If you didn't read the credits, you wouldn't even know that Ewan Mcgregor plays Emmit Stussy in Fargo. That's how different the character and McGregor really look. It's honestly mindboggling.
Can you imagine how much time McGregor must spend in the makeup chair before going on screen? Talk about commitment. In real life, the actor looks much younger, more attractive, and has a considerably better hairline.
Most of the celebrities who are in Orange is the New Black look quite different than they do in real life, but that's especially true when it comes to Taryn Manning, the actress who plays Tiffany "Pennastuck" Doggett. Pennastucky has messy, stringy hair and is missing some teeth (the ones she does have are yellow).
Taryn Manning is much more put together than her character, Pennastucky. Manning rocks a platinum blonde look with a beautiful smile.
Majority of the celebrities who appear in Hulu's drama, The Handmaid's Tale, look drastically different than they do in reality. You might not even know that Madeline Brewers is the actress behind Janine Ofwarren's character.
Well, clearly The Handmaid's Tale has an extremely talented makeup department. In reality, Madeline Brewer is your typical glamorous Hollywood actress and she has both of her eyes.
Naomi Grossman does a fabulous job playing Pepper on American Horror Story. Pepper's character has a medical condition called microcephaly. It's honestly hard to believe that Grossman doesn't have this medical condition in real life because she portrayed it so well in the film.
This might be one of the most unsightly transformations yet! Grossman is another actress who must spend hours in the makeup chair to achieve her on-set look. The difference between Naomi Grossman in real life and on-screen as Pepper is seriously incredible.
Conleth Hill plays Lord Varys on Game of Thrones. On screen, Varys was completely bald, wore black robes, and always had a very serious expression. Vary's is rarely seen smiling or even taking his hands out of his sleves.
In reality though, Conleth Hill has a head full of thick, silver hair and is much more easy-going. Now that we know Hill had to give up his amazing locks of hair, we are more grateful for his epic performance.
In Modern Family, Alex Dunphy is the smart, kind of nerdy, and shy sister. But Ariel Winter, the actress that plays Alex, couldn't be more opposite than Alex's character if she tried.
Unlike Alex Dunphy, Ariel Winter doesn't wear glasses, loves fashion, and is super bubbly and outgoing. Honestly, Winter reminds us of Alex's older sister, Haley Dunphy, on Modern Family.
Julie Gardner's character, Ruth Langmore, is known for her bad attitude and her blonde, curly hair. In real life, the actress is fun-loving and bubbly and likes to wear her hair in a straight, slicked back up-do.
While her Ozark character had a strong Missouri accent, Julie Garner is from the Bronx so yeah, no, she doesn't talk like that in real life. Apparently, Garner spent a full month before her audition trying to perfect her southern accent.
Allison Janney couldn't me more different than her character, LaVona Golden, in I,Tonya if she tried. LaVona's character is an abusive, acerbic skater mom who seems to prefer to pet bird over her daughter.
Allison Janney is nothing like LaVona's charcter. Janney is very compassionate, calm, and just wants the world to be a better place.
By now, surely everyone has seen Game of Thrones. If you haven't, you should. Daenerys Targaryen is an icon in the series with her long, white-blond braided hair and her warrior outfits.
Emilia Clarke, the actress who plays her, couldn't be more opposite than the Daenerys character. Clarke has a completely different personality than the character along with a much shorter, darker hairstyle.
Bryan Cranston completely transformed the way he looked for his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad. The shaved head, the goatee, and the infamous glasses totally disguise Cranston in the series.
Cranston played Walter White, a science teacher who becomes an extremely unlikely criminal. Cranston certainly doesn't give off the criminal vibe off-screen.
Surely, we weren't the only ones dying for Betty Suarez to get a makeover when first watching Ugly Betty. If you ran into America Ferrera, you'd see a cute, attractive young woman. But if you were searching for the star of Ugly Betty, you would never recognizer her. Betty's character isn't ugly, she just doesn't care about the fashion world, and sure, her braces and glasses don't help.
