Bill Burr Is the Single Most Surprisingly Competent Comedian-Turned-Actor

For years, stand-up comedy superstar Bill Burr mercilessly and hilariously mocked Star Wars and Star Wars fans. However, no one was laughing once Burr landed a role in Star Wars.

In Hollywood, it sure seems that every single performer who finds success on either side of the comedy/drama divide suddenly decides that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence as soon as they get famous. Every Oscar-winner thinks that they’re funny and secretly wants to guest star on Abbott Elementary. Conversely, every sitcom star who builds a name for themselves by busting guts makes their agent send them out for every meaty, serious and ill-fitting part in the newest A24 drama. 

Stand-up comedians, however, exist entirely in their own sphere, where even their attempts to become comic actors can fail spectacularly, despite some assuming that the transition from stage to camera would be a natural one. And a stand-up comedian who can do drama acting? That’s even more of a rarity. But according to a recent viral Twitter thread that asked users to list comics who “shocked” them with their acting chops, Burr makes it look easy.

Burr was the most popular response of the poll — though, I think most of Twitter forgot (or is simply too young to remember) that, before Robin Williams was one of the world’s greatest movie stars, he too, was a stand-up. Burr's performance as the shady mercenary and former Imperial Army sharpshooter Migs Mayfeld in four episodes of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian earned him acclaim at the time, and, now, three and a half years after his last scene in the Star Wars universe, acting aficionados are still discussing his scene-stealing talents.

In addition to the aforementioned performance, there's also Burr’s role as Patrick Kuby in the smash-hit AMC drama Breaking Bad. Burr’s character was the skinnier of two of Saul Goodman’s henchman in the lauded series, sharing most scenes with fellow stand-up comedian Lavell Crawford who played the fan-favorite Huell Babineaux. Though no one in the above thread seemed interested in discussing this early work, the role did prove that Burr was ready for bigger and more beloved dramatic parts.

Ultimately, Burr’s magnum opus as a dramatic actor may very well end up being the scene below from The Mandalorian, when Mayfeld gets the opportunity to exact revenge on a cruel officer who sent him and his buddies to their dooms:

While most of Burr’s post-Mandalorian roles have been in purely humorous projects, Ol’ Billy Redface may yet decide to return to drama once he’s done making mediocre Netflix comedies. Speaking of which, not all of Twitter was in agreement that Burr is the top comedian to shock audiences with his acting abilities. Wrote one user, “I’m going to go with Bert Kreischer, I didn’t know someone could have the ability to act that bad in a movie about yourself.”