Jason Segel plays a wacky, stressed out author hitting the publicity book circuit in “The End of the Tour,” in theaters now but opening wide Thursday. Hilarity ensues.

Strike that. Segel, best known for comedies like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “I Love You Man,” portrays acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace during a tense series of interviews with a Rolling Stone scribe.

Jason Segel’s performance is gathering some Oscar buzz already …

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Nothing in Segel’s career up until now suggested he’d be perfect for such a meaty dramatic role. That didn’t prevent director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now”) from casting the lanky funnyman. And, in fact, Segel’s performance is gathering some Oscar buzz even though the unofficial kickoff to awards season is still weeks away.

Segel is hardly the first actor to throw a monkey wrench into his career — and audience expectations. While actors like John Wayne and Charles Bronson stuck closely to their screen personas in film after film, decade after decade, others opted to surprise themselves and moviegoers with their range.

Consider these five actors who threw us a curve and found their careers thrived as a result.

  • Leslie Nielsen: Remember that suave leading man in movies like “Forbidden Planet” and “The Poseidon Adventure?” They’ve been all but wiped away from our collective memories thanks to his daffy work in “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” franchise. He recalled his career switch during a 1997 interview: “I was always secretly yearning and hoping that some day I would get the chance to do a good comedy … then it happened.”
  • William Shatner: The “Star Trek” captain was all business, always, whether he was seducing green aliens or corralling crooks on television’s “T.J. Hooker.” Then his inner funnyman emerged, and he started switching out serious roles for droll characters like Denny Crane in “Boston Legal.” He even became Priceline.com’s go-to pitchman, but he retained our respect and even admiration. He simply never stopped working.
  • Jim Carrey: With an “aaaaawrighty then!” and his famously pliable face, Carrey used his “Ace Ventura” film to build a big screen comedy career. Then, like some clowns before him, he craved a serious role. So between comedies he delivered “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”  These days, he’s still a go-to funny man, but nobody laughs when he scores the occasional dramatic part.
  • Liam Neeson: The hulking Irish actor assembled a serious run of films, including his Oscar-nominated turn in “Schindler’s List.” Then an intense performance in the 2008 thriller “Taken” changed his career. Suddenly, the 50-something actor had more action scripts on his agent’s desk than Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger combined. Sure, he recently appeared via a cheeky cameo in “Ted 2,” but Neeson will have the action genre pickings for as long as he can
  • Matthew McConaughey: The only drama associated with this actor’s work was at what point in the movie he would lose his shirt. Then he attempted a career reboot. He ditched the dopey rom-coms and attempted a few coal-black characters. “Killer Joe,” “Mud” and “Magic Mike” let him flash the kind of intensity we didn’t know he had, and suddenly those silly romances were forgotten. He capped his remarkable 180 degree turn by winning a Best Actor statuette for “Dallas Buyers Club.”

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