History Main / TomHanksSyndrome

* Subverted by ''[[{{ptitleolsdue4jfzga}} 30 Rock]]''. Tracy is afraid of losing his youthful edge because "do you know what happens to a comedian when he gets old and loses his audience? He starts getting ''offered serious roles''!"

[[ForrestGump http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forrest-gump-p111.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350:[[TropeNamer Movie offers were like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.]]]]

-- '''Ancient showbiz saying'''

-- '''Tracy Jordan''', ''[[ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''

* Argentinian actor Guillermo Francella, MemeticBadass in his homeland for all his sitcoms, his hilarious voice tones and his green-tinted catchphrases started to get serious with his work recently. The result? Quite epic, and to prove it... well, one movie he went serious actually earned an Oscar (El secreto de tus ojos/The Secret of your Eyes) as the best foreign film this year(2010). Before this, he had the role of the BigBad in a TV series called Vidas Robadas without his memetic mustache. This troper almost had a heart attack, and at the next day everyone was talking about this, and how Badass he looked being evil.

* Jerry Lewis appeared in ''{{Wiseguy}}'' as rag trade businessman Eli Sternberg in the "Garment Industry" story arc. Before that, he appeared in the infamous Holocaust drama ''The Day The Clown Cried'', which was never released. He did better in Martin Scorsese's ''The King Of Comedy'', in a part which was less of a stretch for him. He also ''[[AdamWesting Adam Wested]]'' his own deteriorating mental state in what was debatedly the best episode of ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.

* Inverted with the late Leslie Nelson. He began his career as a serious dramatic actor. It wasn't until {{Airplane}} and the NakedGun franchise that he began to do goofy parodies which he was best known for.

In addition, comedy is also ''more difficult'' than tragedy for actors. A mediocre performance is a much more readable/watchable in a tragedy than in a comedy, because once comedy starts to fall apart, it's very hard to pull it back together again. Hence, a really good comic actor usually has the talent - the knowledge of their body, of timing, of the effects of subtle gestures - that can serve to make them brilliant at serious works as well.

* In many 90's films, you can see Ed O'Neill trying to squeeze himself in the cast as cop#1 or cop#2. He'll usually have only one line or two, and only when the closeup comes you'll go "HeyItsThatGuy!". He probably wanted a dramatic cop-show role or something, which he got on the short-lived ''LA {{Dragnet}}. Looks like some of [[MarriedWithChildren Al Bundy's]] hell has rubbed on the actor. He did land the role of Governor of Pennslyvania, but that was on ''TheWestWing'', where he was a failed Republican presidential hopeful.

* In many 90's films, you can see Ed O'Neill trying to squeeze himself in the cast as cop#1 or cop#2. He'll usually have only one line or two, and only when the closeup comes you'll go "HeyItsThatGuy!". He probably wanted a dramatic cop-show role or something, but it seems nothing came up. Looks like some of [[MarriedWithChildren Al Bundy's]] hell has rubbed on the actor. He did land the role of Governor of Pennslyvania, but that was on ''TheWestWing'', where he was a failed Republican presidential hopeful.

* In many 90's films, you can see Ed O'Neill trying to squeeze himself in the cast as cop#1 or cop#2. He'll usually have only one line or two, and only when the closeup comes you'll go "HeyItsThatGuy!". He probably wanted a dramatic cop-show role or something, but it seems nothing came up. Looks like some of [[MarriedWithChildren Al Bundy's]] hell has rubbed on the actor.

* Leslie Nielsen is [[LeslieNielsenSyndrome the inverse of the trope]]. He was largely known for serious roles until ''{{Airplane}}!'' came along and started him on a brilliant comedy career. His [[{{Unfunny}} deadpan performances]] made him ideal for the "poker-faced farce" of early ZAZ films. Degrading material and a zanier delivery ultimately diluted his later performances.

* Sean Penn's earliest acting consisted of mostly comedic roles such as Jeff Spicoli from {{FastTimesatRidgemontHigh}} but after wards his career took a dramatic turn starting with the film "Bad Boys".

