# Actors who can play a wide range of roles and do it believably **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2025, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809 "2025-03-19T03:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/21 "2025-03-19T17:21:57Z")
I was re-watching The Leftovers recently and two actors come to mind from that show: Regina King and Christopher Eccleston. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/22 "2025-03-19T17:36:50Z")
Here’s one that isn’t a household name. Alanna Ubach. The fact that she is completely different from role to role makes it hard for her to be noticeable. She was the hooker Frank tried to marry in _Its Always Sunny_ and she’s the mom in the tv prequel _Ted._ She’s been in a lot of things you have probably seen but you couldn’t tell she was the same actor. She also does a lot of voice work. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/23 "2025-03-19T18:26:15Z")
> [@MacDoc](#): > > Yes excellent choice. Oldman is hilarious in **Slow Horses.** And scary as Drexl Spivey > **[TRUE ROMANCE (1993) - the best of Gary Oldman as Drexl Spivey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK5Z3AqovFY%2F)** ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/24 "2025-03-19T19:17:01Z")
Does Benedict Cumberbach qualify? He’s done Alan Turing, Doctor Strange, Sherlock Holmes etc… ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/25 "2025-03-19T19:25:28Z")
Oldman does scary very well in a variety of his work. **Fifth Element** and **Leon** come to mind… I mean really - 11 year old Natalie Portman along side Gary Oldman and Jean Reno …oh my!!! … I think Cumberbatch is in the hunt. Large body of work. Daniel Day Lewis as well for variety and intensity. Never did see **My Left Foot**. Adored him in **Mohicans**. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/26 "2025-03-20T00:02:00Z")
**Last of the Mohicans** was a class act all around and I think you can heap the praise on Michael Mann for that one. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/27 "2025-03-20T03:04:50Z")
Val Kilmer. FBI agent. College student. Jim Morrison. Doc Holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/28 "2025-03-20T13:10:15Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > **Last of the Mohicans** was a class act all around and I think you can heap the praise on Michael Mann for that one. At that point in his life he could have been a credible action star. Instead his next role was _The Age of Innocence._ ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/29 "2025-03-20T13:26:41Z")
Charlize Theron also comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/30 "2025-03-20T17:54:27Z")
Isn’t that kind of the definition of a character actor? I’d say Paul Giamatti, Stephen Root, and Alan Tudyk kind of come to mind as being particularly versatile. For leading men, Sam Rockwell is kind of the king of that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/31 "2025-03-20T19:24:41Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Isn’t that kind of the definition of a character actor? Not really. A character actor is someone who takes supporting roles with some kind of eccentric characteristic. Character actors are quite susceptible to being type-cast. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/32 "2025-03-20T20:12:52Z")
Stephen Graham is the correct answer. Been a fan of his for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/33 "2025-03-20T20:14:18Z")
If you compare Samuel L Jackson in: - A Time to Kill - The Long Kiss Goodnight - Pulp Fiction I think you’d have to agree that the man has some range. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/34 "2025-03-21T16:13:13Z")
I would disagree - Sam Jackson is recognizably himself in almost all his movies, chewing the scenery in his patented style. Same goes for Alan Rickman and Val Kilmer - people whose stylings - vocal or otherwise - make them instantly recognizable. I am on the fence about Helen Mirren; I have yet to see her in the Yellowstone prequel. I am not sure of her ability to do an American accent, except for maybe an old school mid Atlantic one. Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell, Day-Lewis, Oldman - now these guys disappear into the role effortlessly ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/35 "2025-03-21T16:46:51Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > I would disagree - Sam Jackson is recognizably himself in almost all his movies, chewing the scenery in his patented style. In recent years, he has become typecast and quite willing to be so. That doesn’t mean that he _can’t_ play diverse roles, or do it believably. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/36 "2025-03-21T17:02:50Z")
I want to put in a vote for Eli Wallach. He could go from Tuco in _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ to a clean-cut insurance investigator in _How to Steal a Million_ in the same year. On the TV side of things, Arlene Martel was excellent. I looked her up once on IMDb and realized I’d seen her in different shows for years and never noticed. She was on everything from _The Outer Limits_ to _The Love Boat_, and just disappeared into her roles. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/37 "2025-03-21T18:33:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I want to put in a vote for Eli Wallach. He could go from Tuco in _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ to a clean-cut insurance investigator in _How to Steal a Million_ in the same year. As a kid when my favorite TV show was _Batman_ and my favorite movie was _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ I would have never guessed Mr. Freeze and Tuco were played by the same actor. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/38 "2025-03-21T19:44:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > a clean-cut insurance investigator in _How to Steal a Million_ in the same year. Nitpick: he was interested in buying the art, hot or not, and also very interested in marrying the Hepburn character. It was Peter O’Toole who was the undercover investigator. But your point stands: I’d never realized they were the same actor. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/39 "2025-03-21T19:54:52Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > As a kid when my favorite TV show was _Batman_ and my favorite movie was _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ I would have never guessed Mr. Freeze and Tuco were played by the same actor. I think there were three Messrs. Freeze over the course of the series, so you were mostly right. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809/40 "2025-03-21T20:01:16Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > But your point stands: I’d never realized they were the same actor. Thank you for the correction, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Has anyone done an Eli Wallach film festival, or at least a day of his films on TCM? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-can-play-a-wide-range-of-roles-and-do-it-believably/1015809.md?page=3)