Actors playing dramatically different status roles.
October 25, 2015 2:49 PM Subscribe
I would like to collect movie clips of the same actor playing a supporting, deferential role and a leading dominant role. Or of actors playing other dramatically different personalities in different movies. do you have any suggestions where you thought: wow i can't beleive that is the same person as X?
Jack Nicholson in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
posted by supermedusa at 2:54 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by supermedusa at 2:54 PM on October 25, 2015
Peter Capaldi in In The Loop and Doctor Who comes to mind.
posted by peppermind at 2:55 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by peppermind at 2:55 PM on October 25, 2015
Oh God, Angels in America. You won't believe the character switches, especially Meryl Streep as tiny Rabbe.
posted by effluvia at 2:57 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by effluvia at 2:57 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort and in The Grand Budapest Hotel (excellent)
posted by lunastellasol at 2:58 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by lunastellasol at 2:58 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Peter Capaldi in the thick of it is incredlbly dominant and bosses every room he enters - and then in Dr who he is a timelord. So those are different characters but not in the way i am looking for - he cuts another character off and tells them to shutup in last episode of dr who i watched - I am interested in the status/class balance more than anything else.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 3:03 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 3:03 PM on October 25, 2015
Peter Sellers plays three dramatically different roles in Dr. Strangelove — A British Air Force officer, the President of the United States, and Dr. Strangelove himself.
posted by ejs at 3:03 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by ejs at 3:03 PM on October 25, 2015
Oh, for status/class balance, Jack Nicholson plays both a sleazy, vulgar Las Vegas real estate developer and the President of the United States in Mars Attacks.
posted by ejs at 3:05 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by ejs at 3:05 PM on October 25, 2015
Daniel Day Lewis as Cecil in A Room With a View, and as Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans
posted by Mallenroh at 3:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Mallenroh at 3:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Rory Kinnear has played the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Black Mirror), the chief of staff of an intelligence service (James Bond films), the hapless son of a dead comedian (Count Arthur Strong), and a foul creature made from reanimated corpses (Penny Dreadful). One might expect his characters' agency to vary directly with their social status. One would be wrong.
posted by infinitewindow at 3:09 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by infinitewindow at 3:09 PM on October 25, 2015
Joe Pesci leaps to mind as an example of this: playing a bumbling boob for laughs in Home Alone, and playing a powerful vicious gangster in Goodfellas.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 3:09 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 3:09 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Philip Seymour Hoffman as a depressed obscene phone caller in Happiness, and as the charismatic leader of a cult in The Master.
posted by ejs at 3:11 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ejs at 3:11 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ooh! There was a short sketch that focused on this exact thing — it took me ages to find it (who calls something "untitled") but here it is.
posted by you're a kitty! at 3:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by you're a kitty! at 3:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
the same actor playing a supporting, deferential role and a leading dominant role
Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (the early scenes, where he's deferential and uncertain) and Vertigo (the later scenes, where he's dominant and aggressive)
Diane Keaton is deferential at times and dominant at times in both Annie Hall and Manhattan; I'd suggest one of her more deferential scenes from Annie Hall (example) and one of her more dominant scenes from Manhattan (example).
actors playing other dramatically different personalities in different movies
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [clip] and as Peggy Gallagher (the kids' grandmother) in season 2 of Shameless [clip] (I know you said movies, but it's a TV show of cinematic quality)
posted by John Cohen at 3:18 PM on October 25, 2015
Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (the early scenes, where he's deferential and uncertain) and Vertigo (the later scenes, where he's dominant and aggressive)
Diane Keaton is deferential at times and dominant at times in both Annie Hall and Manhattan; I'd suggest one of her more deferential scenes from Annie Hall (example) and one of her more dominant scenes from Manhattan (example).
actors playing other dramatically different personalities in different movies
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [clip] and as Peggy Gallagher (the kids' grandmother) in season 2 of Shameless [clip] (I know you said movies, but it's a TV show of cinematic quality)
posted by John Cohen at 3:18 PM on October 25, 2015
Kevin Bacon in Animal House vs Kevin Bacon in pretty much anything else.
posted by hanov3r at 3:20 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by hanov3r at 3:20 PM on October 25, 2015
Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg in The West Wing vs. her role in Mom.
posted by yclipse at 3:23 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by yclipse at 3:23 PM on October 25, 2015
Oh I didn't realize it had to be dominant. Chloe Grace Moretz in the Equalizer vs. Kick-Ass vs. If I Stay vs. Laggies
posted by lunastellasol at 3:28 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by lunastellasol at 3:28 PM on October 25, 2015
They're both supporting roles, but it blew my mind when I realized Jim Broadbent played Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge and Bridget's father in Bridget Jones's Diary. Both movies came out in 2001 and I saw both in the theater multiple times, and it took me ages to realize those two characters were both played by Broadbent. Bridget's dad is as quiet, passive and unassuming as they come, while Zidler is the epitome of Luhrmann-style frenetic insanity.
