20 surprisingly serious movies from comedians

Jennifer Aniston is arguably best known for portraying the character of Rachel Green in Friends. However, in the two decades since Friends was on the air, she has repeatedly shown that she has what it takes to be a genuinely strong dramatic actress. In Cake, for example, she portrays a woman struggling with addiction. Although the film did not perform well at the box office, it nevertheless did a great deal to demonstrate the extent to which Aniston should be taken seriously as an actress.

Even though Reese Witherspoon was no stranger to dramatic roles before appearing in Nashville, she’d really established herself as a comedy actress thanks to her roles in films such as Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama. In the middle of the 2000s, though, she started to turn to more “serious” dramatic roles, and one of the most notable of these is Walk the Line, in which she portrayed June Carter. So acclaimed was her performance that she would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Maya Rudolph is most famous for her long run on  Saturday Night Live, but she has shown several times that she has what it takes to be a strong, dramatic actress. In Away We Go, for example, she portrays Verona De Tessant, one half of a couple who have to decide where and how they are going to raise their child. Although the movie does have its funny moments, it allows Rudolph to showcase her range, and one can only hope that she gets more opportunities to act in dramatic roles.

There’s no doubt that Lily Tomlin is one of the true giants of comedy, having established herself in both stand-up and TV. However, she made a very memorable appearance in Robert Altman’s Nashville, in which she plays a gospel singer. The role demonstrated that there was much more to her than just being able to produce a laugh, and she ended up getting an Academy Award nomination for her performance. She would go on to show dramatic talents in a number of other roles, even those in comedies such as Grace and Frankie. 

Whoopi Goldberg would become one of the most successful comedic actors of the 1980s and 1990s, but it’s important to remember that her first major role was as Celie in The Color Purple. It’s a remarkably soulful and powerful performance, and Goldberg gives it her all. It’s easy to see why it earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and, though she has appeared in many other films and TV series over the years, it’s arguably the best performance of her career. 

Moneyball is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, which includes the likes of Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Perhaps the most surprising performance, however, comes from Jonah Hill, who demonstrates that there’s more to him than just the comedic roles for which he was then famous. It’s thus not surprising that his performance was critically acclaimed, and he managed to notch both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 

Few films have captured the anguish of drug addiction with quite as much power as Requiem for a Dream.  The film features many remarkable performances, but one of the most surprising is the one given by Marlon Wayans, who plays Tyrone, one of the people with an addiction. Given the extent to which Wayans, both at the time and since, is most famous for his comedy roles, his soulful and poignant performance in this film is all the more remarkable. 

After establishing himself as a strong comedic actor thanks to his performance as Jim Halpert in The Office,  John Krasinski went on to demonstrate not just that he has some serious dramatic chops but that he’s also quite a good writer and director. In the horror film A Quiet Place, for example, all three skills are on ample display, and he is in his element as a father attempting to keep his family safe in a world overtaken by aliens that hunt by sound. It’s a layered and complex performance, arguably the best of his career.

Mo’Nique made a name for herself as a very hilarious comedian, particularly in her stand-up. However, she has consistently shown that she is a woman of many talents, and no one who has ever seen her in Precious will ever forget her searing and terrifying portrait of an abusive mother. In fact, so highly-regarded was her performance in that particular film that she went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and to this day it remains one of her strongest and most memorable performances. 

Ashton Kutcher may be the most surprising comedic actor to take a turn at dramatic acting, but for the most part, he does a credible job in The Butterfly Effect. The film’s sci-fi trappings might be more on the B-movie level than serious drama, but Kutcher proves surprisingly capable at inhabiting his role of Evan Treborn, whose ability to inhabit his body at past points in his life ends up causing far more trouble than he thinks. Kutcher’s performance highlights just how talented he is as a performer, even though he was (and is) often dismissed. 

