While they are primarily known for their comedy work, a primarily comedic movie actor can turn out an incredible performance in darker, heavier fare. In fact, some of the greatest movie performances are by actors who audiences usually associate with being funny, seemingly unaware of their true potential as performers. Many might not realize it, but comedic performers can be some of the best actors of all time, especially when they take on dramatic characters.
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It can be hard for actors to break free of their typical genre, especially when they get their start in the world of comedy. However, the best ones can break free of that preconception about their talents, allowing them to branch out into other genres tense thrillers or dramatic weepies. While a lot of comedic actors try their hand at these kind of serious roles, there are some that truly knock it out of the park and turn out some of their best ever performances.
You are watching: 10 Incredible Serious Movie Performances By Comedy Actors
10
Robin Williams In One Hour Photo (2002)
Williams’ Most Unnerving Role
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One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo stars Robin Williams as Sy Parrish, a solitary photo technician at a department store who becomes obsessed with a family whose pictures he develops. The film, directed by Mark Romanek, explores themes of loneliness and voyeurism as Sy’s fascination with the seemingly perfect family spirals into unsettling territory.
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Release Date
August 21, 2002
Cast
Robin Williams
, Connie Nielsen
, Michael Vartan
, Dylan Smith
, Erin Daniels
, Paul H. Kim
Director
Mark Romanek
Robin Williams is the perfect example of a primarily comedic actor who excelled in dramatic roles. Throughout the course of his career, Robin Williams shined in a plethora of comedic performances in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin, and Good Morning, Vietnam. Even though he was known as a comedian for most of his career, Robin Williams put out some all-timer performances in more dramatic roles like Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, and Insomnia, proving just how talented of an actor he is.
Robin Williams is perfectly unsettling in the role, a major detour from a wish-granting genie, or an empathetic therapist to Matt Damon.
The 2002 film, One Hour Photo, is the perfect display of Robin Williams’ ability to turn out an amazing performance in any genre. In fact, this might be one of Williams’ most underrated roles of all time, where he plays a photo technician who develops an unhealthy obsession with a family. Robin Williams is perfectly unsettling in the role, a major detour from a wish-granting genie, or an empathetic therapist to Matt Damon.
9
Adam Sandler In Uncut Gems (2019)
An Anxiety-Building Masterclass
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6/10
10/10
Uncut Gems
A crime thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems follows New York jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as his gambling addiction forces him to associate with increasingly dangerous individuals. After receiving an incredibly rare black opal, Howard believes he can finally free himself of his mounting debts, but not without engaging in one final high-stakes balancing act while fending off violent loan sharks.
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Release Date
December 13, 2019
Cast
Jonathan Aranbayev
, Eric Bogosian
, The Weeknd
, Idina Menzel
, Noa Fisher
, Kevin Garnett
, Tommy Kominik
, LaKeith Stanfield
, Jacob Igielski
, Adam Sandler
, Julia Fox
, Keith Williams Richards
Director
Josh Safdie
, Benny Safdie
Sandler has largely acted in comedy films over the past three decades, with a run in the 1990s that made him one of the most successful comedic performers ever. Films like Big Daddy, Billy Madison, and Happy Gilmore are staples of that era of comedy, but his output in the 21st century has earned a reputation for being critically reviled, thanks to movies like Pixels and Jack & Jill. However, whenever Sandler tries his hand at a dramatic performance, the actor reveals his true skills.
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Adam Sandler made his name in comedy, but in recent years it’s become clear that he is a strong serious performer, and his films show this.
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Uncut Gems might be the finest acting in Adam Sandler’s career, with he actor playing a gambling addict that can’t seem to get out of his own way. The film constantly ratchets up the anxiety over the course of the entire narrative. Adam Sandler disappears in the role of Howard Ratner, helping to breathe life into one of the most frustrating but compelling characters in modern film. It’s a masterclass in acting, and a is rightfully considered some of Sandler’s best work.
