The 2000s were a time of great change for cinema. The decade saw the rise of the franchise as the primary means of box office success, while the comic book movie became a true force to be reckoned with. CGI broke new ground, and a new crop of movie stars, arguably the last of its kind, rose to prominence.
The noughties also saw many great actors delivering even better performances, including some that came out of the blue and impressed everyone. This list will feature the greatest against-type performances of the 2000s, ranking them based on merit and how surprising they were compared to the actor’s previous work. Many of these performances received attention from the Oscars, but a nomination is not a requirement to make the list.
10
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
The Bourne Trilogy (2001-2007)
Good Will Hunting was Matt Damon‘s ticket to stardom. The critically acclaimed movie earned Damon an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and won him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, shared with his longtime friend Ben Affleck. Damon then became one of Hollywood’s top leading men, taking on varied roles in thrillers like The Talented Mr. Ripley and the heist film Ocean’s Eleven.
However, few people would’ve foreseen Damon’s next career path: action hero. Damon’s casting in the spy thriller The Bourne Identity might’ve seemed curious at best and utterly puzzling at worst, but it turned out to be a stroke of genius on director Doug Liman‘s part. A critical and commercial success, The Bourne Identity spawned multiple sequels and pioneered a new, more visceral approach to action movies that would redefine the genre throughout the 2000s. Damon, too, made the best of his against-type casting, shedding his good boy image and proving himself a far more versatile performer than many gave him credit for.
9
Robin Williams as Sy Parrish
‘One-Hour Photo’ (2002)
The late Robin Williams built his career on comedy. Renowned as possibly the finest comedic actor not only of his generation but of the latter half of the 20th century, Williams was a cinematic titan who delivered one critical and commercial hit after another. The late ’80s and early ’90s saw him build a reputation as a comedic genius, thanks to roles in modern classics like Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin, and The Birdcage.
Williams was no stranger to dramatic roles-—three of his four Oscar nominations came from strong dramatic work, including Good Will Hunting, for which he won. However, audiences had never seen him as a proper villain until 2002, when he took two of the darkest roles in his career. Williams is good in Christopher Nolan‘s Insomnia, but he is absolutely brilliant in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo. As the troubled and broken loner Sy Parrish, Williams is both heartbreaking and unsettling, delivering a chilling performance that sent countless 2002’s jaws to the floor.
8
Tom Cruise as Vincent
‘Collateral’ (2004)
Tom Cruise rose to fame in the ’80s and cemented his place as a timeless movie star in the ’90s. With three Oscar nominations under his belt, Cruise entered the 2000s as a force to be reckoned with, a major box office draw, action man, and bonafide leading man with few challengers to his place as acting royalty, if any. Thus, it was the perfect time to take some acting risks; enter Collateral.
Cruise’s villainous turn in Collateral stands as one of the finest performances of his long and esteemed career. As the assassin making Jamie Foxx‘s life a living hell, Cruise is chilling, cold, calculating, precise, and endlessly engaging. The actor had toyed with morally ambiguous roles since the ’80s and received considerable attention for his supporting turn in Magnolia, for which he received his third and, thus far, last Oscar nomination. However, he’s operating on a whole other level in Collateral, embracing his darker and more sinister side. It’s a case of against-type casting that makes so much sense that one wonders why no one had thought of it before.
7
Eddie Murphy as James “Thunder” Early
‘Dreamgirls’ (2006)
Like Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy built his career on comedy. A graduate of the 1980s class of Saturday Night Live, Murphy cemented himself as a giant of comedy throughout the late ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s with movies like Beverly Hills Cop, The Nutty Professor, and Shrek. If a movie had Murphy, audiences could expect wild antics, irreverent humor, and endless energy.
Now, there are traces of all these elements in Murphy’s performance as James “Thunder” Early in Bill Condon‘s 2006 musical Dreamgirls. However, the role also calls for a lingering layer of tragedy beneath every wild on-stage antic, a constant sense of desperation from an artist who longs for the spotlight and is terrified of losing it. Murphy brings that and more, crafting a confrontational portrayal of a man balancing on the edge, even during the height of his fame. Few could’ve anticipated such a vulnerable performance from Murphy, and many still lament that he lost the 2007 Best Supporting Actor Oscar; almost twenty years later, it’s clear he was truly the rightful winner.
6
Denzel Washington as Alonso Harris
‘Training Day’ (2001)
Denzel Washington is widely known as one of cinema’s all-time great talents. Now a two-time Oscar winner, Washington is the very definition of a chameleon and a box-office draw, the last of a dying breed of movie stars the likes of which we don’t see much of today. Before Training Day, Washington was already a respected performer and an Oscar winner, having delivered riveting performances in movies like Glory and Malcolm X.
