15+ Actors Who Played Such Drastically Different Roles, People Are Having A Hard Time Believing They Were Played By The Same Person

Props to their versatility, right?

Sophia

• Published in Film & TV
• June 17, 2022

In Hollywood, there are some actors who are known for playing specific roles; and it's sometimes hard to discern which of their characters are which because they just seem to be the same person (well, technically, but we are talking about the character's personality here) in different movies. Take Morgan Freeman, for instance, he always seems to play the role of a wise old man or a mentor, or any character that provides some sort of guidance that sets the plot into motion or initiates a turning point for the main character in every movie he is in.

This happens when Hollywood banks on the stereotypical characteristics of a star, and sometimes they create characters for movies that are already made fit to a certain actor's type of acting. It's called typecasting, but while this has given us a lot of iconic characters from actors throughout the years, it can be quite annoying to see them play the same old character and personality in each and every movie that they are in.

But then there's also the opposite: actors who have played such different roles that people almost did not recognize them and only realized it when their name popped up in the credits, or when they go back to watch an old movie and see that someone popular at the present time actually starred in it!

Now, without further ado, here are some of our favorite actors that played characters that are so different from one another, that it's giving us a headache trying to register that it's actually them:

1. Tom Ellis

"Started watching Miranda and it stars Tom Ellis from Lucifer! We never get to see many British shows here in Australia, and it was super weird to spot him because he's a little bit dorky and completely different to the suave Devil on Lucifer. — monnie_hendo

2. Sarah Drew

"I recently found out that Sarah Drew – who plays Dr. April Kepner on Grey's Anatomy – also played Suzy Pepper on Glee in the episode 'Ballad'!" — fuzzywuzzykoala

3. Lesley Nicol

"She plays Mrs. Patmore on Downton Abbey – a meek, reserved woman from the early 1900s. Then I saw her in five episodes of the short-lived show The Catch playing a ruthless mob boss in modern times. The roles couldn’t have been more opposite and it was so jarring!" — aditson

4. Rainn Wilson

"Basically the entire cast of Galaxy Quest – which is the point – but specifically RAINN FREAKING WILSON." — rsmith8235

"He's nothing like Dwight in that film!" – bendzialdowski

5. Jon Bernthal

"Jon popping up in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt after playing Frank Castle in The Punisher caught me off guard." — itsezra

6. Sebastian Stan

"Considering all of his success in the MCU, I was pretty gagged when I went back to watch OG Gossip Girl, and Seb was in it. He plays Carter Baizen and he's great, but it's a veryyyy different role to Bucky!" — yeahsurejan

7. Chris Evans

"Captain America is one of the exes in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World 🤯." — hellocostello

8. Ian McElhinney

"The first time I watched Derry Girls, I was trying to work out where I recognised Grandpa Joe from. Turns out he was Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones!" — emmanz

9. Henry Cavill

"Can you believe that he plays Humphrey in Stardust lol?" – sam_cleal

10. Jesse Plemons

"It took me a few watches, as well as seeing him in his later work – like Black Mirror, Game Night, and The Irishman – to finally realise that Jessie Plemons also played Ox from Like Mike. Amazing actor!" — bundtcake12

11. Sarah Paulson

"I was rewatching Desperate Housewives recently, and seeing Sarah playing as Lynette's sister blew my mind!" — beckichino

12. Karl Urban

"When I tell you I was shocked to connect the dots that Karl Urban, one of the main characters in The Boys, also played Éomer in The Lord Of The Rings films. I couldn't believe I didn't clock it straight away but he looks so different!" – sam_cleal

13. Hannah Waddingham

"The owner of the football team on Ted Lasso is the same actress as the SHAME, SHAME, SHAME woman on Game of Thrones 🤯." — megzzzz

14. Imelda Staunton

"Imelda Staunton is the cook in Nanny McPhee and Bunty in Chicken Run. I mainly know her as Umbridge, so my mind was blown when I found this out!" — hobbitgirl96

"She's the main character in Vera Drake – a film we had to watch in school as part of Religious Studies – and we all were shocked that Umbridge could be nice 😂." — senpainoticedu

15. Daniel Kaluuya

"Rewatching Skins and seeing Daniel Kaluuya as Posh Kenneth is so weird to me now."– hanifahrahman

16. Catherine Keener

"Did you clock that the evil mom in Get Out is also Steve Carell's love interest in The 40-Year-Old Virgin? Because I didn't!" — izzyfe

17. Sandra Oh

"The other day I watched Sandra Oh in a horror movie and I didn't even realise it! My friend made me watch it again, and only then did I clock her. I guess I just was surprised that Sandra Oh was doing a horror film." – adaenechi

Plenty of familiar faces here, right? It's a good thing that we still have numerous actors who don't fall into the typecast trope; because just look at all this versatility and talent that we may have been starved for!

Do you know any other actors that played contrasting characters? Comment down your thoughts, or share this article for all your family and friends to see!

Sophia