4. Jim Carrey The Truman Show
There comes a time in every actors life when he realises hes not going to be taken seriously anymore, and that point usually comes after you sing out of your arse, especially when that arse is covered by some daintily-coloured trousers. This event horizon occurred with Jim Carrey around the time he played Ace Ventura, and he continued plumbing the depths afterward with such films as The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and the tremendous Liar Liar. Now, I know these films are good in their own right, but youve got to make a distinction as good as they were, such was their puerile sense of humour (again, theres nothing wrong with that, I loved all these films) that they would hardly ingratiate you to folks looking to make a serious drama. However, Carrey seemed to buck the rule by picking up the protagonist gig on The Truman Show, and then proceeding to be dramatically awesome. As you watch a man who just wants to explore struggle against his artificial life in a gigantic dome, you struggle to realise that this was the same guy who was yelling histrionically at a pen for being blue in Liar Liar. Seriously, I dont think Carrey gets the credit he deserves hes consistently able to knock out decent dramatic fare (The Number 23 notwithstanding) and decent comedies like few before him, and that reputation was built off this film.