There is no other kind of business quite like show business, as the old saying goes. The film industry is, without a doubt, the most interesting field to get employment. Actors of the opposite gender are cast in the same part, with male
performers playing female roles and vice versa. See all the
times when actors play completely opposite gender roles here. Child actors frequently take the spotlight away from their more experienced colleagues. These Actors Nailed The Opposite-Gender Roles. The following eight
times when actors play completely opposite gender roles, which may come as a surprise to some:
1. Elle Fanning (About Ray)
Source: About Ray
About Ray is a drama film starring Elle Fanning as Ray, a transgender person who must win over her mother, grandfather, and absent father to embrace her new life. The film was directed by Gaby Dellal.
"The director said, " The character is a girl who is presenting in a very inefficient fashion as a boy," the director said. Though the film was met with mixed reviews, Fanning's performance was universally praised.
2. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Source: Dallas Buyers Club
Jared Leto has come a long way in pursuing a successful acting career, from appearing in films as an extra to receiving an Oscar. The lead singer of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars has played a role of the opposite sex, as have all of the other people on this list. Not only did Leto excel in the part, but she also earned an Oscar for supporting actress. The actor's performance as Rayon, a transgender woman, in Dallas Buyers Club was praised by reviewers and audiences.
3. Angelina Jolie (Salt)
Source: Salt
There is no denying that Angelina Jolie is one of the most beautiful women alive; in fact, she has been named the sexiest woman alive by magazines like Esquire, Empire, and FHM. The actress has proven that she can carry off action roles normally played by men, proving that her stardom isn't based just on her attractiveness.
4. Amanda Bynes (She’s The Man)
Source: She’s The Man
Viola Hastings, portrayed by Amanda Bynes, wants to play soccer badly for her school, but the squad is for guys only. The smart-mouthed girl is so determined to make the squad that she pretends to be her brother to gain entry. Although the film is a lot of fun to watch, it's a shame it has to remind us of how far Bynes' career could have gone if she hadn't gotten into legal trouble for things like DUI, reckless driving, criminal possession of marijuana, etc.
5. Adam Sandler (Jack and Jill)
Source: Jack and Jill
At the height of his popularity, Adam Sandler played Jack and Jill Sadelstein, identical twins who starred in one of the worst movies ever made. It's shocking to see that not even co-stars
Katie Holmes and Al Pacino could stop the film from garnering scores of poor reviews, given that they had to work with the same awful material.
6. John Travolta (Hairspray)
Source: Hairspray
Incredibly, the actor who played a hitman in Pulp Fiction and an FBI special agent in Face/Off also played a female character in a later film. John Travolta played the overweight Edna Turnblad in the 2007 musical comedy Hairspray.
No one would call it a pretty sight, and while Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, and Steve Martin were all considered for the role, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ultimately settled on Travolta.
7. Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Source: Getty Images
People were curious to see what Eddie Redmayne, who played Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and won an Oscar, would do next. He was proposed to play the lead in a film about Lili Elbe, one of the first people to have sex change surgery. Redmayne rose to the challenge and was nominated for an Oscar again, although he ultimately came in second place to Leonardo DiCaprio.
8. Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)
Source: Getty Images
Upon hearing that a biopic on the life of one of the most seminal musicians of all time, Bob Dylan, titled I'm Not There, would be made, everyone immediately began to speculate about who would play Dylan. Unpredictably, seven actors were cast in roles related to the singer's life. Cate Blanchett, a female actor, was oddly enough, one of them. She did an incredible job of channeling Dylan and demonstrating that women can occasionally excel where men have failed.