However, Training Day showed a new and terrifying side of Washington, unlike anything audiences had seen from him before. In a purely villainous and despicable role, Washington is astounding and wholly believable. His larger-than-life portrayal of the corrupt cop Alonzo Harris rightfully earned him the 2002 Oscar for Best Actor, making him the first and so far only Black actor to win Oscars in both competitive acting categories. Playing such a dastardly villain convincingly is no easy task, but one should know better than to doubt Denzel Washington. It turns out King Kong, indeed, has nothing on him.
5
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo
‘Frida’ (2002)
Salma Hayek arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-90s and quickly became a familiar face following her scene-stealing turn in 1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn. However, she was also typecast as the fiery Latina, playing variations of the stereotype in films like Desperado and Fools Rush In. If Hayek wanted a change in her career, she knew she had to engineer it herself.
The actress spearheaded a biopic of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Her struggles with disgraced convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein are well-known by now, but to make a harrowing story short, it was a battle against a monster who attempted to derail Hayek’s efforts every step of the way. However, her hard work paid off. In Frida, Hayek delivers a passionate and fully committed performance as Kahlo, proving not only her talent as an actress but also her savvy and resilience as a producer. In 2003, Salma Hayek became the first Mexican actress to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In the years since this landmark moment, Hayek has continued to produce and star in major films, but her against-type casting and performance in Frida remains one of the highlights of her career.
4
Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos
‘Monster’ (2003)
Few, if anyone, would’ve thought of the now-iconic Charlize Theron to portray notorious serial killer Aileen Wuornos in a biopic. In 2003, Theron was a working actress best known for her work in romantic dramas, perhaps most famously the critically reviled Sweet November, for which she received a Razzie nomination.
Theron underwent what is commonly known in Hollywood as a “de-glamming” to play Wuornos, completely transforming not only her appearance but also her physicality to give life to the violent and volatile killer. In fact, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say Theron is entirely unrecognizable in Monster, a fact that was continuously mentioned in reviews for the film. For her work in Monster, Theron won a mountain of accolades, including the 2004 Oscar for Best Actress. Since Monster, Theron has continued to deliver daring and interesting work in comedies like Young Adult and blockbusters like Mad Max: Fury Road, cementing herself as one of her generation’s most interesting performers.
3
Mo’Nique as Mary Lee Johnston
‘Precious’ (2009)
Comedians always face considerable skepticism whenever they make a drama. Usually, their work is dismissed, too, as actors like Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler have been continuously snubbed for their more challenging dramatic work. One of the most famous exceptions is Mo’Nique, whose villainous performance in the harrowing 2009 drama Precious earned her the 2010 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Mo’Nique rose to prominence in the early 2000s as part of the Queens of Comedy group before transitioning to movies and reality television. However, Precious showcased a new side to her: in the role of Mary Lee Johnston, Mo’Nique was a true monster, a vicious and relentless woman who operated from a place of deep contempt for her daughter. Mo’Nique’s casting was eyebrow-raising, but her performance was utterly astounding and more than deserving of the many accolades she won. Sadly, Mo’Nique’s career was derailed following her Oscar win, with Hollywood blackballing her after her criticism of awards season’s campaigning methods.
2
Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf
‘La Vie en Rose’ (2007)
Image via Icon FIlm Distribution
In another classic case of an actress completely transforming for a role, Marion Cotillard wowed pretty much everybody with her performance in 2007’s La Vie en Rose, a biopic about French icon Édith Piaf. By 2007, Cotillard was familiar but not necessarily well-known, and few projects in her resumé suggested that she could take on such a daunting role.
Cotillard shut everyone up with a tour de force performance that ranks among the best female portrayals of the 2000s—maybe even of cinema as a whole. The actress completely disappears into the role, justifying her against-type casting from her first scene. Her hard work paid off, and she went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress, alongside the BAFTA and the Golden Globe. La Vie en Rose would mark a new chapter in Cotillard’s career, which saw her take on increasingly challenging roles, including the dramas Rust and Bone and Two Days, One Night, for which she earned another Oscar nod.
1
Heath Ledger as The Joker
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Those who are old enough to remember the conversation surrounding the late Heath Ledger‘s casting in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight will know it was anything but positive. At that point, Ledger was mostly known as a leading man, rising to prominence with the rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You and continuing down a similar path with movies like The Four Feathers and Casanova.
Ledger’s Oscar-nominated performance in Brokeback Mountain did a lot to change the audience’s perception of him, but his casting as the Joker was still controversial. Of course, Ledger killed it in the role, eventually winning a posthumous Oscar following his tragic passing in January 2008. Nowadays, Ledger is known as arguably the best-known and most successful case of against-type casting that led to a groundbreaking and universally acclaimed performance. Indeed, he is still used as a prime example of “never judge a book by its cover” and never judge a casting at first glance.
