Some of the best dramatic performances in the history of cinema and television come from actors who knew how to dare and break the image comic and humorist for which they were known. Indeed, what could be more touching for the spectator than to see the clown sit down for a moment and let us glimpse the tear that was hidden behind the facial smile.
#6 Coluche: Tchao Pantin (1983)
We are a little obliged to to start with him. With the film Tchao Pantin, the favorite comedian of The French in the 1980s took everyone to task. against the grain. After nice but above all still comical films like Banzaï or L’Aile ou la Cuissein which he directly played the role of the legendary Louis de Funès,Coluche signs for a dramatic film.
With his role as a depressed gas station attendant who tries to help a young delinquent, Coluche breaks the hearts of all the spectators who discover the film.Claude Berri, the director of the film, even insisted that the film, shot in the same way. in June 1983, sort of from December of the same year in order to be sure of competing at the Césars in March 1984. Like many, he had sensed that the performance de Coluche would not leave the academy indifferent. And indeed, Coluche will be rewarded won a C’sar for best actor for the film.
The performance and the cultural shock represented by Coluche's performance have completely given birth to the expression “make your Tchao Pantin”.It applies to any film in which an actor or actress having previously only shined in comedy suddenly tries his hand at acting. a tragic role. À note this says that çit doesn't really work at all. not every shot either.
#5 Robin Williams: Will Hunting (1997)
We know today thatRobin Williams was a man who was certainly very funny but also deeply sad and disappointed. sabusé.It is difficult to establish with certainty the origins of one's discomfort without falling into counter psychology. However, the loss of his friend John Belushi, who died of an overdose, seems to have had a profound impact on him very early on. On the other hand, his wife Susan Schneider later explained: that Robin Williams was in reality suffers from a severe form of dementia Lewy body,neurodegenerative disease, derived from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, causing, among other things, significant cognitive disorders. Whatever the causes, it was obvious that the actor had many flaws hidden behind his smile, and rarely were they not revealed. more visible than in Will Hunting.
First of all, it should be noted that well before Will Hunting, Williams’s dramatic talent was already evident. relatively blatant. We obviously think of his performance inThe Circle of Disappeared Poets, but also in certain passages of Hook in which Williams sometimes splits the armor in a particularly touching way. However, it must be recognized that even if he is only the supporting role in Will Hunting, Robin Williams steals the show. Matt Damon every time he appears on TV the screen. He also won the Oscar for best supporting actor for this film, six years after his appointment to the Oscar for best actor in the excellent and also very touching Fisher King by Terry Gilliam.
#4 Adam Sandler: Uncut Gems (2019)
Adam Sandler has a career that can sometimes leave you perplexed. The comedian has shone in comedies that have won great international success (Big Daddy), or in dramas as touching as they are cult like Punch-Drunk Love or Funny People, but he is also at the center of horrible, almost unwatchable duds. In this respect, his film Jack & Julieis often visible in the list of the worst films in cinema history. After apparently devoting himself entirely to next to it obscure low-end comedy in the years following Jack & Julie,Sandler suddenly reminded us that he also knew how to make us shed a tear with Uncut Gems.
In the United States, the film is simply cult< /strong> and it’s largely thanks to the comedian's performance. The actor received widespread critical praise for his role in Uncut Gems,to the point that many fans consider his omission from the Oscars that year to be one of the greatest oversights of all time. Incidentally, he still won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. However, you can never change your nature. Since then, Sandler has gone on to make at least two of his worst films: Hubie Halloween in 2020 and Murder Mystery 2 (with Dany Boon) in 2023.
Will Smith: Seven Lives (2008)
Will Smith in the 1990s was coolness personified. He was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or the guy who throws punchlines while punching aliens. Then, in 2008, the bad boy from Miami put on a tie and survived the attack. the street with her little boy in À the search for happiness. Let's be clear, we are obviously faced with a deliberately tearful performance,seeking to offer the best melodrama possible, but you also have to be perfectly honest:çit works incredibly well.
