14 Times Serious Actors Played Silly TV Characters

Gary Oldman has won an Academy Award and a smattering of other accolades for his notable lead roles in dramas such as Darkest Hour and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. That being said, many cinephiles will always equate him with bombastic evildoers like Stansfield in Léon: The Professional and Zorg in The Fifth Element. All in all, Oldman has never needed to do sitcoms to pay the rent, but that didn't stop him from taking a hilarious guest spot on Friends.

Around the same time he played villains in Hannibal and The Contender, he portrayed Richard Crosby, a serious actor much like Oldman himself who starred in a war drama opposite Joey in the two-part finale of Season 7. Joey was thrilled about the situation, except for how Crosby spat all over him when they filmed scenes together. Oldman perfectly performed not only the explosive spitting itself but Crosby's confidence when Joey confronted him, insisting that all good actors spit. The role was even sillier for Oldman's willingness to make a "serious actor" character the butt of the joke. 

Colin Farrell has become a notable lead in dramas and thrillers, so audiences know to expect a dramatic, high-stakes story when he's involved. At the height of his rising-star period of the mid-'00s, Farrell took some time off from blockbusters to appear on Scrubs as Billy Callahan, a fun-loving Irish man who showed up to the Sacred Heart hospital to visit a patient that he injured in a bar fight. 

Showcasing his comedic ability years before In Bruges and Horrible Bosses, Farrell struck exactly the right balance between Callahan's chaotic edge and his soft side. At the end of the day, he really just wanted to apologize to the man he hurt, which made this role a perfect lighthearted showcase of his comedic abilities. 

When you hear “Timothy Olyphant,” you think of rugged heroes in Western settings, like Sheriff Seth Bullock on Deadwood or Raylan Givens on Justified. There's no great shame in acknowledging the man has been typecast. He's really good at playing gruff! 

On Santa Clarita Diet, Olyphant took a break from the gritty cowboys to delight on one of the silliest horror-comedies to ever grace television. Olyphant played Joel Hammond, a sweet, unassuming realtor who would do anything for his wife Sheila, including finding human flesh to eat once she turns into a zombie. In addition to proving his ample comedic skills, Olyphant showed off a softer side that only increased the humor as he struggled to clean up his undead wife's messes with a bright smile.

Charlize Theron has undoubtedly proved her acting abilities with a notable roster of action roles and multiple Academy Award nominations (and one win), which made her guest spot on the third season of Arrested Development all the better. Theron played Rita Leeds, a British woman that Michael fell for instantly due to her striking looks and charm. However, Michael grew suspicious of Rita when other characters suggested she may be a British spy trying to infiltrate his family - and based on Theron's usual typecast, it seemed plausible to the audience, too. 

Rita's childlike innocence certainly seemed like it might be a ploy until Michael broke up with her and learned there was no secret: she truly was an adult woman who behaved like a young child. Theron milked the silliness of the role while also keeping it just muted enough that we saw how Michael would fall for her. 

Tim Roth was noted as one of the most exciting up-and-coming actors in the late '80s and early '90s. From starring in Quentin Tarantino's early works to more niche films like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Roth was able to highlight his acting ability in films that truly ran the gamut. Of course, modern moviegoers might remember him best as Emil Blonsky, AKA the Abomination in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. 

When the She-Hulk series came around years later, he took the character in a very different direction. Since She-Hulk is a comedy, Roth was free to play around and improvise with the character as he was one of Jennifer Walters's legal clients. Though Blonsky was technically a villain who attempted to kill Bruce Banner in the past, Roth played the repentant wrongdoer with such charm that even Jennifer couldn't say no to representing him. Roth definitely had fun filming this series, and it showed through in the goofier, scene-stealing version of Blonsky.

Sam Elliott is synonymous with stoic characters in Westerns, and his voice and presence invoke a sense of significance every time he comes on screen. After all, he has the most iconic Hollywood mustache this side of Burt Reynolds. Still, this didn't stop him from having fun in the TV adaptation of MacGruber, spun off from a Saturday Night Live sketch parody of MacGyver. 

Elliott played MacGruber's father, Perry, who featured heavily in the season finale. He wasn't afraid to get just as silly as the rest of the cast. In fact, Elliott was praised for his "capacity to mock his own radiating manliness." Though the show received mixed reviews, Elliott's showcase of his rarely-shown goofy side was a significant reason to tune in to this revival of the MacGruber franchise.