8
Jason Segel In The End Of The Tour (2015)
Superb Look At A Literary Icon
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The End of the Tour
The End of the Tour chronicles a five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace following the 1996 publication of Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest. The film explores their interactions and insights into Wallace’s life during this pivotal moment in his career.
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Release Date
July 31, 2015
Cast
Jason Segel
, Jesse Eisenberg
, Mamie Gummer
, Mickey Sumner
, Johnny Otto
, Anna Chlumsky
, Joan Cusack
, Becky Ann Baker
, Ron Livingston
, Stephanie Cotton
, Dan John Miller
, Noel Fletcher
, Michael J. Stalmer
, Punnavith Koy
, Ben Phelps
, Joel Thingvall
, Ryan J. Gilmer
, Alan Holasek
Director
James Ponsoldt
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Freak and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man, and How I Met Your Mother allowed Jason Segel to take on the role of bumbling goofball with a heart of gold. He succeeded incredibly well in that lane, putting out great comedic performances for most of his career. Most of Segel’s filmography adheres to the comedy genre, but every once in a while, Segel breaks out of that and puts on a powerhouse character performance that highlights his true versatility as an actor.
David Foster Wallace’s critically acclaimed Infinite Jest is considered one of the defining novels of the 1990s.
Perhaps the best example of Jason Segel’s talent in a more dramatic role is his performance in The End of the Tour, where he plays the late author, David Foster Wallace. Based on the memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky. Jason Segel is able to dig deep into David Foster Wallace with a performance that is subtle, moving, and unfortunately tragic. The entire film is basically a series of conversations between Jason Segel and Jessie Eisenberg, with Segel’s presence giving Wallace a great sense of relatable depth.
7
Steve Carell In Beautiful Boy (2018)
Carell’s Heartbreaking Relationship With His Son
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6/10
Beautiful Boy
Beautiful Boy, directed by Felix Van Groeningen, is a drama film depicting the harrowing journey of a father, played by Steve Carell, as he contends with his son’s drug addiction. Timothée Chalamet stars as the son, struggling with addiction while his family grapples with uncertainty and despair. The film is based on the memoirs of David Sheff and Nic Sheff, offering an intimate look at addiction and its impact on familial relationships.
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October 12, 2018
Cast
Timothée Chalamet
, Kaitlyn Dever
, Steve Carell
, Amy Ryan
, Maura Tierney
Director
Felix Van Groeningen
Steve Carell has always been one of the funniest actors throughout his career, but the actor really came into his own in the early 2000s with movies like Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. His role as Michael Scott in the hit TV show, The Office is easily his most well-known role, turning him into a household name in comedy. Further into his career, however, Steve Carell started to branch out into more dramatic roles, as seen in films like Beautiful Boy.
It’s a tough subject to tackle and Carell navigates it beautifully, bringing a sense of deeply felt realism and empathy to the character.
Steve Carell showed how talented he truly was by going outside the typical confines of comedy, with a number of movies allowing him to show his dramatic ability. Beautiful Boy was one of those movies, focusing on Steve Carell as a father whose son has a drug addiction, which continues to strain their relationship over the course of the film. It’s a tough subject to tackle and Carell navigates it beautifully, bringing a sense of deeply felt realism and empathy to the character.
6
Jim Carrey In Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Carrey At His Saddest
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9/10
8.6/10
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski, a couple who rediscover their love after erasing each other from their memories. The 2004 drama is written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and includes Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson in its cast.
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Release Date
March 19, 2004
Cast
Kate Winslet
, Jim Carrey
, Elijah Wood
, Kirsten Dunst
, Mark Ruffalo
Director
Michel Gondry
Jim Carrey is one of the funniest actors of all time, typically going for broke with nearly every character he plays. The commitment to the bit is one of the reasons for his legendary status as a performer. No matter how immensely funny he may be, though, whenever Jim Carrey decides to pivot to a dramatic role, he typically makes something amazing.
