20 Serious Actors and Directors That Killed It in Comedies

Artsiest of the artsy directors Terrence Malick is a big Zoolander fan. Now, we totally get it, Zoolander is a bonkers classic, but that is a fascinating factoid nonetheless. Similarly, Christopher Nolan, director of You Know Damn Well Who Nolan Is, is a major comedy buff, and the genre intimidates him so much that he doesn’t even dare make a comedy. As he once explained, the issue with comedies is that its creators cannot hide behind the old “you just don’t get it” excuse – either a comedy makes people laugh or it doesn’t. Comedy, then, is an attractive challenge even for the most serious of artists.

In this Pictofact, we take a look at a bunch of serious creators who successfully dabbled in comedy with surprising (and hilarious) results. We mostly focus on performers, but you’ll also find directors here and there. You might call this a new version, if you will, of our past investigations into Mozart’s butt-related works or James Joyce’s, erm, also butt-related works? What’s with high-brow creative geniuses and fart jokes? Anyway, if you excuse us, we have to finish writing the fart scene from Hot Bikini Philosopher Ph.D. before sending it to Nolan – it’s much more challenging than your usual, somber, meditative reflections on the weight of absolute power, Christopher. What? What do you mean that’s a lame joke? Whatever, you just don’t get it.