America Ferrera and her character Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty have absolutely nothing in common other than their long, dark hair. Ferrera is stunningly glamorous, mature, and very put-together. Betty, on the otherhand, is constantly rocking red glasses and braces.
Elizabeth Moss' character in Mad Men, Peggy Olson, is a plain Jane secretary turned into an advertising superstar. Honestly, Elizabeth Moss couldn't be more opposite of Peggy's character.
In reality, Elizabeth Moss is full of energy, always on the go, and very attractive. Moss was able to transform into a oridinary, quiet superstar for all seven seasons of Mad Men.
In Arrested Development, Kitty Sanchez is known for being slightly crazy with a dramatic cross-eyed look without her glasses. Judy Greer, who plays Kitty Sanchez, couldn't be more different.
Judy Greer is a sharp and stylish woman! Don't let her character, Kitty Sanchez, fool you.
If you've seen Game of Thrones, you know that many of the characters look much different than the celebrities who play them. Cersei Lannister is one of those. Lena Headey and Cersei Lannister have completely opposite personalities and looks.
In real life, Lena Headey has dark hair and a friendly face that makes her look completely different from her smirking blonde character. Headey also rocks some very "un-Cersei" tattoos in real life.
Actress Vanessa Kirby dyed her hair dark brown to play Queen Elizabeth's younger sister, Princes Margaret, in The Crown. Princess Margaret was known as the fun-loving and free-spirited royal.
Unfortunately, Vanessa Kirby isn't a royal in real life. But she is just as fun-loving as her on-screen character.
On the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar's character, Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali, is one of the nerdy scientists. For most of the show, Raj is socially awkard, has a weird sense of style, and messes up pretty much all of his relationships.
Kunal Nayyar couldn't be more different from his character. Nayyar has admitted that he wanted to burn all of Raj's costumes after the finale episode becuase he disliked them so much. In real life, Nayyar is very social and adaptable unlike Raj. And yes, his accent is real!
On Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Midge Maisel, rocks a brown bob and a slew of traditional shift dresses, gloves, and coats. The character is literally the epitome of an Upper East Side 1950s housewife. But in real life, Brosnahan looks nothing like that.
In reality, Brosnahan wears a wavy, brunette hairstyle and is much more fashion-forward. Midge Maisel and her mom would totally not approve of her winged eyeliner and her pant suits. However, we love it!
Worf, one of the wisest characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is a pretty serious guy. Michael Dorn, who plays Worf, has quite the sense of humor and is much more attractive without the makeup and fake hair.
Needless to say, most of the actors on Star Trek spend endless hours in the makeup department. We think Michael Dorn had to be one of the most dedicated actors, as he spent up to seven hours to achieve his Worf look.
On Big Bang Theory, Melissa Rauch's character, Bernadette Rostenkowski, has a nerdy but cool vibe. This vibe certainly works for her character on the show, but it's not like Melissa Rauch in real life.
In real life, Melissa Rauch is into fashion and she certainly isn't afraid to show off a little cleavage on the red carpet. Rauch is fun and outgoing, just a little different than the vibe Bernadette gives off.
Matthew McConaughey was nearly unrecognizable when he played Rust Cohle in True Detective. We all know how attractive McConaughey is in reality, but in True Detective he was far from it with the straggly long hair, the handle bar mustache, and the sad eyes.
McConaughey's character is the polar opposite of himself who has a charming personality and a bright, handsome smile. McConaughey definitely seems more put together than Rust.
Jaleel White played the iconic Steve Urkel on the sitcom, Family Matters. Between Urkele's glasses, cardigans, and "Did I do that?" catchphrase, everyone has always loved Urkel. But that doesn't change the fact that Jaleel White looks nothing like the character.
Who would have thought that one day we would think of Jaleel White as eye-candy? Forget his Steve Urkel character, Jaleel White is a very attractive man in reality.
