Hmmm, I hadn’t even considered that, and if true, you raise a good point. I don’t ever recall seeing a Bill Murray standup performance, so I tend to believe you.
However, my original thought was along the lines of best SNL performer who went on to become a respected dramatic actor. Given that, sketch comedy and improv counts, IMO. (Opening up the casts from Fridays, SCTV, Kids in the Hall, etc…)
Many of those mentioned are great, and I can’t believe I forgot about them. Jim Carrey was indeed excellent in Man On The Moon. That’s one of those movies where I must grudgingly admit that Courtney Love does a decent job portraying the girlfriend, similar to People vs Larry Flint. (sp?)
I can’t believe I didn’t think of Marlon Wayans for Requiem for a Dream, one of my favorite movies.
Billy Crystal has been pretty good as well.
And though I already mentioned Any Given Sunday, I neglected to give Jamie Foxx the proper credit for Collateral, where he delivered quite the impressive performance.
And finally, was Michael Keaton a comedian – standup, improv or sketch? If so, it’s a tribute to his acting chops that I don’t even think of him as a comedian at all, but rather as a dramatic actor with comedic ability. The Paper was an excellent movie, and he was great in it.
I gotta second Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.
The guy is an angry coked up officious prick of a thieveing comedian who rides the clever coattails of those who can write- and those he can steal material from.
When he took this role, he TOOK it. I got the shudders in a few scenes he appeared in. The guy earned his statue.
I can’t believe Tom Hanks has only gotten a side mention in this thread.
He began SOLELY as a comedian / comedic actor, then decided to try his hand at dramas and is now widely regarded as one of the top dramatic actors in the business, with 2 best actor Oscars…I’d say that puts him at the top of a short list in this category.
I do have to agree that Robin Williams is also one of the top contenders.
My three top contenders would be Robin Williams, Tom Hanks and Hank Azaria. But Williams is far and away better as a comedian than the other two or any other actor that can do both comedy and drama. He is the two mask symbol personified.
I think the late John Ritter deserves a nod here. Anyone that shines as a preacher on the Waltons and with his physical comedy in Three’s Company is definitely showing both sides of a very shiny coin.
On “Three’s Company” he was funny “ha ha.” And his physical comedy was gold (Remember the high faluting dance sequence?) John should have been on “Dancing with the Stars.”
He played a gay character in “Sling Blade” but NOT for laughs.
I just saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind this past weekend on the Saturday premiere. I think Jim Carrey did a good job, but I think he was much better in Man on the Moon.
But holy freakin’ shit, ESotSM blew me away. Fantastic, says I! I understand that it may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it immediately vaulted to one of my very favorite movies. It had the freakiness of The Butterfly Effect, the tension of (the novella) The Langoliers, the outright insanity of Pi, and the humor of…I don’t know, but it was goddamn funny. The humiliation scene where his mom walks in on him jerking off (“I don’t like this either!”) and Clementine starts laughing her ass off was one of the truest, funniest moments I’ve ever seen on film. Far superior to the Fast Times at Ridgemont High scenario. “I…uh…I’ll ask you in the morning!” And every moment of him as a four-year-old was pure gold. “I just want her to pick me up. It’s amazing how strong the feeling is.” I’m not a fan of Kate Winslet. Or rather, I wasn’t until I saw this movie. Oddly enough, I despised Being John Malkovich and was not impressed with Adaptation.
Also, haven’t been online in over a week, but just wanted to nod my aproval of the mentions of John Ritter. He was superb in Sling Blade, and did a number of solid guest appearances on various tv shows. I could swear he did another dramatic role in a movie that generated the following dialogue countless times:
“John Ritter impressed me with his acting in ________.”
“You should see Sling Blade.”