Only A True Movie Buff Can Match These Actors To Their Film Characters!

Anyone who loves a good Hollywood movie can definitely all agree that actors are pretty talented people. After all, they have to take these two-dimensional characters they read about in scripts and bring them to life on screen for us as audiences to enjoy. That can't be very easy! Sometimes, in order to make sure they deliver the absolute best character possible, these actors have to undergo some pretty amazing changes. With the help of makeup, facial prosthetics, hair dye, or maybe just a little bit of CGI magic, some actors become virtually unrecognizable in their film roles!

For the most part, we can get pretty used to seeing our favorite actors and actresses as they appear on the red carpet. That's when they're typically their most glamorous selves and when they look perfectly put together, with their hair done, makeup flawless, and dressed in designer clothes. Because of this, it can be pretty hard to recognize them in roles that transform them into characters so radically different from their usual selves. These are the roles that really separate the movie buffs from the amateurs because it takes a true movie expert to look at a movie character and figure out what actor is hiding beneath the costume!

We encourage everyone to take this quiz to find out just who can separate the actor from their character! It won't be easy, but definitely give it a try!

Question 1

Which actor starred as The Joker in The Dark Knight?

There have been many great actors to don clown makeup and give their most campy performance as The Joker in a Batman film. But this actor definitely rises above the rest and can be hailed as given perhaps the best Joker performance of all time. For his role as the maniacal clown in the film Dark Knight, this actor went for a rather simple costume – that is, green hair dye, white face makeup, dark eyes, and a crooked red smile. However simple the costume, this actor still became virtually unrecognizable in his role, particularly because of his incredible adoption of The Joker’s crazy mannerisms as well.

Question 2

Which actor starred as the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

The movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas brought to life one of legendary children’s book author Dr. Suess’ greatest stories. It was likely quite the tall order in casting a real person to play such an iconic character like Grinch himself, but this actor was definitely up for the challenge! We imagine his comedic background helped him a lot in becoming this grumpy, anti-Christmas of a character, and he brought plenty of humor to the role as well! According to IMDB, this actor was covered head to toe in real yak hair that had been dyed green to give him this Grinch-y effect! With lots of makeup and facial prosthetics, it’s almost impossible to see the actor underneath!

Question 3

Which actress starred as Mystique in X-Men: First Class?

This actress starred as the character Mystique (or, known better to some as Raven) in the origin film X-Men: First Class. Her character is one of the mutants who appear in all of the X-Men movies. However, in this film, we get to see Mystique before she allowed herself to adopt her true form. Prior to this, she lived among the humans as one of them, hiding her appearance behind a normal façade that made her appear like anyone else one might see on the street. However, she eventually accepts herself for who she is and lets her blue, scaly skin and yellow eyes take center stage!

Question 4

Which actor starred as Benjamin Button in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

In the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, this actor starred as the title character who has a rather peculiar way of aging. That is, he ages backwards instead of forwards, like the rest of us! Whereas we are born young and grow old, Benjamin was born old and gradually became younger and younger as the years past. A curious case, indeed! To play this role, this actor had to constantly change his appearance to portray the passing of time as it made his character seem younger. We imagine he quite liked the part of the movie where he was in his youth – no makeup required then!

Question 5

Which actor starred as Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland?

The movie Alice in Wonderland is known for its rather unusual and eccentric characters, and this one is certainly no different. In the film, this character, known as the Mad Hatter, is played by an actor fairly used to giving outlandish and strange performances. That’s just what he’s best at! He dons some pretty heavy makeup and wears baggy, unusual clothing for the role, as well as sporting a bright orange wig of hair. Overall, he looks absolutely nothing like the man we know him as outside of his films, but we think he really likes taking on roles that challenge him to become someone completely different!

Question 6

Which actor starred as the title character in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire?

Much like Edna Turnblad in the film Hairspray, this female movie character was actually portrayed by a man. However, unlike Edna, Mrs. Doubtfire happens to actually be a man posing as an elderly housemaid in order to see his estranged children as much as possible. In this classic film, this male actor stars as the title character who misses seeing his children after his messy divorce and realizes the only way to get to see them as often as he wants to is to become their fulltime nanny and housemaid. However, he must don a clever disguise in order to do so!

Question 7

Which actress starred as Fantine in Les Misérables?

