By trade, an actor has to wear many faces . The ability to slip into another person’s skin doesn’t come easily. It takes years to be able to master the art of being a true Hollywood chameleon .
Below are some of the greatest examples of actors who have been able to achieve just that. Have a look at these side-by-sides of characters played by the same actor (but it doesn’t look that way).
RELATED STORIES
Aileen Wuornos in *Monster* and Sara Deever in *Sweet November*.
At the time that Charlize took on her role in Monster , she was widely regarded as the most beautiful woman on the planet.
Her risk paid off and the following year she took home the Oscar for “Best Actress in a Leading Role.”
Gamora in *Guardians Of The Galaxy* and Neytiri in *Avatar*.
Does Zoe Saldana have a thing for portraying alien characters with bright brilliant skin pigments?
I hope everyone is ready for the bombardment of Avatar sequels because they’re coming hard and fast whether we like it or not.
Gilbert Grape from *What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?* and Jack Sparrow in *Pirates Of The Caribbean*.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? is a heartbreaking film (painfully underrated) and showcases Depp and a young Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of their game.
If I didn’t know Gilbert and the scallywag Jack Sparrow were one in the same, I’d have never believed it.
Lisbeth Salander in *The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo* and Mary Magdalene in *Mary Magdalene*.
I love Rooney Mara but I’ve never been able to make it all the way through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo .
She’s brilliant, don’t get me wrong, it’s just far too brutal for my delicate sensibilities to endure.
Nebula from *Avengers: Infinity War* and Ruby Roundhouse in *Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle*.
Do you want to hear a disgusting story?
Karen Gillan used to sweat so badly under all her makeup and prosthetics that when her team would remove the pieces at the end of the day, sweat would often squirt out from the crevices.
That’s what I call dedication to a role.
Sam from *Love Actually* and Benny Watts from *Queen’s Gambit*.
When I first started watching The Queen’s Gambit , I knew that I recognized Benny from somewhere but I couldn’t place him — it drove me bananas!
As fate would have it, I happened to be rewatching Love Actually during the holidays and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Poe Dameron from *Star Wars: Episode VI – The Force Awakens* and Apocalypse from *X-Men: Apocalypse*.
I just had a metaphorical glass burst into a million pieces in my mind. I’ve seen both of these films at least half-a-dozen times and have never managed to put two and two together.
Clearly, I need to pay closer attention to the credits.
Kate McCallister from *Home Alone* and Moira Rose in *Schitt’s Creek*.
If you think it’s crazy that both Kate and Moira are played by Catherine O’Hara, then consider this as well: she’s also the voice of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas .
Eames from *Inception* and Bane in *The Dark Knight Rises*.
It isn’t just the fact that Tom Hardy is wearing a mask in The Dark Knight Rises that makes him hard to recognize. Tom’s body transformation is staggering.
He put on nearly 30 lbs of pure muscle and was close to 200 lbs.
Russ Griswold in *Christmas Vacation* and Leonard Hofstadter in *The Big Bang Theory*.
I think everyone has the same shared “aha!” moment when they sit down to watch Christmas Vacation every year. I always forget that Johnny Galecki is technically a Griswold.
Do you think he watches Christmas vacation during the holidays? And if not, do you feel bad that he’s missing out?
Benny O’Donnell from *Dazed And Confused* and Rip Wheeler in *Yellowstone*.
I feel like I need to ring the Yellowstone cattle bell because it’s an absolutely phenomenal show that up until recently was completely unknown to me.
I didn’t realize that Rip was Benny until about halfway through the second season.
Captain Hook from *Hook* and Bernie Focker in *Meet The Fockers*.
I don’t think you could find two characters further apart on the fictional spectrum than Captain Hook and Bernie Focker.
One is the living embodiment of parental neglect/child abandonment, while the other may just be the most overbearing parent on the face of the planet.
Mr. Freeze in *Batman & Robin* and Howard Langston in *Jingle All The Way*.
Ice puns galore! Say what you will about Batman & Robin , Arnold absolutely slew as Mr. Freeze in my opinion.
The movie never had a chance to be good, but every second Arnold is on-screen he’s great.
Irving Rosenfeld in *American Hustle* and Trevor Reznik in *The Machinist*.
You could put any two of Christian Bale’s characters side-by-side and you’d be stunned to learn that they were played by the same actor.
I could have just as easily chosen to put Bruce Wayne and Dick Cheney together and it would have been just as unbelievable.
Rocket Racoon from *Avengers: Endgame* and Jackson Maine in *A Star Is Born*.
Have you ever seen the behind-the-scenes videos of Bradley Cooper recording his lines for Guardians of the Galaxy ? It’s freaking brilliant.
Bradley’s more animated playing a CGI character than he is in live-action! Check out the video and see for yourself.
