8 Actors Who Unexpectedly And Brilliantly Played Against Type

Thinking (and acting) outside the box.

By Jen Wakely /

Most actors are prone to being typecast €“ whether it€™s a tone of voice, a particular look or a knack for a certain genre, the movie industry will swiftly size them up and then throw into a little box. Perhaps one marked €˜plummy villain€™ if they happen to be an English man, or €˜scream queen€™ if they€™re a well-endowed lady with a helluva set of lungs. In some ways, this can be great; a lot of actors seem to just be having a bloody good time re-treading the same ground. Not to mention becoming the poster child for a certain kind of character will often mean you€™re a shoe-in for any role that fits that particular mould and regular work is a brilliant thing. One finds it hard to imagine Danny Trejo complaining about being cast in the same role, ad infinitum. After all, playing numerous B-movie tough guys has kept him in greasy black wigs for years. However, some performers just aren€™t content to be one-trick ponies. Not for them the comfortable road of carbon-copy role after carbon-copy role. Here are eight actors who stuck two fingers up at convention and turned in brilliant performances that defied all our expectations.