In the musical film Les Misérables, this actress appears as the character Fantine. Her role in the film is actually relatively small and she largely only appears at the beginning of the movie. However brief her time on screen may be, this actress definitely made the most of it! Going from a beautiful but down-on-her-luck single mother to a thin, desolate homeless woman on the street meant this actress had to go through some serious physical changes. In the latter part of her character’s life, she is virtually unrecognizable and definitely looks nothing like the actress we are used to seeing appear on the red carpet!

Question 8

Which actor starred as Chuck Noland in Cast Away?

This movie sees this Hollywood actor change his physical appearance quite a bit in order to best fit the look of his character! The movie Cast Away portrays Chuck Noland’s life as a man suddenly stranded on an island for quite the lengthy period of time. As such, he undergoes some serious physical changes, going from a put-together businessman to a wild man resembling something more akin to cave people than people of today’s society. Because of this change, it is almost impossible to recognize this actor beneath that scraggly beard and long hair, but he’s definitely in there somewhere!

Question 9

Which actor starred as Legolas in the Lord of the Rings film franchise?

This might be one of this actor’s most recognizable roles, even if he does look remarkably different in it. The film franchise Lord of the Rings sees this actor adopt the character of Legolas. He’s a Sindarin Elf who is easily identified by his silver-white locks, always pulled back away from his face, and his signature bow and arrow. While this actor has gone on to play plenty of other fantastic characters, we still always seem to remember him best for this role. He may not look like Legolas outside of the film (in fact, these two look virtually nothing alike!) but he will still always be that handsome Elf in our eyes.

Question 10

Which actress starred as Claire Bennett in Cake?

In the movie Cake, this actress plays a woman named Claire Bennett who is struggling to cope emotionally after surviving a car accident. It is quite unusual to see this actress appear in a movie role like this because it is just so different from how we are used to seeing her. That’s not even to say it’s different from how we usually see her on the red carpet, but also how we usually see her in her other movies. This was the first movie we saw her in where she was so raw, rather plain looking, and emotional, and it was a pretty big change for this actress!

Question 11

Which actor starred as Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger?

This actor didn’t actually look this way for the entire movie. In fact, he only appeared so slight and small for the first part of the film before eventually becoming the massive Captain America character we know him to be. However, he did still have to appear as the rather weak looking Steve Rogers for the first part of the film, before he undergoes treatment to become much larger. In order to appear so small, this actor was largely placed into the movie using CGI. But the effect is quite amazing. It’s hard to tell that this small character is actually this actor.

Question 12

Which actor starred as Hugh Glass in The Revenant?

The movie The Revenant sees this actor play a character named Hugh Glass in a story that takes place during the 1800s. In this film, Hugh is a seasoned trapper who finds himself suddenly forced to take on an unlikely opponent – a grizzly bear. For his role in this movie, this actor became an entirely different person from who we are used to seeing. Gone were his usually Hollywood-style and good looks, replaced instead with an unkempt, wild appearance akin to that of the first settlers. All the work he put into becoming this character definitely paid off in the end when this character won his very first Academy Award.

Question 13

Which actress starred as Regina George in Mean Girls?

It’s pretty hard to believe that this actress is behind this character! The two couldn’t be any more different! In the movie Mean Girls, this actress plays the character of Regina George – a rather unapologetic popular girl who enjoys spreading rumors and getting her way. The film depicts her as being a typical blond popular student with a passion for fashion and a constant desire to be the best-looking girl in the room. However, from what we can tell, this actress is quite the opposite in real life and seems much more subdued and down-to-earth than her character. It just goes to show how great of an actress she is!

Question 14

Which actor starred as Fred in Scooby Doo?

Everyone knows the iconic cast of the Scooby Doo cartoon, but it was a bit of a mystery in and of itself to see who Hollywood would cast to play these people in a live-action film. Thankfully, they found someone pretty great to take on the role of Fred Jones, the leader of the entire Scooby Doo gang, and thankfully this actor wasn’t afraid to change his appearance up in order to become Fred. According to IMDB, he had to dye his normally brunette hair almost platinum blond to match Fred’s signature locks, and then had to spend more time in the salon chair every week to make sure his roots matched, too!

Question 15

Which actor starred as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises?

It’s pretty understandable if some people can’t recognize the actor who plays this character. After all, one of the biggest, most prominent components of his entire character is that he wears a device that covers half his face! Indeed, the movie The Dark Knight Rises features a villain with almost his entire face obstructed from our view. But beyond this, the character’s actor had to undergo some other pretty big changes in order to play him. According to IMDB, this actor really had to bulk up and finely sculpt his muscles for the role. The result is quite well done, as it is super difficult to recognize him – facial mask or no facial mask!

