Eric Bana consistently surprises me. He’s really very good.
Don’t forget Short Cuts. If I didn’t already love Lily from the Laugh-In days, I’d love her just for the beautiful synergy with Tom Waits in that role.
Not sure I’d consider that a straight role (pun intended).
Another vote for both Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhardt in King of Comedy.
He wasn’t bad in Kelly’s Heroes, either.
I first new him as the host of Takeshi’s castle, a humorous Japanese contest show.
I’ve seen him a couple of films, Gohatto (Taboo) and Kikujiro. I thought his performance in the latter was fairly nuanced, although also a bit comedic. He’s not really a mean bastard in either, although a cold samurai in the Taboo.
Speaking of Casino, Dick Smothers was good as a sleazy corrupt Senator.
I’m not sure whether Harvey Fierstein qualifies as a comedian (he’s a former drag queen who got into acting and writing) but his performance in Torch Song Trilogy (his B’way hit in which he was chief cook and bottle washer) was outstanding. Like Whoopi Goldberg (who started out in standup), his first big movie was his best and filmwise he’s been lucratively slumming ever since (though Hairspray and Fiddler on the Roof are both high prestige ventures on stage).
Plus, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year for that role.
I don’t think Bill Murray was ever a stand-up (unless you count sketch and improv groups as stand-up, which it really isn’t).
Is he Kenny Blankenship or Vic Romano?
This may be a bit out of left field, but Kevin Spacey started his career as a stand up comedian. Granted, he was never famous for it. He was excellent in Seven and The Big Kahuna.
My vote on both counts is for Michael Keaton. My favorite might be The Paper, or possibly Multiplicity.
I think his best non-comedic turns were in Pacific Heights and Desperate Measures .
As I’m giving this some thought I wonder if we’d be as impressed with these performances (all that have been posted) if the same choices were made by dramatic actors. If Anthony Hopkins had played Robin Williams’ charcter in either Insomnia or One Hour Photo would that have been as remarkable as Williams’ performance?
I definitely vote for Robin Williams. But I think his dramatic role in Dead Poet’s Society was by far the best. IMHO.
He was astounding in both. I don’t think the weight of his career comes close to Robin Williams’s yet, but if he sticks with it he’ll be way up there.
I have to weigh in on Williams too. I find him endlessly, horribly irritating and I don’t think his comedy act has been funny in about sixteen years, and he’s gone back to the same dramatic well, the “Crazy funny guy who challenges the establishment” on too many occasions - “Patch Adams” was an absolutely horrible movie and a hackneyed performance in every respect.
But I must give credit where it is due; he has an impressive resume as a dramatic actor. He’s even good in some of his lousy movies, like “What Dreams May Come.”
My nominees, confining myself to people who made a name for themselves in stand-up before acting, in the order I’d probably pick 'em, are:
**Jackie Gleason ** for Gigot and The Hustler, **Woody Allen ** for Annie Hall, **Albert Brooks ** for *Defending Your Life * and Broadcast News, **Steve Martin ** for Roxanne, **Lily Tomlin ** for Tea with Mussolini, and **Carol Burnett ** for The Four Seasons. Special Mention for Television: Bob Newhart.
A few more:[ul]
[li]Billy Crystal in “City Slickers”, “Forget Paris”, and my favorite, “Throw Momma from the Train”; ditto Danny de Vito in the latter.[/li][li]Martin Short as the psychic in “Law & Order” this past season.[/li][li]Rick Moranis in “Streets of Fire”[/li][/ul]
Billy Connolly was great in Mrs. Brown. Of course, playing a loud Scotsman wasn’t a huge stretch, but it still worked well and he had good chemistry with Judi Dench.
I completely forgot about this. What a fantastic movie. Good job mentioning it.
What about Jerry Lewis in King of Comedy or Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream for individual performances.
Carrey was great in Truman Show, but I think he was better in Man on the Moon, though it is considered a comedy by some.
Already mentioned twice here. 