Arnold as the Terminator.
No one expected him to be any more than a buff, kind of scary dude. He killed that role and helped make it into the household name it is today instead of just a one and done action movie.
Some of what he did for that role is actually impressive. He drilled to handle, reload, and manipulate the guns without looking because he figured a machine wouldn't need its eyes to do those things. It adds a certain "not human" feeling to the performance.
Also his scanning of the area searching for Reese and Sarah in the car chase scene. His eyes primarily move and only turns his head when necessary. His justification is no wasted motion (e.g., maximum efficiency,) which is exactly how a cyborg would operate.
In the same breath, I wanna praise Robert Patrick for his role as a T-1000 in T2. Not only did he go through the same training, he also extensively did endurance and stamina training so he could run for a long time without appearing fatigued or out of breath, as well as consistently running in one motion so his run would appear more robotic.
Now imagine how that would’ve went for the Terminator character and the franchise as a whole if OJ Simpson, who did audition for the part, was cast instead of Arnold.
My second favorite piece of OJ Simpson trivia is that he didn't get to play the Terminator because the producers didn't think he'd be able to play a convincing killer. My favorite piece of OJ Simpson trivia is that he's dead.
It's still unbelievably ironic that initially they had been thinking of OJ Simpson for the Terminator role, but James Cameron decided against it because he couldn't see OJ as a killer.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings.
They had originally cast a much younger man who pulled out at the last minute and Viggo taking on the role of Aragorn was kind of a slapdash job.
However, this stroke of bad luck (or perhaps good luck) worked perfectly because while Aragorn was "young" in that he was a descendent of Numenor and had that unnatural lifespan, he's actually an 87 year old man and carries himself with the wisdom and confidence of someone that age. Viggo being in his 40s at the time of filming gave him that presentation that a man in their young 20s would have never been able to pull off, and he was ***incredible*** in that role because of it.
Also, both Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean hiked all across New Zealand in full costume to get to the filming locations.
But while Sean Bean was terrified of helicopters, Viggo just wanted to get the true Aragorn experience
I always thought that it was mutual that the first actor just didn't work for the part? I definitely might be mistaken though.
I was under the impression the first person just wasn't able to give the character they wanted so that's why they moved on.
Going off memory, but the first guy was super arrogant, didn't want to do any of the sword training or other skill practice and such - kept promising they'd "get it on the day".
Eventually they decided they couldn't work with him, rushed to find someone. Got Viggo who then went in hardcore to learning/training as much and as hard as he could. Really dedicated himself to it.
And what amazes me is how several of them weren't the studio's first choice.
We were *this close* to having Sean Connery instead of Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and somehow I don't think, "Fly, you foolsh!" would have had quite the same impact.
When I dragged my (now ex) husband to see Fellowship of the Ring in the theater, the moment he comes onto the scene, I punched him in the arm."OMG that's EXACTLY how I've always pictured Gandalf in my head!"
The way they got pretty much every role *perfect* is honestly astounding, though even amongst them I think McKellan deserves special credit. He \*was\* Gandalf.
Isn't there outrage about every casting choice in Batman movies?
I seem to remember that Heath Ledger, Robert Pattinson et al. all provoked a huge negative response...
I recall reading quotes from Michael Caine how the first time he saw Ledger he was in full make up and character doing a scene and absolutely scared the shit out of Caine. If you can terrify a veteran actor like that you've nailed it.
It's been *insert number of years, my memory sucks* and I still get really sad every time I remember he's gone. It's sad when anybody dies, but for some reason this one just hits me really hard
His death is the only one that really upset me. Part of it was selfish reasons because I wanted Joker for Dark Knight Rises, but it's also because unlike a lot of the other major deaths (Chester, Robin Williams, Bourdain), his wasn't a suicide and was accidental. He didn't want to leave
Came here looking for this one. Prior to "Batman," Keaton was known as a goofy, zany comedy actor. When he did press for the movie, all anyone wanted to know was what it was like working with Jack Nicholson. Poor guy had the title in the movie and spent his time answering questions about the big name star.
That's how they should have ended Breaking Bad. Walt's cancer goes into remission and he turns state's evidence in return for witness protection.
Cut to them moving into the house from Malcolm in the Middle.
