5. Bobcat Goldthwait - From "That Guy With The Funny Voice" To Creative Auteur
Like "the sound effects guy", Bobcat Goldthwait was doomed by many to be referred to simply by his role in the Police Academy films. His waspish, raking and high pitched voice means many cinema-goers know the actor as "the guy with the funny voice" or, when he pops up in other films such as Scrooged! or Tapeheads, "that dude from Police Academy". Attempting to escape this typecasting, Goldthwait decided to try his hand at directing his own movies resulting in 1992's Shakes The Clown - a little seen movie which heavily divided those who witnessed it. Whilst some referred to it as "the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies", other reviews were far from complimentary at the dark humour on display. It seemed likely that Goldthwait would have to play out his day playing variations of Zed from Police Academy. Like all good dramas, however, a huge twist came in Goldthwait's career.
Nearly a decade and a half after Shakes, Goldthwait again tried his hand at directing (this time leaving himself off camera). Debuting at Sundance Film Festival, his next effort, Sleeping Dogs Lie, proved to be something of a game-changer. The broad strokes of his previous movies were gone and, in its place, Goldthwait had sculpted a rather nuanced, thoughtful feature which showed a maturity way beyond anything else in his career. Showing that this was no fluke, Goldthwait replicated, and succeeded, this success with The World's Greatest Dad - a dark satire on grief culture starring Robin Williams in the funniest performance he had put on screen in years. Rather unexpectedly, "the guy with the funny voice" from Police Academy" had transformed himself into an auteur of incredible levels of creativity.