# Actors who started out as "serious" and then became better known for comedy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877 "2020-02-13T15:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/21 "2020-02-13T19:31:09Z")
While his body of work isn’t of a par with the other actors mentioned here, like Nielsen and DeNiro, I’ll give a call-out to Chris Hemsworth. Up until 2015, his roles were nearly always on the serious side, or in straight-up action roles, particuarly his appearances as Thor in the first two _Thor_ films, and the first two _Avengers_ films. Then, someone in Hollywood must have figured out that the guy has comedy skills – he started getting cast in more comedic roles (e.g., _Vacation_, _Ghostbusters_), and his later appearances as Thor (starting with the “Team Thor” video shorts, but particularly in _Thor: Ragnarok_) became substantially funnier. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/22 "2020-02-13T19:51:07Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Interesting to think that a filmmaker could achieve a similar subversion of expectations by casting Leslie Nielsen in a perfectly straight dramatic role, today. At the casting meeting someone will likely bring up the fact that he is 94 years old and he’s dead. ---
**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 13, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/23 "2020-02-13T20:03:39Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > At the casting meeting someone will likely bring up the fact that he is 94 years old and he’s dead. And loving it. ---
**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 13, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/24 "2020-02-13T20:12:40Z")
Walter Matthau could be considered an early example. He was cast in serious roles for the first ten years of his career. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/25 "2020-02-13T20:19:39Z")
Christina Applegate was seriously terrible…in a comedy. She then went on to do comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/26 "2020-02-13T20:50:23Z")
Michael Caine has lightened up quite a bit from his early work. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/27 "2020-02-13T21:13:25Z")
I will say, it was really odd for me the first time I saw _Forbidden Planet_. “Wow, that guy looks sort of like Leslie Nielsen. And he sounds exactly like him!”. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/28 "2020-02-13T22:25:17Z")
On the female side, Jane Fonda started out doing frothy romcoms, then took a serious turn (and won two Academy Awards) and eventually worked her way back to older-woman romantic comedies. Diane Keaton is more recognized for \*Annie Hall \*than she is for _Reds._ The female Leslie Nielsen may be Candice Bergen. As a dramatic actress she was considered “stiff” with unfortunate comparisons to Charlie McCarthy. After dropping out of movies for several years, she scored big as a comic actress. Eventually she acknowledged [she had picked up comic tips from Charlie McCarthy.](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/candice-bergen-charlie-mccarthy-photo) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/29 "2020-02-13T22:30:06Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > At the casting meeting someone will likely bring up the fact that he is 94 years old and he’s dead. He could do a remake of Weekend at Bernie’s 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/30 "2020-02-13T23:40:36Z")
Joanna Lumley. She started off in 1970’s spy thriller roles like \*New Avengers \*and _Sapphire and Steel_. Then she did a spot on some comedy show - I forget what, now - as an oblivious twit wrapped round a bottle of wine, and was so hilarious at it that she got to reprise the role for about a decade as Patsy in _Ab Fab_ ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/31 "2020-02-13T23:58:44Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > As I understand it, that was a deliberate choice; the filmmakers thought that casting serious dramatic actors in a screwball comedy would add to the absurdity. That’s what I heard too. Or to elaborate more, the brilliance of _Airplane!_ is that they cast serious actors, put them in this ridiculous situation, and had them act like it was completely serious (and don’t call me Shirley). ETA: And since _Airplane!_ came out the year I was born, I pretty much only knew Leslie Nielsen for his comedies. I didn’t even realize he had been known as a serious actor until he died. And that makes me wonder if there’s some humor in Airplane that I’ve missed all these years that older people get. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/32 "2020-02-14T00:33:10Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > I saw Paul Reiser as an evil corporate bureaucrat in **Aliens** before I ever saw him in anything funny. Doesn’t really fit the OP - Reiser started as a standup before moving into acting, and his first major-ish role was in Beverly Hills Cop…Aliens was his second. So he’s always been in a combination of serious and comedic roles. > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The female Leslie Nielsen may be Candice Bergen. As a dramatic actress she was considered “stiff” with unfortunate comparisons to Charlie McCarthy. After dropping out of movies for several years, she scored big as a comic actress. Eventually she acknowledged [she had picked up comic tips from Charlie McCarthy.](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/candice-bergen-charlie-mccarthy-photo) Man, that picture…it looks like a scene from a horror movie, just before Charlie pushes Candace down the stairs. (Also, she apparently really resented Charlie, since her dad gave ‘him’ more attention than her.) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/33 "2020-02-14T02:09:58Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And since _Airplane!_ came out the year I was born, I pretty much only knew Leslie Nielsen for his comedies. I didn’t even realize he had been known as a serious actor until he died. And that makes me wonder if there’s some humor in Airplane that I’ve missed all these years that older people get. If you don’t appreciate the brilliance of casting Barbara Billingsley, then there’s a lot of humor in _Airplane!_ you missed. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/34 "2020-02-14T02:32:56Z")
There are a number of actors like Chuck Norris, who played serious roles so unconvincingly, people started to laugh at them. Maybe also Anthony Quinn, Charles Bronson. I think Lee Marvin started doing some light roles. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/35 "2020-02-14T04:28:21Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Speaking of John Lithgow, he had mostly done musicals and dramatic roles until he was cast as Dick Solomon, where much of his work was as the smary straight man. Legend has it that when the casting the show, the question was asked “Who would be good as Dick?” and someone suggested Lithgow. He was interested, auditioned and cast without anyone else being considered. I fondly remember his role as Dr. Emilio Lizardo in _The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension_, which is definitely comedic. That being said, he was better known at the time for his serious supporting role in _Footloose_ earlier that year (1984), so that wouldn’t disqualify him for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/36 "2020-02-14T07:28:55Z")
I wanna say Martin Landau, but I haven’t seen enough of his films to be sure. I’ve seen him onscreen many times, of course, but I really started paying attention to him in Ed Wood. He was also in Crimes and Misdemeanors, and those two are his only (dark) comediic roles that I recognize, although his IMDB credits (again, the ones I recognize) suggest that he did a lot more comedy later in his career. Brilliant actor. ---
**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 24, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/37 "2020-02-24T14:41:32Z")
While James Earl Jones is thought of as a serious actor, he is always great at comedy. Big Bang summed it up perfectly (to paraphrase) You’re not funny, James Then why are people laughing? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/38 "2020-02-24T15:12:41Z")
Harry Morgan had a long series of serious roles, including lots of cowboys and cops (I mean, _Dragnet_ is as straitlaced as it gets), before joining M_A_S\*H. After that he started picking up lighter roles in Disney films. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877/39 "2020-02-24T15:57:48Z")
I think Charlie Sheen qualifies. Early on he was known mostly for heavy dramas like Platoon and Wall Street. Then starting with Major League he began doing comedies. The middle part of his career was a mix. His later career has been dominated with TV sitcoms. \*I’m not counting Ferris Bueller since that was little more than a cameo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-started-out-as-serious-and-then-became-better-known-for-comedy/847877.md?page=1)