19 Times Comedy Actors Gave Shockingly Good Performances In Serious Roles

—dellarock

—freddi_66

"It really astonished me."

—jshaqui27

"Absolutely great cast, and Will Ferrell still shines as Harold Crick."

—amandac4b39f8d18

"The movie is perfect, and he is perfectly cast. Before seeing him in this, I just thought of him as a goofball, but he really showed he has range."

—zillacat

—morgandemkey

"I wish I could forget it just to see it again."

—famousogre35

—hiddenfish74

—ellie4me

"When he's explaining that his accident wasn't an accident, you see that he's in so much pain that this man just wants to fix everything. There's something incredibly vulnerable there, something everyone else seems to write off, but that Wes leans into with his friend. 

The film itself is still a comedy of sorts, but he excels in the dramatic scenes."

—garebehr

"I know some will argue that he was serious in The Truman Show, and I can agree with some elements, but he was still pretty goofy and himself until the last half-hour of the movie. But Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was amazing. My heart broke for him — for them both — in that movie. It was so beautifully written and acted."

—morgan_le_slay

"I'd prefer her in more dramatic roles."

—horsekream

"Boy, oh boy, Ozark is not a comedy, but Jason is still awesome in it."

—mollyhovan

"His acting was fine, and so was his singing! It was nothing at all like the falsetto in his 1980s hit song 'Party All the Time.' He was great in that film!"

—fayeesnow

"I watched that whole movie expecting her to break character!"

—crafty_gm

"I first knew him from In Living Color and later in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. I had also seen Scary Movie in theaters, which came out the same year as Requiem, so I only knew him in comedies.

It was years after it came out that I finally saw Requiem, and his performace blew me away."

—degobrah

—fayeesnow

"It wasn't Oscar material, but still a really solid performance."

—sparklymoon422

"While the film has many comedic moments, Peter Sellers is always the straight man and plays the role of Chance the Gardener with such genuine heart and simplicity that he is always taken seriously. 

You feel for him as he makes his journey into a world he has no experience in. He feels like a real person surrounded by wacky people. Every line, every facial expression made by him is utterly captivating because he is so serious and genuine."

—novacaineblues

"He started out as Mork from Ork [on Mork & Mindy], and his career took off. Did lots of comedy movies, too."

—homeyzebra72