10 Movie Actors With Far More Range Than You Think
4. Jim Carrey
Certainly not an actor people immediately think of as having a vast range of acting ability, Jim Carrey became a global star courtesy of his incredibly flexible 'rubber face' and his habit of liberally applying slapstick energy to virtually everything he does but that's not all there is to Carrey as his filmography shows.
For obvious, career defining reasons, you have to omit the first 20 years of Carrey's career in film & television before you can effectively bypass the tirade of slapstick comedy and discover that, actually, Carrey can play a serious role and he can do it incredibly well.
2001's The Majestic is a very unusual film but it sees Carrey in the lead role of a period romantic drama and the bizarre casting choice works superbly. Carrey plays the straight role without ever dropping into his madcap slapstick and really starts to show that he is more than just a funny face.
A few years down the line and Carrey once again appeared in a serious role opposite Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and in 2007 led The Number 23, a Joel Schumacher directed thriller and both performances have you believing that Carrey is, and always has been, a serious actor.
More recently, Carrey has reverted to type and returned to his natural habitat of comedy roles but the smattering of serious parts in his acting history go a long way to proving that he has far more acting range than most would give him credit for.