# Comedians who turn out to have good dramatic acting skills **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [April 8, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515 "2022-04-08T12:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/21 "2022-04-08T14:02:16Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Steve Martin has his moments. There have been some—Steve Martin and Tim Allen spring to mind—who started out as stand-up comedians but went on to a very successful acting career, with a variety of roles—but all or mostly all in comedies, as far as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/22 "2022-04-08T14:02:30Z")
John Goodman. I finally got a Blu-Ray of **Matinee** , from 1993. It’s a comedy, but since it’s set in the Florida Keys during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it’s somewhat of a dark comedy. Goodman’s character is an avatar of [William Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Castle), and there are two layers to it, the way he plays it. On the surface, he’s a showman, a genial host with contagious enthusiasm. Underneath that, though, he’s super-practical and calculating. There’s a bit late in the film when a movie theater will have to be evacuated, but a panicked stampede will be just as bad as if they’d stayed there. The main kid says “Turn off the projector!” “No. Then they stomp.” You’d have to hear it, but his tone is exactly what I’ve heard from directors, show runners, department heads…anyone who has a lot of responsibilities but never loses his cool. It would have be so easy to play the character simply as a buffoon, but JG was subtle, and created a “round” character. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/23 "2022-04-08T14:05:46Z")
Wasn’t Tom Hanks initially known as a sitcom actor? E. g., “Bosom Buddies.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/24 "2022-04-08T14:09:43Z")
A sitcom actor and an actor in sex comedy movies like “Bachelor Party” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/25 "2022-04-08T14:10:16Z")
Jim Carrey did very good work in The Truman Show ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/26 "2022-04-08T14:11:52Z")
This is a pretty good little docu-drama involving Keenan Wynn and the casting of his father Ed Wynn in a live dramatic role, and his fear that his father will revert to his old vaudville schtick. “The Man in the Funny Suit” He ends up nailing it. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/27 "2022-04-08T14:16:03Z")
And _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_ was excellent. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/28 "2022-04-08T14:16:27Z")
Woody Harrelson in The People vs. Larry Flint ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/29 "2022-04-08T14:16:41Z")
Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat and Ali G fame is amazing in his serious roles. The Spy on Netflix in particular was a fantastic performance. I’m thinking that in general comics do better with serious than actors of serious roles do with comedy. Inthe other direction I got Leslie Nielsen but no one else pops right into mind. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/30 "2022-04-08T14:25:48Z")
Jerry Lewis also played a dramatic role in the tv series “Wiseguy” in the 1980s (unusually, this series had “arcs” - the main character would go undercover for several episodes at a time, so Lewis played the villain for several episodes) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/31 "2022-04-08T14:38:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > He’s been doing misery acting on L&O and other cop shows for so long, people forget Richard Belzer started as a standup comedian. It’s so weird to see him up goofing it up on the stage in “Scarface.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/32 "2022-04-08T14:41:28Z")
Damon Wayans has been good in some more serious stuff. Mostly action, but _Bamboozled_, for instance, while dark comedy, also had quite serious bits. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > For that matter, Klugman is not a bad example for this thread. He’s probably best remembered for _The Odd Couple_ You underestimate the popularity of _Quincy, M.E._ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/33 "2022-04-08T14:46:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > He’s been doing misery acting on L&O and other cop shows for so long, people forget Richard Belzer started as a standup comedian As someone that’s never watched L&O or CSI or most of those shows, seeing him in the commercials gives me the same reaction as seeing Ice T in those commercials. It’s sort of jarring in a ‘why is he on that show?’ way. Plus, for whatever reason, when I hear ‘Richard Belzer’, I picture Richard Lewis (and I always picture him in the Boku commercials trying to get grownups to buy juice boxes). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/34 "2022-04-08T14:49:32Z")
How about a future one…If she sticks with it long enough, in 10 or 20 years we’ll have a generation of new Jeopardy! viewers finding out that Miyim Bialik was in multiple, hugely popular comedy sitcoms (and the lead in one). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/35 "2022-04-08T14:52:20Z")
Charles “Chip” Esten (best known for his improv comedy on “Whose Line Is It Anyway”) has done some convincing dramatic acting, including a recurring role on “Big Love.” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/36 "2022-04-08T14:58:29Z")
Olivia Colman raises the bar far above “good” acting skills. She had a very famous comedy career until shifting more towards dramatic roles and has never looked back. She’s a guarantee of quality in whatever she’s in and though she did eventually win an oscar how she was never even nominated for “Tyrannosaur” baffles me to this day. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/37 "2022-04-08T15:02:32Z")
A lot of great answers here! I knew I was drawing a blank on a lot of examples. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > If she sticks with it long enough, in 10 or 20 years we’ll have a generation of new Jeopardy! viewers finding out that Miyim Bialik was in multiple, hugely popular comedy sitcoms (and the lead in one). Ugh, I hope she doesn’t stick with it. She was among my least favorite of the guest hosts, especially knowing of the controversial stance she’s taken on vaxxing in the past. Seems like a bad choice for someone like that to host a game show that values facts and knowledge. Is she full-timing it now, or just part-time still? ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/38 "2022-04-08T15:02:46Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Damon Wayans has been good in some more serious stuff. Mostly action, but _Bamboozled_ , for instance, while dark comedy, also had quite serious bits. If we’re going with Wayans brothers, Marlon Wayans is fantastic. Like Adam Sandler, he seems to prefer making terrible broad comedies, but his dramatic chops are sharp. Most recently in the Aretha Franklin movie. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/39 "2022-04-08T15:04:58Z")
Robin Williams was an amazing stand-up comic, as well as a comic actor, but he took on quite a few dramatic roles, and did well enough at them to get three Oscar nominations, winning one of them (for _Good Will Hunting_). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/40 "2022-04-08T15:05:43Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ugh, I hope she doesn’t stick with it. She was among my least favorite of the guest hosts, especially knowing of the controversial stance she’s taken on vaxxing in the past. That’s why I was trying to phrase it as ‘if she sticks with it’ as opposed to ‘if she/the network ride out the backlash’. > [@solost](#): > > Is she full-timing it now, or just part-time still? No idea. I watched one episode a while ago just to see it. But other than Alex’s final show, I haven’t watched a single episode (much less watched it regularly) for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515.md?page=3)