Lately I've seen the actor Wendell Pierce in three shows: The Wire (he plays Bunk), Law and Order (a Nigerian chief) and Selma.

It would be great if they cast him as the star of something serious, like playing Martin Luther King in Selma. He'd play it totally straight, but there would be moments when the lovable, funny and righteous Bunk character surfaces. He doesn't really even have to say anything, you'd just know whatever he's thinking is funny and that would be fun all on its own. Some actors are like that.