11 Great F*ck You Performances From Hated Actors

Every now and then there comes a performance from an actor previously deemed by both critics and audiences as too pretty, stupid, funny and/or talentless to take on a certain role that ends up proving everybody wrong.

It’s an easy trap to fall into for viewers. You’ve seen an actor predominantly play the clown, the hot but dumb boyfriend, the angst ridden teenaged girl or the action film hero and it’s not too difficult to assume there’s nothing more to them than such formulaic roles. But some actors in certain roles have proven that audiences are far too quick to judge their potential.

Perhaps it’s all too easy for cinemagoers to dismiss an actor based on past performances or maybe it’s because Hollywood is all too eager to typecast and pigeonhole actors, but when an actor breaks the mould and wholeheartedly embraces a role that goes against the grain of their resume, it’s all the more surprising when it turns out they can actually act their socks off.

11. Michael Keaton – Batman

Nowadays Michael Keaton’s turn as the Caped Crusader might be hailed amongst the best of Batman portrayals, but back in the late 80s his casting in Tim Burton’s take on the comic superhero caused quite the stir.

According to legend around 50,000 letters of complaint (remember, this was back in the pre-internet days of yore) were sent to Warner Brothers from outraged comic book purists protesting that Keaton, who had mostly been seen in comic roles at that point, wasn’t chiselled, tall, muscular or good-looking enough to take on the part of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego.

Those 50,000 fans were then forced to eat their words when Keaton gave a superb turn as Batman winning over audiences and critics alike with his performance as a soul that’s both haunted and mysterious yet still capable of a bit of dark humour and even those who were still pissed off by his casting realised the error of their ways when Val Kilmer took over the role in Batman Forever.