Buzz
These comedians truly impress when taking on serious roles, showcasing their talent in a completely different light.
To be included in this list, the actors had to have started their careers in comedy. For example, Whoopi Goldberg is excluded because she was already starring in dramatic roles like The Color Purple at the beginning of her career. Additionally, only films where the actor played the main character or a major supporting role are considered—no cameo appearances or minor roles.
Now, let’s dive into the nominees for Best Dramatic Performance by a Comedy Actor, listed in chronological order:
10. The Hustler (1961)
Jackie Gleason might be one of Hollywood's earliest victims of typecasting. Even today, it’s almost impossible to detach him from the iconic bus driver role of Ralph Kramden from the legendary 1950s sitcom, The Honeymooners. Gleason is so closely associated with Kramden that there’s even a statue of the character at New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.
For the hefty Gleason, stepping out from Kramden’s considerable shadow required another larger-than-life role. He found it in the 1961 drama The Hustler, where he played the legendary pool player Minnesota Fats.
In this film, opposite Paul Newman as the up-and-coming pool hustler “Fast Eddie” Felson, Gleason’s portrayal of Minnesota Fats set the standard for every arrogant antagonist in sports films that followed. Much like Apollo Creed to Rocky, Gleason’s Fats takes an early loss but bounces back to wipe away an $18,000 debt to Felson, who then embarks on his own hero's journey filled with romance and the physical challenge of recovering from two broken thumbs, while fine-tuning his skills for a rematch with the champion. It’s a tale of victories, defeats, and personal growth against the gritty backdrop of 1960s pool halls.
The Hustler earned a remarkable eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Newman, Best Supporting Actor for Gleason, and Best Picture. It won Oscars for Art Direction and Cinematography in the black-and-white categories. Its cultural influence was equally profound, sparking a revival in the popularity of pool.
9. Blue Collar (1978)
Richard Pryor is widely regarded as one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, even claiming the top spot on Rolling Stone’s list. With a collection of critically praised comedy albums, acting roles, and writing credits, he is one of the rare comedians whose comedic genius alone earns him the respect of being taken seriously.
Given his stature, the 1978 crime drama Blue Collar, which pairs Pryor with Harvey Keitel, showcases the comedian venturing into a different direction, despite already being at the peak of his career. The film delves into the decline of workers' unions in late-1970s America, following two financially struggling auto workers who decide to rob the union’s safe. Although their loot is minimal, they uncover a ledger revealing the union’s illegal loan activities and connections to organized crime.
After an unsuccessful attempt to blackmail the union, one of the workers is killed, forcing Pryor’s character, Zeke Brown, into working for the corrupt union leaders, who promise financial rewards and career advancements.
Both Pryor and the film were met with critical acclaim, notably from famous critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. It also boasts a rare perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
8. One Hour Photo (2002)
Although Good Will Hunting is widely regarded as the most critically celebrated film in which Robin Williams takes on a serious role, he truly shines in the lead role of One Hour Photo. It’s also worth noting that his performance helped elevate Insomnia, a film with an otherwise overhyped Al Pacino, from being unwatchable.
Released in 2002, the film eerily predicts the world we live in today, where social media and a lack of privacy dominate our lives. The spine-chilling trailer builds suspense, warning viewers: 'He knows your name... He knows your life... He knows where you live.'
Williams’ voice cuts through the tension: 'The word ‘snapshot’ was originally a hunting term.'
Sy’s idealized image of the family collapses when he discovers the husband’s affair. In a fit of rage, he exposes the affair by blending photographs of the illicit encounter with the family pictures. Later, he tracks down the couple to a hotel room, where he forces them into humiliating poses at knifepoint for his camera.
7. Lost in Translation (2003)
A reenactment of a casting session for the lowest-budget film on this list, by far.
'We’ve got four million dollars to shoot on location in Tokyo. Who should we hire to spend 90 minutes of sexual tension in a hotel room with a young, relatively unknown actress?'
'What about Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters?'
'Perfect. Make the call.'
Lost in Translation is arguably the finest film on this list, and unquestionably its most financially successful. Shot in just 27 days, the film earned nearly 30 times its modest budget and propelled Scarlett Johansson to fame.
Lost in Translation is like a dramatic, cinematic version of Seinfeld—essentially a film about nothing, driven purely by its characters. Bill Murray portrays an American actor filming a commercial in Japan, while Scarlett Johansson plays a newlywed tagging along with her celebrity photographer husband on a business trip. Sequestered in the same luxury hotel, they bond over their shared isolation, sleeplessness, boredom, and the disorienting culture shock of a country where English speakers are scarce.