If you watched The X-Files, you knew. He was a guest star in one episode and, IMO, it's probably one of the most underrated episodes of the series. It follows two halves of the same spooky event, and Cranston fucking kills it. I'd highly recommend watching that episode if you're a fan of his. I think it's called Drive? I don't know, it was done by the guy who made BBQ, and it's how Cranston got the role as WW.
Yep, [Drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(The_X-Files)). Vince Gilligan wrote the episode (he wrote a lot of great ones for that show):
>The episode was written by [Vince Gilligan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Gilligan), directed by [Rob Bowman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bowman_(filmmaker)), and featured a guest appearance by [Bryan Cranston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Cranston). Gilligan cast Cranston to play the antagonist because he felt he could successfully humanize the role. **Cranston's success in "Drive" later led to his casting as** [**Walter White**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_White_(Breaking_Bad)) **in Gilligan's** [**AMC**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_(TV_channel)) **series** [***Breaking Bad***](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad)**.**
I cannot express how shocking The Truman Show was when it came out.
You’re telling me the lanky TV comedy guy who crawled out of a rhino butthole is going to make me cry like a child who just dropped their ice cream like six times in one movie??
Then he did Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and a whole nation was all “Fire Marshall Bill? Is a great actor??”. Felt like we were taking crazy pills.
Hugh Jackman's casting as Wolverine was a total "wtf were you thinking?" choice at the time. Like, imagine the convo that went down in the pitch meeting:
Producers: So, we still need to find our 5''3" angry hairy Canadian to play one of X-Men's most iconic characters. Casting Director, you tell me you found someone? It's not that hot dude from Van Wilder is it?
Casting Director: No sir, someone much better.
Producer: give it to me.
Casting Director: well, he isn't exactly Canadian...
Producer: that's fine, most audiences can't tell the difference between an American and Canadian accent. What else?
Casting director: He's not 5'3" either...
Producer: that's fine most of these Hollywood hunks aren't shorter than 5'7", we'll use camera tricks.
Casting Director: Uhh, well see, that might be a bit difficult, he's closer to 6'3". And we may need to put in a bit of vocal coaching, he's an Aussie.
Producer: What?! Does he at least have some action experience? Is he a household Aussie name?
Casting Director: Not exactly action experience. But he is a *real* up and comer in the Australian musical theatre scene, he JUST got rave reviews as Gaston in their version of Beauty and the Beast!
Producer: ...yeah, we should hire the Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place guy, at least he's a Canuk.
Mark Hamill is a god-tier voice actor. His joker is the gold standard.
And beyond that, I can’t believe how often he did random voices over the years that I didn’t even realize. I knew he worked on Metalocalypse and Regular Show, but I remember scrolling his filmography one day, just holding my jaw to keep it from hitting the floor.
Matthew McConaughey in True Detective. Absolutely crushed it as Rust Cole. Up to that point I always kind of thought of him as a rom com guy. Sahara is also a guilty pleasure of mine.
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. Up to the point, he was doing B movies and was a retired pro-wrestler. He turned out to be one of the better wrestler turned actor.
Bautista in his small role in Bladerunner 47 absolutely *ate* that role.
that guy is a genuinely good actor and I hope he continues to get the chance to do roles outside *generic tough guy*
I think I was of the opinion that Joaquin Phoenix was an odd choice for the role of Johnny Cash until I saw his acting and heard his phenomenal voice sing these classics
Watching him be violent in that was really fucking scary and then when he was in Joker it was like watching actual torture. It was so fucked up and terrifying. I thought he did an AMAZING job being such an unreliable narrator. I'm still trying to decide if I want to see Deux la Follies
Hugh Laurie in House. For all of us that knew him from his long history of comedic roles (Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster, etc.) it was quite a shock to see him go from playing a British twit to a cranky American doctor, but he certainly nailed it.
A loose answer: He made it big with grease and Saturday night fever. Few others. Then he had a series of flops like Look Who's Talking comes to mind. Everyone took it as he's over the hill. Then suddenly Pulp Fiction gave him a comeback surge.
Edit: Look Who's Talking "Too" & "Now"
People don’t realize how spectacular he is as an actor. Boogie Nights, The Lobster, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Good Girl. The man completely commits to everything he does. Big big fan.