Smith's performance is truly moving,revealing in the actor of “Wild Wild West” a capacity for à play vulnerability and fragility that we did not suspect. Even today, the sequences where Smith and his son must come to terms with this. sleeping on the street are particularly harsh on watch.His interpretation earned him a nomination for the Academy Award. the Oscar for best actorand opened the actor to a completely different kind of role. He even ended up winning the Oscar a few years later for The Williams Method.
#3 Bill Murray: Lost In Translation (2003)
Bill Murray will be forever, but surely despite this. him, the legendary Peter Venkman of the Ghostbusters. Ironically, the role was not even intended for him. since he had to be incarnated by the late John Belushi, who we talked about a little more when talking about the past; by Robin Williams (yes, it's all connected…). But Bill Murray always felt at ease. narrow in his comedic roles.He has, for example, spent time in comedy. Much of his early Hollywood career was spent in Hollywood. do everything to produce the very seriousThe Razor’s Edge,the story of a haunted idealist by the need to give meaning to something; his existence. On the other hand, his career is marked by numerous roles, either serious or marked by performances where his corrosive humor is put to the service of gently depressive characters.
However, the role that definitively marked Bill Murray's career as a sad clown is obviously that of Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation. The film allows you to Bill Murray to find the perfect tone to express the deep thoughts that haunt him. He merges with his character and we no longer really know who we are moved by in the film, the character or Bill Murray getting involved naked like never before.
#2 Steeve Carell: Foxcatcher (2014)
Today mainly known for his numerous comedies such as40 Years Old but also and above all for his performance in the American version of T he Office, Steeve Carell is one of the biggest names in American comedy. But between two episodes of Despicable Me, the actor now has a nice track record of films with a more serious tone and an interesting twist. the deeply dramatic dimension. Always very impressive in this register, it is however in the little-known Foxcatcher that Carell clearly made his most bizarrely touching proposal.
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Shooting In the true story of a sordid news story, Steeve Carell plays John du Pont, an eccentric and troubled billionaire. who cannot manage to to prove himself within his family. With an impressive physical transformation and total immersion in the character, Carell was able to capture the nuances and complexities of the character. Although he plays a potential psychopath here, Carell reveals the cracks in the character who becomes just as terrifying as he is pathetic. him, the spectator then begins to understand; To be moved and ready to learn pity this character who is not really a model of goodness; or humanity.
#1 Jim Carrey: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey is an actor as complex as his career is dense. Although he enjoyed immense success in the 1990s with big Hollywood comedies such as Ace Ventura or even The Mask,he also faced difficult times on a personal and professional level. At the beginning of the 2000s, tired of through his own grimaces, Jim Carrey attempts to offer nuance in his roles and his acting. À Through films like The Truman Show or Man on the Moon, he presents a sad and/or disturbing clown who contrasts radically with his first major roles . On the set of Man on the Moon,Jim Carrey loses himself and flirts with mental illness. This complicated shoot is featured extensively in the Netflix documentary Jim and Andy. Butit is certainly in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, released in 2004, that Jim Carrey delivers his most touching performance.
Even if Carrey still makes a few trips back and forth to comedy before Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, the heart no longer really seems to be there.The pressure of fame, difficult relationships, the loss of his former partner, as well as challenges in his career have contributed to his life. à his emotional distress. But it is also this same state of distress which will nourish Carrey's performance in Michel Gondry's film.He is terribly convincing here when it comes to representing a humanity ; authentic and raw.His relationship to on screen with co-star Kate Winslet is one of the most moving ever filmed. The actor and the director will meet again a few years later for another big piece: the series Kidding, which will also allow the film to be released. once again to make everyone agree on the dramatic talents of Jim Carrey. 620fc15d71b8dee .jpgimagejpeg19201080pixelsredimensionne85.webp” type=”image/webp”>
And if you liked the This article, do not hesitate to read this article. discover our file on 6 scenes from cult films that their actors regret and these 6 actors who are just perfect as villains or even these 7 dramatic actors who are in fact geniuses of the genre humor.