9 Times That Comedy Actors Failed At Serious Roles

8) Jim Carrey – The Number 23

In his lifetime, Jim Carrey has at his best mastered both comedy and drama. If you’ve seen him in Eternal Sunshine alone you’ll know what power he possesses underneath that often goofy exterior; some might even argue that his performance in that film tops anything he’s ever done in comedy (you also have to take into account The Truman Show, and Man on the Moon).

The Number 23, however, was a serious career misstep for Carrey. You have to wonder what the actor was doing in the first place when he agreed to star in it – it’s a film directed by Joel goddamn Schumacher, about a man who has a phobia of numbers – but for all the film’s faults, Carrey doesn’t exactly help by playing it so straight and self-serious it comes across as an unintentionally hilarious parody.

So, in that sense, it’s still a pretty good comedy turn. Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t what he was going for.