# Actors That Defied Typecasting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228 "2010-02-16T18:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/41 "2010-02-18T11:13:57Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Ron Perlman: romantic Vincent in **Beauty and the Beast** , roughneck **Hellboy** , thuggy Angel in **Cronos** –this guy can play anything! You’re kidding aren’t you? If anyone is typecast its him. - ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/42 "2010-02-18T12:09:08Z")
Hugh Laurie. Generally played the upper class twit comedy angle on various British shows, e.g., Black Adder, Jeeves and Wooster, etc. I think many people would’ve been surprised at how successful he’s been in the relatively serious role of House, though true fans would’ve recognised his talent much earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/43 "2010-02-18T14:25:14Z")
Jerry Orbach. From song-and-dance man to dramatic actor and back again. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/44 "2010-02-18T14:44:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Wait a second. You mean those are supposed to be three different characters? > > Being typecast doesn’t mean playing one single character. It means you’re cast in a type of character. Do you think Groucho Marx put a lot of thought into the subtle shadings he would bring to the roles of Captain Spaulding, Professor Wagstaff, and Rufus T. Firefly? I agree with the sentiment regardign those roles, but Ford has tried to break out of that typecast since early in his career. _The Mosquito Coast_ was about as boring as a movie as can be (and made me realize I don’t have to see every Harrison Ford movie), and there wasn’t a blaster or a whip to be found. _The Cisco Kid_ showed he could play his character for laughs, and that movie with Melanie Griffith (whose name escapes me) showed that he could be a rom-com lead if he wanted. Ford doesn’t get as lost in the role as a Freeman or a Hoffman, but he can do different things. ---
**Author:** ![Richie\_Incognito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e36b37/32.png) [@Richie\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richie_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/45 "2010-02-18T15:59:28Z")
Jim Carrey-Ace Ventura Pet Detective anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/46 "2010-02-18T17:33:19Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > … and that movie with Melanie Griffith (whose name escapes me) showed that [Harrison Ford] could be a rom-com lead if he wanted. That would be _Working Girl_. He also did a good job as a rom-com lead in the remake of _Sabrina_. And for further versatility that’s miles away from Han Solo and Indiana Jones, don’t forget him as a big-city detective hiding out on an Amish farm in _Witness_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/47 "2010-02-18T19:44:56Z")
Personally, I feel breaking the typecast requires that the actor not just play other types of roles but do so successfully. Ford and Carrey do occasionally take an out-of-character role but they then go back and take a “safe” role in their usual genre. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/48 "2010-02-18T19:56:39Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > I will mention Clint Eastwood. Coulda been stuck in spaghetti westerns forever, but he went through musicals (Paint Your Wagon), comedy (Every Which Way But Loose), circus-type cowboy (Bronco Billy), reality-type cowboy (sorta) in Unforgiven, and WWII action guy (Where Eagles Dare). > > I’ve probably missed a few roles. These days I think of him as an exceptional director more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/49 "2010-02-19T14:12:55Z")
John Lithgow has played every type of role, including a woman! (Roberta Maldoon in Garp). This is quite an accomplishment, considering he has extremely distinctive looks and body type. He can do comedy, drama, sing, play piano and also writes children’s books. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/50 "2010-02-19T14:30:05Z")
In the early years of his career, Brando was adamant about avoiding being cast to the type he created, and for which he is almost as well known as for Vito Corleone, Stanley Kowalski, even though Terry Malloy borrows from that archetype. Until he let things slip, including his weight and physical appearance, his roles were all over the map. In later years the defiance trailed off and we were left with parodies of himself. Olivier, Guinness and perhaps Lithgow are the only ones I would put above Brando for this distinction of avoiding typecasting. On the female side, Frances McDormand rates up there with Streep. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/51 "2010-02-19T15:16:43Z")
**Ian McKellen** feels typecast as _Gandalf_ since the two seem inseperable. McKellen _is_ Gandalf, Gandalf _is_ McKellen. And on the surface it would seem that anytime you’d see McKellen elsewhere all you would be thinking is “hey, there’s Gandalf!” However he does a complete role reversal and creates and equally compelling inseperable character that is the opposite of Gandalf when he becomes _Magneto_. McKellen _is_ Magneto, Magneto _is_ McKellen. Heck, you could have Gandalf face off with Magneto in the same film with McKellen playing both roles and they’d still feel like polar opposites yet completely tied to McKellen. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/52 "2010-02-20T03:13:57Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > **Ian McKellen** feels typecast as _Gandalf_ since the two seem inseperable. McKellen _is_ Gandalf, Gandalf _is_ McKellen. And on the surface it would seem that anytime you’d see McKellen elsewhere all you would be thinking is “hey, there’s Gandalf!” > However he does a complete role reversal and creates and equally compelling inseperable character that is the opposite of Gandalf when he becomes _Magneto_. McKellen _is_ Magneto, Magneto _is_ McKellen. > > Heck, you could have Gandalf face off with Magneto in the same film with McKellen playing both roles and they’d still feel like polar opposites yet completely tied to McKellen. I felt the same way about Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/53 "2010-02-20T23:12:38Z")
Since Brad Pitt’s name has come up in a new thread, I’ve wanted to mention how he has fought the “eye candy” and “pretty boy” type in such films as: Kalifornia (1993) … Early Grayce True Romance (1993) … Floyd - Dick’s Roommate Fight Club (1999) … Tyler Durden Snatch. (2000) … Mickey O’Neil and even, possibly, Burn After Reading (2008) … Chad Feldheimer Some of his other roles, where his looks are not “up front,” are serious efforts at acting. ---
**Author:** ![ProfessorX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@ProfessorX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProfessorX)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228/54 "2010-02-22T20:17:48Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Ron Perlman: romantic Vincent in **Beauty and the Beast** , roughneck **Hellboy** , thuggy Angel in **Cronos** –this guy can play anything! Going to have to disagree with this too, he’s definitely been typecast - an ugly roughneck is pretty much all of those roles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-that-defied-typecasting/529228.md?page=2)