10 Actors Who Reinvented Themselves In Unexpected Ways

10. Anne Hathaway

Before we get started, isn't it crazy that there's a famous actress today who shares a name with the wife of William Shakespeare?

That's got no bearing on what we're about to discuss, it's just weird.

Anyway, the not-Shakespeare's-wife version of Anne Hathaway got her start in teen comedy-drama Get Real in the late '90s. Then came her big breakout movie role - Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia in Disney's The Princess Diaries.

The movie made Hathaway a huge star and led to her starring in similar family movies like Ella Enchanted and the Princess Diaries sequel. She also starred in the upbeat, comedic romp that was Brokeback Mountain in 2005... wait a second.

As the troubled wife of Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Hathaway gave a performance nobody was expecting and completely changed the trajectory of her career.

Sure, she would continue to play fluffy roles in things like Valentine's Day and Love & Other Drugs, but Brokeback opened the door for her to take on more dramatic parts in Les Misérables and Interstellar.

Basically, Anne Hathaway can do whatever she wants now, and that's completely fine with us.