# Character chameleons: great acting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510 "2011-10-04T02:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/81 "2011-10-05T22:18:08Z")
Enver Gjokaj as Victor in Dollhouse vs Enver Gjokaj as Victor in Dollhouse. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/82 "2011-10-05T22:52:18Z")
> [@Headrush042](#): > > Enver Gjokaj as Victor in Dollhouse vs Enver Gjokaj as Victor in Dollhouse. > > Seriously. He is amazing, especially when he’s being Topher. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/83 "2011-10-05T23:21:15Z")
Jack Lemmon in Days Of Wine and Roses/Some Like It Hot. ---
**Author:** ![coolbyrne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@coolbyrne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coolbyrne)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/84 "2011-10-06T02:23:32Z")
Ian McShane in “Lovejoy”/“Deadwood” Guy Pearce in “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”/“Memento”/“L.A. Confidential” Ciaran Hinds in “Persuasion”/“Munich” Charles Dance in “Alien3”/“The Last Action Hero”/“Bleak House” Robert Patrick in “Terminator 2”/“Spy Kids”/“The X-Files”/everything else he’s done ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/85 "2011-10-06T02:28:45Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > Charles Dance in “Alien3”/“The Last Action Hero”/“Bleak House” You can’t leave out his star turn in “The Jewel in the Crown.” I don’t think he played that kind of a straight-arrow hero after that. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/86 "2011-10-06T03:01:41Z")
I can barely believe that Michael Chiklis was the [The Commish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Commish)and also [Vic Macay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Mackey). Characters don’t come much more different than that. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/87 "2011-10-06T03:12:13Z")
Peter Cushing as the hero in the movie _Dr Who and the Daleks_ compared to his performance as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/88 "2011-10-06T13:47:58Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > **Johnny Depp** as **Capt Jack Sparrow** , **Willy Wonka** (two roles they will probably be familiar with), **James Barrie in Finding Neverland** and something older, maybe **Gilbert Grape**? Just wanted to throw in that the best specific scenes for Johnny Depp, in my opinion, would be one as flamboyant Jack Sparrow, and then the one from Finding Neverland where he’s playing “pirates” with the children - he could have easily slipped right into familiar territory and gone “Jack Sparrow” with it, but he “plays” as a completely different style pirate with the children (and likely one more in tune with the Victorian idea of how a proper pirate behaved). Also, on the Brad Pitt front (in response to a different post) - his characters in 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, and Snatch are all somewhat similar - I would far rather suggest, perhaps, Interview with the Vampire, A River Runs Through It, or Benjamin Buttons in juxtaposition to said roles. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/89 "2011-10-06T14:04:30Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > Robert Patrick in “Terminator 2”/“Spy Kids”/“The X-Files”/everything else he’s done He also played Johnny Cash’s dad in Walk the Line. Come to think of it, he’s probably one of the more underrated actors out there. I’m surprised that he never became a bigger star than he did. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/90 "2011-10-06T15:09:21Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I can barely believe that Michael Chiklis was the [The Commish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Commish)and also [Vic Macay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Mackey). Characters don’t come much more different than that. And The Thing/Ben Grimm. That seems to be a pretty different character than either of the other two. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/91 "2011-10-06T21:31:32Z")
Have there been any women suggested yet? **Elizabeth Berridge** , the bubbly [Constanze](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsB/1443-531.gif) in _Amadeus_, and mousy [Eve Eggers](http://elizabethberridge.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/berridge.jpg) in _The John Larroquette Show_. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/92 "2011-10-07T13:47:55Z")
Bruno Kirby in _Donnie Brasco_ and Bruno Kirby in any movie with Billy Crystal. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/93 "2011-10-07T14:03:46Z")
I don’t know. To me it’s just Bruno Kirby being serious and Bruno Kirby being funny. He’s always Bruno Kirby, never a completely different person. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/94 "2011-10-12T21:40:15Z")
I have to ask, Speak to Me Maddie… just what examples DID you end up using? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/95 "2011-10-12T22:46:31Z")
Chris Cooper in just about anything he’s been in. Sometimes it takes me a bit to figure out who he is. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Astro\_Fee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cat\_Astro\_Fee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Astro_Fee)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/96 "2011-10-13T09:57:26Z")
Okay so I know Johnny Depp has been mentioned repeatedly but not his role in Boys Don’t Cry I’m surprised no one mentioned Tim Curry, from Rocky Horror Picture Show to Legend to Disneys 3 Musketeers. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/97 "2011-10-13T13:56:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Astro\_Fee](#): > > Okay so I know Johnny Depp has been mentioned repeatedly but not his role in Boys Don’t Cry > I’m surprised no one mentioned Tim Curry, from Rocky Horror Picture Show to Legend to Disneys 3 Musketeers. Curry was also a staid ship’s doctor in _ **The Hunt for Red October.** _ ---
**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:** [October 13, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/98 "2011-10-13T16:46:33Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Curry was also a staid ship’s doctor in _ **The Hunt for Red October.** _ And Pennywise the Clown in Stephen King’s _It_ ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/99 "2011-10-13T16:46:39Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > He also played Johnny Cash’s dad in Walk the Line. Come to think of it, he’s probably one of the more underrated actors out there. I’m surprised that he never became a bigger star than he did. Hell, compare his role as the T-1000 in [Terminator 2](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/) versus his role as David Scatino in [The Sopranos](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141842/). ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510/100 "2011-10-15T01:06:17Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Or Sean Penn as the stoner/surfer Spicoli in _ **Fast Times at Ridgmont High** _, followed by one of his serious roles… like a convicted killer in _ **Dead Man Walking.** _ This is whom I came to mention… but in **I Am Sam** and **Milk** … but as I think about it, your two seem to symbolize the widest variation. That said, I wonder how deep into character Penn had get to for Spicoli (very deep for DMN, though). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-chameleons-great-acting/598510.md?page=6)