The Role Less Traveled: Collecting Movie Classics’ Most Surprising Performances

I never saw Fred MacMurray the same after watching The Apartment (which I saw before Double Indemnity). we shouldn't be too surprised, Fred is quite a good actor. Very, very good as well in Sirk's There's Always Tomorrow (1956).

I never saw Andy Griffith the same after watching A Face in the Crowd which is one of his best performances of all-time. He is so anti-Andy Taylor. If this film was more popular there probably would not have been an Andy Griffith Show. I'm really surprised you missed this here.

Would like to make a correction for "Movie Irv". When describing the movie The Year of Living Dangerously, Irv said that Linda Hunt was portraying the photographer taking shots of the troubles in the Philippines during the rule of Sukarno. It wasn't the Philippines, it was Indonesia. Just wanted to correct the mistake. I always enjoy the "Movie Irv" segments.

So George,

You always have good insight. Which actor and film do YOU think defied expectations? I'd really like to know.

In a future post you could do it on directors most surprising films like Charlie Chaplin's 1923 A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate or John Carpenter's Starman.

It is interesting how time changes you opinion on acdtors. When Tom Hanks did the back-to-back Philadelphia and Forrest Gump it certainly surprised a lot of people with their expectations of his acting ability. Nowdays with a string of good-to-great movies you don't think about it, but in the mid-90s it was quite a surprise.

I knew Jim Carrey could act, but his excellent performance on his idol Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon was quite surprising.

Of course when comedy actors get serious it can lead to surprising performances (not always good) like with Steve Martin in Grand Canyon and Bill Murray in The Razor's Edge (a string of great performances later from Murray and people don't think of this as much).

I think the more you watch the less you get surprised. However, of recent films watched I thought Walter Huston's performance as Mr. Scratch in The Devil and Daniel Webster was surprise worthy. Quite a unique take on the often-used evil character.

Charlize Theron's Oscar winning performance in Monster has to qualify. I'm still not entirely convinced that was really her on screen!

I'm with Brian, re: Gene Hackman's Hermit. In under 5 minutes he created the most memorable screen character (comedy) I have ever seen.

Tom Hanks and Dustin Hoffman are the best to become the person they are playing. They are a tie in my book.

I remember being wonderfully suprised when Robin Williams gave some great dramatic scenes in Good Morning Vietnam. Up until then he was Mork in other roles. Then he got his Oscar in a full drama in Good Will Hunting. A mention to another comedian , Dan Akroyd , who started his dramatic career as the son in Driving Miss Daisy.

I think one of the best "stoic/controlled" film performances might be Dirk Bogarde in "Death In Venice."

How about Tony Curtis as The Boston Strangler

I love it when sexpots go legit, and, for me, no one did it with as much surprising verve as Ann-Margret in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - and she did it without resorting to the gimmicky plain-Jane (Halle Berry) or creature-feature (Charlize Theron) makeovers.

Gene Hackman really pulled it off hilariously in that short Hermit scene in "Young Frankenstein".
Or is that "Frankensteen"?

I haven't seen Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou mentioned. An Oscar winner.

how about the unseen Jerry Lewis movie The Day the Clown Cried. will it ever be released?

What about Diane Keaton in that horrifically frightening, Looking for Mr. Goodbar? Up to then she played goofy Woody Allen girls. And, Lee Marvin was so funny in Cat Ballou that I never disliked his dark characters again after seeing that little film in the theater as a teenager. Who knew he could do comedy? His foray into comedy and singing came in Paint Your Wagon (with another unlikey Clint Eastwood). Both performances stand out amongst his Liberty Valance characters of before. It's exactly the same with my favorite Brooks film, Young Frankenstein. Gene Hackman, who has always been one of my favorite dramatic actors (I love his laugh), creating the most memorable character in any film in just a few minutes.

Two others that played scary bad guys after doing largely comedic roles were Randy Quaid and Peter Sellars. I can't recall the names of the movies, but many of you out there probably can. And one that probably flew under most people's radar was Joe Montegna's performance in Searching for Bobby Fisher. Up until then he played Mamet-like Wiseguys. He came off tender and caring, the kind of dad anyone would want. As was Edward G's performance as the dad in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes. That movie brings tears to my eyes when the great Edward G of Little Ceasar fame is afraid for his little girl lost in the boat.

