19 Times Comedy Actors Gave Shockingly Good Performances In Serious Roles

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community which comedy actors truly surprised them with their performances in dramatic or serious roles.

Here are 19 of their top responses:

1."Katey Sagal as Gemma on Sons of Anarchy. We were all used to her as Lela [on Futurama] and Peg Bundy [on Married... with Children], but during the first episode, you could see her talent."

Here's a clip:

2."Mo'Nique in Precious [the role that won her an Oscar]. The final scene where she breaks down blew me away."

Here's a clip of her performance:

3."Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl. The movie is quite old (2002), but it was the first movie I saw her in after she starred in Friends. I didn't know she was such a good dramatic actor."

Watch a clip below:

4."Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction. Really surprised me how subdued he is in it — and yet sincere."

Here's a clip:

5."Kevin Hart surprised me in Fatherhood. I cried, which says nothing, but my husband cried, and that says everything."

Watch the trailer below:

6."Hands down, Kevin Hart in The Upside. That movie was great. Broke my heart. Made me laugh."

Watch a clip of his performance below:

7."So many have probably watched Uncut Gems, but watch Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me. Very gripping and emotional."

Here's a clip:

8."John Kraskinski made me laugh in The Office but played a very different role in Jack Ryan. He did an excellent job!"

Here's a clip:

9."I'm going to argue forever for Owen Wilson in The Darjeeling Limited, and to be fair, most of his Wes Anderson roles, but that one in particular sticks with me."

Watch a clip below:

10."Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was the very first time I could appreciate him as a serious actor."

Watch a clip below:

11."Awkwafina in The Farewell. I can't stand her in comedies, but in this movie, she was really good."

Watch a compilation of some of her best scenes below:

12."Jason Bateman was amazing in Ozark. I went in not knowing what it was about, but I thought Bateman is funny in everything."

Here's a clip:

13."Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls. The man gave an outstanding performance, for which he nabbed an Oscar nomination."

Watch a clip of his performance below:

14."Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? I didn't know she had such range!"

Watch a clip below:

15."Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream. That movie always makes it on lists of great movies that you can only watch once (true), but I was shocked by how good of a dramatic actor he was when I watched it."

Here's a clip:

16."Steve Carell in Foxcatcher, for which he nabbed an Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actor."

Here's a clip:

17."Michael Keaton in a number of different 'serious' roles was initially a shock until I realized he had great acting chops. Clean and Sober was the first time I remember seeing him in a non-comedy."

Here's the trailer:

18."Peter Sellers is best known for his work in The Pink Panther series as a more outlandish character but was absolutely wonderful in Being There."

Here's the trailer:

19.And finally: "Robin Williams — Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, The Fisher King, One Hour Photo, and Insomnia."

Here's a clip from Good Will Hunting, which won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor:

Which comedic actor suprised you the most with their performance in a dramatic role? Why? Let us know in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.