The mention of Wallace Shawn in another thread reminded my that I had had just seen him in an episode of Mr. Robot. I have always thought of Shawn as more of a comedic actor, but here he was playing a goon working for the Dark Army and played it completely straight.
It’s a lot older than these, but I was stunned as a kid when I saw Ed Wynn in The Diary of Anne Frank. Wynn was the wacky comedian who appeared in Disney’s Babes in Toyland and as Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins, and at the Western Revue at Disneyland. His big time playing “The Perfect Fool” was long, long before, but he was still well-known as a comedian (The character of King Candy in Wreck-it Ralph was based on him and his mannerisms). He appeared in TV commercials in character.
So it was weird to see him playing a part totally straight and realistically. This wasn’t his first or only such role. He’d been in Requiem for a Heavyweight and others, including episodes of The Twilight Zone – except for those he wasn’t so serious.
You missed Hugo?
Kudos to Kubrick for getting what he needed. George C. Scott is absolutely frickin’ hilarious in that film, and over-the-top fit the proceedings perfectly.
Hold your horses there, cowboy. *Philomena *received four Oscar nominations, but no wins.