When selecting the cast for a biopic, or biographical movie, the director must walk a fine line between selecting someone for their physical similarity vs. selecting them for having the thespian talent required to play the part. Here’s a list of actors who definitely succeeded on the physical similarity side of things.
It’s not just the actor who does all the work – casting experts and makeup artists also play a huge role in making these famous figures come to life on the big screen.
Many consider biopics to be some of the most difficult and rewarding roles in Hollywood. Most historical figures have a wealth of information available about them, and it is the actor’s job to understand and embody all of this available information, all while portraying a historical figure that many people may have strong feelings about.
(h/t: twistedsifter)
#1 Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray
#2 Daniel Day‑Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln
#3 Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors
Image source: imgur
#4 Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin
#5 Ben Kingsley as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Gandhi
Image source: Getty
#6 Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler in Downfall
#7 Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs In Jobs
Image source: blog.tice.de
#8 Denzel Washington as Malcolm X in Malcolm X
Image source: Getty
#9 Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandella in Invictus
Image source: Festival Karsh
#10 Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All Is By My Side
Image source: thehypebr.com
#11 Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla in Selena
Image source: fashenty.com
#12 Adrien Brody As Salvador Dali In Midnight In Paris
Image source: banana_rhino
#13 Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady
Image source: facepunch.com
#14 Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen in Sid and Nancy
#15 Hellen Mirren as HM Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen
Image source: boatagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com
#16 Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in Hitchcock
Image source: Getty
#17 Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in Frida
#18 Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in Milk
Image source: ragap.es
#19 Eddie Redmayne And Felicity Jones as Jane And Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything
Image source: telegraph.co.uk
#20 Charlize Theron As Aileen Wuornos In Monster
#21 Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There
#22 James Franco As James Dean In James Dean
Image source: banana_rhino
#23 Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
#24 Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart in Amelia
Image source: usmilitariaforum.com
#25 Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel
Image source: reignmag.com
#26 Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote
#27 Sam Riley As Ian Curtis In Control
#28 Edie Sedgwick & Andy Warhol (sienna Miller / Guy Pearce)
#29 Benicio Del Toro As Ernesto “che” Guevara
#30 Hannah Taylor-gordon As Anne Frank In Anne Frank: The Whole Story
#31 Michael Douglas as Liberace In Behind The Candelabra
#32 Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn
Image source: Sam Shaw
#33 двойник путинa
#34 Jared Leto As Mark David Chapman In Chapter 27.
#35 John Hurt As Joseph Merrick In The Elephant Man
#36 Glenn Miller And James Steward In The Glenn Miller Story
#37 Reese Witherspoon and Joacquin Phoenix as June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash
Image source: fanpop.com
#38 Stephen Fry As Oscar Wilde
#39 Sherilyn Fenn As Elizabeth Taylor In Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
#40 Ralph Fiennes as Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman
Image source: en.wikipedia.org
#41 Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman in Man On The Moon
Image source: Courtesy Everett Collection
#42 Joaquin Phoenix/ Johnny Cash
Image source: nydailynews.com
#43 Will Smith As Muhammad Ali
#44 Colin Firth as King George VI in The King’s Speech
Image source: dailymail.co.uk
#45 Nicole Kidman As Virginia Woolf
#46 Benedict Cumberbatch As Stephen Hawking In “hawking”
#47 двойник путинa
#48 James Franco As Allen Ginsberg In Howl
#49 Michelle Williams (left) And Marilyn Monroe
#50 Peter O’toole As Lawrence Of Arabia
#51 John Goodman As Babe Ruth
Image source: i.cdn.turner.com
#52 Ian Curtis As Sam Riley (joy Divivsion) In Control
#53 Óscar Janeada As Cantinflas In Cantinflas.
#54 Bill Hader As Andy Warhol
Image source: makeupmedia.net
#55 Gary Busey As Buddy Holly
Image source: fansshare.com
#56 Vincent D’onofrio As Orson Welles
Image source: theamericanscholar.org
#57 #21 Jessica Schwarz As Romy Schneider In Romy
#58 Clive Owen As Andrew Hannon In Croupier
#59 Steve Carell As John Du Pony
Image source: starcasm.net
#60 Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network
Image source: marialombardic.blogspot.com
#61 Fausto Coppi And Sergio Castellitto In “il Grande Fausto” (1995)
#62 Madonna as Eva Peron in Evita
Image source: fanpop.com
#63 Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in Get On Up
Image source: galleryhip.com
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