10 Actors About To Play Hugely Against Type

You've never seen Kevin James quite like this.

Kevin James Becky
Quiver Distribution

If there's something all film fans love, it's seeing an actor take the type of role they're typically known for and flip it totally on its head.

It's easy for actors to get stuck in a typecasting rut after perfecting their "brand" and gladly milking it for every drop, but for some, boredom eventually sets in, as well as a desire to shake things up. What better way to do that than accept a part totally outside of their comfort zone?

And so, these 10 actors, all talented performers in their own rights and capable of many great things, are set to play completely against type in one of their upcoming projects.

It's fair to say that such a gamble doesn't always pay off, but in the very least it's neat to see these actors all being brave enough to roll the dice on their own acting chops.

In each case, it should be an interesting sight to behold regardless of how each film itself actually turns out...

10. Chris Rock As A No-Nonsense Detective - Spiral

Kevin James Becky
Lionsgate

There were a lot of raised eyebrows when it was revealed that the next Saw movie, Spiral, had its story conceived by none other than Chris Rock, and weirder still, that the iconic funnyman would be playing the film's protagonist.

Rock will be assuming the role of Ezekiel "Zeke" Bank, a brash detective pursuing a Jigsaw copycat killer, and given that Rock has precious few truly serious, dramatic roles to his name - let alone forays into the horror genre - it's nothing if not an odd fit indeed.

But between this and Rock's upcoming stint on the fourth season of Fargo, he evidently seems keen to steer his career in an intriguing new direction.

From what little we've seen of him in Spiral so far, he looks like he'll pull off the unconventional casting just fine.

And having Samuel L. Jackson as his screen father probably won't hurt.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.