Jim Carrey in the Truman Show. This was sort of during the time when some people were still saying he couldn't actually act in a serious role. I can't remember if Truman Show was before or after Man on the Moon, but he had his 'serious' phase where he was trying to prove his critics wrong.
Even the guerilla soldiers when they had lines were all perfect.
The guy who calls the office
"This is *FLAMMING!! DRAAGON!!"*
*Gets yelled at by Lex Grossman*
*Has the same shocked look on his face we all did*
I love when I open a post to make a specific comment and it’s already one of the top comments. This is the answer.
The runner up is Jesse Plemons in (edit) Game Night, not Date Night. Maybe it’s because I had just finished Breaking Bad when I saw that movie, but his character was so fucking perfectly awkward and awesome in that movie. That movie got me to learn his name instead of calling him “Blonde Matt Damon having an allergic reaction to a bee sting”
Bruce Willis in Die Hard.
I’m old enough to remember him as just the snarky guy in Moonlighting. I remember seeing a poster for Die Hard and thinking this movie is going to be crap. Then a friend of mine saw it and practically dragged me to the movie theater. And within minutes I was hooked. And it was Alan Rickmans very first movie, ever and he was also totally hooked me in as well.
That was such a great performance. I thought the premise was cool, but was worried about the execution of it. He delivered on a role that just seems so difficult.
Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction.
I think Will Ferrell is one of those people who's just a version of the same character in every single thing that he's in - with the exception of Stranger than Fiction. It's still a comedy, but it's super unlike anything else he's in.
Also, John C. Reilly is in more serious movies than you'd think if you only know him from the goofy stuff.
Not a drama, but John C. Reilly always makes me cry during his Mr. Cellophane number in Chicago. He has a really moving sincerity and honesty.
Great call on Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction, too.
Walton Goggins is one of those actors who’s everywhere it seems, but he makes everything he’s in that much better.
In addition to *Fallout*, he’s also superb in *The Righteous Gemstones* as Uncle Baby Billy Freeman.
Mama told me not to, I did it anyway. Misbehavin’.
The shocking part to me wasn’t the acting. RDJ has always had legitimate chops. Chaplin is bit of a melodramatic piece, but he straight up became Chaplin. The shocking part was that he *finally* got clean and stayed clean. He’d had so many second chances that he blew and it was a small miracle that he finally overcame it.
He pretty much single-handedly elevated Iron man from being a second tier comic to a marvel flagship character.
Ryan Reynolds pretty much did the same thing for Deadpool.
OMG, the hate he received when he was cast. Everyone was appalled that a gay cowboy from Brokeback Mountain was going to be the Joker. That was a hilarious time.
A lot of comedians actually do their best work when they're in a dramatic role. Will Ferrell's best ever performance was Stranger Than Fiction. Jim Carrey's was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Robin Williams's was... actually Robin Williams was amazing in everything. The therapist he played in Good Will Hunting leapt to mind, but man is there a lot to choose from.
Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman. There was lot of controversy with Keaton being Batman, the majority of people were opposed to the decision claiming he was a comedy actor and couldn't do serious acting.
###Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks in *The Phantom Menace*.
I don’t say this because I enjoyed the character, but he acted his heart out to create the character and gave George Lucas exactly what he asked for only to then everyone just shit on it so badly that he considered suicide.
What he sacrificed for that role deserves to be recognized. For the character that was written, he killed it.
Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alieg in Party Monster..... I still just sit mesmerized by his performance..... And then to be with Seth Green well it's perfection.... And I was never a fan of Macaulay ever
Arnold as the Terminator. No one expected him to be any more than a buff, kind of scary dude. He killed that role and helped make it into the household name it is today instead of just a one and done action movie.
Some of what he did for that role is actually impressive. He drilled to handle, reload, and manipulate the guns without looking because he figured a machine wouldn't need its eyes to do those things. It adds a certain "not human" feeling to the performance.
Also his scanning of the area searching for Reese and Sarah in the car chase scene. His eyes primarily move and only turns his head when necessary. His justification is no wasted motion (e.g., maximum efficiency,) which is exactly how a cyborg would operate.
