# 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:** 4
**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, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/61 "2022-04-08T16:52:58Z")
> [@planetcory](#): > > If we’re going with Wayans brothers How about Jamie Foxx? (not a Wayans brother, but first came to prominence on _In Living Color_, which is why I was reminded of him) ---
**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, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/62 "2022-04-08T16:57:16Z")
No. Griffith started out a comedic monologist and comedic actor. His only dramatic role of any note was in “A Face in the Crowd” after he had been on stage, and on TV and on records as a comedian (and he didn’t do much drama after that until the 1970s), as far as I know ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/63 "2022-04-08T17:00:52Z")
I was impressed by Richard Pryor’s performance in Lady Sings The Blues. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/64 "2022-04-08T17:05:07Z")
I was going to add Richard Pryor, also. He did some funny movies, but he did some serious acting in a few of them. Harlem Nights and The Toy (with Jackie Gleason!) come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/65 "2022-04-08T17:05:10Z")
I would nominate John Lithgow who has a large resumé of dramatic roles but could also play a character like Dick Solomon on “Third Rock From the Sun” with madcap zaniness. Hmmm, along those lines, Leslie Neilson did the same. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/66 "2022-04-08T17:33:25Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > I would nominate John Lithgow who has a large resumé of dramatic roles but could also play a character like Dick Solomon on “Third Rock From the Sun” with madcap zaniness. I remember when the first promos for _Third Rock_ came out, someone I knew said they couldn’t picture John Lithgow in a crazy role like that. He only knew Lithgow from _Terms of Endearment_, I think. I remembered Lithgow from _Buckaroo Banzai_ and _The World According to Garp_, and knew he’d be perfect. I went to a reading of one of his children’s books, and he was amazing. Also has a great deleted scene from _L.A. Story_, if you can find it. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/67 "2022-04-08T17:47:38Z")
Albert Brooks was mainly known for comedies before playing a gangster psychopath in _Drive_. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/68 "2022-04-08T17:59:13Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I thought Andrew Dice Clay did a fine job with his non-comedic roles in **Blue Jasmine** and **A Star Is Born**. Clay always seemed like a decent actor and a charismatic performer to me. I always thought that insisting that “Diceman” was him and not a performance ended up hindering his career. He was huge for a bit but it wasn’t sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/69 "2022-04-08T18:18:42Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Clay always seemed like a decent actor and a charismatic performer to me. I always thought that insisting that “Diceman” was him and not a performance ended up hindering his career. He was huge for a bit but it wasn’t sustainable. That reminds me…I would love to see Daniel Whitney drop the whole “Larry The Cable Guy” persona and try a real different dramatic performance. ---
**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, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/70 "2022-04-08T19:23:00Z")
Sort of to drama is Al Franken to politics… he was a very serious man as a politician. (Fall from grace for allegations in his past immaterial to that.) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/71 "2022-04-08T19:42:50Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Adam Sandler has produced at least a couple of legit good dramatic roles And Spanglish. I love that movie and no one seems to remember it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/72 "2022-04-08T19:52:16Z")
Tom Hanks seems like the classic one to me. Started out in “Bosom Buddies”, and a series of comedies like “Bachelor Party”, “Dragnet” and “Big” and then did “Philadelphia”, which was AFAIK his first totally serious role. Beyond Hanks, Jim Carrey, Dan Ackroyd and Will Ferrell are all comedians/comic actors who have got a fair amount of praise for their serious roles. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/73 "2022-04-08T20:08:52Z")
I came in here to mention Foxx. Steve Carrell is someone primarily known for comedic roles, but he was surprisingly good in _Foxcatcher._ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/74 "2022-04-08T20:28:33Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > > [@Hamlet](#): > > > > I don’t want to hijack this thread, but does anyone else believe that, assuming a certain level of being able to perform (like a vast majority of comedians have), dramatic acting really isn’t that difficult? I can name many more comedians that have succeeded (like those in this thread) than have failed miserably (Dane Cook? Ashton Kutcher?). > > Whenever I watch award shows like the Oscars and they give Best Acting awards to people like mentioned in this thread (no real acting background, no formal training, no years spent doing plays, etc) if the career actors in the audience who spent years going to acting school, years on stage, years going to auditions have any form of resentment for comediennes/singers who nab an award on their first or second try. Except that some of the people mentioned _have_ formal training in acting. Robin Williams, for instance, was in Julliard at the same time as Christopher Reeve, William Hurt and Mandy Patinkin. Tom Hanks studied acting in a California community college. Stephen Colbert was a theater major at Northwestern. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/75 "2022-04-08T21:24:47Z")
Carol Burnett did several emotional dramas. _Friendly Fire_ Starred Carol and Ned Beatty as parents fighting to learn the truth about their son’s death. Carol was in _The Twlight Zone_ episode _Cavender Is Coming_. Played Agnes Grep. She’s helped by a Guardian angel. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/76 "2022-04-08T22:22:36Z")
Dick Van Dyke didn’t do a lot of heavy drama, but he won an Emmy for his performance in _The Morning After._ ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/77 "2022-04-08T22:25:21Z")
Adding another vote for Jim Carrey, who I think is a better dramatic actor than comedic. YMMV. > [@Tride](#): > > And _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_ was excellent This, my favorite film. Not mentioned, another favorite: The Majestic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TK9umGHmUfg/maxresdefault.jpg "The Majestic (2001) Official Trailer - Jim Carrey Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9umGHmUfg) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/78 "2022-04-08T22:27:41Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > _Punch Drunk Love_ and _Uncut Gems_ are both good performances, if not a bit strange. I haven’t seen _Uncut Gems_, but _Punch Drunk Love_ is the only Adam Sandler role that I really liked. I can’t stand his comedic persona. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/79 "2022-04-08T22:40:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wow, serious Mandela Effect here: I’ve been thinking of this movie lately, for no particular reason, but I’d have bet money it was Billy Crystal, not Tom Hanks, who starred opposite Jackie Gleason. I imagine you’re thinking of Memories of Me, which was another father-son drama, with Alan King starring opposite Crystal. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/80 "2022-04-08T23:30:10Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > And _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_ was excellent. Yeah. I _love_ that movie, but I avoided it for the longest time, because Jim Carrey makes my teeth itch. Kinda like _Stranger than Fiction_ – I avoided it for a while because the only time Will Ferrell has been funny to me is in that short video where his foul-mouthed landlady is played by a three year old. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > 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. I know! It’s funny to see her in some of those earlier roles – like in _Hot Fuzz_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515.md?page=5)