History Main / MeanCharacterNiceActor

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic:'' "Hearth's Warming Eve" saw Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash play three tyrannical tribal leaders (with many but not all of the exact opposite traits) for the historical play. Although, historically speaking, no-one ''ever'' accused Commander Hurricane (played by Rainbow Dash) of being a lazybones.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act, whether the camera is rolling or not. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is rather kindhearted, something that continuously grows more apparent as he gradually lets his better qualities shine through his Crafty persona--until he feels comfortable with dropping the act entirely at key moments.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act, whether the camera is rolling or not. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. Though he can be careless with his words, Colin's careful to not get too carried away with his act. As he deals with his personal problems over time, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.

** When Mindstein goes on a tirade against Nurse for her loyalty to Crafty in "I Need a Hero Academia's" final part, she attacks Crafty for not being a genuine villain, only acting as one for branding purposes. It's all but outright stated that this is the one aspect of Crafty's character that she respects the least.

** The ShowWithinAShow of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' gets an edgy reboot film, portraying the already gruff and arrogant Darkwing as a terror who "fights darkness with ''more darkness,''" (though we don't actually see anything more of him in the trailer than just a smirk). The actor cast in the role turns out to be a huge dork who has modeled his life on the original (in-universe) portrayal and enjoys roleplaying with Launchpad and has a strong heroic streak of his own.

* Both Hamm and Mr. Potato Head from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''. Whenever Andy is playing with them, they're always cast as the bad guys. In-universe it can happen with any toy after all.

* The ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'' short "Where's God When I'm S-s-scared?" reveals that the actor playing [[FrankenX FrankenCelery]] in [[KidsShouldntWatchHorrorFilms a horror movie that scared Junior Asparagus]] is actually a pretty nice guy. His name is Phil Winklestein, and he's from UsefulNotes/ToledoOhio.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ouatih_dalton.png]]]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' sets the PlayerCharacter up as the "actor" in one scenario. The non-Genocide version of Mettaton EX’s boss fight is presented as a TV show, and acting like a CardCarryingVillain is a good way to gain viewers (other ways include being a LargeHam, using on-brand products, and living up to your boasts). Not only can you play the bad guy and keep your PacifistRun going so long as you don't actually harm Mettaton, but gaining enough viewers lets you end the fight with minimal violence (well, except to you, since this way requires you to get hit), so you're actually ''encouraged'' to play this way.

** Simon Keyes in ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Prosecutor’s Path]]'' is a meek little guy who plays the BigBad of [[ShowWithinAShow Regina’s circus act]] [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope and actually turns out to be the]] BigBad of the game]].
** Zigzagged in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit Of Justice]]'' with Mr. Reus and Bonny de Famme, who play the BigBad and TheDragon respectively in [[ShowWithinAShow “Trucy in Gramarye Land”]]. [[spoiler:The ones in the actual show are genuinely nice people, but [[TwinSwitch Betty de Famme]] and the ''real'' Mr. Reus are the culprits of the case]].
* ''VisualNovel/ShiningSongStarnova'' has Kile, who plays the main villain of the ''Black Opera'' TV adaptation in Mika’s route. Kile’s character is a ManipulativeBastard who brainwashes women into becoming his sex slaves and subjects the main heroine to horrible, degrading scenarios. Kile himself is so ashamed of the things his part requires him to say and do to his co-star Mika that he breaks character and runs off the set in tears during a particularly gruelling scene.

* ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010'': The Dog of the Week, Pooches the dog actress, stars in the popular sitcom ''Pippy Vs Pooches'', alongside a child actress who plays Pippy, a BrattyHalfPint who serves as Pooches’s ArchEnemy. Pippy is so selfish and vindictive towards the dog while the cameras are rolling, Pooches believes that’s what she’s really like. However, she soon finds out that Pippy, whose real name is Amy, is sweet and gentle off-set, and actually adores Pooches.

--> '''Zangief''': "[...] Zangief, you are bad guy. But this does not mean you are ''bad'' guy?"

* In ''The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel)'', Newton Pinckney, a television actor who always plays villains, kindly clears up a major confusion that drives the plot, though he was largely responsible for creating it.

* In ''Franchise/YokaiWatch,'' Sgt. Burly is a personal trainer who adopts a DrillSeargentNasty persona during his training sessions, and whose personal style is somewhat harsh. However, he's shown to actually be a very kind Yo-kai who's passionate about helping people get fit, and his strict motivation during training coupled with his kindness afterwards has made him extremely popular.

