Who knew they had it in them? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at established actors who delivered performances we never expected to see from them - going into the theater at least.
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00:00There's no going back. You've changed things. Forever.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at established actors who delivered performances we never expected to see from them, going into the theater at least.
00:12But I know what I'm doing. And you're never gonna understand it, alright? So you gotta trust me.
00:19Number 10. K-Hui Kwan. Everything Everywhere, All at Once.
00:23After starring in 80s staples like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, this former child star stepped away from the limelight.
00:30Pictures of hell! You guys! I've been stained by those pictures of hell!
00:34He remained active in the industry as a stunt choreographer and assistant director.
00:38With Asian actors gaining more recognition in Hollywood, Kwan thought he'd revisit acting. Not even he could have predicted what came next.
00:45The filmmaker duo, The Daniels, just so happened to be thinking of Kwan as casting was underway for Everything Everywhere, All at Once.
00:52Sorry, it was too crowded here, so I moved some upstairs. I think the clones are happier there.
01:00Kwan was not only the appropriate age to play Wayman Wang, but his background in stunts and comedic timing made him ideal for the role.
01:07Kwan didn't just come back. He returned in the biggest way possible, winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
01:23Number 9. Tom Hanks, Philadelphia
01:27Tom Hanks is a master of comedy and drama. In the early 90s, though, he was almost exclusively known as a funny man.
01:34His previous attempts at drama like Every Time We Say Goodbye hadn't been especially successful.
01:38Well, this is the place.
01:42Are you sure it's alright?
01:44Well, you're the one who said you couldn't go home looking like this.
01:47Hanks brought more weight than expected to his performance in Big, but he was still playing a child in an adult's body.
01:52Portraying an AIDS patient in Philadelphia seemed like a 180. Hanks was fully capable of doing a 180, however.
01:58With all due respect, this is preposterous. It doesn't make any sense.
02:03Audiences just didn't realize it until experiencing his empathetic, Oscar-winning performance as Andrew Beckett,
02:09who realizes he likely won't overcome his health crisis. That won't stop him from fighting injustice.
02:15In addition to showcasing Hanks' range, the role spotlighted an unseen community shunned during their darkest hour.
02:20Every now and again, not often, but occasionally, you get to be a part of justice being done.
02:32Number 8. Kristen Stewart, Spencer
02:35By 2021, those following Kristen Stewart's career closely knew there was much more to her than Twilight.
02:41I know what you are.
02:45Say it.
02:50Out loud.
02:51Regardless, moviegoers who never ventured beyond the mainstream still saw her as Bella Swan.
02:56Stewart finally garnered the respect she deserved for her Oscar-nominated turn as Diana Spencer.
03:02Her transformation into the Princess of Wales might have been jarring,
03:05but what caught many off guard was the film's approach to this historic figure.
03:10My husband doesn't know it, but I saw a photo and she was wearing exactly the same pearls.
03:19He bought exactly the same for her, but he doesn't even realize.
03:24Instead of a conventional biopic, Spencer played more like a psychological thriller
03:28as the pressures of being in the royal family bear down on Diana like a collapsing ceiling.
03:32Stewart delved deep into Diana, making us feel all of her anguish
03:37in an external and internal battle to reclaim control of her life.
03:40They're circling.
03:42It seems they're circling just me.
03:45Not you.
03:47Just me.
03:49Number 7. Adam Sandler, Punch Drunk Love
03:52As Barry Egan, Adam Sandler surprised his harshest critics and adoring fans alike.
03:57I'm sorry about that.
04:00Sorry about what I did.
04:02It's alright.
04:03Even Sandler seemed to surprise himself, unsure why the director of Magnolia wanted to work with him.
04:07Paul Thomas Anderson saw something nobody else did.
04:11The role wasn't a huge stretch for Sandler.
04:13Like Happy Gilmore or Robbie Hart, Barry is a nice guy on the surface.
04:17Underneath, he's a ticking time bomb who could go off at any minute.
04:21This is bullcrap to me.
04:23No. No. No. No.
04:27Dig beyond the rage, though, and you'll find that nice guy again.
04:32Barry fit the Sandler archetype.
04:33The role allowed him to explore new levels of intensity, insecurity, and sincerity,
04:38revealing layers few realized were there.
04:40It reshaped how everyone saw Sandler, leaving us to wonder what else he could do.
04:44I didn't do anything.
04:47I'm a nice man.
04:49I mind my own business.
04:51Number 6. Demi Moore, The Substance
04:54After being one of the most bankable stars throughout the 90s,
04:57Demi Moore saw fewer high-profile roles over the next two decades.
05:02Part of that's because she wanted to focus on motherhood,
05:04but audiences also got the sense Hollywood revoked her A-list status.
05:07Happy birthday! Thank you.
05:12Happy birthday.
05:13Oh, thank you.
05:14Happy birthday.
05:16To that degree, Moore shared a few parallels with Elizabeth Sparkle.
05:20The Substance is unlike anything we've seen from Moore, however.
05:23Um, there's been a slight misuse of The Substance.
05:28A few extra hours were accidentally used,
05:34causing, um, an alteration.
05:38In one of the most physically arresting performances ever committed to film,
05:41Moore is the embodiment of insecurity that numerous women over 40 face,
05:46especially when at the mercy of sexist pigs like Dennis Quaid's Harvey.
05:50For a film overflowing with body horror,
05:52Moore's most effective scene is simply looking in the mirror,
05:56never satisfied no matter how glamorous she looks.
