The Fifth Estate (2012)
M (1931)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Peter Lorre, who didn't let his height (he was just 5" 5) or distinctive looks get in the way of his career when he terrified as a child killer in M .
It was his first major role in a film and paved the way for him to carve out a briefly brilliant career that included roles in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .
How He Got The Part: Lorre's unique appearance meant he was perfect for the role of Hans Beckert - though he was so good he was quickly typecast as a villain, something that would haunt him for years.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Philip Seymour Hoffman who, despite not looking like your typical leading man, forged an exceptional career for himself in a Hollywood obsessed with appearances.
Here he plays a businessman who plans on robbing his parents' jewellery shop in order to pay his bills.
How He Got The Part: Over the course of his tragically-curtailed career, Hoffman proved again and again just how versatile an actor he was. With Before The Devil Knows You're Dead , he faced his own demons and came out fighting.
"It has to be extremely painful for him," director Sidney Lumet said at the time, "because there’s a tremendous amount of self-revelation going on." And that's why Hoffman was so good in everything he did - he wasn’t afraid to test himself.
Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Famous for his violent outbursts, Klaus Kinski brings that fire to this arty adventure flick.
He's Don Lope de Aguirre, who's on a quest to find El Dorado.
How He Got The Part: Though he's definitely unique looking and had an infamously fiery temperament, director Werner Herzog couldn't get enough of him.
Kinski was the director's first and only choice for the role of Aguirre - and despite their fallings out, Kinski brings an intoxicating menace to the role.
The Wrestler (2008)
The Unlikely Leading Man: One-time rom-com lead Mickey Rourke, who gets into the ring as washed-up wrestler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson.
How He Got The Part: Weathered, at times broken-looking, like the world chewed him up and spat him out, Rourke simply IS The Ram.
Though Hulk Hogan claims Aronofsky offered him the role first, the director's denied this, claiming it was always Rourke's for the taking. Not hard to see why.
Machete (2010)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Danny Trejo, who stars in his first ever leading role as the titular vigilante, an ex-Federale who's tasked with finding and killing John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro).
In his 274 acting credits, this is one of the only times he's taken on the lead role...
How He Got The Part: Director/writer Robert Rodriguez wrote it specifically for Trejo; he says that the film "started with Danny" and went from there.
Now that's faith.
Renaissance Man (1994)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Five foot Danny DeVito, who plays Bill Rago, an unemployed divorcee who winds up teaching at a US Army base.
How He Got The Part: Luckily for DeVito, the film's a comedy which calls for a larger than life actor to play the role of Rago.
And just because DeVito's short doesn't mean he's not larger than life in the personality stakes.
Casablanca (1942)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Humphrey Bogart, whose gradual rise to fame hit its pinnacle with Casablanca, in which he played the hard-bitten Rich Blaine, a night-club owner still moping over his ex-girlfriend.
How He Got The Part: Though he was shorter than co-star Ingrid Bergman (he had to wear three-inch blocks on his shoes), Bogart's somewhat haggard, droopy-eyed appearance worked for the washed-up role of Rick.
It also helped that Bogart shared fantastic chemistry with Bergman (much to the alarm of his paranoid then-wife).
Top Hat (1935)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Fred Astaire, who was famously described after a screen test thusly: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little."
That didn't stop Astaire slowly climbing the ranks of Hollywood musicals, which culminated with this class act.
How He Got The Part : As producer David O. Selznick rightly noted, "in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is so tremendous that it comes through even on this wretched test."
We couldn't put it any better ourselves.
The Muppet Movie (1979)
The Unlikely Leading Man: Green-gilled Kermit the Frog, the lead in this first Muppets movie, directed by James Frawley.
Deciding he wants to make it in show business, Kermit goes on a trip to Los Angeles, where he discovers it's not quite as easy as all that.
How He Got The Part: Kermie had already established himself as a solid lead on the Muppets TV show, meaning it was only a small hop onto the big screen.
We couldn't imagine anybody else in the role.