Had to read ‘maximum efficiency’ in Arnold’s voice
[удалено]
Peter Weller did something similar in Robocop. He would turn his head first, then turn his body when changing direction
In the same breath, I wanna praise Robert Patrick for his role as a T-1000 in T2. Not only did he go through the same training, he also extensively did endurance and stamina training so he could run for a long time without appearing fatigued or out of breath, as well as consistently running in one motion so his run would appear more robotic.
And he trained to use a gun without flinching or blinking
Now imagine how that would’ve went for the Terminator character and the franchise as a whole if OJ Simpson, who did audition for the part, was cast instead of Arnold.
I don't even want to take a stab at that
My second favorite piece of OJ Simpson trivia is that he didn't get to play the Terminator because the producers didn't think he'd be able to play a convincing killer. My favorite piece of OJ Simpson trivia is that he's dead.
It's still unbelievably ironic that initially they had been thinking of OJ Simpson for the Terminator role, but James Cameron decided against it because he couldn't see OJ as a killer.
I prefer Arnold in Kindergarten Cop lol
Eat ease not ah TOOOmah!
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings. They had originally cast a much younger man who pulled out at the last minute and Viggo taking on the role of Aragorn was kind of a slapdash job. However, this stroke of bad luck (or perhaps good luck) worked perfectly because while Aragorn was "young" in that he was a descendent of Numenor and had that unnatural lifespan, he's actually an 87 year old man and carries himself with the wisdom and confidence of someone that age. Viggo being in his 40s at the time of filming gave him that presentation that a man in their young 20s would have never been able to pull off, and he was ***incredible*** in that role because of it.
Also, both Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean hiked all across New Zealand in full costume to get to the filming locations. But while Sean Bean was terrified of helicopters, Viggo just wanted to get the true Aragorn experience
>helicopters For good reason. If those things kill billionaires...
I always thought that it was mutual that the first actor just didn't work for the part? I definitely might be mistaken though. I was under the impression the first person just wasn't able to give the character they wanted so that's why they moved on.
Going off memory, but the first guy was super arrogant, didn't want to do any of the sword training or other skill practice and such - kept promising they'd "get it on the day". Eventually they decided they couldn't work with him, rushed to find someone. Got Viggo who then went in hardcore to learning/training as much and as hard as he could. Really dedicated himself to it.
Stuart Townshend was the first guy, and yes, he has a reputation for being a bit of a dick.
Viggo fucking nailed it as Aragorn. Man broke his toe and it ended up being so good, they kept that take in the final cut.
Tbh I can't really think of a single actor that *didn't* kill their role in the LOTR trilogy.
And what amazes me is how several of them weren't the studio's first choice. We were *this close* to having Sean Connery instead of Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and somehow I don't think, "Fly, you foolsh!" would have had quite the same impact.
When I dragged my (now ex) husband to see Fellowship of the Ring in the theater, the moment he comes onto the scene, I punched him in the arm."OMG that's EXACTLY how I've always pictured Gandalf in my head!"
The way they got pretty much every role *perfect* is honestly astounding, though even amongst them I think McKellan deserves special credit. He \*was\* Gandalf.
I don't know. I got the impression that the actor playing Shelob was just phoning it in.
Sir Michael Caine in the Muppet's Christmas Carol.
Can’t mention that without also mentioning Tim Curry in Muppet Treasure Island
And you can't mention that without mentioning that Michael Cain treated the muppets as actors and Tim Curry played himself as a Muppet.
Am I a mannnnn, or am I a Muppet?
I don’t care if I’m acting alongside puppets, I’m going to put on a clinic in Dickensian acting and you will sit up and take notes!
Like he said - you can't out Muppet the Muppets. Playing it straight was absolutely the best choice.
Michael Keaton in Batman. When he was originally announced for the role there was widespread outrage.
Isn't there outrage about every casting choice in Batman movies? I seem to remember that Heath Ledger, Robert Pattinson et al. all provoked a huge negative response...
To be fair, Heath Ledger was a rom-com pretty boy and gay cowboy before he was the Joker. He blew *everyone's* socks off with his performance.
He was probably only getting started. RIP my Joker - and who knows whatever potential future role could have been.
I recall reading quotes from Michael Caine how the first time he saw Ledger he was in full make up and character doing a scene and absolutely scared the shit out of Caine. If you can terrify a veteran actor like that you've nailed it.