05:58I don't know what you're talking about.
06:02I'm fine.
06:04Everything's fine.
06:10Between playing Honest Abe himself
06:12and a juror determined to reach a fair verdict,
06:14Henry Fonda seemed like the last actor who put on a black hat.
06:17How does it feel sitting behind that desk, Frank?
06:21It's almost like holding a gun.
06:25When Paramount offered Sergio Leone a large budget,
06:27with Fonda attached,
06:29the director leaped at the chance to work with his favorite actor.
06:31Fonda wasn't keen on the project
06:33until Leone made a compelling pitch for him
06:35to play the villainous Frank.
06:37This time I'll take care of her personally.
06:39Yeah, that ought to be easy for you.
06:47Keep him warm for a while.
06:49Keep him warm for me.
06:51If he gives any trouble, hit him.
06:53Leaning into clichés, Fonda showed up with dark contacts
06:55and a fake mustache.
06:57Leone wanted Fonda to appear in his natural state though,
06:59with a clean shave and bright blue eyes.
07:01This made for one of cinema's most unsettling villain reveals
07:05as Frank's smile turns to a deadly frown,
07:07establishing this isn't the Fonda we know.
07:11What are we gonna do with this one, Frank?
07:14Number 4. James Stewart. Vertigo.
07:16Like Henry Fonda, James Stewart was Hollywood's answer to the everyman.
07:20Stewart had taken on roles that showed his darker side
07:22and had already worked with Alfred Hitchcock on multiple occasions.
07:26It wasn't your fault.
07:28I know, that's what everybody tells me.
07:30He rarely strayed from his heroic image, however.
07:32Although he didn't play a villain in Vertigo,
07:34Scottie Ferguson was somewhat uncharted territory for the actor.
07:36Falling into a morally grey area,
07:38Scottie becomes lost in obsession
07:40after losing the woman he loves
07:43and seemingly finding her doppelganger.
07:45Just let me talk to you.
07:47What about?
07:49You.
07:51Why?
07:53Because you remind me of somebody.
07:55I heard that one before, too.
07:57Scottie's actions grow borderline disturbing
07:59as he attempts to recreate the past
08:01while coming to terms with what's right in front of him.
08:03An anti-hero at best,
08:05the role saw Stewart unearth new depths
08:07while also pushing him to greater heights.
08:09This is my second chance!
08:12Number 3.
08:14Charlize Theron.
08:16Monster.
08:18When Charlize Theron showed Seth Green and Jason Statham
08:20an image of Eileen Lee Wuornos,
08:22they weren't sure how she could play the serial killer.
08:24Makeup can do wonders,
08:26but Theron still seemed like an unusual candidate
08:28to play such an infamous human being.
08:30You drive a hard bargain.
08:32Hang on, girl.
08:34I don't want you to rip me off.
08:36Oh, come on, man.
08:38While Theron brought out Wuornos' raw evil,
08:40she pulled off another feat few could have anticipated.
08:42She almost made Wuornos sympathetic.
08:44The key word is almost,
08:46as the film never celebrates or justifies Wuornos.
08:48And you should know
08:50that I've worked with people all my life.
08:52So I'm real good with people.
08:54Yet, director Patty Jenkins
08:56and Theron find her humanity
08:58getting to the root of Wuornos' heinous actions.
09:00Theron's Oscar-winning performance
09:02might have broken our hearts
09:04if there wasn't so much blood on Wuornos' hands.
09:06Even so, the film left us seeing
09:09Wuornos and Theron in a whole new light.
09:11What? What you got?
09:13Huh? Wanna bring it on?
09:15Number two, Heath Ledger,
09:17The Dark Knight.
09:19The Batman franchise has a history of unexpected performances
09:21going back to Michael Keaton.
09:23What are you?
09:25I'm Batman.
09:27Nothing was more transcendent
09:29than Heath Ledger's Joker.
09:31Ledger wasn't known for his comedic chops.
09:33While he had played tormented characters,
09:35a sinister villain didn't seem to be his forte.
09:38What was more mind-siding than Ledger's casting
09:40was his untimely death after filming.
09:42The biggest shocker of all
09:44was the tortive force Ledger left behind.
09:46A little fight in you.
09:48I like that.
09:50In what would be a posthumous Oscar-winning performance,
09:52Ledger went beyond reinventing himself.
09:54He reinvented the Joker
09:56and the idea of supervillains,
09:58revealing how twisted and believable
10:00they could be.
10:02At the same time, Ledger remained faithful
10:04to the Joker's sick humor and knack for chaos.
10:06You saw it coming.
10:08Ta-da!
10:10It's...
10:12gone.
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10:32Number 1.
10:35Marlon Brando's best years in the business
10:37seem to be in the rearview mirror.
10:53That's one reason Paramount didn't want him
10:55to play Don Vito Corleone.
10:57Star power aside,
10:59Brando didn't seem right for the part on paper.
11:01Hardly a frail old man,
11:04not being much older than the actors
11:06playing his adult children.
11:10Brando also lived up
11:12to his unpredictable nature,
11:14filling his cheeks with cotton balls
11:16for his audition tape.
11:18So much about this casting choice
11:20could have backfired,
11:22as would be the case for some
11:24of Brando's future performances.
11:26In this instance, though,
11:28Francis Ford Coppola's instincts
11:30were right on the money.
11:32What acting performance threw you for a loop?
11:34Let us know in the comments.
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