What is it that makes sitcom actors so good at being bad? Some of our favorite funny folks from the small screen have also played villains of the most vicious and vile persuasion.
Think about Ted Danson going from bartender Sam Malone on Cheers to billionaire-gone-bad Arthur Frobisher on Damages. Or Bryan Cranston wowing audiences with his turn from doofus dad Hal Wilkerson on Malcolm in the Middle to drug lord Walter White on Breaking Bad. Or John Lithgow making us forget all about the endearing alien professor Dick Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun with his role as serial killer Arthur Mitchell on Dexter.
There are even more examples. Before she was doting mom Mary Cooper on Young Sheldon, Zoe Perry played murderous operative Samantha Ruland on Scandal. And recall that Jon Cryer went from hapless dad Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men to big bad Lex Luthor in the Arrowverse.
Now imagine the actors below trading comedic chops for cutthroat characters.