What was the best performance by somebody not primarily known for their acting? #MovieDiscussion

Anytime a comedian takes on a dramatic role and nails it.

Off the top of my head….

Robin Williams: Dead Poets Society (and many more, I think that was his first) Bill Hader: Barry. Jim Carrey: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Don’t forget about Bryan Cranston either! He was that weird but hilarious dentist from Seinfeld and the dad in Malcolm in the Middle way before he ever was Walter White.
Man, Robin Williams can get to me like no one else. There were moments in Good Morning Vietnam, a couple years before Dead poets, but GMV was def more focused on his big comedic personality. Then his performance in The Fisher King...I don't generally get emotional about celebrities but that dude was different. There's been a few musicians that have been much better than expected. Dolly Paton in 9 to 5, Madonna on A League of their Own, Prince's acting in Purple rain. Ice Cube in Boyz in da hood.
- Awakenings was another one, right after Dead Poets Society.
You often hear comedians are the best actors because they learn to act through humour which is is probably the most abrupt emotions to react to
- I've heard it more that both comedy and drama is like a dance, but comedy has a faster tempo.
- I figure it's also because they're on stage so much and trying to convey so much to an audience so often. There's gotta be a lot of transferrable skills.
I really loved Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? She nailed that one
Also Jim Carrey in The Truman Show, and Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction!
All these dudes are known for their acting though first and foremost...
- They weren't though, they were straight up comedians. After all these years it's obvious they had more to them, but when they first stepped into serious roles it wasn't known and was a surprise to most what they could do outwith comedy.
- Yes and no. We often differentiate between "comics" and "actors" as people who belong to different disciplines of entertainment. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey got their starts in stand-up, and Bill Hader as an improv sketch comic. It's pretty commonplace for notable comics to transition into comedic acting on screen, but that's basically the type of production they get typecast into from that point on.
  
  So when much of the industry places all this emphasis on having backgrounds in stage, working up through the indie circuit, or having some sort of Hollywood pedigree, it's notable when a comedic actor manages to break free of the typecast and thrive.
- Exactly. I remember seeing Liar Liar and Jim Carrey's reaction when the kids were taken away by his client was top-tier drama. And just his line delivery and malleability were signs of great acting, regardless if it's offen "wasted" in comedy.

R. Lee Ermey / Full Metal Jacket?

For those not in the know, Ermey was only ever meant to be a consultant to teach Tim Colceri, the actor playing the drill instructor, how to do so realistically. It was only after Ermey did a 30 minute demonstration in which he berated and insulted the "troops" of the film while stagehands beaned him with tennis balls and oranges that Kubrick realized that casting Ermey would essentially just be removing the middleman.
You best unfuck yourself or I will unscrew your head and shit down your neck!

-- Gunnery Sergeant Hartman

Tricia Helfer comes to mind first. In Battlestar galactica. I forget the story but it’s something like she was brought in for her looks(they wanted a knockout for the first scene cylon). Then she went on to blow them away with her acting. She was a model before if I recall.

She did a great job in her roles.

Eminem in 8 Mile. When I first saw it I was convinced he'd become a superstar actor and stop making music, but that never happened. Even so, he's fucking phenomenal in that movie.

Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born

Lady Gaga in everything :)

The IT guy in What We Were In The Shadows

Wait, I'm not sure I remember who ? I binged the show last year but that doesn't ring a bell
- The glorious Matt Berry plays Lazlo, BAATTT, and played Denholm Jr, the big boss, in IT Crowd. He's also a pretty good musician.
- The movie, not the show.

Dominique Tipper in The Expanse (E: yeah, not a movie, but still an awesome experience all around)

I mean, not everyone in the community thinks much of her acting, but on Season 5 she puts out a performance that puts a lot of veteran actors to shame.

I 100% only know her from The Expanse, what else does she do that I've been missing out on?
- Until The Expanse she was more known as a dancer / singer, although even then she wasn't super famous.
Oh wow, I had no idea she was known for something other than acting.
- Her breakout role was really in The Expanse. Until then she was most known as a dancer and singer, even though she had a few very minor roles in a few films.

Andy Buckley, the guy who played David Wallace on The Office. He was a financial advisor at the time and they wanted him because he looked/sounded like an executive. Totally knocked it out of the park.

In the same vein, Phyllis was just working behind the scenes before they decided to put her in the show

The lad who was in Indiana Jones and did so well in Everything, Everywhere.

Ke Huy Quan. He was Data in The Goonies back then as well.

Here's another more niche example:

Frank Silva as "Bob" on Twin Peaks. He was a set dresser who worked with David Lynch and Lynch liked his look so much they made the character for him. Now he's regarded as one of the better tv villains.

fire walk with me

Vinnie Jones' first acting role was in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and it was probably his best performance.

I thought Anthony Edwards did a great job playing the antagonist in Hustle.

Haven't seen it yet but heard Kevin Garnett killed it in Uncut Gems.

Justin Timberlake usually do a really good job, as a lead i.e. In Time, or in a supporting role like in Social Network.

You must watch Uncut Gems. It's a wild ride.

Unless you have problems with anxiety because that is one stressful movie.
- I could barely finish Whiplash lol. But I'm always a fan of KG and to a lesser extent Adam Sandler movies, so I'll still give it a shot.
- Yup, couldn't finish it. Just could not deal with the anxiety it created lmao.
At first I was like, what is Anthony Edwards famous for if not for his roles as Goose, or Dr. Green?
- Revenge of the Nerds?

Tom Waits in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Sure it wasn't his first time acting but I'd argue he's much more well known as a musical artist and his performance was great.

He's also in one or two Jarmusch films. From the 80s or 90s. Too lazy to look it up. Coffee and cigarettes ?
Fuck me. TIL that was Tom Waits.

I know it's not a film, but it's wild to me that John Marston from Red Dead Redemption 1/2 is voiced by...a construction worker in Indiana.

But more accurate to the question, I thought 8 Mile was pretty good, though the last time I saw it I was like 15.

Aleksei Kravchenko in the war film Come And See (1985) Russian film from the point of view of a small child.

He easily had the best performance in a movie that is widely considered to be one of the greatest war films of all time.

Eric Cantonà is a surprisingly good actor, considering he was a football player with immigrant working class roots and no formal acting education.

Very true!

Björk in Dancer in the dark. I never want to see the film again (too emotionally taxing for me), but her performance was outstanding.

For me it was Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. His bottom lip is one of the best visual running gags in the series.

David Bradley in Kes.

Yalitza Aparicio on Roma

Miley Cyrus in Black Mirror was amazing.

I mean she was a disney kid, so not really a non actor. Hannah Montana I mean.
- Fair, I forgot about that.