posted by QuickedWeen at 3:29 PM on October 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by QuickedWeen at 3:29 PM on October 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
Chris Pratt playing lovable and dimwitted oaf Andy Dwyer in Parks and Rec and swashbuckler Starlord in Guardians of the Galaxy and also the hero in Jurassic World.
posted by hazel79 at 3:32 PM on October 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by hazel79 at 3:32 PM on October 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
Christian Bale as an emaciated, paranoid blue-collar worker in The Machinist and as wealthy superhero Batman/Bruce Wayne
posted by mama casserole at 3:34 PM on October 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by mama casserole at 3:34 PM on October 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
Essie Davis desperately trying to keep it together in Babadook and completely unflappable as Miss Fisher.
posted by RobotHero at 3:36 PM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotHero at 3:36 PM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
In 1986 Daniel Day Lewis appeared as a working class urban queer in My Beautiful Launderette and as an upper class Victorian twit in A Room with a View. You can see the two roles juxtaposed here.
I saw both movies when they came out and it was a couple of years before I had any idea those two roles were played by the same person. It's amazing.
posted by alms at 3:41 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I saw both movies when they came out and it was a couple of years before I had any idea those two roles were played by the same person. It's amazing.
posted by alms at 3:41 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee and Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter
posted by lunastellasol at 3:42 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lunastellasol at 3:42 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
A better example for Ralph Fiennes would be to see him as Amon Goeth, the ruthless Nazi camp leader in Schindler's List and then contrast it with the performance he gave as Oscar, the hapless, fearful, awkward gambler in Oscar & Lucinda.
posted by kariebookish at 3:47 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by kariebookish at 3:47 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Bryan Cranston as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle and as Walter White in Breaking Bad.
Bob Odenkirk as any character from Mr. Show and as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:59 PM on October 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
Bob Odenkirk as any character from Mr. Show and as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:59 PM on October 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey, or as a former opera singer in Quartet vs. Maggie Smith as a woman living in a van in The Lady in the Van.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:01 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:01 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Lacking the class element, but how about Martin Sheen playing the President of the USA in West Wing, vs. the Chief of Staff in The American President.
posted by snorkmaiden at 4:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by snorkmaiden at 4:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day, vs quite a few roles but to give some examples, he is a US president in Amistad and in Nixon, a general in Titus, Father of the Gods in Thor, the oldest man in the world in Noah and a smug intellectual in Fracture.
Rose Leslie is a maid, Gwen, in Downton Abbey and a highly competent warrior woman in Game of Thrones.
Judi Dench plays the elderly Iris Murdoch, suffering from Alzheimer's, and any number of powerful characters (M, Lady Bracknell, Queens Elizabeth and Victoria).
Bob Hoskins played a virtual down-and-out in Twenty Four Seven, and elsewhere a crime boss, Odin, a pope, Nikita Khrushchev, J Edgar Hoover, Churchill and Manuel Noriega.
posted by biffa at 4:13 PM on October 25, 2015
Rose Leslie is a maid, Gwen, in Downton Abbey and a highly competent warrior woman in Game of Thrones.
Judi Dench plays the elderly Iris Murdoch, suffering from Alzheimer's, and any number of powerful characters (M, Lady Bracknell, Queens Elizabeth and Victoria).
Bob Hoskins played a virtual down-and-out in Twenty Four Seven, and elsewhere a crime boss, Odin, a pope, Nikita Khrushchev, J Edgar Hoover, Churchill and Manuel Noriega.
posted by biffa at 4:13 PM on October 25, 2015
I was going to say Bryan Cranston as Hal and as Walter White, but Room 641-A beat me to it!
A couple others:
Lee Pace as Ned in Pushing Daisies and as Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy.
David Tennant as Dr. Who (granted he played a Time Lord, but he was a relatively goofy one) and as DI Alec Hardy in Broadchurch, where his character was the very definition of brooding depression.
posted by merejane at 4:19 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
A couple others:
Lee Pace as Ned in Pushing Daisies and as Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy.