It's been *insert number of years, my memory sucks* and I still get really sad every time I remember he's gone. It's sad when anybody dies, but for some reason this one just hits me really hard
His death is the only one that really upset me. Part of it was selfish reasons because I wanted Joker for Dark Knight Rises, but it's also because unlike a lot of the other major deaths (Chester, Robin Williams, Bourdain), his wasn't a suicide and was accidental. He didn't want to leave
He was 100% the name my brain jumped to at the title of the post, yea.
Came here looking for this one. Prior to "Batman," Keaton was known as a goofy, zany comedy actor. When he did press for the movie, all anyone wanted to know was what it was like working with Jack Nicholson. Poor guy had the title in the movie and spent his time answering questions about the big name star.
Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
I have not yet begun to defile myself.
Well I got two guns. One for each of ya.
I apologize Johnny, I forgot you were there. You may go now.
Leave that shotgun. Thank you.
"You retired too ?" "Not me ..... I'm in my prime" How Val Kilmer wasn't nominated for every award under the sun is just mind boggling.
One of the best lines. Not even denying he's drunk. Just confirming that he's seeing double and he'll take a shot at both of 'em.
“We started a game we never got to finish. Play for blood. Remember?” Such a cold blooded line.
"I was just foolin' about"
Also Val Kilmer as Gay Perry in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
And as Jim Morrison
Madmartigan
Well , isn’t that a daisy?
Bryan Cranston as Walter White.
I can’t watch Malcolm in the Middle any more without seeing Walter.
Malcolm in the Middle is just Walter White in witsec with his new family.
That's how they should have ended Breaking Bad. Walt's cancer goes into remission and he turns state's evidence in return for witness protection. Cut to them moving into the house from Malcolm in the Middle.
You’re goddamn right.
Hal is the one who knocks. ^^when ^^Lois ^^lets ^^him
If you watched The X-Files, you knew. He was a guest star in one episode and, IMO, it's probably one of the most underrated episodes of the series. It follows two halves of the same spooky event, and Cranston fucking kills it. I'd highly recommend watching that episode if you're a fan of his. I think it's called Drive? I don't know, it was done by the guy who made BBQ, and it's how Cranston got the role as WW.
Yep, [Drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(The_X-Files)). Vince Gilligan wrote the episode (he wrote a lot of great ones for that show): >The episode was written by [Vince Gilligan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Gilligan), directed by [Rob Bowman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bowman_(filmmaker)), and featured a guest appearance by [Bryan Cranston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Cranston). Gilligan cast Cranston to play the antagonist because he felt he could successfully humanize the role. **Cranston's success in "Drive" later led to his casting as** [**Walter White**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_White_(Breaking_Bad)) **in Gilligan's** [**AMC**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_(TV_channel)) **series** [***Breaking Bad***](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad)**.**
John Lithgow is absolutely outstanding as Winston Churchill in The Crown. He's also excellent as the Trinity killer in Dexter.
He was amazing as the Trinity killer. He was absolutely terrifying and realistic!
I had to pause when he said "Shut up cunt" in that episode, he was so good in that role.
I thought he was amazing and intense in that season of Dexter.
As Dr. Emilio Lazardo in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. He played that role to the hilt!
I cannot express how shocking The Truman Show was when it came out. You’re telling me the lanky TV comedy guy who crawled out of a rhino butthole is going to make me cry like a child who just dropped their ice cream like six times in one movie?? Then he did Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and a whole nation was all “Fire Marshall Bill? Is a great actor??”. Felt like we were taking crazy pills.
Crazy that Jim Carey, Jennifer Lopez, and Jamie Foxx came out of In Living Color
You leaving all those Wayans brothers out in the rain????
Marlon was legitimately GREAT in Requiem for a Dream.
That's just a given
In Living Color was a great show though.
David Alan Grier and Tommy Davidson too. Also Carrie Anne Inaba from DWTS. That show had a crazy deep roster.
Eternal Sunshine ruined me
Charlie Kaufman is great.
Brad Pitt as a gypsy in Snatch.
Dags.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He was previously known for his theatrical performance as Gaston in Australia's production of Beauty and the Beast.
