Acting is all about putting yourself in another person’s shoes – and sometimes, that process involves a total transformation.
These actors completely committed to their respective roles, becoming almost unrecognisable in their quest to accurately portray their characters.
From Brad Pitt to Cate Blanchett, these stars prove that art always trumps vanity when it comes to movie-making.
Cate Blanchett, is that you? The beloved actress looks very different to her usual self in her new film, Manifesto.
The film, which was originally an art installation created by Berlin-based artist Julian Rosefeldt and on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, will see Cate play 13 characters.
The 47-year-old is also going for a drastic new look as she gears up to be the new villain Hela in the Thor film, opposite Chris Hemsworth.
Thor: Ragnarok teaser trailer NZ
He’s come a long way since his 1D days! Popstar Harry Styles stars in the new World War Two film Dunkirk in Dorset, England and looks to be fully immersed in his character (R).
Military make-over! Gone are his trademark long locks and instead the 22-year-old sports a much shorter hairstyle. Watch Harry on set in the next slide. Gallery continues after the video!
Harry Styles shaking his booty on the set of Dunkirk
Star Trek Beyond‘s heroine Jaylah is portrayed by Sofia Boutella. Describing her time on the set as “a joy,” the brunette beauty adored portraying the alien warrior, saying, “she’s a really fun character!”
The 34-year-old, born in Algeria, is a professional dancer, actress and musician, and hit the scene as the Nike Women and Madonna’s back up dancer!
Hollywood heartthrob Antonio Banderas is set to take the lead in a new comedy, Salty. The Zorro actor will portray an aging rock star and reformed sex addict married to a supermodel who is abducted by pirates.
Sharing this onset snap, he said “With my shooting pals: Olga Kurylenko and Ben Cura. #Saltymovie.” With his shaggy hair and heavy eyeliner, he’s almost unrecognisable!
Seeing double! Complete with the bouffant hair and chic threads Katie Holmes looks identical to the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis (L). The actress is currently filming scenes for the upcoming mini-series, The Kennedys After Camelot.
A far cry from her usual style! This week, the 37-year-old was spotted rocking a voluminous wig and large chino shorts as she played on her phone in between takes on the Toronto set of the upcoming series. Watch Katie in character in the next slide. Gallery continues after the video!
Lovable funnyman Jason Segel took a different turn from his usual comedy route for his role in the David Foster Wallace biopic The End of the Tour. Playing the famed American author, Jason put on over 18kg by eating Hot Pockets. “By the end, I was running out of time. I had about two weeks left, so I put myself on a Hot Pocket diet, which was two Hot Pockets every three hours,” Jason said on Good Morning America. “It was horrible. I was eating like 12 Hot Pockets a day at that point. I was so sick of them.” With the huge Oscar buzz this film is getting, no doubt the carb intense diet was worth it!
Nicole Kidman underwent a massive transformation for her role as Virginia Woolf, in The Hours. The makeup took three hours daily and relied heavily on a large prosthetic nose – something the Aussie actress loved! “I did enjoy being anonymous,” the star admitted during the press junket of the film. “It was fun to be able to go out of my trailer and not have anyone know me.”
Noomi Rapace scored the coveted role of Lisbeth Salander for the best-selling film adaption of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Chatting to British talk show host Graham Norton, the actress revealed that she decided early on in her career to never let her personal vanity come in the way of a role. Taking her art so seriously, Noomi got most of the piercings required for the role, but drew the line when it came to the tattoos!
Charlize Theron won the 2003 Oscar for her phenomenal role as Aileen Wuornos in Monster. “I’m very proud of it. We couldn’t sell that movie to save our lives—we were going to sign a deal to just release it on video. A lot of people didn’t want to buy in to how horrific her story was,” the starlet shared during an interview with Esquire.
Meryl Streep embodied infamous former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for her role in The Iron Lady. Describing the the role as “grueling”, it won her an Oscar (29 years after her first win) with the film also winning the Academy Award for Best Makeup and the BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair.
Glenn Close landed an Oscar nomination after her portrayal of Albert Nobbs. During an interview, Glenn revealed, “I cried when I first saw myself as a man.”
Australian actress Margot Robbie looked unrecognisable in her get-up for her role as super-villain Harley Quinn in the comic book flick Suicide Squad.
Believe it or not, that’s popstar Justin Timberlake dressed as a human lime, for a tequila company advertisement for brand Sauza 901 – a company that the popstar has a high stake in.
Brad Pitt looked more like Grandpa Pitt on the set of his 2015 movie The Big Short while filming in New Orleans.
Eddie Redmayne adopted an entirely new look when he took on the part of Lili Elbe, the first-known person to have undergone gender reassignment surgery for The Danish Girl.
Johnny Depp sported a balding look and paunch to play crime boss Whitey Bulger for Black Mass.
Maggie Smith eschewed the glamourous attire of the well-to-do Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey to play the eponymous down-at-hill character in The Lady in the Van seen filming in London.