Everyone remembers Janis Ian from Mean Girls, right? She rocked the pale skin, jet black hair, and extremely heavy eyeliner. Lizzie Caplan, the actress behind Janis, is nothing like that though.
In real life, Lizzie Caplan is stunning and she certainly doesn't give off a gothic vibe. Caplan loves a beautiful dress and a red lip.
You may be shocked to see that the man behind Dwight Schrute's character on The Office is a pretty normal-looking guy when he's out of character. Wilson certainly looks different without the centerpart, glasses, and sideburns.
Rainn Wilson is not near as annoying, difficult, creepy, or nerdy as his character. But Wilson will always be our favorite for creating the character that we know as Dwight Schrute. Can you imagine a life without Dwight?
Jenna Coleman's fashion choices are much less austere from what she wore in Victoria for her role as the young Queen of England. Coleman's character, Queen Victoria, wears over-the-top period costumes that channel the 1800s.
When Coleman isn't acting as Queen Victoria, the star's wardrobe is just as eye-catching it's just not as vintage as the 1800s. Coleman wears a short, wavy hairstyle that is extremely elegant.
Richard Rankin seriously does not even look like the same person as his character, Roger Mackenzie Wakefield, on Outlander. Roger Wakefield's character has long, beautiful hair, while in real life Richard Rankin is pretty clean cut and almost look like a businessman.
Richard Rankin has the brooding screen present required to bring a lot of life to the Roger Mckenzie Wakefield character. Although Rankin seems to fit the character well, he does prefer to rock a beard when not playing his Outlander character.
Elvis, a biopic about the King of Rock 'n Roll, had its premiere in 2022 starring Austin Butler as Elvis himself. Day-to-day, Butler looks nothing like Elvis did, and, unfortunately for him, he didn't really look like the King in the movie either. The gist was there, but no one thought that Elvis had risen from the grave after seeing the movie.
That being said, Butler's performance in the film was much more praised than his looks. He even got a nod of approval from Elvis' former wife, Priscilla Presley. In defense of his looks, Priscilla barely looks like Priscilla anymore after years of heavy-handed plastic surgery!
Who in the world wanted a Princess Diana biopic starring the sparkly vampire queen herself? Literally no one, but here were are! Spencer, a 2021 biopic that follows Diana's decision to divorce Prince Charles in 1991, stars none other than Kristen Stewart herself as the people's princess.
For as many jokes we have about Stewart's (lack of) skill and film history, when it comes to looking like Princess Diana...she didn't do half bad! In fact, former staff members who worked closely with the real princess said that Stewart's portrayal was one of the most accurate and realistic that they had ever seen.
Nicole Kidman is no stranger to completely transforming for a part. She shocked and wowed audiences in 2002 when she slapped on the biggest, most ridiculous prosthetic nose ever seen to portray writer Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Her turn as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos wasn't as drastic of a change, but it still was a biggie.
While Kidman and Lucille Ball were far from being identical twins, she (and the movie's makeup and costume designers) did great at hitting all the high points of a classic Lucille Ball look. You wouldn't actually get them confused in real life, but you know immediately who she's portraying—which isn't an easy feat!
There are basically two kinds of British guys—suave gents and goofy-looking lads. As talented as Elton John may be, he's definitely a little goofy looking, with or without his flamboyant costumes. That's what made Taron Egerton's portrayal of him in 2019's Rocket Man that much more impressive.
While Egerton might be a hunk in real life, he wasn't afraid to look a little silly in his portrayal of John. You can definitely tell he's not the real Elton John, but the transformation is undeniable. Maybe he has a future career ahead of him as an Elton John lookalike performer!
Most people watching biopics don't expect the actors portraying real people to look like mirror images of them. But that's almost what we got with Jennifer Hudson's portrayal of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, in the 2021 film Respect. It's one of the best transformations in recent memory!
Reception to the movie as a whole was a bit underwhelming, in terms of ticket sales and reviews, but there was one thing everyone who watched it agreed on—no one has ever looked more like Aretha Franklin than Jennifer Hudson...except for maybe Franklin herself!
