9 Actors Who Made Better Versions Of Previous Films

1. Sharlto Copley - Alive In Joburg & District 9

Alive in Joburg is a 2006 short film created by District 9 director Neil Blomkamp, and effectively served as a proof-of-concept for the 2009 movie eventually getting the greenlight from producer Peter Jackson.

The short, which you can watch here, is a mockumentary about alien refugees arriving in South Africa, causing massive tensions with the locals, and drawing easy parallels with the country's history of apartheid. District 9's eventual star, Sharlto Copley - who co-produced the short - even cameos as a sniper interviewed about the situation.

District 9 ambitiously expands the concept into a feature-length film, replicating the same faux-doc style, deepening the political allegory and even bringing Copley back to star as protagonist Wikus van de Merwe.

Nominated for four Oscars - including Best Picture - District 9 is perhaps the quintessential example of a movie brilliantly capitalising on a compelling foundational idea and doing so much more with it.

Which of these improved versions of previous films is your favourite? Got any others to add? Shout them out in the comments!