# Poll: What actor surprised you in a role you didn't think they could pull off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082 "2006-05-24T20:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/1 "2006-05-24T20:44:45Z")
My nomination: **Orlando Jones** in **Drumline**. Who’da thunk it, a wacky comedian famous largely for doing 7-Up commercials doing such a great job in a _dramatic_ role? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/2 "2006-05-24T20:57:07Z")
Going back a bit, Michael Keaton in _Batman_. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/3 "2006-05-24T21:15:40Z")
Jim Carrey in _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_. Tom Cruise (cringe) in _Interview with the Vampire_. (It certainly could have been worse.) Toby Maguire in _Spiderman_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/4 "2006-05-24T21:34:33Z")
Mandy Moore in _Saved_. I was surprised she could act at all, as the only thing I knew her for was singing. (Although I knew about her role in that teen thing, “A Walk to Remember”, I’d never seen it…don’t really plan to, either…) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/5 "2006-05-24T21:43:12Z")
> [@Scupper](#): > > Toby Maguire in _Spiderman_. I have heard this said many times, and in conunction, that people were upset when he was first cast as Spider-Man…and I never understood why! He is CLEARLY the perfect choice! He’s a smallish nerdy-looking guy who can pass for a teenager if he has to. He didn’t have a lot of movies under his belt, but what he had done he was good in. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/6 "2006-05-24T21:47:38Z")
Ted Danson in [this](http://imdb.com/title/tt0115195/) adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/7 "2006-05-24T21:49:07Z")
One of the greatest dramatic performances ever captured on film: Bjork in _Dancer in the Dark._ And Dean Martin shoulda won an Oscar for _Rio Bravo._ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/8 "2006-05-24T21:50:53Z")
Nicolas Cage in _Leaving Las Vegas_. I don’t think much of Cage as an actor, but he nailed this role. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/9 "2006-05-24T21:55:48Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I have heard this said many times, and in conunction, that people were upset when he was first cast as Spider-Man…and I never understood why! He is CLEARLY the perfect choice! He’s a smallish nerdy-looking guy who can pass for a teenager if he has to. He didn’t have a lot of movies under his belt, but what he had done he was good in. Yeah, I gotta agree. You don’t want a heartthrob anyway, that’s not what Spiderman is all about. And didn’t he get an Oscar for **Cider House Rules**? BTW, rumor has it that Jake Gyllenhal was _this_ close to being Spiderman, but was either turned down for the role or refused it (he was considered a hot prospect because he looked young, was a good actor, seemed right for the role, and, last but not least, was dating Kirsten Dundst at the time (who had already been cast)). ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/10 "2006-05-24T21:56:56Z")
Charlize Theron in _Monster_. 'Course, then she pulled a Catwoman with _Aeon Flux_, so I gotta wonder now… ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/11 "2006-05-24T22:09:53Z")
Mel Gibson’s Hamlet was prety good, and before it I would have rated his chances of doing it right at about 0%. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/12 "2006-05-24T22:19:35Z")
I thought Joan Jett was really good in **Light of Day**. The only other dramatic role I’ve seen her in was in the TV version of **Highlander** , and she was good there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/13 "2006-05-24T22:28:19Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Going back a bit, Michael Keaton in _Batman_. Exactly what I stopped in to say. I was most vocal about him being wrong for the part. I was the one who was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/14 "2006-05-24T22:37:57Z")
Robin Williams in **Awakenings**. Prior to catching the movie on a Sunday afternoon, I only knew the standup routines and the comedic movies and Mork. But he did a great job in a serious role in a somewhat depressing movie. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/15 "2006-05-24T22:39:24Z")
> [@Malienation](#): > > My nomination: **Orlando Jones** in **Drumline**. Who’da thunk it, a wacky comedian famous largely for doing 7-Up commercials doing such a great job in a _dramatic_ role? By now, we’ve seen enough examples of people who are known for wacky, broad comedy but go on to shine in dramas or more subtle comedies that it shouldn’t be so surprising (Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd (_Driving Miss Daisy_), Bill Murray, Robin Williams, maybe Adam Sandler (_Punch Drunk Love_)). What’s rarer is when an established serious actor manages to carry off a wacky comedic role. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/16 "2006-05-24T22:43:23Z")
Want to second the already mentioned Toby McGuire and Michael Keaton nominations. But my first instinct upon reading this question was definitely Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” NO ONE I knew thought he could pull off a tough guy action hero role at the time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/17 "2006-05-24T22:46:04Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > By now, we’ve seen enough examples of people who are known for wacky, broad comedy but go on to shine in dramas or more subtle comedies that it shouldn’t be so surprising (Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd (_Driving Miss Daisy_), Bill Murray, Robin Williams, maybe Adam Sandler (_Punch Drunk Love_)). What’s rarer is when an established serious actor manages to carry off a wacky comedic role. Like Leslie Nielson in **Airplane!**. People forget he was known only for his serious roles (though no one objected to the casting at the time – Nielson was too obscure). Steve Martin in **Roxanne** was a surprise; he was not the romantic hero type previous to that. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/18 "2006-05-24T22:56:49Z")
Another one for Toby Maguire in _Spider-Man_. I thought it was a terrible idea when I first heard it, but he couldn’t have been more perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/19 "2006-05-24T22:57:02Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Steve Martin in **Roxanne** was a surprise; he was not the romantic hero type previous to that. Same for John Cleese in _A Fish Called Wanda_. I wish he’d gotten more roles like that. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082/20 "2006-05-24T23:05:57Z")
Serious actors doing good comedy stuff… Bob Hoskins in Rodger Rabit. Jack Nicolson in Witches of Eastwhick Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivia in Sleuth [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-actor-surprised-you-in-a-role-you-didnt-think-they-could-pull-off/358082.md?page=2)