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When actors break out of their expected molds, magic happens! Join us as we count down performances that defied expectations and left audiences stunned. From pop stars who proved they could act to action heroes who revealed dramatic depths, these actors showed us sides of themselves we never knew existed. Which transformation impressed you most?
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00:00Read it to me.
00:02What?
00:04If you want to help.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at casting choices from the past decade that
00:09people didn't think would work on paper, but the actors surprised all of us.
00:13Sounded unbelievable what you were playing.
00:16It's nice to hear it.
00:17Thank you, and I had the beautiful backdrop of you and Charlie.
00:24Number 10, Justice Smith.
00:26I saw the TV glow.
00:27I took a shovel and dug out all of my insides, and I know there's nothing in there, but
00:39I'm still too nervous to open myself up in there.
00:44It's a shame that most audiences were introduced to Justice Smith through Jurassic World Fallen
00:49Kingdom, where he played the obnoxious comedic relief.
00:51Smith was much better in Detective Pikachu and Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves, but
00:56Jane Schoenbrun's film revealed a completely different side of the young actor.
01:00Smith gives a mesmerizing performance as Owen, a repressed teenager whose existence becomes
01:05wrapped up in a TV show.
01:06But she never did.
01:08I never saw her again.
01:17I told myself I made the right choice.
01:20Maddie's story was insane, and it couldn't be true.
01:23What exactly Owen is burying isn't spelled out, but Smith hauntingly captures the essence
01:35of a person sleepwalking through life, searching for something to awaken what's inside.
01:39Whether or not Owen finds what he's looking for, Smith's performance will resonate with
01:43anyone who has ever struggled to express who they are and what they're feeling.
01:47You need to help me!
01:54I'm dying right now!
01:57Number 9.
01:57Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
01:59Nothing is not senile.
02:01Just tell me what she said.
02:04She said the new casino owners want to put their own stamp on the place, so they brought
02:09in the circus.
02:10That show's doing it really well, so...
02:12I mean, who puts money into a circus that's not Cirque du Soleil, right?
02:17For decades, the Baywatch and Barb Wire star was an easy punchline.
02:21It wasn't until recently that more people considered that maybe Pamela Anderson's acting
02:25wasn't the issue.
02:26The industry just didn't give her a chance to show her range.
02:29She didn't have the best representation either, her former agent not even bothering to tell
02:33Anderson when the last Showgirl screenplay arrived.
02:35Hey, sweetie.
02:37Uh, what are you doing here?
02:39I just, uh, wanted to come over.
02:43Okay.
02:47Can I come in?
02:49You know, it's just, um...
02:52Is everything okay?
02:53I mean, it's just not a good time right now.
02:55Thankfully, the script eventually reached Anderson, whose own life reflects that of Shelley Gardner's,
03:00a woman who gives her best years to a profession only to be spat out.
03:03Anderson is tragically empathetic as a veteran showgirl caught between an uncertain future
03:07and a past that can't be rewritten.
03:09Shelley isn't sure where she belongs, but Anderson firmly reestablishes herself among the A-list.
03:14I mean, you can just write somebody off like that.
03:16This is how it works.
03:17This is how auditioning works.
03:19Bye, Sherry.
03:21Next.
03:22I worked really hard.
03:23Please.
03:24Please, I worked really, really hard.
03:26Number eight, Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers.
03:28You see what they did to this country?
03:30They stole from everybody.
03:32Hard-working people lost everything.
03:35And not one of these douchebags went to jail.
03:38Not one.
03:39People forget that Jennifer Lopez was an actress before she broke out on the music scene.
03:43Although bad romantic comedies and thrillers would plague her filmography for nearly two decades,
03:48Hustlers reminded audiences why she became a movie star in the first place.
03:51Lopez owns the screen and stage as Ramona Vega,
03:54a material stripper who's craftier than she looks.
03:57Although Ramona is the glue that bands her partners in crime together,
04:11she can just as easily drive them apart as their operation comes crashing under the weight of her ambitions.
04:16Ramona ascends to the top of the pole, but it's a slippery slide down.
04:19While Ramona experiences the highest of highs and lowest of lows,
04:23Hustlers became the apex of Lopez's acting career.
04:26We don't care.
04:28We aren't caught up in a love affair.
04:30And we'll never be wrong.
04:33Put your hands up.
04:34Don't move.
04:35Number 7.
04:36Zac Efron, The Iron Claw.