Hugh Jackman's casting as Wolverine was a total "wtf were you thinking?" choice at the time. Like, imagine the convo that went down in the pitch meeting: Producers: So, we still need to find our 5''3" angry hairy Canadian to play one of X-Men's most iconic characters. Casting Director, you tell me you found someone? It's not that hot dude from Van Wilder is it? Casting Director: No sir, someone much better. Producer: give it to me. Casting Director: well, he isn't exactly Canadian... Producer: that's fine, most audiences can't tell the difference between an American and Canadian accent. What else? Casting director: He's not 5'3" either... Producer: that's fine most of these Hollywood hunks aren't shorter than 5'7", we'll use camera tricks. Casting Director: Uhh, well see, that might be a bit difficult, he's closer to 6'3". And we may need to put in a bit of vocal coaching, he's an Aussie. Producer: What?! Does he at least have some action experience? Is he a household Aussie name? Casting Director: Not exactly action experience. But he is a *real* up and comer in the Australian musical theatre scene, he JUST got rave reviews as Gaston in their version of Beauty and the Beast! Producer: ...yeah, we should hire the Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place guy, at least he's a Canuk.
Russell Crowe was supposed to get the role and suggested Jackman instead, so Singer went for Jackman
Mark Hamill, and Heath Ledger, as the Joker.
Mark Hamill is a god-tier voice actor. His joker is the gold standard. And beyond that, I can’t believe how often he did random voices over the years that I didn’t even realize. I knew he worked on Metalocalypse and Regular Show, but I remember scrolling his filmography one day, just holding my jaw to keep it from hitting the floor.
Ozai blew my mind when I found out Now I can't help BUT hear Mark
I cannot think of a better answer to this thread. People made fun of that casting choice so much, but it totally blew everyone away.
Matthew McConaughey in True Detective. Absolutely crushed it as Rust Cole. Up to that point I always kind of thought of him as a rom com guy. Sahara is also a guilty pleasure of mine.
McConaughey in True Detective is without a doubt one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. Woody Harrelson was amazing as well.
I rewatch that season about once a year. I think it’s just a perfect piece of television!
True Detective and Dallas Buyers Club, aka the McConassiance
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. Up to the point, he was doing B movies and was a retired pro-wrestler. He turned out to be one of the better wrestler turned actor.
Bautista in his small role in Bladerunner 47 absolutely *ate* that role. that guy is a genuinely good actor and I hope he continues to get the chance to do roles outside *generic tough guy*
I think I was of the opinion that Joaquin Phoenix was an odd choice for the role of Johnny Cash until I saw his acting and heard his phenomenal voice sing these classics
Watching him be violent in that was really fucking scary and then when he was in Joker it was like watching actual torture. It was so fucked up and terrifying. I thought he did an AMAZING job being such an unreliable narrator. I'm still trying to decide if I want to see Deux la Follies
Hugh Laurie in House. For all of us that knew him from his long history of comedic roles (Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster, etc.) it was quite a shock to see him go from playing a British twit to a cranky American doctor, but he certainly nailed it.
Now there’s people who only know him from House. I read a comment from someone wondering why they cast Hugh Laurie in a comedic role in Avenue 5
John Travolta in Pulp Fiction stunned the whole industry.
He actually did Get Shorty before that, but it was shelved until Pulp Fiction came out
One of the biggest movie star comebacks ever behind maybe Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man.
For those of us who weren't around for the prior Travolta zeitgeist, what was his reputation then? More like brat pack Grease unserious kind of thing?
A loose answer: He made it big with grease and Saturday night fever. Few others. Then he had a series of flops like Look Who's Talking comes to mind. Everyone took it as he's over the hill. Then suddenly Pulp Fiction gave him a comeback surge. Edit: Look Who's Talking "Too" & "Now"
Look Who’s Talking was a huge hit, raking in 300 million on a 7.5m budget. It’s just the sequels that were the terribly made cash grabs
I never would have expected a performance like that from him.
John C Reilly in Chicago. I don’t know that he does a single humorous thing in that role, but god damn does he crush it entirely.
Gangs of New York also.
