8 Actors Who Unexpectedly And Brilliantly Played Against Type
4. Dan Stevens As "David" (The Guest)
Sometimes, to really sell themselves in an entirely different kind of role, an actor has to drastically alter their appearance to fit the new character. In this vein, and without the use of CGI or prosthetics, Dan Stevens managed the frankly epic transformation from pasty, doughy lawyer Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey to bad-ass American hardbody in The Guest. Beyond the physical changes, Dan shifted a world away from the frankly lovely Matthew to take on the role of the mysterious David a stranger who turns up on the doorstep of the Peterson family as they mourn the loss of their son, Caleb, to the war in Afghanistan. Claiming to be a friend of Calebs fulfilling a promise to take care of his family, hes warm and charming and easy enough to welcome in. And, lord, hes cool. Hes so cool. Cool enough to beat up the bullies, buy some guns and blow a whole lot of people up. Maybe not so cool when he straight up murders Mr and Mrs Peterson... So far against type was Dans casting, it prompted an early morning TV show host to (quite brilliantly) ask if he "had to beat off a lot of American men to get this part." Even if he hadnt been fantastic in the role, that moment would've made it all worthwhile.
