History Main / TomHanksSyndrome

* Since the seventh generation of console gaming Sony's "platformer trio" of Creator/InsomniacGames, Creator/NaughtyDog and Creator/SuckerPunch shifted away from their kid-friendly roots towards a more mature fare. During the [=PS1=] and [=PS2=] eras, these studios developed kid-friendly cartoony platformers ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'', ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'', ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'', and ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''. When working on making games for the [=PS3=] though, they began switching to making more serious, photorealistic action-adventure games. While still committed to making light-hearted games, Insomniac created the ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' trilogy that depicts humanity fighting a losing war against alien hordes in a bleak alternate timeline. Insomniac's ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', while still colorful and idealistic, is much darker than previous ''Spider-Man'' games with realistic terrorist attacks and even an uncensored suicide. Naughty Dog underwent an identical transition with ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUS''; while the the former game was still idealistic and whimsical, it had more realistic violence [[spoiler:along with horror elements involving cursed artifacts]] while the latter game went even further with BodyHorror, DeathOfAChild and a bleak post-apocalyptic setting where any amount of idealism or whimsy that Uncharted had was [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids thrown almost completely out the window]]. Sucker Punch experienced a similar albeit less drastic shift. While their VideoGame/{{Infamous}} games are gritty and photorealistic, they are still idealistic and fantastical; even their first M-rated, ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'' didn't have the bleakness or cynicism of ''Resistance'' and ''The Last of Us''. That said, Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad as the several of these darker games by these studios are as well-received as their earlier lighter entries.

* Since the seventh generation of console gaming Sony's "platformer trio" of Creator/InsomniacGames, Creator/NaughtyDog and Creator/SuckerPunch shifted away from their kid-friendly roots towards a more mature fare. During the [=PS1=] and [=PS2=] eras, these studios developed kid-friendly cartoony platformers ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'', ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'', ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'', and ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''. When working on making games for the [=PS3=] though, they began switching to making more serious, photorealistic action-adventure games. While still committed to making light-hearted games, Insomniac created the ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' trilogy that depicts humanity fighting a losing war against alien hordes in a bleak alternate timeline. Insomniac's ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', while still colorful and idealistic, is much darker than previous ''Spider-Man'' games with realistic terrorist attacks and even an uncensored suicide. Naughty Dog underwent an identical transition with ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUS''; while the the latter game is still idealistic and whimsical, it had more realistic violence [[spoiler:along with horror elements involving cursed artifacts]] while the latter game went even further with BodyHorror, DeathOfAChild and a post-apocalyptic setting. Sucker Punch experienced a similar albeit less drastic shift. While their VideoGame/{{Infamous}} games are gritty and photorealistic, they are still idealistic and fantastical; even their first M-rated, ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'' didn't have the bleakness or cynicism of ''Resistance'' and ''The Last of Us''. That said, Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad as the several of these darker games by these studios are as well-received as their earlier lighter entries.

* Much like Laurie Metcalf (listed below) early roles, Creator/JohnGoodman was known throughout the 80's and early 90's as [[FatComicRelief "funny fat guy"]] Dan Conner on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}.'' He's also appeared in several Disney films, including ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc.'' But Goodman is also renowned for his work in dramas. He's a Coen Brothers mainstay, appearing in both ''Film/BartonFink'' and ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' (the latter has him play Vietnam vet Walter); had supporting roles in ''Film/{{Argo}}'' and ''Film/TheArtist'' (both of which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards); and garnered serious Oscar buzz for his turn as a terrifying survivalist in ''Film/TenCloverfieldLane.''

* Creator/GingerRogers, who had made her name starring in frothy Creator/BusbyBerkeley musicals and dance movies with Creator/FredAstaire, tried to remake herself in the 1940s as a serious actress. Her 1940s dramatic roles are largely ignored today, but at the time her makeover was a great success. She won the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress of 1940 for her performance in the melodrama ''Film/KittyFoyle''.

* Creator/KurtRussell spent TheSeventies as a family-friendly comedy actor and one of the biggest stars of Creator/{{Disney}}'s live-action films. In 1979, he played Music/ElvisPresley in a [[MadeForTVMovie made-for-TV]] biopic that got him nominated for an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward, but more importantly, it also marked the first of many [[ProductionPosse collaborations]] between him and the film's director, Creator/JohnCarpenter. Their next collaboration, ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', put Russell on the map as an ActionHero, and while he'd still do the occasional comedy like ''Film/Overboard1987'' and ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', it otherwise marked the start of his typecasting going from "clean-cut Disney kid" to "rugged roughneck badass".

* Creator/StevenSpielberg. It's easy to forget that in 1993 there was some skepticism when it was announced that he was going to direct an adaptation of ''Film/SchindlersList'', a dark Thomas Keneally NonFiction novel about UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, particularly since he was working on the more characteristic ''Film/JurassicPark'' at the same time. At that point, he was firmly established as a master of lighthearted family films and popcorn blockbusters. Since he'd failed to win Best Picture or Best Director at the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s for ''any'' of his iconic popcorn movies (''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'', ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', and ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''), he'd spent much of TheEighties trying to prove he could be a Serious Director. ''Film/TheColorPurple1985'' was very blatant OscarBait (which, ironically, won ''zero'' Oscars -- and Spielberg wasn't even nominated), but was still well-regarded. But his subsequent "serious" films ''Film/EmpireOfTheSun'' and ''Film/{{Always}}'' didn't do as well with either critics or audiences. So ''Schindler's List'' was initially anticipated to be another well-meaning, but probably misguided, grasp at credibility for Spielberg. Instead, it marked a major GrowingTheBeard moment for him as a filmmaker and finally netted him an Oscar. And then, just to prove ''Schindler's List'' wasn't a fluke, he gave the world ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''. Sure, he still makes lighthearted family films and popcorn blockbusters, but those two movies established him as an auteur.