Some really good performances by actors who were considered average before that role.

Some really good performances by actors who were considered average before that role

Typically, responses to such a query comprise of listing capable dramatic performances by actors who usually appear in comedies.

I often wonder, is that something that still surprises people? Is that because there is a perception that dramatic acting is ‘harder’ than comedic acting?

Obviously, I’m not an actor (or a golfer), but I have seen countless interviews of the best and brightest Hollywood has to offer, and almost exclusively, they all state that comedy is harder than drama.

And it makes sense. There is less margin for error in comedy; timing is everything.

I often lament the fact that outstanding comedic performances, or comedic turns in general, don’t get the esteem they deserve, by both award ceremonies and the audience at large.

But I digress. The point is, a comedic actor delivering a great dramatic performance is not the exception, but the rule. It doesn’t surprise me one iota.

Because it happens all the time.

Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Mo’Nique, Jason Segel, Hugh Laurie, Albert Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Simon Pegg, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen and several others are widely touted ‘comedic’ actors, and all of them have showcased their mettle in dramatic fare.

It happens all the time.

What about the other way around though? How often do actors who cut their teeth with ‘serious’ roles excel at comedy? It happens, but it is certainly more of a rarity.

And those are the performances that ‘surprise’ me.

Whether it’s Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder, or Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges and The Grand Budapest Hotel, or Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading; these are performances that make you sit up and take notice.

And chief among them, of late, was what Ryan Gosling accomplished in The Nice Guys.

Now, while Gosling was already an acclaimed dramatic actor at that point, it is fair to say that his credentials as a comic actor were decidedly average.

But in The Nice Guys, Gosling is incredible. Truly, very few performances have me fawning over them to this degree. I thought it was extraordinary.

He combines a bone-dry, deadpan delivery with impeccable physical comedy chops to hilarious effect. His seamless transition from a stoic, silent badass to a motormouth, goofy dumbass is a testament to his skill as an actor.

So many moments of sheer brilliance – the scream when Russell Crowe breaks his arm, the bathroom stall sequence, the dead-body discovery, the ankle gun fakeout, the elevator scene.

• Oh, that’s a lot of blood.
• Nobody wants to see your dick, dude.
• So you're telling me you made a porno where the plot is the point?
• Sweetheart, how many times have I told you? Don't say "and stuff". Just say "dad, there are whores here".
• You know who else was just following orders? Adolf Hitler.

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