One of the things that was most remarkable about Robin Williams was how he could take the things that made him so appealing in his comic roles — his sensitivity, earnestness, and charm — and turn them to sinister ends in films like One Hour Photo. In the film, he portrays Sy Parrish, a photo technician who becomes increasingly obsessed with a local family. This is one Robin Williams role that is truly impossible to forget, and it built on his success in Insomnia to show just how versatile he always was as a performer.

The late Robin Williams had an undeniable gift for comedy, which is precisely what makes his dramatic performances so gripping to watch. He’s nothing less than terrifying in Insomnia,  in which he portrays the killer tormenting Al Pacino’s troubled detective Will Dormer. There’s an earnestness and a commitment to his performance that allows Williams to shine, and he’s every bit as compelling to watch as Pacino. This was one of those important films that show just how versatile he was as an actor.  

Jim Carrey was arguably one of the most successful comedic actors of the 1990s, and his elastic approach to comedy was his trademark. However, in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — with its unique mix of romantic drama, surrealism, and science fiction — he got the chance to show that there was more to him than characters like Ace Ventura. He delivers one of the best and most layered performances of his career, and this role helped pave the way for some of the other dramatic roles he would take on in subsequent years.

Though Steve Carell had been in several serious roles before appearing in Foxcatcher, this was the moment at which he really seemed to be taken seriously as an actor. Indeed, he was remarkably adept at playing characters with darkness in their souls, and that is very true of John Eleuthère du Pont, the convicted murderer. This would set the stage for many of Carell’s subsequent roles, in which he would play men who are menacing yet strangely very charismatic. 

Will Ferrell is obviously most famous for his many outlandish comedy roles on both the big and the small screen, but he has, on occasion, shown significant range. In Stranger than Fiction, for example, he dials down his usual frantic energy to deliver something humbler and ultimately more moving, since he’s playing a character grappling with the weight of his own mortality. Ferrell’s performance is a reminder that even a slapstick comedian can deliver something remarkable when they’re given the right material. 

Few comedians have had quite as varied a career as Eddie Murphy, who was a true comedy superstar in the 1980s. He has shown, however, that he also has some impressive dramatic acting chops, and he’s particularly strong in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the Broadway show of the same name. The role would earn him significant praise, and he would even go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It’s the kind of performance that makes one hope there will be more such roles in his future.

Peter Sellers is arguably best known for portraying Inspector Clouseau in the various Pink Panther films and for appearing in Doctor Strangelove in several hilarious roles. However, he was more than capable of delivering dramatic performances, as he demonstrated in the oddly poignant film Being There. He plays the character of Chance, a gardener who is much more than he seems to be. It’s a remarkably understated performance from the usual energetic Sellers, and this is precisely what makes it so touching.

Awkwafina is an undeniable comedic genius, using her unusual voice and electric presence to good effect in a variety of starring and supporting performances. In The Farewell, however, she shows a different side of her abilities. She portrays Billi, whose family has decided to keep a terminal illness diagnosis from the family matriarch. Although there are elements of comedy in this film, Awkwafina delivers a remarkably poignant and moving performance, helping to anchor the film as a whole and making it more than just sentimental.

Though Adam Sandler is best known for his slapstick and silly comedy, he’s occasionally shown that he’s no slouch when it comes to dramatic roles. He’s particularly effective in Uncut Gems, in which he plays a gambling addict and jeweler who gets in way over his head with tragic results. It’s a remarkable viewing experience to see Sandler give such a wrenching and complex performance, and so it’s small wonder that it has come to be widely seen as one of the best of his career.

There’s no question Melissa McCarthy is a genius when it comes to comedy, but with Can You Ever Forgive Me?, she showed that she is remarkable in dramatic roles. In the film, she portrays Lee Israel, whose forgery of supposed letters from various literary figures rocked the collectors' world. McCarthy digs deep, and she gives the viewer a character who is both deeply unpleasant and yet strangely sympathetic. There’s a fierceness to her interpretation of the role that renders the film utterly compelling, and it’s fitting that she received almost unanimous praise.