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)
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
I was impressed by Richard Pryor’s performance in Lady Sings The Blues.
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.
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.
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.
Albert Brooks was mainly known for comedies before playing a gangster psychopath in Drive.
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.
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.)
And Spanglish. I love that movie and no one seems to remember it.
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.
I came in here to mention Foxx.
Steve Carrell is someone primarily known for comedic roles, but he was surprisingly good in Foxcatcher.
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.
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.
Dick Van Dyke didn’t do a lot of heavy drama, but he won an Emmy for his performance in The Morning After.
Adding another vote for Jim Carrey, who I think is a better dramatic actor than comedic. YMMV.
This, my favorite film. Not mentioned, another favorite: The Majestic.
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.
I imagine you’re thinking of Memories of Me, which was another father-son drama, with Alan King starring opposite Crystal.
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.
I know! It’s funny to see her in some of those earlier roles – like in Hot Fuzz.