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Look no further than Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to see just how talented he is as an actor. Playing Joel Barish, a man looking to permanently erase the memory of his prior relationship, Jim Carrey gives an incredibly moving, tender, and heartbreaking performance. His chemistry with Kate Winslet is wonderful, and he is able to convey a great deal of sadness in a lot of subtle ways. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind boasts one of JIm Carrey’s best performances ever, highlighting how versatile the typically comedic actor really is.
5
Melissa McCarthy In Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Melissa McCarthy’s Perfect Against-Type Role
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8/10
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and stars Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel, a biographer who turns to literary forgery when her career hits a decline. The narrative follows her fraudulent schemes and her partnership with Jack Hock, played by Richard E. Grant. The film explores themes of desperation, deception, and the quest for redemption.
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Release Date
October 19, 2018
Cast
Melissa McCarthy
, Richard E. Grant
, Dolly Wells
, Ben Falcone
, Gregory Korostishevsky
, Jane Curtin
Director
Marielle Heller
After working for the better part of a decade, Melissa McCarthy finally broke through after a string of hits in the early to mid-2010s with shows like Mike & Molly and films like Bridesmaids. The latter even earned McCarthy an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. For most of her career, McCarthy has remained in mostly comedic roles, but she has also flexed some of her immense talent in more dramatic parts.
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Can You Ever Forgive Me? is probably the best performance of Melissa McCarthy’s entire career and sheds some light on how she is so much more than a comedic actress. Taking on the role of the real-life figure Lee Israel, who was found to be committing literary forgery, McCarthy’s ability to bring out the complexities of the character is remarkable. There is a loneliness to Lee Israel in the film that Melissa McCarthy draws it out effortlessly. The impressive nature of the performance earned her another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress.
4
Awkwafina In The Farewell (2019)
A Profound Awakafina Performance
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9/10
9/10
The Farewell
The Farewell was written and directed by Lulu Wang and stars Awkwafina and Tzi Ma. The 2019 release sees a family that discovers their loved one is dying and plans to hold a family gathering without telling her she is passing.
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Release Date
July 12, 2019
Cast
X Mayo
, Gil Perez-Abraham
, Aoi Mizuhara
, Awkwafina
, Jim Liu
, Zhao Shuzhen
, Tzi Ma
, Ines Laimins
, Yongbo Jiang
, Shuzhen Zhou
, Diana Lin
, Han Chen
Director
Lulu Wang
Known for her larger-than-life personality, Awkawfina has made a name for herself in the past decade, acting in a number of movies and TV shows in that timeframe. Awkwafina is typically cast as the comedic sidekick in films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Crazy Rich Asians, and The Little Mermaid, but when she plays against type, amazing things can happen on screen.
Her most notable serious performance is in Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, where she plays Billi Wang. Billi travels to China after learning her grandma has cancer, but is put in the predicament of not being able to talk to her about it, given the family doesn’t want the grandma to know. The premise lends itself to being an emotional gut punch of a film, and Awkwafina’s tender and brilliant performance is easily the best thing she has done so far in her career.
3
Will Ferrell In Everything Must Go (2010)
Will Ferrell Contains Himself In A Fantastic Acting Performance
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Everything Must Go
Everything Must Go follows an alcoholic, played by Will Ferrell, who, after relapsing, loses his wife and job. In an effort to reboot his life, he holds a yard sale on his front lawn. The film explores themes of redemption and renewal through interactions with a new neighbor.
