This could also make for a great thread. “Serious actors, or non-actors, doing comedy later on…”
I always thought it was easier for a comedian or comic actor to do drama (Hugh Laurie, Tom Hanks, etc.) than the reverse - a dramatic actor to do comedy. The only person I can think of that did that is Leslie Nielsen and I’m not even sure that counts as he deadpanned all of his comedy roles.
Oh, it counts!
How about Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, or other serious actors who turned out to have a flair for comedy when they hosted Saturday Night Live?
Alec Baldwin started out in comedy films: Miami Rhapsody and Beetlejuice.
Robert DeNiro’s career character choices used to be serious as a heart attack.
Then he did ‘Meet the Parents’ and had a nice comedic touch in that. Some diminishing returns in other comedies he’s done afterward, but that might have more to do with the scripts than his comedy sense.
I was actually thinking of this when I made the suggestion for this new thread (thanks for splitting this off!).
The memory I had (which I erased from my post in the other thread), was of a high-ranking general, possibly from the air force, on Saturday Night Live, pretending to advertise a faux music album called, IIRC, “Direct Hits,” with comical-warlike song titles. I’m adding this back now that this is officially a thread.
(Regarding Robt DeNiro)
Great example…I liked him in “Analyze This”
Bob Saget went from family shows to raunchy comedy.
Professional wrestler Mick Foley had a relatively successful stand-up comedy career after retiring.
He did a lot of comedy when he WAS a wrestler so that is NOT to surprising.
Leslie Nielsen started out solely as a dramatic actor (Forbidden Planet) but switched to comedy with Airplane, which cast dramatic actors in comic roles. He was the most successful and from then on concentrated on comedy.
Jack Elam was a western heavy in the 50s, a big hulking guy who always played a dangerous henchmen. In the late 60s, he grew a beard and started playing comic relief, beginning with Support Your Local Sheriff.
Jake LaMotta, former middleweight boxing champion whose life was portrayed in the film Raging Bull, ended up doing stand up comedy and acting after his boxing career ended. Other athletes have gone that route, Former baseball player Bob Uecker comes to mind, and recently professional wrestler Dolph Ziggler has done standup and some acting while continuing his athletic career.
I did some googling—looks like that was done by George McGovern, who was a politician but not a general.
But, speaking of politicians, I thought Sen. John McCain did a pretty good job when he hosted SNL.
I think he did the raunchy stand-up before the family shows - I know I saw references to him “returning” to it after the family shows which made me wonder how he got the family shows. .
Ueker was always something of a cut up.
Ready to catch some flyballs.
I thought Lebron James was hilarious in Train Wreck.
Justin Timberlake showed he had a flair for comedy after being on SNL.
Interestingly few of these have been established dramatic actors succeeding at comedy. Wrestlers, actual athletes, politicians, musicians even, but few serious actors.
How about Jack Nicholson, partnering with Adam Sandler, in Anger Management?
Jon Hamm first became famous for a dramatic role, but he has done a lot of comedic roles since then.