8 Actors Who Switched It Up Perfectly

Intense, powerful, dominating. These adjectives are usually associated with somebody like Daniel Day-Lewis, or Christian Bale, but on this occasion, we shockingly had to apply them to Adam Sandler.

Known exclusively for his nutty comedies and critically panned filmography as a whole, Sandler has been beloved by teenagers and young adults of the '90s era and beyond for such films as Happy Gilmore and The Waterboy. Nobody thought that this man's talent extended beyond jokes about the other character's mum.

It's shocking then, that in 2002 he worked with all-time-great Paul Thomas Anderson in Punch Drunk Love. Described as kind of a Sandler film but with consequences, he proved that he may be more than just a fart-joke actor. Over the years, he again proved he was actually more capable than any of his contemporaries at producing visceral and devastating performances, with films like Reign Over Me, Funny People, and The Meyerowitz Stories all being evidence of his actual ability.

Then came along Uncut Gems, a modern masterpiece of a thriller that showcased Sandler as Howard Ratner, a gambling addict and jewellery store owner in New York who tries to put together the sale of his lifetime on a rock he has imported from Africa.

Never has anybody been so reviled before being called one of the worst snubs in Academy history. His performance didn't even garner a nomination, something that has been widely seen as a mistake.

Sandler has since gone back to his comedy train with Netflix but one hopes he won't wait too long before delivering another great performance he is more than capable of.