Many actors have a specific "brand" that they typically adhere to. It's no surprise, considering the fickle nature of Hollywood and the unpredictability of a film's success. If something proves a winning formula, and if people continuously show up to watch a specific actor's movies, then why would they change anything?
However, for many actors, being typecast in a certain "brand" doesn't make for bold creative choices, and actors are nothing if not creative. As a result, audiences have been treated to many brilliant, and rather surprising, against-type performances that proved the capabilities of specific actors.
Will Ferrell: Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Will Ferrell certainly has a specific brand of comedy - one that many people do not like. He typically portrays a villainous and belligerent man-child of some kind, exemplified in "loud" comedies like Step Brothers, Wedding Crashers, and Old School. However, he got the chance to flex his dramatic chops in the 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction, and the results were surprisingly noble.
Gone were all the childish tendencies of his past characters, replaced by maturity, morose passivity, and a downtrodden outlook on life. He even holds his own against Emma Thompson, which is something most critics never expected to see.
Robert De Niro: Meet The Parents (2000)
Throughout much of the '70s and '80s, Robert De Niro earned a reputation as a "tough guy" actor. Most of his roles were of a villainous, anti-heroic nature, and he constantly appeared in dark, violent films, being a frequent collaborator of director Martin Scorsese.
Unfortunately, he was aging in the '90s, and he was being taken less and less seriously as a tough guy. Therefore, De Niro pivoted to comedies like Meet the Parents. It is arguably his best comedic role, as he plays the "uptight, overly-protective father" trope to absolute hilarious perfection.
Jonah Hill: Moneyball (2011)
Jonah Hill burst onto the scene with 2007's Superbad, and it established him as one of the funniest leading men in Hollywood. He quickly ingratiated himself within Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow's powerful comedic circle, appearing in raunchy comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, and Knocked Up.
To hear that he was starring in a drama opposite Brad Pitt was bizarre, and it made some fans hesitant. But Hill proved his dramatic capabilities with Moneyball, and he received his first of two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
Seth Rogen: Steve Jobs (2015)
By 2015, Seth Rogen had long established his unique brand of comedy. He had been starring in films for about a decade, and he had made a name for himself as one of the best "stoner" actors in the business. Nearly every one of his characters was a stoner with a booming laugh and a propensity for making inappropriate jokes, and it was admittedly getting a little tiring.
For that reason, it was such a surprise when he was as fantastic as he was as Steve Wozniak in the woefully overlooked Steve Jobs, capturing a clear sense of growing frustration and animosity. He shared the screen with the legendary Michael Fassbender, and the performances were of an equal quality.
Steve Carell: Foxcatcher (2014)
In 2014, Steve Carell had a charming brand of comedy, and he had stuck to it for the most part. He could typically be seen playing good-natured and friendly characters, and while he veered out of his comfort zone for Little Miss Sunshine, it was his horrifying performance in Foxcatcher that earned a lot of attention.
Carell was nearly unrecognizable under the prosthetics, playing convicted criminal John du Pont. He managed to convey du Pont's increasingly unstable mental state and unpredictability before said unpredictability exploded in a horrific act of violence. For once, Steve Carell was actually scary, and it threw viewers for a welcomed loop.
Tom Cruise: Collateral (2004)
Tom Cruise is arguably the biggest movie star of the current generation. He has remained incredibly prolific from the '80s all the way through to the 2020s, typically portraying some type of friendly, take-no-nonsense action hero capable of incredible athletic feats. And for Collateral, he was mostly relegated to the back seat of a taxi.
A gray-haired, gray-suited Tom Cruise was spectacular as antagonist Vincent, offering thoughtful philosophical musings while coming across as genuinely threatening. It's amazing what Cruise can do with some simple facial expressions and vocal inflections.
Henry Fonda: Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Henry Fonda was one of the biggest movie stars of the '40s and '50s, typically playing noble and heroic characters. He was a charming actor who commanded the screen and portrayed role models that viewers could look to as an ideal. That all changed with the spaghetti Western masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West.
In this film, Fonda went against type and played a malicious villain named Frank, whose very first action on-screen is taking out a weapon and disposing of a young child. It horrified audiences who were used to the more charismatic and courageous Fonda.
Bill Murray: Lost In Translation (2003)
Bill Murray's legendary career spans decades, and he has easily ingratiated himself with the annals of the greatest living comedians. His movies were massive successes, and he typically played the same type of character - sarcastic and rather unlikable, yet containing an undercurrent of sweetness that typically rose to the top.
However, he displayed reserved maturity in Lost in Translation, playing a quiet and aimless man going through a midlife crisis in Tokyo. He was both sympathetic and lovable, and Murray earned his only Academy Award nomination for the role.
Adam Sandler: Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Adam Sandler is an acquired taste. Many people love his quirky brand of man-child comedy, but many others despise it. An "Adam Sandler comedy" is pretty easy to spot, as they are typically filled with nonsensical stories, lots of fart jokes, and Sandler playing some type of loud, annoying character doing goofy voices.
It's simply amazing to think that he has worked with a director like Paul Thomas Anderson. Sandler's performance in Punch-Drunk Love was the opposite of everything that Sandler stood for, and for once, viewers could take him seriously as a mature and complex adult.
Robin Williams: Good Will Hunting (1997)
Anyone with even a hint of pop culture knowledge is aware of Robin Williams's unique brand of comedy. Most of his characters are wild and out-of-control, and Williams was prone to both speaking at a mile-a-minute and bouncing around the screen like he just drank an entire pot of coffee. It was loud and intense, but it worked.
His performance in Good Will Hunting is the exact opposite - thoughtful, morose, quiet, and reserved. He imparts a lot of great knowledge throughout the film, and viewers buy him as a troubled man going through a difficult time in his life. The performance earned Williams his fourth Oscar nomination and only win.