10 Actors Who Transitioned From Comedy Stars To Dramatic Darlings

5. Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill made his name playing a socially awkward high school senior in search of booze and an end to his virginity in the 2007 comedy Superbad. Although we think his 2005 cameo as a creepy eBay customer in 40-year-Old Virgin really set the tone for the kinds of intense, oddly charismatic comic characters he would play for the next few years. After Superbad, Jonah continued to deliver the laughs with successful roles as Seth Rogen's aggressive stoner housemate in Knocked Up (2007), as a talent scout desperately trying to keep Russell Brand's rock star off the drugs in Get Him to the Greek (2010) and a nerdy cop forced to go undercover as a high school student 21 Jump Street (2012). But in 2011, Hill surprised fans by slimming down and starring alongside Brad Pitt as a mild mannered analyst searching for the winning game formula in baseball biopic Moneyball. The part earned him an Oscar nomination, and another swiftly followed for his gloriously despicable performance as a corrupt broker in the Wolf of Wall Street (2013). With a 21 Jump Street sequel coming soon and a self-deprecating turn playing an appalling version of himself in apocalypse comedy This is the End in 2013, Jonah hasn't quite left his comedy roots behind. But, as Leonardo DiCaprio said when he confronted Hill for dissing him during his SNL guest host opening monologue: "You don't have to pretend anymore, you're a real actor now."
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Lottie is a London based copywriter, working tirelessly in online and print.