9 Times That Comedy Actors Failed At Serious Roles

3) Cameron Diaz – The Counselor

Much like Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz isn’t many peoples’ idea of a great comedian, but the fact is she’s been a comedy mainstay for over two decades, ever since breaking out in The Mask back in 1994. As a comedy actress, Diaz is a rarity in that she appears to be almost critic-proof: no one in the press liked The Other Woman or Bad Teacher, but they made hundreds of millions at the box office all the same.

Diaz occasionally makes an exception and tackles a straight role, but nowhere is she more stupefyingly dreadful than in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor. Regardless of what you think of the film (to some, it’s a cult gem; to others, it’s just a hot mess), there’s no arguing that Diaz is entirely out of her depth facing off against the likes of Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz. Throughout, it looks as though she’s trying to compensate for her shortcomings; her solution is to do drama with a capital ‘D,’ and devour scenery like there’s no tomorrow.