When the laughter stops: how sitcom stars have fared in Hollywood
Amy Poehler is one of the most popular sitcom stars of recent years, thanks to her role in Parks and Recreation and awards-show turns with Tina Fey. She has seamlessly made the transition from TV to the big screen via Pixar’s latest hit, Inside Out. But such a path has proven hazardous in the past. Many TV comedy stars have briefly popped up on the big screen, only to retreat back to their comfort zone; some have become something of a joke, and others have been let down by the different demands of Hollywood. Few have gone on to enjoy a prolonged career making movies – fewer still making good movies. But who has managed to pull it off? We sort 25 sitcom stars into the ones whose careers went big, and those who stayed small.
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Big timers
Chris Pratt
When Chris Pratt reappeared at the start of Park and Recreation’s sixth season an alarming 60 pounds lighter and with a fully formed six-pack, it was clear that the erstwhile loveable buffoon had made the transition to blockbuster beefcake. He went on to star in the mega-hits Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World.
Will Smith
The career progression from rapper and sitcom actor to movie superstar may be unorthodox, but it was enormously successful for the Fresh Prince. Recent turns in Men in Black 3 and Focus reinforced his status as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, and he will make his comic-book debut as Deadshot in DC’s Suicide Squad next year.
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Martin Freeman
Having built a reputation as a likeable everyman in The Office, Martin Freeman was an inspired choice for the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and brought a humane presence to an otherwise bloated and impersonal – albeit very successful – film trilogy.
Amy Poehler
Following several years of being one of the funniest women on TV – most notably as Leslie Nope in Parks and Recreation – Poehler is in the process of making it on the big screen, starring as the voice of Joy in Pixar’s Inside Out. She’s set to appear alongside Tina Fey in Sisters, opening in the US in December.
Amy Poehler on Inside Out Guardian
Danny DeVito
Having made a name for himself in the multiple Emmy award-winning Taxi, Danny DeVito became one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood during the 1990s, thanks to memorable performances in the likes of Batman Returns, Matilda (which he also directed) and LA Confidential, and has since come full circle with his fantastically committed performance as squalor-loving Frank in the US sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Mila Kunis
For years best known as the voice of Meg in Family Guy, Mila Kunis has emerged as one of the brightest prospects in Hollywood, thanks to roles in box-office successes Oz the Great and the Powerful and Ted, and critical hit Black Swan.
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Woody Harrelson
There weren’t a lot of jokes in True Detective and No Country for Old Men, but esteemed character actor Woody Harrelson first made a name for himself as dimwitted bartender Woody Boyd in the classic sitcom Cheers.
Steve Carell
Steve Carell’s successes on the big and small screens virtually coincided, when both the US version of The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin became big hits in 2005. Since then, he’s appeared in several hit comedies, and recently proved himself decent at drama in Bennet Miller’s Foxcatcher.
Helen Hunt
During her stint starring in New York-set sitcom Mad About You, Helen Hunt also nabbed a best actress oscar for her bubbly performance alongside Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets.
Michael Cera
Following his role as an awkward, stammering teen in Arrested Development, Michael Cera went on to play virtually every awkward, stammering teen in Hollywood for the next couple of years, before breaking type in Scott Pilgrim vs the World.
Small screeners
Jennifer Aniston
The Friends star has never quite succeeded in translating the magic that made her such a zeitgeisty figure during the 90s, and although the likes of We’re the Millers and Marley and Me made a splash at the box office, none of her big-screen roles have created anything like the same beloved legacy as Rachel Green.
Jason Segel
Jason Segel was one of several current comedy stars to get their first break on Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks, and has since had the role of Marshall in How I Met Your Mother, all while establishing himself as a talented movie actor and writer with the likes of Knocked Up and The Muppets.
The cast of Judd Apatow’s TV comedy Freaks and Geeks, including (back row) Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and James Franco. Photograph: NBCUPhotobank/Rex Features
John Cleese
Throughout the 70s, John Cleese was one of the biggest names in comedy, thanks to Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, but his film career tailed off after The Holy Grail and Life of Brian, aside from the gleefully amoral A Fish Called Wanda.
Tina Fey
The 30 Rock star’s history in film actually stretches back to her beloved and endlessly quoted script for Mean Girls, but her outings in front of the camera, such as Date Night and Baby Mamma, have been lukewarm.
Seth MacFarlane
The days when Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy was perpetually under threat of cancellation seem a long way away, and he’s now considered a bona fide Hollywood star thanks to the success of Ted, but his trademark scatological humour is just as hit and miss on the big screen as it is on the small.
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Charlie Day
Day brings his manic energy and shrill vocals to voiceover roles in The Lego Movie and Monsters University, and was the best thing about Horrible Bosses, but always seems restrained compared with his unhinged role in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Jason Bateman
As the good-looking straight man who functioned as a soundboard for the more outlandish performances that orbited around him, Jason Bateman was always the most likely of the Arrested Development cast to make it in Hollywood – but comedies such as Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief failed to make the most of his talent.
Alison Brie
Having done great work for years on the cult comedy Community, Alison Brie was an inspired choice for Princess Unikitty in The Lego Movie, and now her traction as a comic lead in films is about to be tested in the forthcoming No Stranger Than Love.
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Plaza’s performance as moody, deadpan April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation provided a refreshing counterpoint to how women are expected to behave in comedies, but such a distinctive persona tends to be served better these days by television – films such as Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever don’t do her justice.
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Despite being one of the most gifted comic actors of her generation and starring in Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has few notable film credits to her name, beyond some minor roles in Woody Allen films and the voice of an ant in A Bug’s Life. She continues to land her best roles (such as Selina Meyer in Veep) in TV.
Ricky Gervais
Given his notorious outing hosting the Golden Globes, it would be wrong to say Gervais hasn’t made it in the US, but none of his films thus far have come anywhere near the nuanced humour that made The Office such a classic.
Rowan Atkinson
One of Britain’s most beloved TV comics and the star of Blackadder, Not the Nine O’Clock News and Mr Bean, Rowan Atkinson has not looked as at home on the big screen, with neither the Jonny English franchise nor the Mr Bean spin-offs successfully exploiting his obvious comic abilities.
Sofia Vergara
The Colombian-American actress received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2015, but that honour was more in recognition for her role in the sitcom Modern Family than for any of her films. Her most recent high-profile big-screen outing, Hot Pursuit, was universally panned.
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Neil Patrick Harris
Despite having a film career spanning nearly 30 years, and having hosted the 2015 Oscars ceremony, none of Neil Patrick Harris’s silver screen outings have come close to the prominence of his character from How I Met Your Mother.
Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano’s determined efforts to leave behind her best-known role as the child star on the US sitcom Who’s the Boss and make a distinguished film career for herself never quite came to fruition, and she has since returned back to her small-screen origins in shows such as Charmed.