It ’s a sundry bag when comedic histrion and dramatic thespian try their helping hand at each other ’s swop . striking actors who appear in comedy commonly determine thatbeing funny is harder than it seems , while comedic thespian have a difficult time getting audiences to take them seriously . Both kinds of acting require an exclusively different skillset , but a smattering of truly gifted performing artist have mastered them both .

Sometimes , a comedic worker yield a dramatic performance will miscarry miserably and learn to stay in their lane . Other times , they ’ll storm audience everywhere with a brawny turn . Here are the best and worst dramatic performance by comedic actor .

Best: Adam Sandler As Barry Egan In Punch-Drunk Love

Althoughhis drollery have been very slay - and - miss , Adam Sandler isa surprisingly ordered spectacular actor . He delivered wonderful turns in Noah Baumbach ’s soulful kin dramaThe Meyerowitz Storiesandthe Safdie brother ’ two - hour anxiousness attackUncut Gems , but his hunky-dory dramatic turn of events is still in Paul Thomas Anderson’sPunch - Drunk Love .

Barry Egan is not a traditional romantic lead   ⁠ — quite the opposite , in reality , as he suffers from serious emotional issues   ⁠ — but Sandler plays him as quintessentially human .

Worst: Seth Rogen As Steve Wozniak In Steve Jobs

Seth Rogen has give audiencesplenty of hilarious drollery , but his first foray into dramatic playing , recreate Steve Wozniak in Danny Boyle’sSteve Jobs , was n’t a huge success . While fellow comics like Robin Williams and Adam Sandler successfully shed their comedic part to embody their dramatic case , it was hard to see Wozniak and not just see Rogen .

It does n’t help oneself that he was surrounded by nuanced turning by such gifted dramatic actors as Michael Fassbender , Kate Winslet , and Michael Stuhlbarg , who all vanish into their roles .

Best: Melissa McCarthy As Lee Israel In Can You Ever Forgive Me?

After being nominated for the Academy Award for Best hold Actress forher lead - fashioning , prospect - slip turn inBridesmaids , Melissa McCarthy receive a more - than - deserved Best Actress nod forCan You Ever Forgive Me ? , a biopic based on the sprightliness of Lee Israel , who forged letters by idle writer to make a quick Pearl Buck .

McCarthy trance Israel ’s moral complexity utterly , bring a sympathetic angle to an almost unsympathetic character .

Worst: Owen Wilson As Jack Dwyer In No Escape

Although Owen Wilson has delivered interesting dramatic acting inBehind Enemy Lines , Wonder , andMarley & Me(not to mentiona turn of Wes Anderson rolesthat skirt the line between clowning and tragedy , like his character inThe Darjeeling Limited ) , his endeavour at an action - orient carrying out was a rent - down .

It did n’t help that the hand forNo Escapewas a generic slog full of one - dimensional characters   — including the one Wilson act   — but the doer did n’t do his thin drawn role any favor .

Best: Bill Murray As Bob Harris In Lost In Translation

Serdica Coppola relentlessly pursue Bill Murray for a twelvemonth , as she ’d written the role of faded movie star topology Bob Harris inLost in Translationspecifically for him and did n’t consider anyone else could pull it off quite as well .

When Murray go for the offer , he did n’t let down . This performance localise the leg for his latter - twenty-four hour period vocation , explore the melancholy side of his biting comedic part as age characters in bittersweet movies by auteur like Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch .

Worst: Amy Schumer As Amanda Doster In Thank You For Your Service

Jason Hall ’s directorial debutThank You for Your Servicetackles a very important issue   — soldiers who endure from post - traumatic tenseness after returning from war   — and for the most part , it research its discipline in a powerful , deeply appealing manner .

A lot of the cast members give hunky-dory performances , including Miles Teller and Haley Bennett , but one actor who adhere out is comedian Amy Schumer , giving her first ( and hopefully last ) jambon - fisted dramatic functioning .

Best: Jamie Foxx As Ray Charles In Ray

The deepness of Jamie Foxx ’s talent is unfathomable . He ’s a big musician , a gravid comedian , and a slap-up actor , which he ’s proved with many performances , but none more than his Oscar - winning portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopicRay .

Foxx played three decades of Charles ’ lifetime and peg every single scene . Unlike most actors who portray musicians , Foxx comes nigh to capturing the singular good luck charm and vigor of the real Ray Charles .

Worst: Dane Cook As Ryan In Answers To Nothing

A movie with comparatively no plot likeAnswers to Nothing , which revolves around a group of characters aimlessly wandering around in search of answers to aliveness ’s question , postulate seriously nuanced actors to fetch its character to life and keep its audience engaged .

Anyone who has had the bad luck of watching Dane Cook ’s stand - up could suspect that he does not have that involve nuance . And anyone who has had the tough luck of watchingAnswers to Nothingwould have those suspicions confirmed .

Best: Robin Williams As Sean Maguire In Good Will Hunting

“ It ’s not your fault … ” The late , neat Robin Williams more than earned his Oscar for playing Sean Maguire inGood Will Hunting . The theatrical role was only written so that a Hollywood A - Baron Lister could be attached to a picture star then - unknowns Matt Damon and Ben Affleck , butWilliams competently stole the show .

Williams is one of the greatest improvisers in the account of comedy , and he masterfully transfer those science to drama inGood Will Hunting , advertizement - libbing some of the film ’s most powerful dialogue .

Worst: Mike Myers As Steve Rubell In 54

Years before he would pay homage to the long - gone years of disco music with the thirdAustin Powersmovie ’s Goldmember character , Mike Myers give his first ( and , for almost a decade , only ) striking performance in the role of Steve Rubell in54 , a highly fictionalized dramatization of the Studio 54 nightspot ’s flower .

Myers ’ carrying out was one of the few confirming short letter in some critic ’ reviews , but that ’s only because the rest of the motion-picture show   — particularly its disjoint use of esthetic license   — is just that bad .

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Kaitlyn Santa Juana in Final Destination Bloodlines Interview header

Dramatic performances by comedic actors

Adam Sandler in a store in Punch-Drunk Love

Seth Rogen’s Steve Wozniak looking serious in Steve Jobs

Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel Handling Documents with Gloves On in Can You Ever Forgive Me

No Escape film review header

Bill Murray as Bob Harris sitting in a car in Lost in Translation

Amy Schumer in Thank You For Your Service

Jamie Foxx in Ray

Dane Cook in Answers to Nothing

Robin Williams smiling at the end of Good Will Hunting.

Mike Myers in 54

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