David Tennant as Dr. Who (granted he played a Time Lord, but he was a relatively goofy one) and as DI Alec Hardy in Broadchurch, where his character was the very definition of brooding depression.
posted by merejane at 4:19 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
John Hawkes as the hapless Richard in Me and You and Everyone We Know, vs. John Hawkes as the menacing Teardrop in Winter's Bone.
posted by hsieu at 4:19 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by hsieu at 4:19 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thomas Howes plays footman William Mason in Downton Abbey, and plays Winston Churchill in The Artful Detective/Murdoch Mysteries.
posted by AliceBlue at 4:25 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by AliceBlue at 4:25 PM on October 25, 2015
Glenn Close as fearful, obsequious butler Albert Nobbs vs. Cruella De Ville.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:26 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:26 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Lee Pace as epic Elven King Thranduil and his character in Soldier's Girl, also Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day. And Joe MacMillan in Halt and Catch Fire.
posted by lunastellasol at 4:28 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lunastellasol at 4:28 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
A little out of the box, but Andy Serkis as Gollum, Andy Serkis as King Kong.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:35 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:35 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I say this mostly because I'm obsessed with the man, but Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis vs. Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina.
posted by winterportage at 4:36 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by winterportage at 4:36 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hugh Laurie in House vs. Hugh Laurie in Jeeves and Wooster.
posted by peacheater at 4:37 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by peacheater at 4:37 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
And Hugh Laurie in Blackadder.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 4:48 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 4:48 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure if you are looking for TV examples as well as movies, but for me it was very odd to see Idris Elba play the titular police inspector in Luther, when I had previously only ever seen him as powerful drug lord Stringer Bell in The Wire.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:57 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:57 PM on October 25, 2015
Christopher Guest is a nobleman. Christopher Guest is a good ole country boy
posted by Mchelly at 4:59 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 4:59 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Malcolm McDowell in Time After Time as opposed to...every other role he's ever played.
posted by Aquifer at 5:01 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by Aquifer at 5:01 PM on October 25, 2015
As a not completely serious answer, I offer The Morgan Freeman chain of command.
posted by Hatashran at 5:09 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Hatashran at 5:09 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Albert Brooks in Drive versus Albert Brooks in anything else.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:11 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:11 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hugh Grant in An Awfully Big Adventure vs.most everything else.
posted by brujita at 5:25 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by brujita at 5:25 PM on October 25, 2015
Michael Fassbender's David in Prometheus v. Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave.
posted by glasseyes at 5:43 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by glasseyes at 5:43 PM on October 25, 2015
Tom Hanks as Dr. Henry Goose and as the chap that chucks someone off a balcony in Cloud Atlas v. every other Tom Hanks role ever.
posted by glasseyes at 5:46 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by glasseyes at 5:46 PM on October 25, 2015
Stanley Tucci in The Devil Wears Prada versus Look at the Lovely Bones. Extraordinary metamorphosis.
posted by effluvia at 5:46 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 5:46 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco vs. anything else.
Chris Cooper in American Beauty vs. Bourne Supremacy vs Seabiscuit
Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones vs The Station Agent
Mark Addy in GoT vs. The Full Monty
posted by wwartorff at 6:03 PM on October 25, 2015
Chris Cooper in American Beauty vs. Bourne Supremacy vs Seabiscuit
Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones vs The Station Agent
Mark Addy in GoT vs. The Full Monty
posted by wwartorff at 6:03 PM on October 25, 2015
Bruce Willis as Ernest Menville in Robert Zemeckis's Death Becomes Her and... virtually any other role he's played (let's go with John McClane in the Die Hard franchise).
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:06 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:06 PM on October 25, 2015
I think of Dustin Hoffman going from "The Graduate" to Ratso Rizzo in "Midnight Cowboy." And Dustin Hoffman generally.
posted by Alizaria at 6:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Alizaria at 6:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ingrid Bergman as high-class and/or society girl in Casablanca, Notorious and others vs. Irgid Bergman as timid Swedish missionary in Murder On The Orient Express. Heck, you could even go Ingrid Bergman at the beginning of Anastasia (impoverished desperate woman) vs the end (princess).
Judi Dench as head bitch in charge in various movies (M in the Bond movies, Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice, etc.) vs the meek, working-class uneducated eponymous role in Philomena.
posted by alligatorpear at 6:35 PM on October 25, 2015
Judi Dench as head bitch in charge in various movies (M in the Bond movies, Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice, etc.) vs the meek, working-class uneducated eponymous role in Philomena.
posted by alligatorpear at 6:35 PM on October 25, 2015
James Cromwell as Arthur Hoggett in Babe and as Captain Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential.
Jeffrey Tambor as Hank Kingsley (Hey now!) in The Larry Sanders Show and as George Bluth Sr. in Arrested Development.
And Dustin Hoffman generally.
