# Serious actors, or non-actors, doing comedy later on… **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529 "2022-04-08T16:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/1 "2022-04-08T16:25:02Z")
> [@Comedians who turn out to have good dramatic acting skills](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-who-turn-out-to-have-good-dramatic-acting-skills/962515/29): > > Inthe other direction I got Leslie Nielsen but no one else pops right into mind. This could also make for a great thread. “Serious actors, or non-actors, doing comedy later on…” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/2 "2022-04-08T16:34:35Z")
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. ---
**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, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/3 "2022-04-08T16:44:21Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/4 "2022-04-08T16:48:36Z")
Alec Baldwin started out in comedy films: _Miami Rhapsody_ and _Beetlejuice_. ---
**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, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/5 "2022-04-08T17:13:39Z")
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. ---
**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, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/6 "2022-04-08T17:33:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > when they hosted Saturday Night Live? 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. ---
**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, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/7 "2022-04-08T17:35:15Z")
> [@solost](#): > > other comedies he’s done afterward (Regarding Robt DeNiro) Great example…I liked him in “Analyze This” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/8 "2022-04-08T17:52:49Z")
Bob Saget went from family shows to raunchy comedy. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/9 "2022-04-08T18:10:25Z")
Professional wrestler Mick Foley had a relatively successful stand-up comedy career after retiring. ---
**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, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/10 "2022-04-08T18:28:30Z")
He did a lot of comedy when he WAS a wrestler so that is NOT to surprising. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/11 "2022-04-08T18:29:21Z")
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_. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/12 "2022-04-08T18:30:44Z")
[Jake LaMotta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_LaMotta#Post-boxing), former middleweight boxing champion whose life was portrayed in the film [Raging Bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Uecker#Humor) comes to mind, and recently professional wrestler [Dolph Ziggler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Ziggler#Stand-up_comedy) has done standup and some acting while continuing his athletic career. ---
**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, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/13 "2022-04-08T18:48:22Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > 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. I did some googling—looks like that was done by George McGovern, who was a politician but not a general. > **[Classic SNL Review: April 14, 1984: George McGovern / Madness (S09E17) —...](https://bronwynjoan.com/blog/2016/8/13/classic-snl-review-april-14-1984-george-mcgovern-madness)** > > Sketches include "60 Minutes", "Midtown Open", "White House Foods", "Trampoline", "Direct Hits", "I Didn't Realize", "Cosmos", "Book Beat", and "Brother in Law". Madness performs "Our House" and " But, speaking of politicians, I thought Sen. John McCain did a pretty good job when he hosted SNL. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/14 "2022-04-08T18:58:28Z")
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. . ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/15 "2022-04-08T19:03:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Other athletes have gone that route, Former baseball player [Bob Uecker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Uecker#Humor) comes to mind - Ueker was always something of a cut up. Ready to catch some flyballs. [![](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/duscpoxlnejuvnaotnqr.jpg) ](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/duscpoxlnejuvnaotnqr.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/16 "2022-04-08T19:06:22Z")
I thought Lebron James was hilarious in Train Wreck. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/17 "2022-04-08T19:14:50Z")
Justin Timberlake showed he had a flair for comedy after being on SNL. ---
**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, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/18 "2022-04-08T19:21:12Z")
Interestingly few of these have been established dramatic actors succeeding at comedy. Wrestlers, actual athletes, politicians, musicians even, but few serious actors. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/19 "2022-04-08T19:23:05Z")
How about Jack Nicholson, partnering with Adam Sandler, in _Anger Management_? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/20 "2022-04-08T19:28:10Z")
Jon Hamm first became famous for a dramatic role, but he has done a lot of comedic roles since then. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529.md?page=2)