The film’s most compelling feature is the intergenerational sexual tension. Murray’s character is unhappily married, while Johansson’s is questioning her recent vows. He seems to harbor regret, while she is filled with the fear of turning out the same way.
The audience is left to question whether their mutual attraction stems from their unstable choices in partners, the disarray of their current circumstances, or perhaps both. The film garnered four Academy Award nominations, including one for Murray as Best Actor.
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey has always been one to take risks. In 1994, he left the hugely successful TV show In Living Color to star in a project that was initially ridiculed; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective went on to gross over $100 million. More recently, he’s taken on a role in the experimental Showtime series Kidding, playing a deeply repressed children’s television icon.
Jim Carrey has successfully transitioned from comedic roles to more dramatic ones, proving his range as an actor. His breakthrough in 1998’s 'The Truman Show' saw him as a man trapped in a 24/7 reality show, unaware of the situation. The following year, he took on the role of the provocative comedian Andy Kaufman in 'Man on the Moon,' with both films blending humor and drama to ease him into the more serious side of acting.
In 2004, Carrey further expanded his dramatic range in the sci-fi drama 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' He portrayed Joel Barish, a melancholy introvert who, alongside his quirky ex-girlfriend Clementine (played by Kate Winslet), undergoes an innovative procedure to erase their memories of each other.
The movie’s most striking scenes feature Carrey in a coma during the memory-erasing process, trying to hold onto memories of Winslet’s character as a machine methodically wipes them away. The film leaves viewers with the haunting question: 'How many scars is love truly worth?' – a question it leaves tantalizingly unanswered, achieving a delicate balance by offering no clear resolution yet leaving the audience fulfilled.
The film’s brilliance is reflected in its remarkable 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, a testament to its deep emotional resonance and innovative storytelling.
5. 'Everything Must Go' (2010)
The 2010 film based on the short story 'Why Don’t You Dance?' is perhaps one of the most striking films on this list, especially considering Will Ferrell’s usual association with comedy. As a portrayal of a struggling alcoholic, it stands as a rare dramatic turn in Ferrell’s career, though it wasn’t so much a shift toward serious roles as a singular exception.
For such an outlier, the film is surprisingly effective. 'Everything Must Go' marks a bold gamble in Ferrell’s career, particularly due to its 'Cast Away'-like premise, with Ferrell left alone on screen for long, contemplative moments. Known for his slapstick antics – from drunken streaking to crash-car antics – the thought of watching Ferrell drink beer on a messy lawn for 90 minutes after being fired and thrown out by his wife feels like a potential disaster.
Yet, the gamble paid off. Depressed, intoxicated, and middle-aged, Ferrell delivers a rare performance that strikes a unique note in his career—somber, disillusioned, and confused, in a setting where no comedic payoff is expected. The critical reception was favorable (73%), though audience reactions were less enthusiastic (53%), highlighting how the public struggled to adjust to the film’s tone, given Ferrell’s typical comedic persona.
4. Moneyball (2011)
'What the hell is WARP?' Keith Olbermann exclaimed with mock disbelief in the 10th inning of Ken Burns’ 2010 follow-up to his celebrated baseball documentary series, 'Baseball.'
The term stands for Wins Against Replacement Players, a statistical metric that emerged in the analytics-driven era of baseball. With the rise of big data, which now tracks and evaluates previously inaccessible player performance metrics, the influence of such analytics has expanded to all major team sports, including soccer. In 2011, one of the key figures responsible for revolutionizing sports through data analysis is convincingly portrayed by…
… Jonah Hill?
Jonah Hill, known for his comedic timing and distinctive body type, has often played supporting roles in films like 'Knocked Up,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' and, of course, his iconic performance in 'Superbad.' However, in his role alongside Brad Pitt, who plays innovative Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, Hill’s deadpan delivery and understated arrogance help transform the world of baseball metrics into something fascinating.
'Moneyball' is, at its core, a story about the underdog – a true account of how a small-market team managed to build winning rosters on a minimal budget. The film focuses on the 2002 season, when the A’s made a remarkable 20-game winning streak and reached the playoffs, despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the league.
While Brad Pitt may be somewhat miscast as the underdog, given his youthful looks and polished image, Jonah Hill shines in his role. With the appearance of someone who spends his days hunched over spreadsheets, eating microwaveable burritos at his desk, Hill’s portrayal helps Pitt work his magic, orchestrating trades based on data that only he has uncovered.
