->''"Creator/HenryFonda is the bad guy for once in his career; Creator/CharlesBronson is impressively inscrutable as the mysterious good guy; and Creator/JasonRobards is a tough guy, believe it or not."''
-->-- '''Creator/RogerEbert''' on ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''

The hiring of an actor to play a certain part which differs fundamentally from roles the actor is famous for or has played in the past. For instance, an actress who is known for playing scheming murderess types suddenly cast as a kindly old grandma, or a longtime action hero does a silly comedy role.

This can be downplayed if the role still plays to the actor's strengths. For instance, if a comedic actor stars in a drama or horror, but their character provides a degree of comic relief in the otherwise bleak surroundings.

This is generally done when an actor wants to expand their repertoire or a director wants to try something new. In its highest form, this [[OscarBait leads to an Oscar]] for the actor in question. Often, it can be very useful in TheReveal. Comedies will frequently use this trope for laughs; a wacky line will often sound much funnier coming out of the mouth of someone you'd never expect to say such a thing. If it works very well, it can even turn around a career and give them a new type.

Occasionally, Playing Against Type is something that comes up in retrospect. An actor who becomes famous for a certain type of role may have played a character who is the complete opposite early in his or her career. At the time, the role may have not been a departure but, when viewed later, the difference will seem quite stark.

The polar opposite of TypeCasting, although it is possible to invoke both at once. A source of HiddenDepths. Really bizarre cases (or those which look bad in hindsight) can lead to people saying it is QuestionableCasting.

For a specific form of Playing Against Type, see TomHanksSyndrome, LeslieNielsenSyndrome, PlayingWithCharacterType, NewSoundAlbum or CreatorsOddball. May first require {{Typecasting}} to fall into this trope.

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!!Example subpages

[[index]]
* PlayingAgainstType/{{Advertising}}
* PlayingAgainstType/{{Anime}}
* Film:
** [[PlayingAgainstType/FilmActing Acting]]
** [[PlayingAgainstType/FilmDirecting Directing]]
** [[PlayingAgainstType/FilmWriting Writing]]
* PlayingAgainstType/ForeignDubbing
* PlayingAgainstType/LiveActionTV
* PlayingAgainstType/ProfessionalWrestling
* PlayingAgainstType/{{Theatre}}
* PlayingAgainstType/VideoGames
* PlayingAgainstType/WebOriginal
* PlayingAgainstType/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

!!Other examples
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Hard rockers Music/{{KISS}} have at least one sweet-sounding ballad in "Beth," which is basically piano, violins, and other acoustics.
* Other than some relatively gentle fair under Music/BlackSabbath like "Changes", Music/OzzyOsbourne also contributed lead vocals to the Was (Not Was) ''dance-pop'' song "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)" alongside Music/{{Madonna}}, a far cry from the usual macabre fare Ozzy and his band are known for.
* Better known for his jazz compositions like "Canteloupe Island" and "Watermelon Man," Music/HerbieHancock in the early 80s released the synth pop record-scratching hit "Rockit."
* "Far Away Eyes" by The Rolling Stones sounds every bit like a country song, complete with pedal steel. The song is the B-side to "Miss You."
* [[Music/{{Behemoth}} Adam "Nergal" Darski]] and John Porter collaborated on a project called Me And That Man, resulting in a Music/NickCave-ish album ''Songs of Love and Death''. Then, Nergal kept the project running on his own and invited other metal musicians (including Music/{{Ihsahn}}, Corey Taylor of Music/{{Slipknot}} and Matt Heavy of Music/{{Trivium}}) for the second album, ''New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1''.
* Music/{{Eminem}}, best known for hyper-complicated and aggressive rapping about horrible topics, flexes his singing voice to deliver a loving BreakupSong piano ballad in "Stronger Than I Was" on ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''.
* Sarah Bonito (or Sarah Midori Perry) is best known as the frontwoman for IndiePop trio Music/KeroKeroBonito, lending her gentle, playful voice and bilingual rapping to the band's generally upbeat, MIDI-inspired sound. Her 2022-launched solo project, Cryalot, is [[{{Industrial}} post-industrial]] BlackMetal, instead playing DissonantSerenity amidst dark noise.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* At the start of the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Small Magic'', Jake says that he normally plays girls in [=RPGs=], so it's out of character for him to play a guy like he is here (as Stege). To far the only male characters he's made are Stege, Oliver (alongside which he also made Stacey and Olivia), Kip, and Dario.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Poetry]]
* Poets can do this too, and have been doing this long before typecasting was patented. Remember Creator/EdgarAllanPoe? The guy who wrote dark poems like "Literature/TheRaven" and "Annabel Lee"? He also once wrote [[http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-valentine/ A Valentine]].
* And then there's Creator/EECummings, who usually wrote poems with a gentle tone, writing something like [[http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/eecummings/11887 this]].
* So you think Creator/ShelSilverstein is a children's poet, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWwFk64SLDw Do You]]? Before he wrote and illustrated children's poetry, he was a cartoonist for ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'', and wrote songs like [[Music/JohnnyCash "A Boy Named Sue"]] and "I Got Stoned and I Missed It." I dare you to sing his [[http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/16/mermaidgbs.htm Mermaid]] to your kids.
* The extremely high-brow Creator/TSEliot was famous for writing about nihilistic despair (his early work, notably ''Literature/TheWasteLand'' and ''The Hollow Men'') and religious faith (''The Four Quartets''). He also wrote the ''entire'' libretto of ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' as [[Literature/OldPossumsBookOfPracticalCats a series of comic poems]] while relaxing between his more serious work.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/CabinPressure'': Creator/BenedictCumberbatch usually plays intelligent and sophisticated sorts (Sherlock, Doctor Strange, Smaug). Here, he plays Martin Krief, a neurotic serial screw-up of a wanna-be pilot.
[[/folder]]

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