• GCanuck@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Anytime a comedian takes on a dramatic role and nails it.

    Off the top of my head….

    Robin Williams: Dead Poets Society (and many more, I think that was his first) Bill Hader: Barry. Jim Carrey: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    • Pea666@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      Don’t forget about Bryan Cranston either! He was that weird but hilarious dentist from Seinfeld and the dad in Malcolm in the Middle way before he ever was Walter White.

    • JimmyChanga@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Man, Robin Williams can get to me like no one else. There were moments in Good Morning Vietnam, a couple years before Dead poets, but GMV was def more focused on his big comedic personality. Then his performance in The Fisher King…I don’t generally get emotional about celebrities but that dude was different. There’s been a few musicians that have been much better than expected. Dolly Paton in 9 to 5, Madonna on A League of their Own, Prince’s acting in Purple rain. Ice Cube in Boyz in da hood.

    • Ilflish@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      You often hear comedians are the best actors because they learn to act through humour which is is probably the most abrupt emotions to react to

      • HobbitFoot
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        1 year ago

        I’ve heard it more that both comedy and drama is like a dance, but comedy has a faster tempo.

      • lobut@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        I figure it’s also because they’re on stage so much and trying to convey so much to an audience so often. There’s gotta be a lot of transferrable skills.

    • greensage@lib.lgbt
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      1 year ago

      I really loved Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? She nailed that one

      • JimmyChanga@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They weren’t though, they were straight up comedians. After all these years it’s obvious they had more to them, but when they first stepped into serious roles it wasn’t known and was a surprise to most what they could do outwith comedy.

        • Deftdrummer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I hear you and agree, though for the sake of discussion and argument - let’s say OP was referring to unnamed nobodies who nailed it in their acting debut.

          Who’s your best?

      • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yes and no. We often differentiate between “comics” and “actors” as people who belong to different disciplines of entertainment. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey got their starts in stand-up, and Bill Hader as an improv sketch comic. It’s pretty commonplace for notable comics to transition into comedic acting on screen, but that’s basically the type of production they get typecast into from that point on.

        So when much of the industry places all this emphasis on having backgrounds in stage, working up through the indie circuit, or having some sort of Hollywood pedigree, it’s notable when a comedic actor manages to break free of the typecast and thrive.

      • decadentrebel@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Exactly. I remember seeing Liar Liar and Jim Carrey’s reaction when the kids were taken away by his client was top-tier drama. And just his line delivery and malleability were signs of great acting, regardless if it’s offen “wasted” in comedy.

    • reverendsteveii@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      For those not in the know, Ermey was only ever meant to be a consultant to teach Tim Colceri, the actor playing the drill instructor, how to do so realistically. It was only after Ermey did a 30 minute demonstration in which he berated and insulted the “troops” of the film while stagehands beaned him with tennis balls and oranges that Kubrick realized that casting Ermey would essentially just be removing the middleman.

  • Talkurt@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    Tricia Helfer comes to mind first. In Battlestar galactica. I forget the story but it’s something like she was brought in for her looks(they wanted a knockout for the first scene cylon). Then she went on to blow them away with her acting. She was a model before if I recall.

  • quinnly@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Eminem in 8 Mile. When I first saw it I was convinced he’d become a superstar actor and stop making music, but that never happened. Even so, he’s fucking phenomenal in that movie.

    • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Wait, I’m not sure I remember who ? I binged the show last year but that doesn’t ring a bell

  • DickSledge@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Andy Buckley, the guy who played David Wallace on The Office. He was a financial advisor at the time and they wanted him because he looked/sounded like an executive. Totally knocked it out of the park.

    • butthead1013@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      In the same vein, Phyllis was just working behind the scenes before they decided to put her in the show

  • fernandofig@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    Dominique Tipper in The Expanse (E: yeah, not a movie, but still an awesome experience all around)

    I mean, not everyone in the community thinks much of her acting, but on Season 5 she puts out a performance that puts a lot of veteran actors to shame.

    • JimmyChanga@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I 100% only know her from The Expanse, what else does she do that I’ve been missing out on?

      • fernandofig@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        Until The Expanse she was more known as a dancer / singer, although even then she wasn’t super famous.

        • JimmyChanga@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Cheers, I’ll look her up on YouTube or somewhere be interesting to see another side of her talent.

      • fernandofig@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        Her breakout role was really in The Expanse. Until then she was most known as a dancer and singer, even though she had a few very minor roles in a few films.

  • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The lad who was in Indiana Jones and did so well in Everything, Everywhere.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Vinnie Jones’ first acting role was in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and it was probably his best performance.

  • PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Tom Waits in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Sure it wasn’t his first time acting but I’d argue he’s much more well known as a musical artist and his performance was great.

    • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      He’s also in one or two Jarmusch films. From the 80s or 90s. Too lazy to look it up. Coffee and cigarettes ?

  • Vlhacs@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    I thought Anthony Edwards did a great job playing the antagonist in Hustle.

    Haven’t seen it yet but heard Kevin Garnett killed it in Uncut Gems.

    Justin Timberlake usually do a really good job, as a lead i.e. In Time, or in a supporting role like in Social Network.

    • ours@lemmy.film
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      1 year ago

      You must watch Uncut Gems. It’s a wild ride.

      Unless you have problems with anxiety because that is one stressful movie.

      • Vlhacs@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        I could barely finish Whiplash lol. But I’m always a fan of KG and to a lesser extent Adam Sandler movies, so I’ll still give it a shot.

    • DrinkMonkey@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      At first I was like, what is Anthony Edwards famous for if not for his roles as Goose, or Dr. Green?

  • gk99@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I know it’s not a film, but it’s wild to me that John Marston from Red Dead Redemption 1/2 is voiced by…a construction worker in Indiana.

    But more accurate to the question, I thought 8 Mile was pretty good, though the last time I saw it I was like 15.

  • Deftdrummer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Aleksei Kravchenko in the war film Come And See (1985) Russian film from the point of view of a small child.

    He easily had the best performance in a movie that is widely considered to be one of the greatest war films of all time.