04:38I believed it.
04:40We all did.
04:42We loved our father.
04:43And we loved wrestling.
04:52Zac Efron has spent much of his adulthood shaking his image as the high school musical kid.
04:56As real-life wrestler Kevin Von Erich, Efron gives Troy Bolton the Iron Claw.
05:00Efron turns in his most physically transformative performance, putting on 15 pounds of muscle for the role.
05:05Yet it's what Efron conveys internally that caught us off guard.
05:08Despite his strong build, Kevin is shy about asking out a woman and afraid to confront his father.
05:13This inability to communicate causes the Von Erich family to shrink as Kevin goes from having multiple brothers to fighting alone.
05:39Efron is heartbreaking as someone who may come off as invincible in the ring.
05:43Behind the scenes, though, he's a mortal man wrestling with enormous loss.
05:48You okay, Dad?
05:50Lee, I'm sorry.
05:53I'm sorry, boys.
05:57You shouldn't see me like this.
06:00Man doesn't cry.
06:00While Ariana Grande isn't new to acting, most of her roles have leaned into her pop star personality.
06:17When she landed the coveted role of Glinda the Good, it sounded like stunt casting that might sell tickets, but we'd see a celebrity rather than a character.
06:25How wrong the doubters were.
06:27Grande hit all the right notes, and not just concerning the musical numbers.
06:30She gives one of the great comedic performances, making every line funnier with her delivery, and extra Glinda-isms.
06:38It's really, uh, sharp, don't you think?
06:41You know, black.
06:42Is this your spink?
06:44You deserve each other, this hat and you.
06:48Her performance overflows with sincerity as well.
06:51By the time Glinda and Elphaba solidify their friendship, any traces of the actors are erased.
06:55We just see two characters sharing a genuine moment.
06:58Grande isn't just Glinda.
06:59She's a Glinda in her own league.
07:01I've yet to face.
07:04Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed.
07:09Follow my needs.
07:13Yes, indeed.
07:15Number 5.
07:16Kristen Stewart, Spencer.
07:18The stars of Twilight have pulled a 180 over the past decade.
07:21Robert Pattinson has balanced indie flicks like Good Time with blockbusters like The Batman.
07:25It won't be long before you've nothing.
07:27I don't care about that.
07:29Any of that.
07:30You don't care about your family's legacy?
07:34What I'm doing is my family's legacy.
07:36Kristen Stewart gave a string of acclaimed performances, although playing Princess Diana might have been the biggest risk of her career.
07:43It looks different now.
07:45Everything looks different.
07:47Except the scarecrow.
07:49Yeah, she says you took a jacket off a scarecrow.
07:52While more audiences were realizing that Stewart's range extends far beyond Bella, would they be able to accept her as a figure as recognizable as the Princess of Wales?
08:07Quickly dashing any skepticism, Stewart embodies Diana from the opening scene.
08:11Although Stewart gets the look and voice down, it's the subtle body language that makes us feel Diana's inner torment in a film that plays more like a psychological character study than a straightforward biopic.
08:41No. 4. Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems.
09:00Yeah, I'm, uh...
09:01Yes, you told me you were waiting on me, so I'm sorry about that.
09:04I'm Howard.
09:05Although we knew Adam Sandler could give a dramatic performance, Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish felt like a lifetime ago when Uncut Gems came along.
09:12Even with those other films in mind, Howard Ratner was unlike any role Sandler had taken on before.
09:18A gambler who can't quit while he's ahead or behind.
09:20Howard goes from one reckless bet to another, constantly spinning a dozen plates while simultaneously digging his own grave.
09:26Howard is incapable of taking a breath.
09:28Oh, oh, oh, yes.
09:35Oh, God, yes.
09:36Oh, f***.
09:38Oh, my God.
09:39Oh, my God.
09:41Oh, my God.
09:41Oh, my God.
09:41Just as Howard goes all in, Sandler fully commits to the role.
09:45He infuses the screen with such rapid-fire anxiety that we forget we're watching a performance.
09:50We're just watching a man spiral while chasing his big score, which will never be big enough.
09:54I'm required to inform you all that this fine Ethiopian black opal presented here before you all on your left, my right, is now offered with a revised estimate of $155,000 to $225,000.
10:08Number three, Lady Gaga, A Star is Born.
10:11Tell me something, boy.
10:19Aren't you tired trying to fill that void?