The player analysis and acquisition strategies championed by Jonah Hill’s character, Peter Brand, in 'Moneyball' have become the standard in today’s professional sports world. The film highlights the birth of the modern data-driven approach to sports decision-making.
3. Uncut Gems (2019)
Adam Sandler could easily have two entries on this list, with his 2002 romantic film 'Punch-Drunk Love'—for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor—being the other.
However, 'Uncut Gems' (2019) is the more fitting pick for two key reasons. Firstly, 'Punch-Drunk Love' is often categorized as a romantic comedy, so its classification is up for debate. Secondly, Sandler’s transition to drama after a string of terrible comedies between 2002 and 2019 makes his serious turn in 'Uncut Gems' all the more remarkable. It’s one thing to shift from comedic roles after successes like 'Happy Gilmore' and 'The Wedding Singer'; it’s a whole different story after films like '50 First Dates' and 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.'
In 'Uncut Gems,' Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a New York jeweler and compulsive gambler who finds himself caught in a high-stakes situation. Tasked with retrieving a precious gem he originally bought to settle his debts, the movie thrives on its frenetic, twisting plot, which unravels as Ratner tries to salvage his crumbling marriage and evade vengeful bookies determined to either reclaim their money or inflict harm on him, or both.
The movie features a comical subplot with former basketball legend Kevin Garnett playing himself. He views the rare black opal diamond at the center of the film’s title as a good luck charm, insisting on keeping it with him during a critical playoff run. In return, he offers his NBA championship ring as collateral. Ratner, eager to capitalize on the opportunity, quickly pawns the ring and gambles away the money, setting off a chain of lies and treachery.
2. The Big Short (2015)
In a sharp contrast to his usual roles as the likeable fool (such as in 'Anchorman,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' and 'The Office'), Steve Carell takes on the role of Steve Baum, a brash yet brilliant hedge fund manager in 'The Big Short.' The film explores the financial recklessness that directly contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession.
'The Big Short' tackles a complicated subject matter—the murky and often inscrutable world of a largely unregulated Wall Street. This environment allowed financial products to be repackaged in such a way that they became intentionally opaque to both the public and regulators. To make things more accessible, the film includes quirky explanatory segments featuring non-financial celebrities like Anthony Bourdain and Selena Gomez.
One of the standout moments in the film occurs when Carell and a colleague set off on a mission to uncover the origins and extent of one of the key factors that sparked the looming financial crisis: subprime mortgages. These loans enticed unqualified would-be homeowners with deceptively low (or even zero) initial interest rates, only to skyrocket later, drowning the borrowers in debt they couldn’t manage.
When Carell realizes that local banks across the nation are offloading risky loans by bundling and selling them to global investment firms such as the now-defunct Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, his stunned, wide-eyed reaction showcases an acting range that many hadn’t previously seen from him. ‘Do people have any idea what they’re buying?’ he exclaims with frustration, as two local mortgage brokers smugly explain how clueless—and often unemployed—their approved homebuyers are.
The film, which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, derives its title from the actions of Carell and his team, who ‘short’ the toxic financial products, profiting significantly by anticipating the coming crash long before it unfolds.
1. Django Unchained (2012)
Jamie Foxx, another star from 'In Living Color,' could easily have multiple films featured on this list. A close contender for his spot here is 'Ray,' the 2004 biographical film about the life of Ray Charles. A standout biopic before a wave of less impressive ones began to tarnish the genre, 'Ray' earned a nomination for Best Picture, and Foxx himself took home the Best Actor award.
Though Foxx’s portrayal of Ray Charles may have been more impressive (and a bigger departure from his previous roles, such as the good-for-nothing Bunz in the 1997 film 'Booty Call'), 'Django Unchained'—for which Quentin Tarantino earned a Best Screenplay nomination—deserves my vote as the superior film overall.
Often criticized for his portrayal of excessive violence, Quentin Tarantino’s 'Django Unchained' places its brutal shootouts and bloodbaths in an incredibly fitting context: a mid-19th century American slave plantation. Teaming up with a German bounty hunter—an expertly crafted foreign character who sees slavery as the abhorrent sin it truly is—Django embarks on a mission to rescue his wife, a house slave who has endured the horrors of abuse by both her masters and their overseers.
Django’s solution: Kill them. All of them. A revenge fantasy with clear purpose, 'Django Unchained' channels Tarantino’s signature violence in a way that serves the story rather than merely indulging in bloodshed. As a result, the inevitable mountain of lifeless bodies and blood-soaked scenes feels more triumphant than gratuitous.