I can think of two movies off the top of my head where his character makes a complete transformation from one to the other by the end of the film: Marathon Man and Straw Dogs.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:35 PM on October 25, 2015
Jeffrey Tambor as Hank Kingsley (Hey now!) in The Larry Sanders Show and as George Bluth Sr. in Arrested Development.
And Dustin Hoffman generally.
I can think of two movies off the top of my head where his character makes a complete transformation from one to the other by the end of the film: Marathon Man and Straw Dogs.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:35 PM on October 25, 2015
Gerard Butler: 300 vs Phantom of the Opera
posted by Night_owl at 6:48 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Night_owl at 6:48 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Tom Hardy as Handsome Bob vs Tom Hardy as Bronson
posted by imaginary_mary at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by imaginary_mary at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2015
The movie "The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao" would seem to fit your bill. Tony Randall plays seven different parts in it, and they're all radically different.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:27 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:27 PM on October 25, 2015
In the movie Gosford Park, we see an above-stairs person masquerading as a below-stairs person; this is revealed during the movie and he assumes his place upstairs.
Chris Carter is a real chameleon. In addition to the roles mentioned above, see also his part in Adaptation. Barely recognizable.
Jennifer Jason Leigh completely disappears into whatever role she's playing. She's like the anti-Bruce Willis: she has no "type". Contrast her role in Single White Female with her role in Hudsucker Proxy just a couple years later. I'm sure she has lots of other good roles to contrast.
Compare Jodie Foster in Nell or Little Man Tate to her role in Inside Man or Elysium.
posted by adamrice at 8:07 PM on October 25, 2015
Chris Carter is a real chameleon. In addition to the roles mentioned above, see also his part in Adaptation. Barely recognizable.
Jennifer Jason Leigh completely disappears into whatever role she's playing. She's like the anti-Bruce Willis: she has no "type". Contrast her role in Single White Female with her role in Hudsucker Proxy just a couple years later. I'm sure she has lots of other good roles to contrast.
Compare Jodie Foster in Nell or Little Man Tate to her role in Inside Man or Elysium.
posted by adamrice at 8:07 PM on October 25, 2015
Rhys Ifans in as Spike in Notting Hill vs almost everything else he's done.
posted by Diagonalize at 8:10 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by Diagonalize at 8:10 PM on October 25, 2015
This may actually be the opposite of what you are looking for--and I haven't actually watched any of it so I hope this isn't too far off--but Orphan Black came up in a conversation I had just last night so it came to mind: Tatiana Maslany plays several different characters who have different personalities but are actually clones. The clones will often impersonate each other and she's gotten a lot of acclaim for her ability to believably portray characters believably portraying other characters.
posted by spelunkingplato at 8:44 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by spelunkingplato at 8:44 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
One recent and striking example would be Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black, in which she portrays 13 different clones, each with their own characterization, mannerisms, etc. It's really something.
posted by goodnight to the rock n roll era at 8:44 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by goodnight to the rock n roll era at 8:44 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hahaha argh, should have previewed.
posted by goodnight to the rock n roll era at 8:45 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by goodnight to the rock n roll era at 8:45 PM on October 25, 2015
Dramatically different personalities: Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech and Harry Potter.
posted by bentley at 8:53 PM on October 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by bentley at 8:53 PM on October 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam vs One Hour Photo
Sean Penn in Mystic River vs I am Sam
posted by piyushnz at 10:22 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sean Penn in Mystic River vs I am Sam
posted by piyushnz at 10:22 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
For dramatically different, try Richard Widmark as the killer in Kiss of Death and then Widmark as the prosecutor in Judgment at Nuremberg.
posted by gudrun at 10:29 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 10:29 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Phil Hartman was playing way, way below his name recognition on News Radio.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:46 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:46 PM on October 25, 2015
Leonardo DiCaprio usually plays a strong lead, but his breakout role IMHO was as Johnny Depp's mentally impaired younger brother in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."
posted by SLC Mom at 10:52 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by SLC Mom at 10:52 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Christoph Waltz plays the "Jew Hunter" Nazi SS commander in Inglourious Basterds, then a sort of Rain-Man-type character as the lead in The Zero Theorem.
posted by XMLicious at 11:00 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by XMLicious at 11:00 PM on October 25, 2015
Have you ever seen "Murder by Death"?
I can't really explain the reason I bring it up without spoilers, but the character played by Alec Guinness goes through a lot of changes.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:23 AM on October 26, 2015
I can't really explain the reason I bring it up without spoilers, but the character played by Alec Guinness goes through a lot of changes.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:23 AM on October 26, 2015
Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland and as the child of enslaved people who goes on to be a butler at the White House in The Butler.
posted by Iteki at 2:01 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Iteki at 2:01 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Dana Carvey in The Road to Wellville vs pretty much any other performance of his.
Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, vs, e.g., The Matrix, Memento, and The Limey, respectively.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 2:06 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, vs, e.g., The Matrix, Memento, and The Limey, respectively.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 2:06 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Aiden Gilles in queer as folk vs the wire vs game of thrones
Actually, I am pretty sure that Littlefinger and Tommy Carcetti are the same person in pretty much every way.
More constructively: Henry Fonda as the cool-and-in-charge bad guy in Once Upon A Time In The West can be a jarring contrast if you're expecting the Fonda from almost anything else, such as 12 Angry Men.
Which is, I suppose, the point. Most of the examples in this thread are about casting against type.
posted by rokusan at 2:44 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Actually, I am pretty sure that Littlefinger and Tommy Carcetti are the same person in pretty much every way.
More constructively: Henry Fonda as the cool-and-in-charge bad guy in Once Upon A Time In The West can be a jarring contrast if you're expecting the Fonda from almost anything else, such as 12 Angry Men.
Which is, I suppose, the point. Most of the examples in this thread are about casting against type.
posted by rokusan at 2:44 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
John Lithgow plays a very lonely, quiet, sensitive man in a number of roles, especially in this episode of the TV anthology series Amazing Stories. In the movie Cliffhanger, he's a horrible villain who, among other things, shoves a circular saw into a person's back.
posted by jbickers at 2:56 AM on October 26, 2015
posted by jbickers at 2:56 AM on October 26, 2015
Gary Oldman in almost everything he has ever done. I'm surprised he hadn't been mentioned; I thought Oldman was the quintissential "That was HIM?!?" actor.
posted by AzraelBrown at 5:07 AM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by AzraelBrown at 5:07 AM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
Christopher Walken as the widowed, wife-seeking farmer in Hallmark Hall of Fame's Sarah, Plain and Tall (and sequel), versus pretty much everything else. Especially the Penguin.
posted by jgirl at 5:47 AM on October 26, 2015
posted by jgirl at 5:47 AM on October 26, 2015
Christopher Reeve playing Clark Kent and Superman.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:14 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:14 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another example that just occurred to me: Ewan McGregor as the junkie Renton in Trainspotting - working-class, Scottish and 'scum of the earth' and contrast that with Ewan McGregor as the romantic, innocent poet in Moulin Rouge - who may be penniless but reads as upper-class to me.. or even as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
posted by kariebookish at 9:04 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kariebookish at 9:04 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for Hoffman: Hook.
Also Johnny Depp (you name it) for example Libertine, Scissorhands.
posted by mule98J at 10:04 AM on October 26, 2015
Also Johnny Depp (you name it) for example Libertine, Scissorhands.
posted by mule98J at 10:04 AM on October 26, 2015
Dabney Coleman became famous by playing sons-of-bitches, but he's played sympathetic roles, too. See e.g. On Golden Pond.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:11 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:11 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Someone above mentioned Robin Williams. His most uncharacteristic role was "Awakenings", in which he played completely straight.
Reportedly he lapsed back into manic mode between takes, and it was hard to get everyone to stop laughing so they could work.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:16 AM on October 26, 2015
Reportedly he lapsed back into manic mode between takes, and it was hard to get everyone to stop laughing so they could work.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:16 AM on October 26, 2015
Andy Griffith's character in A Face in the Crowd compared with his portrayal of Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor.
posted by jgirl at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jgirl at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold and most Jeremy Piven roles where he is the nice guy best friend type.
posted by freezer cake at 12:56 PM on October 26, 2015
posted by freezer cake at 12:56 PM on October 26, 2015
It probably doesn't get more extreme than Karlheinz Böhm, who played the Emperor in the Sissi movies and an incredibly creepy serial killer in Peeping Tom.
posted by rjs at 2:35 PM on October 26, 2015
posted by rjs at 2:35 PM on October 26, 2015
Edward Norton has played a wide variety of roles, from hero (Bruce Banner) and king (Kingdom of Heaven) to poker cheat (Rounders) and thief (The Score, The Italian Job) and quite a few spots in between.
posted by axiom at 3:22 PM on October 26, 2015
posted by axiom at 3:22 PM on October 26, 2015
Christopher Guest is a nobleman . Christopher Guest is a good ole country boy
He is a nobleman indeed.
posted by Ranucci at 6:09 PM on October 26, 2015
He is a nobleman indeed.
posted by Ranucci at 6:09 PM on October 26, 2015
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