Actors and crews go through a number of steps to perfect their imitations of these historical figures. Hair dyeing and styling and makeup are just the beginning. Actors will also wear prosthetics to create new face shapes and smiles. They’ll also study the motions, body language, and speaking habits of their subjects extensively to capture them on screen. Of course, they’re different people, so at the end of the day, the role is successful or not depending on the actors’ skills.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia
Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart
Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla Perez in Selena
Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in Invictus
Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote
Stephen Fry as Oscar Wilde in Wilde
Anthony Hopkins as Pablo Picasso in Surviving Picasso
Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin
Kirk Douglas as Vincent Van Gogh in Lust for Life
Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali in Midnight in Paris
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray
Andre "3000" Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in All Is By My Side
Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors
Audrey Tautou as Gabrille "Coco" Chanel in Coco Before Chanel
Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network
Cate Blanchette as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There
Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn
Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in Monster
Denzel Washington as Malcom X in Malcom X
Gretchen Mol as Bettie Page in The Notorious Bettie Page
Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice in W.
Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady
Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr. in The Rat Pack
James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in Howl
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in Frida
Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon
