The greatest films to come out of Japan
Actors naturally look a little different on screen while playing a character. They often have to lose or gain weight for the role, wear wigs, and put on totally uncharacteristic clothing. This is part of the job and the changes to their physical appearance are usually relatively small. However, there are certain roles that require major transformations, leaving the actor unrecognizable.
Whether it's to play a supernatural creature in a sci-fi film or metamorphose into another person for a biopic, countless actors have used heavy prosthetics and special effects that change them completely. So much so, in fact, that's incredibly difficult to tell who the actor is under all of the makeup magic.
It's time to test your movie knowledge and see if you can guess the actor behind each of these famous movie characters. Click on to take the quiz! You'll find an image of the character and on the next slide, the actor will be revealed.
This 2021 movie is based on the true story of televangelists Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker. The actress who plays Tammy Faye is a natural redhead who rarely wears much makeup. Who could she be?
They really invested in makeup effects for these movies! We had to look twice to recognize this actress.
Both characters were played by the marvelous Zoë Saldaña. The beautiful actress is easier to recognize in movies like 'Colombiana' (2011), 'Takers' (2010), and 'Star Trek' (2009).
In both of James Cameron's 'Avatar' movies, the main character is Jake Sully: a paralyzed former Marine who enters Pandora and falls in love with Princess Neytiri.
Sully is played by Australian actor Sam Worthington. He has also appeared in films like 'Terminator Salvation' (2009), and 'Clash of the Titans' (2010).
The spiritual leader of the Metkayinas appears for the first time in 'Avatar: The Way of Water'. The actress is very well known and will always be 'Rose' to us. Can you guess who she is?
It's Kate Winslet! She will always be remembered for her early role as Rose in 'Titanic' (1997), but it was far from her only success. In 2009, she won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in 'The Reader' (2008).
Kiri, the 14-year-old adoptive daughter of Neytiri and Jake Sully is actually played by a Hollywood veteran who is more than five times that age. The actress is also no stranger to science fiction movies.
It was three-time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver! She's best known for starring in the 'Alien' film series, but also played the role of Dr. Grace Augustine in the first 'Avatar' movie in 2009.
For her role as the titular character, the actress was given a large distorted nose, bad skin, and a buck tooth. A tad alarming, actually.
The same actress donned even heavier prosthetics for the 2022 musical remake of the children's classic 'Matilda.' In stark contrast to the kindly Nanny McPhee, here she plays the cruel Ms. Trunchbull.
It's British actress Emma Thompson. She has played everything from the beautiful love interest to the terrifying villain during her illustrious career.
She also starred in this Tim Burton movie which was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Makeup and Hair, and it's no wonder. Do you already know who this witch is?
This actor played the protagonist in 'Beetlejuice,' a 'bio-exorcist' hired to help scare annoying humans out of a ghost's home. The movie won an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
This star was transformed into a sinister villain for his role as Gellert Grindelwald.
Before Jennifer Lawrence, another star played Mystique in the first of the X-Men superhero films. The actress wore 110 individual silicone prosthetics on her body for the role.
Can you guess the actress who played Princess Ahmanet in this 2017 movie? She kills her entire family, is entombed in the desert, and comes back to life as a terrifying monster.
This actor's performance as a trans woman living with AIDS in 'Dallas Buyers Club' won him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
He looked dramatically different again playing Paolo Gucci in the 2021 movie 'House of Gucci' opposite Lady Gaga and Adam Driver.
Do you remember this actor-comedian in the role of Sherman Klump?
He has a long history of hogging movie credits! He is known for his 1988 classic, ‘Coming to America.' In the 2021 sequel, he played four different characters.
Eddie Murphy has been making people laugh since the early 1980s, from 'Beverly Hills Cop,' to 'Trading Places.' Some 40 years on, Murphy is still cracking jokes and working his magic on audiences around the world.
This famous actress plays Madame D., the wealthy dowager and secret owner of the hotel in Wes Anderson's comedy-drama. To age her, makeup artist Mark Coulier applied soft silicone rubber prosthetics encapsulated in dissolvable plastic molding on her face. The film received four Oscars, among them Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
It was Tilda Swinton under all that silicone! The Scottish actress is known for her amazing dramatic talent and her incredible androgynous style.
This film follows director F. W. Murnau as he makes his silent horror classic, 'Nosferatu.' But who plays the terrifying Count Orlok?
In this Ron Howard-directed movie, a green-furred creature called the Grinch despises Christmas and wants to ruin it for everyone else. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and it certainly deserved it!
The hilarious Danny DeVito was behind all that makeup! Despite being one of the most lovable guys in Hollywood, he has a talent for playing nasty characters like Harry Wormwood in 'Matilda' (1996) and Frank in 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'
Danny DeVito isn't the only actor to make a dramatic transformation to play the Penguin. Can you guess who played him in this 2022 film directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as Batman?
Irish actor Colin Farrell truly became another person for this role! It was by far the biggest physical transformation of his career and showed him just how hard it is to act when your face is covered in thick layers of rubber and silicone.
A recently divorced voice actor dresses up as a female housekeeper to be able to stay close to his children after his marriage falls apart, in yet another movie that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. We all know this one, right?
The late great Robin Williams will forever be Mrs. Doubtfire in our hearts!
This movie is all about 121-year-old Jack Crabb, the oldest man in the world, and the sole white survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The makeup for the ancient Crabb was created by Richard Smith from foam latex and included revolutionary false eyelids that could blink along with the actor's.
Underneath all that latex was a young Dustin Hoffman! He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter film series saw the malevolent and all-powerful wizard, Lord Voldemort, brought to life by this outstanding actor rather than computer-generated imagery.
Ralph Fiennes has played some seriously chilling villains in his career, but Lord Voldemort is the most famous. He also played SS officer Amon Göth in 'Schindler's List' (1993), as well as the deeply unsettling Chef Slowik in the 2022 movie 'The Menu.'
In John Waters' musical romantic comedy, this famous actor is amazingly transformed into the rotund Edna Turnblad. Costume designer Rita Ryack wanted to put Edna into several revealing outfits, so the actor ended up being encapsulated in silicon prosthetics. If you don't already know, then you'll never guess who it is!
Can you believe it's John Travolta? The 'Grease' (1978) star is no stranger to hamming it up for the camera.
It's surprising to learn that someone as handsome as Bill Skarsgård can also look that horrifying! The actor is frequently cast in horror movies and series. He also starred in the TV shows 'Hemlock Grove' and 'Castle Rock.'
See also: The creepiest actors of all time
Can you recognize the actors behind these characters?
Test your movie knowledge with this quiz!
MOVIES Quiz
Actors naturally look a little different on screen while playing a character. They often have to lose or gain weight for the role, wear wigs, and put on totally uncharacteristic clothing. This is part of the job and the changes to their physical appearance are usually relatively small. However, there are certain roles that require major transformations, leaving the actor unrecognizable.
Whether it's to play a supernatural creature in a sci-fi film or metamorphose into another person for a biopic, countless actors have used heavy prosthetics and special effects that change them completely. So much so, in fact, that's incredibly difficult to tell who the actor is under all of the makeup magic.
It's time to test your movie knowledge and see if you can guess the actor behind each of these famous movie characters. Click on to take the quiz! You'll find an image of the character and on the next slide, the actor will be revealed.