Actors can sometimes find themselves pigeonholed because of that one thing they excel at, be it terrifying audiences as a villain, or tugging on heartstrings as a horror movie runaway, it can often take great effort for an actor to escape being typecast.

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Some actors take steps into the unknown with their roles just to show they can, and others make it a regular thing, filling their filmography with a wide array of genres aimed at different demographics.

10 Eddie Murphy Made It So Everyone Could Enjoy The Laughs

Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop Daddy Day Care

Eddie Murphy's brand of foul-mouthed, adult-oriented comedy made him an absolute megastar in the 1980s, films like 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop made Murphy a bankable leading man. The 1990s saw the former SNL actor star in a variety of projects, but by the early 2000s, Murphy had made the full-time switch to family-friendly cinema.

It wouldn't be permanent though, in 2019, Eddie Murphy returned to his roots with his first R-rated comedy in over 20 years; Dolemite Is My Name.

9 From Teen Idol To Homicidal, Zac Efron Made A Serious Switch In Playing Ted Bundy

Zac Efron High School Musical and as Ted Bundy in extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile

Former High School Musical star Zac Efron has made an admirable attempt to shed his teen heartthrob image in recent years, although his tactics may have seemed a little drastic to some. The actor and singer took on the role of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy in Netflix's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile.

Efron received praise for his portrayal, and the switch appears to have worked as Efron is set to star in the upcoming reboot of Stephen King's horror Firestarter.

8 Sylvester Stallone Shows A Softer Side At Times

Sylvester Stallone Rambo and Antz

Although Sylvester Stallone has made attempts to show his range by starring in films that lack the violence and bravado audiences know him for, these ventures have produced wildly mixed results. 1984's Rhinestone, for which the Rambo star won a Razzie for Worst Actor, was panned by both critics and audiences.

1998's Antz on the other hand, was a huge success, with Stallone using his unmistakable voice to bring the character of Corporal Weaver to life. He's also been known to flex his muscles in the MCU, Stallone appeared in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.

7 From Queens To Killers, Charlize Theron Has Done It All

Charlize Theron in Monster and Addams Family

Another actor with a terrific portrayal of a real-life killer under their belt, Charlize Theron is one of Hollywood's most accomplished. Theron took on the role of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's Monster and earned herself a Best Actress Academy Award for her troubles.

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As well as roles in R-rated and PG13 cinema over the years, Theron has also lent her voice to multiple family films, including Astro Boy and The Addams Family.

6 Robert De Niro Left The Gangster Life Behind (For A Short While)

Robert De Niro Goodfellas Rocky and Bullwinkle

There's arguably no actor more synonymous with the gangster genre than screen icon Robert De Niro. His collaborations with director Martin Scorsese are the stuff of legend, and with multiple NC-17 rated films under his belt, De Niro's target audience has remained adults only for the majority of his career.

There are of course a few exceptions, most notably his roles in Shark Tale, and the infamous box office bomb, The Adventures Of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

5 Angelina Jolie Was Once Far From A Disney Darling

Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted and Maleficent

Angelina Jolie's recent performances as Maleficent can make it easy to forget she has shown up in many films targeted at a more adult audience in her illustrious career. Jolie's Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress came after her breathtaking performance as sociopath Lisa Rowe in the R-rated Girl, Interrupted.

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Her filmography also features an instance of the rarely seen NC-17 rating. In 2001 she appeared alongside Antonio Banderas in the erotic thriller, Original Sin.

4 Robin Williams Played The Exact Opposite Of Family Friendly In One Hour Photo

Robin Williams in Hook and One Hour Photo

One of the world's best-loved actors in his prime, Robin Williams made a serious detour from his regular path of heartwarming comedy and drama in 2002 when he took on the lead role in One Hour Photo. An intense, haunting thriller, Williams plays a photo-technician who develops more than photos when his obsession with a young family grows to a criminal level.

For his chilling performance, Robin Williams took home a Saturn Award for best actor. The funnyman wouldn't stop here with villainous roles in R-rated cinema, a few months later, audiences were treated to Christopher Nolan's Insomnia, where Williams would play against-type once more.

3 Will Smith Became A Bad Boy In Order To Leave The Small Screen Behind

Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of bel air and Bad Boys

The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air is one of the best-loved sitcoms of all time, it captured the hearts of families across the world for its entire run. Despite the success, star Will Smith seemingly couldn't wait to shed his wholesome image, in 1995 he took on a starring role in Michael Bay's R-rated action-comedy Bad Boys.

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The film is a highly enjoyable crash course in intense violence and adult humor, and it would cement Will Smith as an A-lister, leading him on to an incredible and diverse career in Tinseltown.

2 Donnie Darko Features Patrick Swayze Setting Fire To His Good Guy Image

Patrick Swayze in Tall Tale and Donnie Darko

Patrick Swayze had a wonderfully diverse filmography, films like Three Wishes and Disney's Tall Tale gave audiences the heartwarming presence on the big screen that Swayze so often displayed off camera.

In 2001, Swayze starred in the cult classic Donnie Darko. According to the film's director Richard Kelly, Swayze was keen to shed his nice-guy image and went all-in on the character, even going as far as to wear his own clothes for his villainous role as Jim Cunningham.

1 Danny Trejo Went From Detestable Bad Guy To Lovable Hero

Danny Trejo in Machete and Spy kids

A former convicted felon, Danny Trejo has devoted much of his time since reaching stardom to helping troubled and disadvantaged youths, keeping them from making the same mistakes, and helping them to a path clear of gangs and violence.

Trejo made a name for himself playing villains in violent R-rated movies like Con Air and From Dusk Till Dawn, but with his appearances in Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids franchise, Trejo has shown his ability to appeal to a wider audience, making himself even more of a mainstream commodity.

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