There are actors who seem to be born for a specific character. Think Udo Kier, the actor who is often seen playing vampires (and who admittedly loves to play one) or Ian Somerhalder who returns to the world of vampires in the upcoming series V-Wars after making waves as the antihero Damon Salvatore in the popular series “The Vampire Diaries”. Being typecast these days is easy, especially after playing an iconic role in an iconic series. Jason Momoa, for one, made a name for himself as an action hero after playing the role of Ronon Dex in Stargate Atlantis, even if his first role was that of the Baywatch eye candy Jason Ioane, and the list could go on and on and on. There are, in turn, actors who, despite being cast in a truly iconic and well-known role, managed to avoid being typecast, successfully showing their versatility on many occasions.

David Tennant

David Tennant, born David John McDonald (whose stage name was inspired by Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant) was a successful actor long before he was cast in the title role of “Doctor Who”, one of the BBC’s most successful TV series ever. When he put on his trench coat and sneakers, though, he became one with the role, being remembered to this day by many as “THE Doctor”. After leaving the TARDIS, though, his on-screen life continued in a completely different direction. He continued to play Shakespeare in various screen adaptations, did some voice work for productions like “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, and “How To Train Your Dragon”, and took on the role of Alec Hardy in the successful ITV series “Broadchurch”. Over the years, he played everything from a constantly regenerating alien to Scrooge McDuck, with his latest being the role of the demon Crowley in the series adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s successful novel “Good Omens”.

Benedict Cumberbatch

A reserved, quirky, and incredibly intelligent Englishman – this is probably what you first think of when hearing about Benedict Cumberbatch. The actor gained international fame for playing the role of Sherlock Holmes in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s modern-day retelling of his story. Luckily, the actor – who is considered by many one of the most talented ones today – managed to break out of his role of a weird English genius, and he likely did so by accepting roles that were as far from this type as possible. After Sherlock, he played a necromancer in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, later lending his voice to the dragon Smaug. He played the role of Khan, a genetically altered genius warlord, followed by the one of Julian Assange in “The Fifth Estate”, and the role of “Little Charles”, a shy and awkward character. Later, he played Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game”, a role that landed him an Oscar nomination, before taking on the role of Marvel superhero/sorcerer supreme Doctor Strange.

In the above-mentioned “Good Omens”, he lends his voice to Satan.

Brad Pitt

Last but not least, let’s leave TV for a while and take a look at the greatest dodged bullet by an actor ever: Brad Pitt’s case with “12 Monkeys”.

A beautiful, golden-haired, and almost teary-eyed young actor, Pitt routinely showed up in romantic films as a sensitive character (even when he played Joe Black, aka Death. Then everything changed when he took on the role of Jeffrey Goines in Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys”. This role was completely different from what he has done before – he played the crazy son of a famous virologist, a mental patient and animal activist, usually unshaved and wearing a worn-down sweater. He prepared for this role by spending weeks at a mental hospital, studying the patients – and it shows. Since then, he was cast in far more diverse roles, ranging from an imaginary antihero (Tyler Durden – Fight Club) to Achilles (Troy), Jesse James, the badass WHO doctor Gerry Lane (World War Z) and Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier in “Fury”.