An actor in search of reinvention can start doing action movies, a concept The A.V. Club explored in our recent Inventory “Going Neeson.” But what about comedy? Usually it works the other way around, with comedians like Bill Murray and Steve Carell eager to prove that they’re “real” actors by taking on dramatic roles. But then there’s Leslie Nielsen, who started his career in TV dramas and adventure movies like Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure before Airplane! sent him down a completely different career path. Nielsen’s credibility as a voice of authority made him an ideal straight man, and by the ’90s he was working almost exclusively in comedic roles. Now his career as a dramatic actor is little more than a footnote in the narrative of his life. So while most of these actors are doing just fine, thanks, with their “serious” careers, if the awards and the critical praise and the serious discussions of craft ever lose their charm, they could always go full Nielsen—or, in a much less desirable scenario, full De Niro.
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