Surprising actor role switches?

Richeh

Richeh

Richeh

Soldato
Joined
24 Jul 2003
Posts
3,468
Location
South East Coast
I was surprised to learn that http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002907/ Alexander Skarsgård who plays the brooding vampire Eric in True Blood also happened to play Meekus the 'Earth to Brint' guy in Zoolander.

Does anyone else know any other complete character switches, or actors you really wouldn't expect to play in see in a particular role. Not including people like Johnny Depp who play such a broad range of characters but complete polar opposites and genuinely surprising.
 
I don't know if it's the type of thing you're thinking of but I immediately thought of Hugh Laurie going from his various comedy roles in the Blackadder series to House MD.

He's brilliant in both but I was totally shocked when I first saw House.
 
Not so obvious, but comparing Christian Bale in The Machinist to the how he bulked up for Batman Begins.

machinist.jpg
 
Last edited:
Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi, then playing the Hood in Thunderbirds.

Dano said:
Gary Oldman in just about anything he's ever done.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more, he's almost without doubt my favourite actor of all time. His performances in Leon, Batman Begins and the Dark Knight, the Fifth Element and Harry Potter exemplify his quite frankly seamless ability to act any character required of him. I think he was so good in Batman that I even forget that it's him playing Gordon sometimes, and forget that he's actually being played by an actor. :p It's a weird thing to say, but I think it's true... Anywho, great actor.
 
Last edited:
Richeh said:
I was surprised to learn that http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002907/ Alexander Skarsgård who plays the brooding vampire Eric in True Blood also happened to play Meekus the 'Earth to Brint' guy in Zoolander.

Does anyone else know any other complete character switches, or actors you really wouldn't expect to play in see in a particular role. Not including people like Johnny Depp who play such a broad range of characters but complete polar opposites and genuinely surprising.
Click to expand...
hes in a lady gaga video aswell lol
 
Solac said:
Will Smith in Bad Boys and Independance Day, different actor completly then seen in Fresh Prince
Click to expand...

That's his problem :(
I can never take him seriously in anything he's ever done, because I keep seeing the Fresh Prince :(

Dano said:
Gary Oldman in just about anything he's ever done.
Click to expand...

Gary Oldman is a quality actor, Dracula, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Leon, The Fifth Element.

He is outstanding in them all, what's also good about him, is he's still very very good in Lost in Space, which was ****ing awful.

SixTwoSix said:
Not so obvious, but comparing Christian Bale in The Machinist to the how he bulked up for Batman Begins.
Click to expand...

Bale is a good actor, he's fantastic in quite a few films. The Machinist was a good movie, even more impressive when you find out the lengths Bale went to get in to that "shape"

Jim Carrey deservers a mention in things like this, for performances like he gave in Man on the Moon, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and The Truman show when you compared them to the Ace Ventura films, Liar Liar and the other rubbish he's been in.

I forget who said it, but a director said that he'd rather cast a comedy actor in a serious role, over a lot of serious actors because making people laugh is the hardest thing you can do, something like that. Can't quite remember.
 
Sean Connery - look at the list of roles he's played and then tell me he's not a chameleon: Egyptian nobleman, English king, Irish policeman, Russian U-boat captain are all in there and without varying his distinctive Scottish brogue one iota. ;)

More seriously Denzil Washington is probably the one who surprised me most - he was almost always portrayed as a "good guy" up to Training Day in 2001 and then he showed a completely different character against type but very convincingly.
 
semi-pro waster said:
More seriously Denzil Washington is probably the one who surprised me most - he was almost always portrayed as a "good guy" up to Training Day in 2001 and then he showed a completely different character against type but very convincingly.
Click to expand...

However since 2001 he has pretty much one acting style, he just goes extreme in any film he's in...I honestly prefered him pre-training day, with the exception of the actual training day movie.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Sean Connery - look at the list of roles he's played and then tell me he's not a chameleon: Egyptian nobleman, English king, Irish policeman, Russian U-boat captain are all in there and without varying his distinctive Scottish brogue one iota. ;)
.
Click to expand...

You missed immortal eccentric nutjob as Ramirez in Highlander :p

This is one area that Jackie Chan disappoints me. Forget his american comedy claptrap. Anyone who has seen Police Story or Project A knows that he can act. But he has turned down ridiculous amounts of roles that would have him being the bad guy or a romantic, as he doesn't want to damage his image. Simon Phoenix from demolition man is an example but a poor one at that.
 
Last edited:
James Franco
Spiderman -> Pineapple Express

And agree on Gary Oldman. Truly one of, if not the greatest actor of our time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom