[13] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Most Surprising Peformances

Let me explain this: I honestly thought it was an ingenious idea to list 18 most surprising performances instead of the usual male, female, child and so on. Surprising is a positive word, but a less used one than "favourite" or "best" - at least in the blogging world. So off I went, opened Google, typed "most surprising performances" to get some input - and you can imagine what I found.
Just to make this very clear in case some people looking for something... else... this is simply a list of the most surprising acting performances I've seen. Actors or actresses that have surprised me with a performance of a character that was very different from what I had seen of their work, and what I had prejudiced them to be capable of....
EMMA Stone – Easy ABecause I had no real opinion on her after Crazy. Stupid. Love. And because she was funny.
ALAN Rickman – Love, ActuallyBecause he was so... modern!
ZACH Galifianakis – It's Kind of a Funny StoryBecause there was depth to his character.
EDWARD Norton – Fight ClubBecause again; I had no opinion on him. Except I thought he was one of the most boring looking actors in the world.
SALMAN Khan – DabanggBecause this was the first time I understood why he is worshipped by the average Indian.
JOSEPH-GORDON Levitt – Mysterious SkinBecause he was never - before or after - more attractive than in this one. And devastating. As far as I know.
PENELOPE Cruz – Vicky Christina BarcelonaBecause I finally found out what sexiness means.
QUVENZHANÉ Wallis – Beasts of the Southern WildBecause it was the rawest, most brutal and most breathtaking child performance I have seen in my life.
KENNETH Branagh – My Week With MarilynBecause my picture of him was a blonde, handsome Hamlet. And yet that image disappeared as soon as Lawrence Olivier entered the scene.
JESSICA Chastain – Zero Dark ThirtyBecause she was so fragile, so angry, so wild, so smart and so lonely.
ZACH Efron – Liberal ArtsBecause it was different with a capital D.
KEIRA Knightley – Bend It Like BeckhamBecause it was so typical.
AAMIR Khan – Andaz Apna ApnaBecause he really was an idiot in this one.
ROBERT Pattinson – Remember MeBecause he proved that shade of talent I had sensed beneath the glimmer to be true. PRIYANKA Chopra – KamineyBecause you could finally see her expressions and talent without all the make-up.
KATE Winslet – Little ChildrenBecause she wore no corset - and was still as wonderful as with it.
JIM Carrey – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindBecause of the haircut. No, I think it was more than that.
CATE Blanchett – I'm Not There.Because in the first few moments, I wasn't sure whether this really was her.