The best type of actors/actresses are known as chameleons because they can adapt their acting to the movie role and play a various amount of different characters, such as actors like Johnny Depp who can go from Cry Baby to Captain Jack Sparrow, Another actor who fits in this category is Tom Hanks, he started out as a comedy actor and threw the 80s most of his movies were comedy but this actor is a chameleon because he did a lot of different genres and roles he can go from a movie like “Cast Away”, where he loses his mind to a movie where he is a prison guard in the movie “The Green Mile”, both of these movies share the genre of drama. Another type of actor is one who is a type cast actor, this is an actor who is generally known for a particular role or type of movie. An actor known for this is John Wayne if you needed a heroic cowboy this was the man to play the part. One of the most iconic actors known for type casting is Bela Lugosi, he is known for playing the role of Count Dracula time and time again. There are a few actors that get out of being a type cast actor by playing different roles, like Robin Williams did a lot of comedy but threw in serious type films so he didn’t become a type cast actor, Jim Carrey also did this by playing a role in “Cable Guy” a drama/mystery movie.

 An actor known for being a nerdy clumsy guy in every movie is Rick Moranis. Rick Moranis was a huge star in the 80’s in movies like “Ghostbusters” where he was an accountant, “Little Shop of Horrors” where he worked in a florist shop and found an alien species that looked like a plant that fed on human flesh and blood. and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” where he played an inventor that made a shrink ray. In all of these movies he played a clumsy nerd, and not just in these movies, he was also the nerdy guy in movies like “Little Giants” where he was the non-athletic little brother of the big shot guy in town, and makes a football team that is full of the ‘misfits’ in town where they face the ‘better’ team where the ‘misfits’ did not get picked to play.  and “Spaceballs” he plays dark helmet where he is ordered to kidnap Princess Vespa.

Rick started out on a Canadian comedy series “Second City Television” in 1980 when he joined the third season when he was persuaded by his friend Dave Thomas the writer and performer of SCTV. SCTV was a Canadian comedy series that aired from 1976 to 1984. Rick and Dave had to fill two minutes on the show so the created a sketch called “The Great White North” which featured the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, a couple of Canadian buffoons. This Sketch was a huge hit and the show had the McKenzie’s sketch in every episode on SCTV. Bob and Doug became so huge that it led to a movie “Strange Brew” Ricks first major film role in 1983.

    When he got into the Hollywood franchise he really became a type cast actor after being in big budget films like “Ghostbusters” and “Spaceballs”. Rick had a busy career throughout the 80’s with a lot of the feature films stated before and there sequels.  Then in 1997 he silently vanished ‘showbiz’ to take care of his two children after his wife died when cancer spread to her liver. He was never able to get out of being a type cast actor because he wasn’t able to play a different role other than a ‘clumsy nerd’ since he decided to become a stay at home dad.

He might have stopped being on the big screen but he did a little voice acting over the years. He was Rutt in the movie “Brother Bear” in 2003 and its sequel. He did a comedy album in 2013, “The Mother’s Brisket”. He still does get requested for movies but he wants nothing that doesn’t interest him. He was even asked to do a cameo in the new “Ghostbusters” movie but he turned it down. People still notice him and wonder what happened to him but Rick said he has no regrets for what he did and has had an amazing life.

Work Cited

Chameleons: Actors Who Can Play Any Part, https://www.msn.com/en-nz/entertainment/movies/chameleons-actors-who-can-play-any-part/ss-AAe90sB.

Parker, Ryan. “Rick Moranis Reveals Why He Turned Down ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot: ‘It Makes No Sense to Me.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Aug. 2016, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/rick-moranis-reveals-why-he-829779.

Serafino, Jason. “The 10 Most Typecast Actors of All Time.” Complex, Complex, 1 June 2018, https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/11/10-most-typecast-actors-of-all-time/.

“Rick Moranis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Moranis.