And, yes, Lee Marvin won a completely deserved Oscar for Cat Ballou. A surprise for everyone, if I remember correctly, because weren't a whole slew of heavyweight performers in competition with him that year?

And, oh pulleez. Who started the rumor that Tom Hanks and Dustin Hoffman are in the category of the Greatest Living Actors? They must have been smoking something. Although Tootsie was funny, a falsetto voice is not great acting. And Forest Gump was a stupid movie (as was Castaway). There have been many actors who played retarded characters and with better results. Leo in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? comes to mind.

Everyone forgot Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector. Yes, Alan Arkin's viperous performance in Wait Until Dark is most memorable. But, I'd have to say, Gene is the remaining king and still champion. If someone else can pull off the most quotable line of all time in the smallest of roles, then they can have the crown. Until then Gene is the best.

In the last couple of decades, Tom Cruise's courageous stint in "Magnolia."

In my opinion no list of this kind is complete without mention Lou Costello's role in "Little Giant," which was something of a departure from the typical Abbott & Costello films in that the duo weren't a team as in most of their pictures and Costello was given some opportunity to imbibe his character with a little more pathos and humanity than in most of his pictures. Granted there was still plenty of the patented A&C schtick (which I for one never tire of), but it also had something a little more. I remember reading somewhere once that Charlie Chaplin actually praised Costello for his work in this particular film, which Costello said was one of the greatest compliments he ever received.

Art Carney for "Harry and Tonto" is an excellent choice, plus I would also include "The Late Show."

After playing calm sweet characters t's not surprising that many men forget Glenn Close as a shocker performer in Fatal Attraction. Who wants to think about her convincing turn as the play date from hell when one might encounter such a playmate for the lowly sin of testing his luck behind the wife's back. She was so skillfully adept at scaring husbands into fidelity, she may have singlehandedly brought down the divorce rate. An incredible performance by a formerly angelic actress.

do you have the movie The Haunting - it was made in 1991. In this movie, it has a mom that is a stay at home mom & living next to them is his mom & dad. In this movie the man is raped by ghost

Thanks, Irv. This is great stuff! I also would like to cast a vote for Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd." You never see Sheriff Andy of Mayberry or Matlock in the same way after seeing this film.
Another surprise would be Robin Williams in such films as "The Bird Cage" (or "Mrs. Doubtfire" for that matter) viewed in contrast with his role as a psychotic killer in "Insomnia." Robin Williams is a very brilliant and very underrated actor in my opinion.
How about Al Pacino in "Scarface" in contrast to his more recent effort as Shylock in the "Merchant of Venice" which was brilliant and played against a stellar cast including Jeremy Irons and Joseph Finnes.
AND contrast that performace by Irons in MOV with that of the crazed terroist in the second (I believe) of the Die Hard movies. I actually wondered if Irons was hard up for cash when he accepted that latter role, but he did execute the role of the "psycho baddie" with his usual brillance.
My last vote for surprise performances would go to Jack Nicholson as the "psycho crazy" (I apologize for the redundance, but the repetition is for emphasis!) dad in "The Shining" in contrast to an extremely sensitive portrayal of a grieving father in Sean Penn's film "The Crossing Guard." You never hear much about this film, but I think it took Penn's direction to enable Nicholson's performance and to bring out a side of his character not seen in his other films. That scene with his ex-wife in the movie(Anjelica Huston)is extraordinary & moving given that they had just terminated their own long-term relationship when that scene was filmed. She has grieved the death of their daughter, their marriage, and has gotten on with her life. She has remarried, and has two boys in her new marriage while Nicholson is full of anger and thinks only of revenge against the man who accidently hit their daughter with his car. I have always thought Nicholson had real talent and he was certainly great in movies like "Chinatown," "Terms of Endearment," and "As Good as it Gets;" but it was refreshing to see him as a sensitive, grief-stricken parent rather than his many "macho jerk" or anti-social curmudgeon roles. Kudos to Sean Penn, and if you have not seen the "The Crossing Guard;" it is truly a gem worth seeing.