16 Times A Major Star Got Weird With An Unhinged Supporting Performance

Tom Cruise, often christened a savior of the multiplex, has made a habit of starring in blockbuster-worthy films carried by his unbridled megawatt movie-star charisma, or working primarily with auteurs if he wants to stretch his abilities. But after 2005 saw public perception of the star plummet, following a series of bizarre behaviors, it seemed like audiences might never get a glimpse of the stranger side of Cruise again. That is, until Ben Stiller's 2008 film Tropic Thunder.

The movie is simultaneously epic war film parody and absurdist satire of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Cruise plays a blustering, ham hock-armed studio executive with a penchant for explicit hip-hop and fits of rage. It’s a hilarious performance in its bizarre fearlessness: a total inversion of Cruise's prototypical screen presence, but also a knowing wink at the public’s perception of his own strangely humorless real-life persona. Not only was the turn unexpected, but it was also a large part of Tropic Thunder’s critical adoration, even earning Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. 

By the time of Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys release in 1995, Brad Pitt had already established himself as a major rising star, asserting his leading-man status in pictures like Interview With the Vampire and Legends of the Fall. But with his role as Jeffrey Goines in Gilliam’s brilliantly wackadoo adaptation of La Jetée, Pitt proved that underneath the pretty face and swaggering charisma was something far more strange and unhinged.

Pitt’s Jeffrey is a manic anti-capitalist mental patient who may bear a deeper connection to the titular 12 Monkeys virus that decimated the world population before the start of the time-hopping science-fiction film. Up until that point, Pitt’s roles had (with the exception of True Romance’s delightfully dumb stoner roomie Floyd) fallen under the purview of cocksure young gun or purely swoonworthy romantic lead, employing the actor’s massive natural charisma and stunning looks for maximum effect. 12 Monkeys, though, hints at Pitt’s far more interesting future as an off-kilter supporting performer, subverting his movie-star wattage in unique and powerful ways. He received his first Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor, for the role. 

Bill Murray is a certifiable Hollywood legend, and an actor capable of changing the tenor of a film simply by walking in frame for a moment at a time. That holds as true as it might anywhere else in the bowling-based comedy cult-classic Kingpin. Murray plays vain, brutish, and obnoxious bowling bad-boy Ernie McCracken, a rival of Woody Harrelson’s Roy Munson (as well as Munson’s Amish protege Ishmael, played by Randy Quaid).

For McCracken, Murray dials his normally charming boorishness up to unbearable but hilarious levels, and is easily a key element of what makes Kingpin a lasting comedy diamond-in-the-rough in the minds of passionate fans. 

Leonardo DiCaprio had long since left his boyish heartthrob days behind upon the release of Django Unchained in 2012, but not once had the megastar committed to being an out-and-out villain. When Django debuted, however, the actor’s wildly unhinged and evil turn as plantation owner Calvin Candie put to bed any undue concerns that DiCaprio might not be capable of such an absurdly unlikable character.

The genius in Leo’s vision of Candie comes in its embrace of the actor’s naturally imperturbable charm. Candie is engaging, entertaining, legitimately funny, and brimming with confident swagger. There’s an intoxicating element to his schtick that makes the sudden and sharp swerves into unrepentant evil and sadism all the more horrifying. It’s a performance far removed from DiCaprio’s more prototypically heart-meltingly romantic characters, or emotionally tormented protagonists. His every hateful wish is respected, praised, and encouraged. Calvin Candie, for all of his grins and mannered overtures, is a true-blue monster.

Jennifer Aniston spent the vast majority of her career shiny-white-smiling and wisecracking her way to the moniker of “America’s sweetheart” thanks to her role as Rachel in the sitcom phenomenon Friends. Throw in her permanence as a tabloid fixture, and you have all the makings of a marquee idol when it comes to potential movie roles, which makes her turn as the sadistic and sexually hyper-aggressive Dr. Julia in Horrible Bosses so strange.

Dr. Julia threatens to inform the fiancee of Charlie Day's Dale that they have been sleeping together unless he actually agrees to sleep with her. Sure, it’s a ridiculous premise, but Aniston’s performance is up to the task, toeing the line of abject ridiculousness (to admittedly hilarious effect) at all times. Aniston makes Dr. Julia crude, rude, and alarmingly sexual to the point of absurdity. It’s a well-tuned performance that stands out in a film full of highly energetic and expert comedic performances. 

Like a certain brand of similarly, staggeringly handsome performers before him (think Alec Baldwin, Jude Law), Colin Farrell was initially pitched as a traditional leading man, which led to a number of stilted headlining appearances. Given the opportunity to investigate something a little more off-kilter, however, or even chew some scenery, Farrell shines.

That mentality is at work during his prosthetic-laden turn as Batman villain the Penguin in Matt Reeves's bluntly named The Batman. Sure, Farrell has enjoyed a prolonged, and deserved, career renaissance in the past decade, but The Batman is a performance audiences might not have been lucky enough to receive had the actor’s public stature not been so secure. Farrell chomps on the scenery with glee, making the Penguin a sarcastic “New Yawk” gangster amalgamation that brings much-needed levity to the movie’s grim proceedings.