The best actor at goofy or stupid humorā
Some of my favorite movies for goofy, ridiculous humor include Murder by Death, The Pink Panther Returns, Being There, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Top Secret!, The Kentucky Fried Movie, Airplane!, and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. That got me thinking⦠who is the best actor ever at this kind of absurd, over-the-top comedy? My personal vote goes to Peter Sellers. His performances as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films and as Sidney Wang in Murder by Death are just brilliant. The back-and-forth between Sellers and Truman Capote in Murder by Death about grammar is one of the funniest exchanges ever put on film. But then thereās Leslie Nielsen, who may be the king of deadpan delivery in films like Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Nobody plays absurd dialogue with a straight face better. You also have John Cleese and the rest of the Monty Python crew, whose mix of intellectual nonsense and physical comedy in Monty Python and the Holy Grail created a whole style of humor. Other greats in this style include Mel Brooks, who both acted in and created some of the greatest parody films ever made, Gene Wilder, whose performances in films like Young Frankenstein are legendary, and Steve Martin, who brought a uniquely absurd style to films like The Jerk. From the more modern generation, you could certainly make the case for Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler, who have carried the torch for outrageous comedy for the last 25+ years. And one performance that often gets overlooked is Samuel L. Jackson playing against type in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. Seeing a usually intense dramatic actor dive into full parody was part of what made that movie so funny. Neil Simonās Murder by Death really showed how powerful this style can be, bringing together actors from very different backgrounds and letting them lean into the absurd. So Iām curious what everyone else thinks: Who is the greatest actor ever at this kind of ridiculous, goofy comedy?And who did I miss?