Question 16

Which actor starred as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder?

This character is quite unlike anyone this actor has ever played before in all his years of appearing in films. It was actually quite refreshing to see him let loose and adopt a persona so different from anything we have ever seen from him! In the comedy Tropic Thunder, this actor plays a character named Les Grossman. He isn’t a huge part of the film, but he is definitely memorable! In his brief moments on screen, Les is a total scene stealer whose comedy and hilarious delivery make him the star of the show. He’s even more incredible when we think about the actor hiding underneath all of that makeup and prosthetics!

Question 17

Which actress starred as Neytiri in Avatar?

In the movie Avatar, this actress stars at the character Neytiri. She is part of the alien species known as Na’vi who inhabit the planet Pandora. In the future world this movie takes place in, Pandora has become infiltrated by humans who use Na’vi-human hybrids called “avatars” to walk among the Na’vi people. This is how Neytiri comes to meet the human named Jake Sully who soon becomes her partner. Neytiri is passionate, perhaps sometimes a little ill-tempered, but very obviously cares deeply for her home and all of its people. She will do absolutely anything to protect it against the threat of the humans!

Question 18

Which actress starred as Aileen Wuornos in Monster?

Out of all of her films, it can easily be argued that this role is quite assuredly her most impressive, if not only for the fact that she became virtually unrecognizable. In order to play the real-life character of Aileen Wuornos, this actress gained 30 pounds and shaved her eyebrows, as well as donning a pair of prosthetic teeth, according to IMDB. The end result is quite amazing – no one would be able to tell she is the person behind the character! All of her efforts eventually paid off as she won the Academy Award for Best Actress that year!

Question 19

Which actress starred as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games?

In the movie The Hunger Games, we are introduced to a rather unusual character named Effie Trinkett. She is not like the people who live in the districts, like the film’s main characters Katniss, Peeta, or even Haymitch. Instead, she hails from the Capitol where everyone dresses as equally outlandish and where fashion is a bit of a question mark. Still, she clearly loves her outfits as she frequently changes several times for one event. Even her makeup and hair typically match what she’s wearing! And beneath all that somewhere is the actress who made the eccentric Effie Trinket come to life on film!

Question 20

Which actress starred as The Witch in the movie Into the Woods?

The movie Into the Woods is essentially told like a fractured fairy-tale. It takes some of our most beloved stories from childhood and twists them, giving them brand new endings and, in some cases, even introducing new characters to different stories. This actress appears as one such character. Known simply as The Witch, she appears in random fairy-tales, largely acting as that story’s antagonist, and wreaks havoc among the different characters. Were it not for this actress’ unique singing voice, we may not have ever been able to recognize her in this role! She appears quite different from how we are used to seeing her!

Question 21

Which actor starred as The Joker in Suicide Squad?

In this quiz we have already identified the actor behind one of the most iconic portrayals of The Joker ever. That is, Heath Ledger’s version in the movie The Dark Knight. However, he is not the only actor to have become virtually unrecognizable after taking on the role. Years after Dark Knight came out, we got the movie Suicide Squad which needed a Joker of its own. This actor stepped up and became quite an interesting version of the maniacal clown. He was a bit more unhinged in his portrayal than Ledger was, but this actor still arguably did a good job bringing The Joker to life.

Question 22

Which actress starred as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya?

For the biopic film I, Tonya, this actress went from being her usual glamorous self to becoming the less-than-glamorous former figure skater, Tonya Harding. The film follows Tonya through her modest beginnings in the skating world to her peak of popularity, and then her gradual decline following an incident with another skater. This actress took this role and definitely made it her own, and she definitely deserves kudos for her portrayal as the brash, ill-tempered Tonya. Part of Tonya’s character is that she doesn’t care about what other people think, and that extends to her appearance, too. So, in keeping with that, this actress portrayed an unglamorous Tonya for audiences to enjoy.

Question 23

Which actor starred as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray?

It is a tradition for the Broadway musical Hairspray to cast a man in the role of matriarch character Edna Turnblad, and when the play was adapted into a film, they definitely decided to keep with tradition! A male actor took on this larger-than-life role to play the mother of an eccentric and passionate girl named Tracy. Throughout the film, Edna gradually learns to come out of her shell and accept both herself and the changing times of the 1960s that are happening around her. In order to become Edna, this actor donned a heavy body-suit and wig and dusted off his vocal cords to belt out some fantastic musical numbers!

Question 24

Which actor starred as Pennywise in the movie It?