* Fred McMurray was mostly known for comic roles until Billy Wilder cast him against type in Double Indemnity and The Apartment. McMurray reckoned these were his best performances.

* Jim Carrey began his career in a variety of small roles, but rose to fame as a comedic actor in ''InLivingColor'' before breaking out in ''AceVentura'' as a spastic clown. He went on to a variety of other comedic roles before earnestly pursuing OscarBait such as ''TheTrumanShow'' and ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', though he always kept his comic edge. He lampshaded the trope in his first Golden Globe acceptance speech:

* MarilynMonroe tried this because in real life people only saw her as the dumb blond persona she was constantly cast as. Didn't quite work out.

* Kal Penn also rose to fame through ''HaroldAndKumar'' as well, but has largely put aside comedy roles as a popular supporting character on ''House'' ([[spoiler: before they DroppedABridgeOnHim]]). His follows up with some puzzling choices, like playing a random {{mook}} in ''SupermanReturns'' and now working for BarackObama.

* Kal Penn also rose to fame through ''HaroldAndKumar'' as well, but has largely put aside comedy roles as a popular supporting character on ''House'' ([[spoiler: before they DroppedABridgeOnHim]]). He's follows up with some puzzling choices, like playing a random {{mook}} in ''SupermanReturns'' and now working for BarackObama.

* Jim Carrey began his career in a variety of small roles, but rose to fame as a comedic actor in ''InLivingColor'' before breaking out in ''AceVentura'' as a spastic clown. He went on to a variety of other comedic roles before earnestly pursing OscarBait such as ''TheTrumanShow'' and ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', though he always kept his comic edge. He lampshaded the trope in his first Golden Globe acceptance speech:

* Bill Murray first attempted it early in his career with ''The Razor's Edge'', but quickly returned to comedy when the film was a critical and financial disaster. He tried again later with dramedies, first ''{{Rushmore}}'', then his Oscar-nominated turn in ''Film/{{Lost in Translation}}'' and later in ''Broken Flowers'' and ''The Lost City''.

* Jim Carrey began his career in a variety of small roles, but rose to fame as a comedic actor in ''InLivingColor'' before breaking out in ''AceVentura'' as a spastic clown. He went on to a variety of other comedic roles before earnestly pursing Oscar Bait such as ''TheTrumanShow'' and ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', though he always kept his comic edge. He lampshaded the trope in his first Golden Globe acceptance speech:

Why does this happen so often? Well, AsYouKnow, TrueArtIsAngsty. Many comic performers begin to feel they cannot get the acclaim and respect their dramatic counterparts do unless they start doing "serious" films. In addition, comedic films almost never win Oscars, leading stars to resort to using [[OscarBait bait.]] It's instructive that most examples are film stars, since televison's Emmys have separate categories for comedy and drama.

Compare CerebusSyndrome, where a series does this rather than an actor. As the examples below show, this doesn't always work well, but when the actor in question manages to do a really good job, it can lead to a surprised reaction: SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct! Constrast LeslieNielsenSyndrome, where a succesful drama actor becomes an equally succesful comedian.

* Takeshi Kitano was first known as a comedian. He went on to appear in a number of dramatic films playing BadAss yakuza characters and became a sort of Japanese Charles Bronson, though he occasionally inserted dark comedy into his roles. Western audiences who were first exposed to his yakuza films were quite surprised to see him in old reruns of the loopy gameshow ''TakeshisCastle''.
* Leslie Nielsen is [[LeslieNielsenSyndrome the inverse of the trope]]. He was largely known for serious roles until ''{{Airplane}}!'' came along and started him on a brilliant comedy career. His [[{{Unfunny}} deadpan performances]] made him ideal for the "poker-faced farce" of early ZAZ films. Degrading material and a zanier delivery ulimately diluted his later performances.

