Robert Pattinson — Twilight to The Batman

Pattinson spent the 2010s actively trying to destroy his Twilight heartthrob image by choosing the weirdest films possible: Cosmopolis (Cronenberg), The Rover (Australian dystopia), Good Time (a Safdie Brothers crime thriller where he's nearly unrecognizable), The Lighthouse (farting, fighting, and tentacles), and Tenet (Nolan). By the time he was cast as Batman in 2022, the internet riots had been replaced by unanimous critical approval. The Batman grossed $770 million. Pattinson's strategy was simple: take roles so aggressively uncommercial that people forget you were ever Edward Cullen. It worked.