10 Serious Actors Who Successfully Made The Jump To Comedy

Beginning his career as a reluctant teen idol, Johnny Depp could have easily coasted along on his looks like the Rob Lowes and Corey Haims of the era. His first roles - in the teen beat police procedural 21 Jump Street and John Waters' musical Cry-Baby - weren't exactly groundbreaking dramatic turns, but they paved a path for Depp as a semi-serious actor.

Instead, he pushed as far away from that mold as he could, going after more challenging and "weird" roles.

His portrayals in Edward Scissorhands and Benny & Joon weren't exactly laugh-out-loud funny, but they showed a certain charm and quirkiness that made it easy to envision him in more comedic roles.

He doesn't go for outright comedy often, instead choosing to choose scripts based entirely based on whether or not he's allowed to wear obnoxious headwear and/or excessive amounts of makeup onscreen. But when he does - like in Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary, and even his cameo appearance in the 21 Jump Street movie - it's usually solid gold.