* Arguably Lee Evans, a madcap comedian known for his physical humor and over the top routines. He has had several parts in movies such as ''[=~There's Something About Mary~=]'', ''TheFifthElement'' and ''Film/MouseHunt'', where he continued to use his energetic, wacky performance. Then in 2004 he played the role of a paranoid conspiracy theorist and murderer in the PsychologicalThriller ''Freeze Frame''. Also in 2004, his performance of clov (opposite Michael Gambon) in Matthew Warchus's production of Endgame was critically well recieved.

* MarilynMonroe tried this because in real life people only saw her as the dumb blonde persona she was constantly cast as. Didn't quite work out.

* Max Wall was a famous music hall (vaudeville) comedian and dancer who later in his life became a leading interpreter of Samuel Beckett's plays. Not totally surprising because Beckett's plays, despite their nihilistic absurdism, were influenced by music hall comedy.

* Argentinian actor Guillermo Francella, MemeticBadass in his homeland for all his sitcoms, his hilarious voice tones and his green-tinted catchphrases started to get serious with his work recently. The result? Quite epic, and to prove it... well, one movie he went serious actually earned an Oscar (El secreto de tus ojos/The Secret of your Eyes) as the best foreign film this year(2010). Before this, he had the role of the BigBad in a tv series called Vidas Robadas without his memetic moustache. This troper almost had a heart attack, and at the next day everyone was talking about this, and how Badass he looked being evil.

** It should be noted here that Andy and Tony first got into showbusiness as part of a FiveManBand of ''teen idols'', while Alfred... let's just say he's got the PluckyComicRelief look down pat.

[[caption-width:445:[[TropeNamer Movie offers were like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.]]]]
->''"Every comedian wants to play Hamlet."''
-->--'''Ancient showbiz saying'''

->''"Do you know what happens when a comedian grows old and loses their audience? They get offered '''serious roles'''. Do you want to see me playing Arthur Ashe!?"''
-->--'''Tracy Jordan''', ''[[ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''

* TomHanks first rose to fame with a series of comedies in the 1980s, then in 1993 he won critical praise and a Best Actor Oscar for his dramatic turn in ''{{Philadelphia}}''; the following year he won again for ''ForrestGump''. Since then his stock in trade has largely been in dramatic roles with a comedic bent. The trope was hilariously {{Lampshaded}} in RealLife on his ''Inside The Actors Studio'' appearance when he spent 45 minutes discussing his art, only for a fan to gush that ''Turner and Hooch'' was her favorite movie ever!!! during the Q&A period.
** During a "Year In Review" for 2009, MSN [[http://movies.msn.com/movies/year-in-review/bummers/?photoidx=3 stated]] how much they miss the funny Tom Hanks.
* Although RobinWilliams went to Juliard for four years and trained with John Houseman, he became famous as a high-energy clown, first starting in ''MorkAndMindy''. He started turning his comedic talents toward more dramatic subjects in ''GoodMorningVietnam'' and ''DeadPoetsSociety'', to critical acclaim and an Oscar win for ''GoodWillHunting''. Since then, he freely bounces between straight comedies, dramedies, and outright dark dramatic roles such as ''Film/{{Insomnia}}'' and ''OneHourPhoto''. He claimed to never want to do a "funny" movie again after ''PatchAdams'', but yeah that didn't last either.
* Jim Carrey began his career in a variety of small rolls, but rose to fame as a comedic actor in ''InLivingColor'' before breaking out in ''AceVentura'' as a spastic clown. He went on to a variety of other comedic roles before earnestly pursing Oscar Bait such as ''TheTrumanShow'' and ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', though he always kept his comic edge. He lampshaded the trope in his first Golden Globe acceptance speech:

* Early in his career, John Cho was an inversion: a would-be dramatic actor who ended up making his name as [[OneSceneWonder the MILF Guy]] in ''AmericanPie'', the wacky friend Chau in ''Off Centre'', and most famously one half of ''HaroldAndKumar''. He's since stated he deliberately took comedic roles to avoid the "model minority" roles typically given to Asian American actors. But he's recently played this trope straight by transitioning into action/drama roles with ''Film/StarTrek'' and ''[[FlashForward2009 FlashForward]]''.