Acting range

Sitting here on a Sunday evening watching "Ruthless People." (Been a shit week ... needed a laugh.)

Bill Pullman plays an utter dolt, and it got me thinking what a range the man has as an actor. The "Ruthless" character is the polar opposite of his role as the president in "Independence Day."

What are some more examples of wide acting ranges?

Tom Hanks springs to mind, from "Big" to "Captain Phillips."
Charlize Theron: Rita in "Arrested Development" and "Monster."

 

Cruise in the 80s ending with Rain Man.

 

Kevin Kline. Regular guy in Big Chill and Silverado, raging loon in A Fish Called Wanda, and oh yeah he does Shakespeare on Broadway, too.

 

I always thought Brad Pitt showed a lot of range. He's played everything from a halfwit redneck serial killer to a smooth baseball executive, to an urban terrorist, to a pretty boy cop.
His early roles, especially, seemed like he was willing to take a lot of chances and do almost anything.

 

Spicoli- Dead Man Walking - Casualties of War - the Falcon and the Snowman - Taps - Carlito's Way.

 

Give an A for effort to Kevin Costner. His English accent in Robin Hood was god awful.

 

Kevin Bacon: started out tormenting Flounder as Chip Diller in Animal House; 30 years later he's Lt. Mike Strobl in the somber "Taking Chance."

 

James Franco.

 

Tom Hardy is up there for me. Guy disappears into every role.

Leo has a pretty broad range.

Amy Adams has a surprisingly broad range, with roles such as Mary in "The Muppets," Charlene in "The Fighter," Sydney in "American Hustle" and Louise in "Arrival."

Jeff Daniels is another good one. He can play the dumbest guy in the room or the smartest guy in the room equally well.

 

Michael McKean. From Lenny on Laverne and Shirley all the way to Chuck McGill.

 

Robert Downey Jr.

 

Bruce McGill, D-Day in Animal House, has gone on to quite a varied career as a "featured character actor" / borderline marquee star. He doesn't headline movies but he's always recognizable.