Entertainment

16 Celebs Who Looked Like Totally Different People On-Screen

EntertainmentPublished Apr 28, 2017
By Jacqueline Burt Cote
nicole kidman the hours

Paramount Pictures; Xavier Collin/IPA/Splash NewsWe expect celebs to look like their amazing selves at all times -- except, of course, when we expect them to seriously change their looks in the name of art! It's sort of a TV/movie cliché, but whenever actors dramatically alter their appearance for a role, it definitely seems to increase their odds of cleaning up during awards season ... maybe that's why so many are willing to completely transform themselves!

From celebrities who packed on (or took off) a significant number of pounds to those who donned wigs, colored contacts, and even prosthetics, the A-listers on this list proved themselves to be true chameleons!

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Taryn Manning-placeholder
Taryn Manning
JoJo Whilden/Netflix; Splash News

Taryn Manning

In real life, the gorgeous Taryn Manning looks nothing like Orange Is the New Black's spunky former meth addict, Pennsatucky. (We're so glad they stopped making her wear those disturbing fake teeth!)

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Anne Hathaway-placeholder
Anne Hathaway
Voltage Pictures, Brightlight Pictures; @ParisaMichelle / Splash News

Anne Hathaway

As an alcoholic with a very messy life in Colossal, Anne Hathaway wears an appropriately messy wig -- and it totally changes the way this glamorous star looks!

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Matthew McConaughey-placeholder
Matthew McConaughey
Truth Entertainment (II), Voltage Pictures; AdMedia / Splash News

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey dropped a whopping 38 pounds to play a man diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s in the heart-wrenching film Dallas Buyers Club, but his efforts paid off -- he won a well-earned Academy Award for Best Actor.

More from CafeMom: 14 Fascinating Facts About the Oscars You Probably Didn't Know

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Rooney Mara
Baldur Bragason, Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc.; Mario Anzuoni / Reuters / Splash

Rooney Mara

For her role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara was forced to make multiple changes to her appearance -- from cutting her hair to bleaching her eyebrows to (gasp!) getting a nipple piercing!

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Christian Bale-placeholder
Christian Bale
Filmax Entertainment; PG / Splash News

Christian Bale

Even more shocking than Matthew McConaughey's weight loss for Dallas Buyers Club, Christian Bale lost 60 (!!) pounds for his role in The Machinist, reportedly living on just an apple and a can of tuna per day while filming.

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Charlize Theron
Newmarket Films; Xavier Collin/IPA/Splash News

Charlize Theron

After gaining 30 pounds and popping in contact lenses and a set of dentures, Charlize Theron was virtually unrecognizable as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

More from CafeMom: 15 Celebs Share Their Refreshingly Real Advice for New Moms

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Hilary Swank
Fox Searchlight Pictures; Xavier Collin/Image Press/Splash

Hilary Swank

To play young trans murder victim Brandon Teena in the gut-wrenching Boys Don't Cry, Hilary Swank cut her hair, lost weight, and strapped down her breasts. No one was surprised when she won the Oscar.

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Matt Damon
Warner Brothers; Joe Martinez/PictureLux/Splash

Matt Damon

Matt Damon said that gaining 30 pounds to play a bipolar whistle-blower in The Informant! was "very, very easy" and "very, very fun" -- and apparently included lots of McDonald's and Doritos. Hey, but it was all in the name of art.

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Neil Patrick Harris
Joe Lederer / Netflix; Splash News

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris was forced to endure four hours in a makeup chair every day to play the devious Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events (think lots and lots of prosthetics!).

More from CafeMom: 15 Times Celeb Dads Got Real AF & Totally Made Us Laugh Out Loud

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Cameron Diaz
Universal Studios, Inc.; Splash News

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz looked so drastically different with her wig and contact lenses in Being John Malkovich that crew members didn't even realize they were talking to the star at first. We wouldn't have either.

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Tom Cruise-placeholder
Tom Cruise
Dreamworks; Splash News

Tom Cruise

Turning Tom Cruise into sleazy studio executive Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder was no easy task: A team of about a dozen people created silicone prosthetics for his head, neck, chest -- and even his hands!

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Nicole Kidman-placeholder
Nicole Kidman
Paramount Pictures; Xavier Collin/IPA/Splash News

Nicole Kidman

Call it a reverse nose job: Nicole Kidman's prosthetic nose in The Hours, along with a brown wig and makeup to alter the shape of her eyes, made viewers forget they were watching the Australian star instead of Virginia Woolf.

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Jared Leto
Eddie Mejia/Splash News; Brett D. Cove/Splash News

Jared Leto

Years before he suited up as the Joker in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto packed on 67 pounds eating pints of microwaved ice cream mixed with olive oil and soy sauce (why?!) to play Mark David Chapman (John Lennon's assassin) in Chapter 27.

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Natalie Portman
Fox Searchlight Pictures; Crystal

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman got a taste of what life as a professional ballerina is like when she starred in Black Swan, and guess what? After dropping 20 pounds from her already tiny frame on a diet of carrots and almonds and training for hours and hours every day, she wasn't impressed. "There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die," she said.

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Mariah Carey
Lee Daniels Entertainment/Harpo Productions; Xavier Collin/IPA/Splash News

Mariah Carey

The ordinarily uber-glam Mariah Carey admitted that she was not a fan of her no-makeup look in Precious, but that director Lee Daniels insisted.

"He had a very specific look. I brought in all my wigs for the character and he was like, 'No, it's not happening.' He really brought up what everyone was going through [in the film] was not about that," she said. 

We think she looked great anyway!

More from CafeMom: 15 Stars Who Were Way Older Than Their Teenage Characters

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Chris Hemsworth-placeholder
Chris Hemsworth
chrishemsworth/Instagram; Richard Buxo / Splash News

Chris Hemsworth

A far cry from all the bulking up he did to play Thor, Chris Hemsworth dropped 33 pounds in four weeks (!) for In the Heart of the Sea (in which he plays, you guessed it, a man lost at sea). He also -- as you can see -- grew some serious scruff!

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