8 Actors Who Unexpectedly And Brilliantly Played Against Type
5. Helena Bonham Carter As Marla Singer (Fight Club)
Over the years, weve all grown used to seeing Helena Bonham Carter as the ultimate character actress. Thanks in large part to her ex-partner, Tim Burton, frequently casting her as various oddball characters in his films, its difficult to remember a time when she was the quintessential English rose. But, long before she was Mrs Lovett, Bellatrix Lestrange and the Corpse Bride, an English rose she was. With her good looks and her impeccable breeding, Bonham Carter found fame in the 80s with roles in dreamy costume dramas such as A Room With A View and Lady Jane, swiftly becoming the go-to girl for aristocratic, corset-wearing characters. Despite giving great performances, Helena always seemed to give off the impression of someone who was just waiting to hoist their freak flag high. With that in mind, its not hard to see why she jumped at the chance to completely defy peoples expectations in the role of Marla Singer in Fight Club. Gone was the perfect cascade of curls and perfect dewy complexion, replaced by a matted mess of hair and skin that suggested shed not slept for years. A controversial enough line in anyones hands, Marla telling Tyler Durden she hadnt "been f***ed like that since grade school" seemed all the more shocking when dropped from Bonham Carters lips.