Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Fogell approaches the liquor-store business in Superbad (2007) with a confidence that has little to do with his ability to handle it. Christopher Mintz-Plasse does not ask us to believe that the boy has suddenly become competent, which is what makes the sequence work. We laughed at how sure Fogell was of himself, because the performance never loses sight of how ill-equipped he remains. Mintz-Plasse plays the conviction plainly and lets us notice the gap. It is a strong debut, and a clear demonstration of what he can do.

Greg Mottola also gives him room to make a different kind of fool of himself from Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Fogell widens the comedy, and Mintz-Plasse's natural delivery helps him belong in the same film. There is a limit to how much of him it needs, though. The police subplot, with Bill Hader and Seth Rogen, outstays its welcome even while the performers remain funny. We want to return to the central friendship before Mottola is ready to take us there.

Supporting roles in Role Models (2008) and Year One (2009) followed, with the early work raising concerns about typecasting as the socially inept teenager. Red Mist in Kick-Ass (2010) took him into action-comedy. Fishlegs in How to Train Your Dragon (2010) gave him a recurring voice role across films and series, while Trolls (2016) continued the animation work.

What we would like to see tested further is that ability to play foolish certainty without labouring the joke. He deserves parts that give him something to be confidently wrong about, rather than assuming that social discomfort is funny enough on its own. Start with Superbad, and allow for Mottola's reluctance to leave the police behind.