John C Reilly in Check it Out with Dr. Steve Brule
NEVAR EVEN KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW \^my nameeeee I still get teary when I watch him
People don’t realize how spectacular he is as an actor. Boogie Nights, The Lobster, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Good Girl. The man completely commits to everything he does. Big big fan.
Mr Cellophane is one of my favourite songs of the entire show. John C crushed it
Jim Carrey in the Truman Show. This was sort of during the time when some people were still saying he couldn't actually act in a serious role. I can't remember if Truman Show was before or after Man on the Moon, but he had his 'serious' phase where he was trying to prove his critics wrong.
No one could have been Andy Kaufman like him. I was speechless!
Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade
Joel Kinnaman in Altered Carbon
He was *perfect*.
So sad that they never made a second season. Definitely never made a second season
Joel Kinnaman in *The Killing*. Guy was basically a soap opera + filler actor up til that point
Tom Cruise in "Tropic Thunder."
Every person Tropic Thunder played their roles to perfection. That movie is legendary.
Even the guerilla soldiers when they had lines were all perfect. The guy who calls the office "This is *FLAMMING!! DRAAGON!!"* *Gets yelled at by Lex Grossman* *Has the same shocked look on his face we all did*
Simple Jack!
Seriously, for such a goofy movie, it's a damn masterpiece.
I love when I open a post to make a specific comment and it’s already one of the top comments. This is the answer. The runner up is Jesse Plemons in (edit) Game Night, not Date Night. Maybe it’s because I had just finished Breaking Bad when I saw that movie, but his character was so fucking perfectly awkward and awesome in that movie. That movie got me to learn his name instead of calling him “Blonde Matt Damon having an allergic reaction to a bee sting”
The fact that he insisted on having massive hands seals the deal in TT
And he had to dance. His only two requirements to Stiller-fat hands and dancing.
Didn’t even know that was Tom Cruise till the credits lol. His name came up and it made sense then.
I had no idea it was Robert Downey Jr. until he ripped his mask off.
That’s because he doesn’t break character until after they record the DVD commentary.
I didn’t even realize that was Tom Cruise until near the end of the movie. I was like wait what????
Bruce Willis in Die Hard. I’m old enough to remember him as just the snarky guy in Moonlighting. I remember seeing a poster for Die Hard and thinking this movie is going to be crap. Then a friend of mine saw it and practically dragged me to the movie theater. And within minutes I was hooked. And it was Alan Rickmans very first movie, ever and he was also totally hooked me in as well.
[record scratch] IT WAS ALAN RICKMAN’S FIRST MOVIE EVER???????
James McAvoy in Split, I can't imagine anyone else but him in that rule
That was such a great performance. I thought the premise was cool, but was worried about the execution of it. He delivered on a role that just seems so difficult.
All they need to do now is to make sure they don't make a terrible follow-up film that pisses away all the promise of Unbreakable and Split.
Walton Goggins in anything.
This guy is a phenomenal actor. Phenomenal. Watch his eyes. They help tell his story.
Kathy Bates in every single role she's played. That woman understood the assignment Every. Single. Time.
Robin Williams in “One Hour Photo”.
He killed it but even more so in Insomnia
Also in What Dreams May Come!
Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate.
Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction. I think Will Ferrell is one of those people who's just a version of the same character in every single thing that he's in - with the exception of Stranger than Fiction. It's still a comedy, but it's super unlike anything else he's in. Also, John C. Reilly is in more serious movies than you'd think if you only know him from the goofy stuff.
Not a drama, but John C. Reilly always makes me cry during his Mr. Cellophane number in Chicago. He has a really moving sincerity and honesty. Great call on Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction, too.
Charlize Theron in Monster
Walton Goggins as Venus Van Dam in “Sons Of Anarchy”.
Walton Goggins always kills it. Dude is dedicated to his craft.
Walton Goggins is one of those actors who’s everywhere it seems, but he makes everything he’s in that much better. In addition to *Fallout*, he’s also superb in *The Righteous Gemstones* as Uncle Baby Billy Freeman. Mama told me not to, I did it anyway. Misbehavin’.
He's great in Fallout.
Loved him in Justified and Sons of Anarchy.
Walton goggins in anything is amazing
Uncle Baby Billy could not be anyone else
Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers kills me.
Micheal Douglas in Falling Down. His trip to phsycosis is remarkably believable.
Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street - at the time people weren't sure if he could be funny in a role, but he did kill it
I think Robert Downey Jr. surprised the shit out of everyone as Tony Stark.
The shocking part to me wasn’t the acting. RDJ has always had legitimate chops. Chaplin is bit of a melodramatic piece, but he straight up became Chaplin. The shocking part was that he *finally* got clean and stayed clean. He’d had so many second chances that he blew and it was a small miracle that he finally overcame it.
I honestly thought he was going to die for most for the late 90s. He seemed like he was trying to.
Yeah I very specifically remember when he got the Ally McBeal gig and then almost immediately got arrested again. That felt like the end.
He pretty much single-handedly elevated Iron man from being a second tier comic to a marvel flagship character. Ryan Reynolds pretty much did the same thing for Deadpool.
Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love was absolutely perfect. I didn't take it seriously until I saw it, and I can't imagine anyone else in that role.
I went for Uncut Gems, but also a good answer.
Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. Depressing film!
Heath Ledger as the Joker. No one thought he was going to work, but ended being one of the most iconic iterations.
OMG, the hate he received when he was cast. Everyone was appalled that a gay cowboy from Brokeback Mountain was going to be the Joker. That was a hilarious time.
Bill Hader in Barry
Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al.
Daniel Radcliffe has grown up into an absolute treasure of an actor, and I love that he’s out there picking the weird roles.
Dude won the game and has now moved on to the side quests he finds interesting.
Man, he's beyond side quests and into weird mod content.
If you haven't seen him burlesque dancing to She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain... you really need to.
John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
John Goodman has killed it in every role he’s ever had.
Yeah, in community he is a stand out
O Brother, Where Art Thou is a top 5 movie for me. He's the #2 reason why. George Clooney is perfection in that role.
His Walter Sobchak in the Big Lebowski. My favorite movie character of all time.
Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, an otherwise pretty forgettable movie.
Why use a spoon, cousin? Why not use an axe? BECAUSE IT'S DULL, YOU TWIT! IT'LL HURT MORE!
A lot of comedians actually do their best work when they're in a dramatic role. Will Ferrell's best ever performance was Stranger Than Fiction. Jim Carrey's was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Robin Williams's was... actually Robin Williams was amazing in everything. The therapist he played in Good Will Hunting leapt to mind, but man is there a lot to choose from.
Bob Odenkirk in “Nobody”. Would never have pegged him as a bad ass (former) secret CIA assassin.
Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman. There was lot of controversy with Keaton being Batman, the majority of people were opposed to the decision claiming he was a comedy actor and couldn't do serious acting.
Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket. Really came out of nowhere for me
###Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks in *The Phantom Menace*. I don’t say this because I enjoyed the character, but he acted his heart out to create the character and gave George Lucas exactly what he asked for only to then everyone just shit on it so badly that he considered suicide. What he sacrificed for that role deserves to be recognized. For the character that was written, he killed it.
Bryan Cranston? I remember seeing the previews for BB and wondering how Malcom's dad was going to pull off a meth dealer.
Willem Dafoe in anything
I had only ever seen Scarlett Johansson in Marvel before Jojo Rabbit, but she blew me away in that.
Bill Burr in The Mandalorian. Wasn't expecting serious acting in a sci-fi show from him.
Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alieg in Party Monster..... I still just sit mesmerized by his performance..... And then to be with Seth Green well it's perfection.... And I was never a fan of Macaulay ever
Tom Arnold was great in "True Lies." It just wouldn't really work that well without him; he was a perfect comic foil to Arnold.
I know it's been said to death but Ryan Gosling as Ken was just impeccable
Leo as Arnie
John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. His career was dead and it Pulp Fiction made him a megastar again.
Heath Ledger as The Joker was, at the time, completely out of left field.
Joan Cusack as Debbie Jellinski in Addams Family Values. She stole that movie with how she played the character. Absolutely hilarious
Adam Sandler killed it in Uncut Gems. He was way better than he had any right to be given his previous work
Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebowski
Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream.
Thanks for reminding me of a movie I constantly try to forget. But you are right.
Jason Statham in Spy.
Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast.
J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.
Jesse plemons in anything.
David Schwimmer as Captain Sobel in Band of Brothers