10:24Occasionally, somebody creates a character so iconic that it's hard to accept them as anyone else.
10:28Something similar can be said about the personas that celebrities create.
10:32It's difficult to say where Lady Gaga ends and Stephanie Germanotta begins.
10:36In any case, audiences weren't sure if they could separate Gaga's larger-than-life presence from her A Star is Born character.
10:42As Ally, Gaga strips away the makeup and meat dress, playing a singer from humble roots thrust into the spotlight and a star-crossed romance.
10:50Even as Ally's life begins to mirror her own, it doesn't feel like Gaga is playing herself.
11:13Ally and Gaga can both sing, but each has a distinct voice.
11:16While Gaga was far from an unknown, a movie star had been born.
11:21No, I wouldn't say I was hiding it.
11:26I just started putting it down to paper when we were at home.
11:33Number two, Brendan Fraser, The Whale.
11:35Those who grew up with The Mummy and George of the Jungle had wanted to see Brendan Fraser make a comeback for years.
11:51Yet even Fraser's most dedicated fans were amazed by the dramatic depths he unearthed in The Whale.
11:56As far as on-screen transformations go, this might be the modern equivalent of Marlon Brando in The Godfather.
12:01Charlie's a role that Fraser completely escapes into, not just in terms of body, but soul as well.
12:06When Ellie was little, when we took that trip to the Oregon Coast together, Ellie played in the sand.
12:15Fraser repeatedly breaks your heart as a man who knows he's dying and only expedites the process.
12:20At the same time, Charlie races against the clock to make amends with his loved ones.
12:24As soul-crushing as it is uplifting, the film's success largely relies on Fraser's towering performance.
12:31And then it made me feel glad for him.
12:42Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
12:45Lily-Rose Depp, Nosferatu.
12:47The best a Depp has been in a decade.
12:49You stopped your letters to me.
12:53What?
12:53You promised to write to me every day.
12:56Did not you think of me in that castle?
12:58I did.
12:59Lies.
13:00Pete Davidson, the king of Staten Island.
13:02He's basically playing himself, but there's more to Pete Davidson than meets the eye.
13:06Yeah, how do you know?
13:10I mean, back in the day, I was at the same house with him for about six months.
13:15Wait, you work with my dad for six months and you just tell me?
13:18Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa, a Mad Max saga.
13:21Who knew he could be hilarious and menacing all while wearing a ridiculous nose?
13:25Double the mullet's milk and double the hydroponics.
13:28Double the spars.
13:30Double the maggot mash and the roach gruel.
13:32My boar's made all the protein I can get.
13:34Axe, please!
13:36Jim Carrey, Sonic the Hedgehog, which sounded like career-killing miscasting turned out to
13:41be a comedic comeback.
13:42Are you in charge here?
13:43Yes, I am.
13:45Wrong.
13:46I'm in charge.
13:47Is major...
13:49I'm in charge.
13:50Awkwafina, the farewell.
13:52A reminder that she can play more than the wisecracking best friend.
13:55Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
14:09about our latest videos.
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14:14If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
14:19Number 1.
14:22Demi Moore, The Substance
14:23When she won a Golden Globe for The Substance, Demi Moore reflected on a producer who called
14:28her a popcorn actress.
14:29I'm just in shock right now.
14:31I've been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I've ever
14:38won anything as an actor.
14:40Moore began to think that was all she could ever be.
14:42When this bonkers body horror movie came her way, Moore didn't just surprise critics
14:46and audiences.
14:47Moore surprised herself, delivering a performance even she didn't know was lying beneath the
14:52surface.
15:05Moore plays a fading star who won't go quietly into the night.
15:09She resorts to desperate measures, losing her identity, and ironically her beauty, in
15:13the pursuit of youth and perfection.
15:14Some may draw parallels to Moore's life, but the reality is that Elizabeth Sparkle is
15:18every woman over 50 who has been told that she's done.
15:22Moore isn't, however.
15:23Are you still there?
15:25Sorry, I'm in shock again.
15:28Oh.
15:30I could book Luigi's.
15:32At eight?
15:34Eight at Luigi's it is.
15:36I will see you tonight.
15:39Which performance from the past decade surprised you the most?
15:43Let us know in the comments.
15:44It's a weapon.
15:46It's a rock.
15:48A mineral capable of weakening Kryptonian cells.
15:51One, two, three, four, four, five.
15:52Two, three, four, six.
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