22 Hilarious Actors Who Are Also Masters of Drama

In Hollywood, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing the same kinds of roles over and over again. It’s like the entire industry is hyper-fixated on specialization, and if they see you do one thing well, they only ever want you to do that one thing. Nobody wants a sexy seductress to be a troubled genius. They want an action hero to fight with his fists, not his words. They need Tom Hanks to get so angry that he sounds like a strangled cartoon.

It’s especially difficult if your specialty is being funny, because in a very literal sense, you’re a joke. Still, when they get the opportunity, comedic actors can really surprise you. For example, “I absolutely loved Jack Black in King Kong,” Redditor N4TETHAGR8 told r/Film. “He’s known more for the funny roles now, but he was so great in Kong.”

They then asked, “Who’s an actor that’s known for goofy roles but can also pull off a serious one?” and their fellow Redditors got incredibly serious in return.