# Surprising Career Arcs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958 "2012-07-02T02:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/101 "2012-07-11T00:06:22Z")
had no clue that was THE Ryan Gosling who did young Hercules! WOW! Like how Heath Ledger was in that clan series as a warrior ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/102 "2012-07-11T04:07:20Z")
Tom Hulce had a great comic turn as a nerdy college student in _Animal House_, and then was a brilliantly manic Mozart in _Amadeus_, and an endearingly no-goodnik wastrel son in _Parenthood_, and then… pretty much nothing, as far as I know. Really thought he was going places. ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/103 "2012-07-11T13:03:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Tom Hulce had a great comic turn as a nerdy college student in _Animal House_, and then was a brilliantly manic Mozart in _Amadeus_, and an endearingly no-goodnik wastrel son in _Parenthood_, and then… pretty much nothing, as far as I know. Really thought he was going places. You just aren’t looking in the right [place](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hulce). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/104 "2012-07-11T13:19:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Tom Hulce had a great comic turn as a nerdy college student in _Animal House_, and then was a brilliantly manic Mozart in _Amadeus_, and an endearingly no-goodnik wastrel son in _Parenthood_, and then… pretty much nothing, as far as I know. Really thought he was going places. He played Victor FRankenstein’s friend, Henry Clerval, in Kenneth Branaugh’s version of **Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein** , one of the few relatively faithful adaptations. Seeing him there in his early 19th crentury garb (a nit after the real Mozart’s death) made it feel as if Mozart was slumming it in Ingoldstat. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/105 "2012-07-11T19:44:58Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Marky Mark Wahlberg. From a life of juvenile crime (including taking some guys eye out) - to rapper - to underwear model - to a very busy actor. What are the odds??? . . . and Director, Producer. . . Writer? Probably. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/106 "2012-07-11T21:06:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That doesn’t do justice to Mr. Welles. He started long before Citizen Kane – he did intriguing Shakespeare productions, went on to Mercury Theater on the Air (of which War of the Worlds was only one part), and was the voice of _The Shadow_. … he and Agnes Moorehead are well known for being in _The Shadow_ though they did those character for the earliest and shortest time period of that show. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/107 "2012-07-11T21:17:20Z")
John Dehner was an animator at Disney, he drew content in Fantasia and Bambi. he went on to being a radio actor with lots of character roles though best know for the main characters in Have Gun — Will Travel and Frontier Gentleman. he was a character actor in movies and tv. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/108 "2012-07-12T01:11:07Z")
> [@nogravity](#): > > You just aren’t looking in the right [place](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hulce). > [@CalMeacham](#): > > He played Victor FRankenstein’s friend, Henry Clerval, in Kenneth Branaugh’s version of **Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein** , one of the few relatively faithful adaptations. Seeing him there in his early 19th crentury garb (a nit after the real Mozart’s death) made it feel as if Mozart was slumming it in Ingoldstat. Thanks! Glad to hear he’s still plying his trade. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/109 "2012-07-12T17:07:52Z")
I like to get a chuckle looking at the OG rappers now doing TV and movie work as either cops or kid-comedies: Ice-T & Ice Cube come to mind. (Already mentioned was the Fresh Prince, who wasn’t as hard core as the above examples.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/110 "2012-07-15T14:56:17Z")
Mark Hamill’s getting to play another bad guy: [http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/14/you-wont-recognize-mark-hamill-in-sushi-girl/?hpt=hp\_c2](http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/14/you-wont-recognize-mark-hamill-in-sushi-girl/?hpt=hp_c2) ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/111 "2012-07-15T15:41:20Z")
> [@thinksnow](#): > > I like to get a chuckle looking at the OG rappers now doing TV and movie work as either cops or kid-comedies: > Ice-T & Ice Cube come to mind. That reminds me - one of those Ice Cube family movies, [The Longshots](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longshots), was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst! ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/112 "2012-07-15T16:09:47Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Heh. > > Another great role for Karas – Jim Garner’s gay bodyguard in _Victor/Victoria_. I remember that one. And for those who don’t remember, he played a very non-stereotypical gay man. Can anyone imagine any of the NFL players from the 80s or 90s who would have been willing to play a gay man in a movie complete with kissing another man on the lips and a bedroom scene? ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/113 "2012-07-15T23:46:55Z")
I was surprised to learn during Google I/O a couple of weeks ago that Tim Quirk, lead singer of one of my favorite 90s bands [Too Much Joy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=AL94UKMTqg-9BB-Y58tCpMl0lsdYxWRJ6-&v=7iSO4_Y7AtE#t=23s), is now Google’s [Head of Global Content Programming for Android](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMQdfGFK5XQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=9s). I’ve resisted posting this one, since he’s not really an actor in keeping with the rest of the thread, but I suppose appearing in MTV videos is a form of acting. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/114 "2012-07-16T18:21:27Z")
What? No Jamie Lee Curtis? Daughter of Hollywood Sweethearts Scream Queen Hot Babe Hot Wife Hot Mom Titled/Landed Gentry of England ---
**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:** [July 16, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/115 "2012-07-16T18:55:28Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > What? > No Jamie Lee Curtis? > > Titled/Landed Gentry of England Pfft. Married into it…at least she picked a barony that went to 11… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/116 "2012-07-19T20:53:15Z")
Bob Saget went from being a filthy mouth stand up comedian to a star of the sacchrine sitcom Full House to host of America’s Funniest Videos to making the dsocumentary film The Aristocrats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958.md?page=5)