10 Actors Who Just Played Against Type (And KILLED It)

While it's admittedly tough to play against type when you're only 14 years old, it's also fair to say that Irish actress Alisha Weir gained worldwide recognition for playing the title role in 2022's Matilda the Musical.

Weir was perfectly cast as the specially skilled and rebellious child, and so it was reasonable to assume that she'd spend the next few years cast in "cute kid" and "smart alec"-type roles.

But Weir surprised everyone when, totally outta nowhere, she recently starred in horror film Abigail, playing the titular ballerina-slash-vampire who spends the back-end of the movie picking off the dubiously-skilled adults who kidnapped her.

It's a role that perfectly takes the kindly demeanour which made Weir such a delight as Matilda and uses it to its advantage, her butter-wouldn't-melt facial expressions luring her future victims into a false sense of security before she bares her fans and starts tearing up the scene.

Weir's the easy highlight of the film, and without such shrewd casting, it's safe to say that Abigail wouldn't have been nearly as fun as it was.