There is absolutely no denying that the clown Pennywise, as featured in the hit Stephen King novel to film adaption known simply as It, is quite the intimidating character. After all, he is a maniacal clown who spends the entire film tormenting a group of innocent pre-teens, and who often lurks in the shadows, waiting for his unsuspecting victims to wander too close to him. In order to play such a character, this actor had to don some pretty heavy makeup and facial prosthetics. After all that, it is pretty difficult to see the actor beneath the costume, but he’s definitely still there!

Question 25

Which actor starred as Rayon in Dallas Buyer's Club?

This actor is no stranger to taking on roles that require him to virtually become a completely different person. In the movie Dallas Buyer’s Club, he plays a character named Rayon, a person who was born male and identifies as female. According to Wikipedia, this actor lost 30 pounds in order to play Rayon and continuously shaved his eyebrows, as well as waxed his entire body, for the duration of the shoot. All of that hard work to portray this character definitely paid off in the end because this actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Rayon.

Question 26

Which actress starred as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmations?

Everyone definitely remembers this character from our childhood. How could we not? For many of us, she was our very first taste of true villainy. After all, what could be worse than a woman determined to steal puppies? In the movie 101 Dalmatians, this actress donned some rather extreme makeup, an eccentric half black/half white wig, and became the woman known simply as Cruella de Vil. Her loud deliveries and curt, cold stares made the character as intimidating as possible. It’s hard to believe such an amazing and beautiful actress could be behind such a monstrous character, but that just goes to show the power of good acting!

Question 27

Which actress starred as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

This role saw one actress undergo quite the drastic physical change in order to portray Lisbeth Salander in the movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In this film, Lisbeth is an unconventional but brilliant investigator who can track down a person almost effortlessly, should they be in need of being tracked down. Her computer hacking skills are unparalleled and allow her to find people without being detected herself. According to IMDB, this actress had her hair dyed and given a haphazard cut to give her such an eccentric, punk-rock vigilante-type of look. Complete with fake tattoos and piercings, this actress virtually become unrecognizable as Lisbeth Salander!

Question 28

Which actress starred as Dianna in Trainwreck?

In the comedy film Trainwreck, this actress actually has a relatively small role. She doesn’t appear very often, but we bet anyone who saw the film didn’t know who she was right away! In the movie she plays a woman named Dianna who is Amy Schumer’s character’s boss at the men’s magazine she writes for. To say this actress changed quite a bit to appear as Dianna is an understatement! We’re definitely not used to seeing her with long hair and a full face of makeup, not to mention her uncaring, bossy attitude that she adopts for the role. It all works incredibly well in the end, but we still can’t believe it’s her!

Question 29

Which actress starred as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy?

This actress appears as the character of Nebula in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Nebula is definitely quite the interesting character. We learn that she is the adopted daughter of the warlord Thanos and her sister, Gamora, is a member of the Guardians. However, Nebula’s passions run a bit more sinister than her sister’s. This is certainly understandable considering her upbringing under Thanos, who trained her to be a skilled warrior. This actress definitely looks nothing like herself while playing the cybernetic soldier. In fact, it’s difficult to find any part of her character that even resembles her real self!

Question 30

Which actor starred as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour?

The movie The Darkest Hour follows Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, as he attempts to negotiate with enemy forces at the most crucial moments of World War II. In order to ensure his nation’s survival, Churchill must attempt to rally his people and bring them together to combat the forces that threaten their very livelihood. The actor who plays Churchill in this movie virtually disappeared into the character. It is really hard to find the man behind the makeup and prosthetics and the bodysuit he wore in order to look more like the podgy, aging Prime Minister. But the final result is certainly tremendous and definitely worthy of the Academy Award it earned this actor.

Question 31

Which actress starred as Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry?

This quiz includes several actors and actresses who appeared quite different in a film role because they took on playing a character of the opposite gender. In the movie Boys Don’t Cry, this actress took on the role of lead character and real-life-person Brandon Teena who was born female but identified as male. In order to play him, this actress adopted his mannerisms and maintained a short haircut. According to Wikipedia, she also prepared for the role by dressing and living as a man for an entire month, which proved quite convincing as her neighbors believed she was the actress’ brother!

Question 32

Which actor starred as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film franchise?

Apart from Harry Potter himself, perhaps one of the most iconic characters to have ever come out of the Harry Potter film franchise is his nemesis, Lord Voldemort. In the first few movies, we don’t see very much of this character. In fact, beyond briefly appear on the back of a Hogwarts professor’s head, he is largely absent from those films – save for an appearance from his younger self in the second film. However, by the fourth movie we were finally given a full-bodied version of Voldemort, and no one could believe the actor who was behind this villainous character!