* ''WesternAnimation/KappaMikey'' has Gonard: a CardCarryingVillain in the show, and a very nice fellow (if [[TheDitz dumber than a box of croutons]]) outside the set.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': The fifth season is about the shooting of Bojacks new TV show, and eternal optimistic goofball Mr. Peanutbutter get cast as the titual detective's shady partner Fritz. Cue the hilarity.

* Horror actor Creator/BorisKarloff was known in real life to be a very sweet person. An example of this is something that happened while Karloff was in the process of filming one of the Frankenstein movies. It was a super hot and dry day in Hollywood, and Karloff was concerned about the roses in his garden. After filming was done for the day, he didn't bother to take the time to have his Frankenstein monster makeup removed, because he wanted to rush home and water his roses before they dried out. So his neighbors got to see the Frankenstein monster watering the roses in his front yard!

* Horror actor Creator/BorisKarloff was known in real life to be a very sweet person.
** An example of this is something that happened while Karloff was in the process of filming one of the Frankenstein movies. It was a super hot and dry day in Hollywood, and Karloff was concerned about the roses in his garden. After filming was done for the day, he didn't bother to take the time to have his Frankenstein monster makeup removed, because he wanted to rush home and water his roses before they dried out. So his neighbors got to see the Frankenstein monster watering the roses in his front yard!

-->'''Crafty:''' Nurse, wait a moment.\\

--->'''Crafty:''' "Nurse, wait a moment."\\
'''Nurse:''' "Hm? Yes, Doctor?"\\
'''Crafty:''' "I um... I didn't want to say this on-camera--it's a little embarrassing--but um... I'm... I'm sorry, too. I've... taken you for granted. And I wanted to apologize. You... You're probably the best partner a silly manchild like me could ever ask for. So... Thank you."\\
(''The two silently, warmly smile at each other before Crafty's nervousness gets the better of him.'')\\
'''Crafty:''' "W-Well, um... I'm going to work on next week's art, yes yes, um, talk to you later? Okay?"\\
(''Crafty leaves through an archway.'')\\
'''Nurse, softly:''' "Hmhm... I love you."\\
'''Crafty, returning:''' "''What?''"\\
'''Nurse, panicking:''' "NOTHING~~!! GO BACK TO SLEEP!"\\
(''Nurse punches Crafty in the face and runs off.'')

** When ranting at Nurse about her loyalty to Crafty, Mindstein rather pointedly sums up this aspect of Crafty's character in "I Need a Hero Academia's" final part. She doesn't understand why Nurse stands by someone who, unlike Mindstein, merely plays a villain on a webshow.
--->'''Mindstein:''' "He's not even a true villain!! Just an ignoramus playing ''dress-up'' for his ''stupid show!''"

[[AC:Asian Animation]]

* Deok-Su from Series/SquidGame is very greedy and vindictive, to the point where the best things he does is ''not'' push anyone to their deaths on the Glass Steps game, and give slight encouragement to the man ahead of him. His actor, Heo-Sung Tae, is a humble, fluffy and kind-hearted man who loves cats and selfies.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act, whether the camera is rolling or not. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues; though he can be careless with his words, he's careful to not get too carried away with his act. As he deals with his personal problems over time, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act when on-camera--and even ''off''-camera. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues; though he can be careless with his words, he's careful to not get too carried away with his act. As he deals with his personal problems over time, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act when on-camera--and even ''off''-camera. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues; even when he's putting forth his act, he's careful to not let it go too far, though his obliviousness sometimes means that he does so through his words anyways. As he deals with his personal problems over time, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.

* On ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty,'' because of his deep-set insecurities, Colin is the only Crafty Crewmate who feels compelled to put on an act when on-camera--and even ''off''-camera. He's far from perfect, but when acting as Dr. Crafty, he takes some of his worst traits, amplifies them, and adds some new ones to make him seem that much more like a bumbling, jerkish cartoon villain. By contrast, the man behind the act is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues; even when he's putting forth his act, he's careful to not let it go too far, though his obliviousness sometimes means that he does so anyways. As the series progresses and he deals with his personal problems, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.

* The character of the titular WebAnimation/DrCrafty is that of a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues, some of which being amplified by his act. As the series progresses and he deals with his personal problems, Colin starts letting more of his true self shine through his Crafty persona.