For actors in Hollywood, it’s easy to get stuck portraying the same type of character over and over again. For example, comedian Kevin Hart often plays the loud, funny guy in every movie he’s in.
But unlike Hart, some of his fellow comedians have ventured outside of their usual style and tackled more diverse roles. Comedic actors have dominated films in general — not just comedies.
In 2014, Bill Murray starred in the dramedy St. Vincent, a film in which he plays a cranky old man who befriends a boy next door. Murray is known for his comedic roles in movies like Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and, my personal favorite, What About Bob? Murray incorporated a lot of comedy into St. Vincent, but that is not the most memorable aspect of his performance. The emotion Murray put into his role was beautiful and moved people to tears — and not tears from laughter. It takes a really good actor to be able to flip the switch from making someone laugh to making someone cry.
The Office alum Steve Carell completely ditched his usual comedic style in The Big Short, a role that landed him his first Academy Award nomination. The Big Short was full of funny characters, but Carell was not one of him. He played a bitter, skeptical man who thought the world was a terrible place. He was the most dynamic character in the film, and he proved he didn’t need humor to deliver a notable performance.
The most gradual shift from comedy to more serious films happened with Tom Hanks. The dad of Hollywood started out on the comedy show Bosom Buddies. In 1984, he landed his first major role on a feature film called Splash. After that, he was in a lot of comedies until the early ‘90s.
In 1993, he starred in the drama Philadelphia, where he played a man who is HIV positive and was fired from his job. That was the beginning of the shift to more serious films and some of his best performances in films like Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile and Apollo 13. Hanks is able to seamlessly blend comedy with other genres of film, which elevates him to a whole other level. He does that in Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. His ability to play any role is the reason he is revered as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Comedic actors are underrated and seem to be unappreciated. But it takes great talent to deliver a joke then give emotional performances that resonate with people. With their ability to cross over into multiple genres, it’s easy to see comedic actors are some of the most talented people in Hollywood right now.
Georgia Davis is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Who is your favorite comedic actor? Tell Georgia by tweeting her at @georgiadee35.