Question 33

Which actress starred as Jordan O'Neil in G.I. Jane?

This actress is best known for playing the gorgeous female lead in her movies. In fact, she is quite possibly best recognized by her long, dark locks of hair and her dazzling features. However, for her role as Jordan O’Neil in the movie G.I. Jane, this actress underwent a transformation that made her virtually unrecognizable. With her shaved head, grimy appearance, and warrior-like demeanor, it was very hard to see the actress instead of the character. But that just speaks to her incredible ability to transform herself into new characters, even those who might be so different from who she really is.

Question 34

Which actor starred as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean?

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have given us plenty of interesting looking characters, particularly those who work aboard Captain Davy Jones’ ship. However, none of them are quite as peculiar looking, nor as vastly different from their actor, as Davy Jones himself. In the second Pirates movie, we are introduced to this character after Jack Sparrow finds himself taken aboard his ship. He is a man of sorts, but he has a face that resembles an octopus. This is all created using CGI of course, but it is quite interesting to watch his scenes and remember just which actor is hiding underneath all of those tentacles!

Question 35

Which actress starred as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland?

For her role as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, this actress really only had to dress the part and put on a bit of makeup. The effects artist did the rest of the work in giving her such a remarkably sized head via CGI. The Queen of Hearts’ entire character essentially revolves around the fact that she rules her people with an enormously and comically large head, and as such surrounds herself with fellow abnormal people. However, we learn in the film that these people’s abnormalities aren’t real, unlike the Queen’s enormous head which is definitely very real.

Question 36

Which actor starred as the title character in Beetlejuice?

Although this movie came out a while ago, we can still appreciate the fantastic transformation this actor underwent in order to become the title character of Beetlejuice. Since this character isn’t exactly alive, he would have to look the part. This meant he needed some pretty heavy makeup to make him look like someone who hasn’t been a part of the living world in awhile. Plus, he needed to look pretty intimidating, so the wild hair and sallow-looking eyes definitely did the trick. All in all, this is an excellent transformation that sees the original actor become basically unrecognizable in this role.

Question 37

Which actor starred as R in Warm Bodies?

The entire movie Warm Bodies takes place in a dystopian future where zombies have all but taken over. However, there still remains a pretty large and relatively thriving group of humans who have been trained to take them out, if only to protect themselves from further attacks. One member of those humans comes across a zombie named R who seems pretty different from the others. As the film progresses, both she and R are surprised to find that he is gradually turning human again! This actor had to spend some serious time in the makeup chair to achieve his “zombie” look for the character of R, and it was definitely a success because it’s hard to recognize him underneath it all!

Question 38

Which actor starred as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist?

The film The Disaster Artist depicts the process the cast and crew of the cult-classic film The Room underwent in order to see its creation. According to IMDB, this actor not only took on the role of the film’s star, Tommy Wiseau, but he also took a seat in the director’s chair, too. In order to stay in character and truly become Tommy, this actor adopted the star’s signature European accent and would speak like this 24/7, particularly during filming. He also wore a long black wig and facial prosthetics so that he could capture Tommy’s signature look. The end result is quite amazing, since we can hardly separate the actor from the character!

Question 39

Which actress starred as the title character in Nanny McPhee?

The character of Nanny McPhee is quite interesting. She is somewhat like the classic nanny character of Mary Poppins, but she also greatly differs from her. Whereas Poppins is clean-looking, beautiful, and stern, McPhee is instead fairly drab, unremarkable, and quite mysterious. Throughout the movie, she gradually becomes to become more and more beautiful with each lesson the troublesome children learn. But, when she is at her most unseemly looking, it is quite difficult to recognize the otherwise beautiful actress who plays her! The makeup, bodysuit, and facial prosthetics all did wonders to hide her from the eyes of the audience.

Question 40

Which actor starred as Dick Cheney in the movie Vice?

It is actually quite fitting that this character played Dick Cheney in the biopic Vice since he is no stranger to undergoing rather extreme bodily changes in order to portray people. For this movie, this actor put on some serious pounds so that he could accurately portray Cheney. With the addition of his impressive impersonation and prosthetics, this actor was virtually unrecognizable in this role. Watching him walk, talk, and look exactly like Cheney on the big screen made it quite difficult for audiences to try and separate the two. It was like he became the man he was playing! Quite the impressive performance indeed.

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