people's love of TDK.

Ledger's prior roles were serious, but somehow not serious enough. Although he was fantastic in Brokeback Mountain, the jokes regarding his casting in TDK were pretty awful; people (and the media) didn't believe he'd be able to pull it off. Even Redditor LayzeeLar confessed: ""Brokeback Batman is going to suck!" I ate those words. I suck."

NEXT: 11 Movies Where the Stars Died Before Its Release, From 'The Crow' to 'The Dark Knight'