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Release Date
May 13, 2011
Cast
Will Ferrell
, C.J. Wallace
, Rebecca Hall
, Michael Pena
, Rosalie Michaels
, Stephen Root
, Laura Dern
, Glenn Howerton
, Argos MacCallum
, Todd Bryant
, Jason Spisak
, Tyler Johnstone
, Kyle Sharkey
, Scott Takeda
, Matthew Dearing
, Leeann Dearing
, Chris Cook
, Steven Scally
, Andy McDermott
, Leslea Fisher
, Annie Boon Karstens
, Lance Gray
, Narinder Singh
, Shannon Whirry
, Casey Likes
Director
Dan Rush
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Will Ferrell has a tendency to not care how big and loud his performances are, and that is what makes him such a great comedian. Films like Elf, Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby allow him to really tap into that type of role, and they are all amazing for it. Still, there are a handful of movies he has been in that require him to contain himself even just a little bit, resulting in some truly great performances.
For those interested in Ferrell’s more subdued performances, Stranger than Fiction is another Will Ferrell film that feels tonally closer to Everything Must Go.
Will Ferrell shines throughout in Everything Must Go, elevating the movie in the process. Categorized as a comedy-drama but really more drama than comedy, Everything Must Go revolves around Ferrell’s Nick Halsey, recently fired from his job, seperated from his wife, and booted from his home. Deciding to camp out on the lawn and sell everything he owns in a yard sale, Halsey confronts his own failings while trying to fix his life. There are moments of levity, but Will Ferrell taps into the underlying sadness of the character, getting at the aching heart of the story.
2
Sam Rockwell In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Rockwell’s Award-Winning Masterpiece
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7/10
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri revolves around Mildred Hayes, who challenges local law enforcement by posting provocative messages on billboards following the unsolved murder of her daughter. This action brings her into conflict with the town’s respected police chief and his volatile deputy, intensifying the tension in their small community.
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Release Date
December 1, 2017
Cast
Peter Dinklage
, Caleb Landry Jones
, Woody Harrelson
, Sam Rockwell
, Abbie Cornish
, Kerry Condon
Director
Martin McDonagh
Unlike most of the other actors on the list, Sam Rockwell has been in a variety of genres even early in his career. However, he shines with his comedic work in movies like Galaxy Quest, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Iron Man 2, and The Way Way Back. While he gives incredible performances in each of them, Sam Rockwell really nails it when it comes to his more dramatic roles.
Alongside Rockwell, Francis McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri features a masterclass of acting from multiple performers, including Sam Rockwell as Jason Dixon, an alcoholic, racist cop. There is a great deal nuance and depth to his character, which Rockwell nails every moment. Given the dramatic depth of the performance, it’s arguably the greatest performance of his career. The acclaimed performance won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and his character’s arc during the film succeeds largely due to Rockwell’s talent.
1
Vince Vaughn In Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017)
One of Vaughn’s Grittiest Roles
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Brawl in Cell Block 99
Brawl in Cell Block 99 follows Bradley Thomas, a former boxer turned drug mule, who ends up in a high-security prison after a deal goes wrong. Directed by S. Craig Zahler, the film stars Vince Vaughn as Bradley, who must navigate the brutal realities of prison life while protecting those he loves from afar. The narrative explores themes of violence, redemption, and survival within the confines of the penitentiary system.
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Release Date
September 23, 2017
Cast
Vince Vaughn
, Jennifer Carpenter
, Don Johnson
, Udo Kier
, Dion Mucciacito
Director
S. Craig Zahler
Standing at 6’5″, Vince Vaughn uses his large frame well to elevate his comedic performances. Vaughn has a history of playing larger-than-life character with a heart of gold and a willingness to get into trouble. Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Freaky, and Couples Retreat are classic examples of his comedic talent. However, when Vaughn decides to take on more dramatic roles, he can translate that energy into impressive results.
Perhaps the most intimidating role in Vince Vaughn’s career is Brawl In Cell Block 99, where Vaughn plays Bradley Thomas, a drug mule who must kill a man in maximum security in order to rescue his pregnant wife. While the movie is overall good, Vince Vaughn is amazing in it, holding a lot back in terms of his antics and delivering an incredibly nuanced and subtle performance in the process. It’s a remarkable bit of acting from Vaughn and is some of the best in his career.
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Category: Entertainment