History Main / FunnyCharacterBoringActor

* '''E.G. Marshall''' of ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'' fame. Very frequently he was typecast as no-nonsense, businesslike characters. Behind the scenes, however, Marshall had a notoriously mischievous sense of humor, especially when refusing to reveal what his initials stood for (his stock response: "Everybody's Guess"). He could also be found pulling pranks on his co-stars and ad-libbing profane jokes and non-sequiturs while filming the 70's medical drama ''The Bold Ones: The New Doctors''.

* '''Creator/AndrewBachelor''', otherwise known on Platform/TikTok, Platform/YouTube and (formerly) Website/{{Vine}} as '''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/BachelorsPadTv KingBach]]''', is described in interviews as being calm and reserved as opposed to the cartoonish thug stereotype that shows up in his videos.

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The comedy counterpart of MeanCharacterNiceActor.

Some people have a great talent for comedy and are absolutely hilarious onscreen. Thanks to this effect, it's understandable if everyone expected them to be hilarious all the time. Not the case. Comedy is difficult to do well, and often takes a lot of planning and writing. These comedians are some of the greatest in the field, but they were/are very serious or dry in real life.

To their friends and family who knew them before they became famous there's a hint of BewareTheQuietOnes.

* '''Creator/JamesRolfe''', famously known as the creator and role as the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd Angry Video Game Nerd]], is noted to be a well-mannered, collected, thoughtful guy when he’s not the nerd who yells and curses at a video game on a regular basis.

* '''Creator/JamesRolfe''', famously known as the creator and role of the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd Angry Video Game Nerd]], is noted to be a well-mannered, collected, thoughtful guy when he’s not the nerd who yells and curses at a video game on a regular basis.

* '''Creator/AndrewBachelor''', otherwise known on Website/TikTok, Website/YouTube and (formerly) Website/{{Vine}} as '''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/BachelorsPadTv KingBach]]''', is described in interviews as being calm and reserved as opposed to the cartoonish thug stereotype that shows up in his videos.

* '''Creator/WallaceShawn''', who is perhaps well known for playing goofy oddball characters like [[Film/ThePrincessBride Vizzini]], [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Grand Nagus Zek]], [[Series/MurphyBrown Stuart Best]], and [[Franchise/ToyStory Rex]], is a self-proclaimed stoic--in an interview about ''The Princess Bride'', Shawn claimed that he completely lacks a sense of humor and only manages to do funny because he tries to act his funnily written characters as best as can. If you're used to his funny roles, it's quite jarring to see him in something quiet like ''Film/MyDinnerWithAndre'', where he's basically playing himself. He also writes incredibly dark, serious, and often politically charged plays; if you think of him as a guy who mostly appears in kids' movies, plays like ''A Thought in Three Parts'' (which contains [[EverybodyHasLotsOfSex eye-popping amounts of onstage sex]]) and ''The Designated Mourner'' (which is about political murder) will surprise you.

* '''Creator/RowanAtkinson''', famous for his role as Series/MrBean, [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 among]] [[Series/{{Blackadder}} other]] [[Film/JohnnyEnglish things]], is a maddening perfectionist who finds it extremely difficult to be witty spontaneously; as a result, interviews are kind of dull.

* '''Creator/GeorgeClooney''' is well known for playing the charming, sophisticated leading man and is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. He's also infamously Hollywood's biggest prankster routinely playing (often immature) jokes on his fellow cast members in stark contrast to his more suave on-screen characters.

* '''Creator/ChristopherLloyd''' made a career of playing loopy, over-the-top characters like [[Series/{{Taxi}} Reverend Jim Ignatowski]] and [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown]], but in real life is very shy and laconic. According to Bob Gale's commentary on the ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' DVD, when he tried to do promotional interviews on talk shows, he froze up and had to be gently coached by the interviewer; and in a New York Times interview, he just sat there silently, leaving the interviewer resorting to piecing together statements by Lloyd's costars. Creator/RobertZemeckis says it took the entirety of shooting the first ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' movie just for Lloyd to strike up a conversation with him (keep in mind as well that it took ''twice'' as long to film that movie as originally scheduled, because they had to re-shoot almost the whole thing due to [[TheOtherMarty the replacement]] of Creator/EricStoltz with Creator/MichaelJFox).

* '''Creator/PaulReubens''' was this when he's not playing Pee-Wee Herman. During a promotional interview for ''Film/MysteryMen'', he managed to get through the first few minutes without saying a word.

* '''Wrestling/JohnCena''' - is clownish and animated in the ring, whether he's PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy or an AllAmericanFace. In interviews he's very soft-spoken and ''Series/TotalDivas'' shows he's usually TheQuietOne. It's doubly ironic since he claims his in-ring persona is just him being himself. His girlfriend Nikki Bella is the opposite - she plays an AlphaBitch in the ring and in real life is far goofier and more playful.

* [[Series/GameOfThrones Greyworm]] is a stoic, no-nonsense loyal guard who literally doesn't know what a joke is (admittedly his upbringing barred him from knowing about such things). His actor, '''Jacob Anderson''' aka '''Raleigh Ritchie''' loves ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', gushing about cat videos, and is one of the most popular guests on ''[[WebVideo/GameGrumps Guest Grumps]]'' for just how funny he is.

* '''Creator/PaulReubens''' is this when he's not playing Pee-Wee Herman. During a promotional interview for ''Film/MysteryMen'', he managed to get through the first few minutes without saying a word.

* '''Creator/AdrienBrody''' has a tendency to play solemn, [[TheStoic stoic]] characters who [[TheWoobie perpetually seem to be at the verge of tears]] or flat, dull characters in DirectToVideo films. He accepted his UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award|s Ceremonies}} by planting TheBigDamnKiss on Creator/HalleBerry, and appeared at the next year's ceremony to present the Academy Award for Best Actress with breath spray in hand.

* '''Creator/DanAykroyd''', the wild-and-crazy [[Film/TheBluesBrothers Blues Brother]] among many other outrageously funny characters, in real life claims to have mild Asperger's Syndrome. When he's not playing a role he's introverted, quiet, and thoughtful, and when asked to talk about himself can have trouble meeting the interviewer's eye.

* '''Creator/EricAndre''', in stark contrast with the ''ridiculously'' surreal, over-the-top, and deranged persona he frequently exhibits on his [[Series/TheEricAndreShow very own show]], is in real life more soft-spoken and reserved, even half-jokingly describing himself in an interview as "depressive and anxious".

* '''Wrestling/DeanAmbrose''' has fallen into a quippy, comic relief role on WWE programming ever since Wrestling/TheShield broke up, but in interviews, he's flat and reserved since he doesn't like to talk about his DarkAndTroubledPast. Wrestling/SteveAustin found this out the hard during their WWE Network interview

* '''Creator/EricAndre''', in stark contrast with the ''ridiculously'' surreal, over-the-top, and deranged persona he frequently exhibits on his [[Series/TheEricAndreShow very own show]], is in real life more soft-spoken and reserved, even jokingly describing himself in an interview as "depressive and anxious".