That's a good point, Jules. It seems highly likely to me that he overthought some of his choices. He's always been so worried about getting typecast as a period actor, and so driven to try different things, that maybe no one knew what to look for early on.

That, and the fact that he disappears into his roles so well. JN became "you in the purple sweater in the back; I can't remember your name," as he described a reporter saying to him at a press conference for Enigma.