18 Incredible Onscreen Physical Transformations That Rendered Famous Actors Unrecognizable (And The Details Behind Them)

    "I always say Doug Jones is to prosthetics as Andy Serkis is to motion capture — they’ve both given iconic performances that we all know and love but will never be fully recognized for what they do."

    Kristen Harris
    by Kristen Harris

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Recently, I wrote about actors who underwent serious physical transformations with makeup and prosthetics for roles. In the comments, members of the BuzzFeed Community shared which onscreen transformations they think are the most impressive.

    Here are 11 of their top responses:

    1. "I know it took Jamie Campbell Bower 7.5 hours to become Vecna on Stranger Things. That's a whole lot of time!"

    Mysterious Vecna with vine-like extensions emerges in a dimly lit scene
    Netflix

    "There's a time-lapse video that was posted on IG some time ago, maybe back in 2022, of the process. It looks totally bonkers to me."

    –spasticentropy

    "This [original post] reminded me of Vecna from Stranger Things, which, from what I’ve seen BTS, spends some crazy time in the chair to get JCB ready."

    –shinysorcerer268

    "How did we not include Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in Stranger Things?"

    –tiffanyc47ff6c46e

    Jamie had to get to the makeup chair at 3 a.m. to start the transformation process. Then, after 10-12-hour shoot days, he spent another hour getting all the makeup taken off.

    In 2022, he told Variety, "I came in in character, wearing the character, so I'm sitting in the makeup chair very still, not really talking to anyone. Music is a big help for me. I find it to be a very visceral experience. I had a few records that I was just constantly spinning on repeat as I'd been building the character I'd had on anyway, so there was that, sort of, subconsciousness that was coming through."

    Here's Jamie in real life vs. on the show:

    Presley Ann / Getty Images for Netflix, Netflix

    2. "SHAME! No mention of Tim Curry as Darkness from Legend (1985)? He sat in that chair for HOURS of 1980s makeup and special effects!"

    Tim in an elaborate fantasy costume with large horns and a cape, holding a staff, stands dramatically against a cloudy backdrop
    ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

    –majorh

    He reportedly spent five and a half hours in the makeup chair. He wore facial and body prosthetics, heavy three-and-a-half-foot fiberglass horns, a harness to supplement the weight of the horns, and sclera lenses.

    Here's Tim in real life vs. in the movie:

    Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

    3. "I'm going to go with Gary Oldman as Mason Verger in Hannibal. Not only was his real face buried under pounds of foam latex and silicone, but he also had one eye stretched open."

    MGM Distribution Co. / Via youtube.com

    "And he still turned in a phenomenal performance that should have had Oscar consideration."

    –tendtomebollocks

    The makeup application process took five hours, plus an additional hour for Gary's wig. 

    Here's Gary in real life vs. in the movie:

    J. P. Aussenard / WireImage / Via Getty, MGM Distribution Co. / Via youtube.com

    4. "Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire!"

    Robin dressed as an elderly woman, wearing a floral dress and cardigan, sits in a vintage armchair, holding a cup
    ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    –colinh7

    Makeup artist Ve Neill spent four and a half hours on Robin's makeup transformation. She applied several pieces of a mask, blended them, then painted and molded on wrinkles and blemishes. 

    You can watch a full video of the transformation here.

    Here's Robin in real life vs. in the movie:

    Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    5. "You should have included Gary Oldman as Churchill in Darkest Hour. That was very interesting, too."

    Gary portraying Winston Churchill wears a suit with a bow tie and round glasses, standing in a room with a serious expression
    © Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection

    –annikakremer

    In 2018, Gary told Variety, "I said to [the producers and director], ‘We’re not talking about the elephant in the room, which is that I don’t look anything like Churchill. I don’t know how this is going to be done, but if there’s one man who has even a remote chance of pulling this off, that’s Kazuhiro Tsuji.'"

    The makeup artist agreed to come out of retirement for the "dream project." Then, he spent six months testing makeup until he came up with the best way to transform the actor. On set, the process took four hours.

    Here's Gary in real life vs. in the movie:

    Karwai Tang / WireImage / Via Getty, © Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection

    6. "Nicole Kidman looks like a completely different person as Virginia Woolf in The Hours. 🤯"

    Nicole wearing a floral-patterned dress, holding a cigarette, standing in a doorway with a pensive expression
    (c) Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

    –starkravenclaw4

    The look took three hours, and it rendered the actor unrecognizable — mainly because of the prosthetic nose.

    In 2002, Nicole told SF Gate, "It was fun to be able to go out of my trailer and not have anyone know me."

    Here's Nicole in real life vs. in the movie:

    Kmazur / WireImage / Via Getty, (c) Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

    7. "Basically all the Star Trek actors over the years. Notably the Ferengi, Klingons, Cardassians, Borg, etc. — so many hours sitting and suffering."

    ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    –casualgamer155

    Here's Armin Shimerman in real life vs. as a Ferengi on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:

    Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    In 1993, Armin, who played one of the original Ferengi on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Quark the Ferengi on Deep Space Nine, told Desert News that the makeup took "only" three hours instead of the original four.

    He said, "Up until the time that I played Quark, the Ferengi had no ear-holes in the makeup. So your ears were pinned back for the entire time you had the makeup on. And after about seven or eight hours, that got to be incredibly painful."


    Here's J.G. Hertzler in real life vs. as a Klingon on Deep Space Nine:

    Albert L. Ortega / WireImage / Via Getty, ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    At Central PA Comic-Con 2014, J.G. Hertzler, who played a Klingon, reportedly said his makeup process took about four hours. It required facial prosthetics, two wigs, and multiple layers of makeup.

    Here's Marc Alaimo in real life vs. as a Cardassian on Deep Space Nine:

    Albert L. Ortega / WireImage / Via Getty, Paramount Television / ©Paramount Television/Courtesy Everett Collection

    In 2017, makeup designer Michael Westmore told Trekyards that the Cardassians' makeup took three hours at first. He also said their look was inspired by the long neck of actor Marc Alaimo, who played the first Cardassian, as well as a painting of a woman with a spoon on her forehead at a local restaurant.

    And here's Patrick Stewart in real life vs. as Locutus of Borg on Star Trek: The Next Generation:

    Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, ©Paramount Television/ Courtesy Everett Collection

    Turning an actor into a Borg reportedly required three to five hours. You can see pictures from a live, onstage demonstration Michael did here.

    8. "Dustin Hoffman in Hook."

    Dustin dressed as a pirate with lavish hat and coat, striking a dramatic pose on a wooden staircase
    ©TriStar Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

    –colinh7

    You can see a picture of Dustin during his makeup and wig test here.

    Here's Dustin in real life vs. in the movie:

    Mediapunch / MediaPunch via Getty Images, ©TriStar Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

    9. "I love Bootstrap Bill's look [Stellan Skarsgård in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End] with prosthetics."

    Stellan in tattered clothing with seaweed-like attire, resembling a weathered pirate, against a dark, ship-like backdrop from a movie scene
    Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

    –rebashasta

    Stellan told Business Insider, "I was the only one on set with real prosthetics on. Everyone else on that ship showed up five minutes before we started shooting and had dots put on their face, and away they went. I had been there for six hours.

    But the thing is, I like it. I like to see the artists paint, if that makes sense."

    Here's Stellan in real life vs. in the movie:

    Avalon / Getty Images, ©Buena Vista Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

    10. "Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931)."

    Boris as Frankenstein's monster in classic movie makeup with bolts in neck, staring forward
    Bettmann / Bettmann Archive / Via Getty

    –rriley9945

    To create the monster's look, makeup artist Jack Pierce reportedly built up Boris's forehead with spirit gum and cotton then sealed it with collodion. He also made the actor's eyelids appear heavier with mortician's wax. In total, the process took three to three and a half hours.

    Here's Boris in real life vs. in the movie:

    Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images, Bettmann / Bettmann Archive / Via Getty

    11. And finally: "I would love to see Doug Jones represented on a list like this. Not only did he do *so many* iconic prosthetic performances, but they also run the spectrum from the creepy inhuman characters in Pan's Labyrinth to the far more emotive like Saru in Star Trek: Discovery, with stop-offs in between like the fish man in The Shape of Water."

    Doug as a mythical creature with horns, wearing a rustic outfit, interacts with a person in a forest scene from a fantasy movie
    ©Picturehouse/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "He's just so awesome at this kind of acting!"

    –asstundersecretary

    "This! I always say Doug Jones is to prosthetics as Andy Serkis is to motion capture — they’ve both given iconic performances that we all know and love but will never be fully recognized for what they do."

    –colormeplaid

    Here's Doug in real life vs. in Pan's Labyrinth:

    Carley Margolis / FilmMagic / Via Getty, Picturehouse / ©Picturehouse/Courtesy Everett Collection

    In 2018, Doug told Fresh Air, "A head-to-toe transformation often you're looking at, yes, five hours is about right. The Fawn from Pan's Labyrinth, that was a five-hour makeup transformation. The Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth, with my eyeballs in my hands — I did play that character as well — that was a six-hour transformation."

    Here's Doug in real life vs. as Saru in Star Trek: Discovery:

    Amanda Edwards / WireImage / Via Getty, CBS / Via youtube.com

    Doug uses his extensive experience acting with facial prosthetics to help his costars who are new to it. On the Star Trek: Discovery set, he checked in with Mary Chieffo, who played the Klingon L'Rell, every day.

    She told Indie Wire, "He was always there to grab coffee. Ultimately, we were lucky enough to have some great scenes together by the end of the season — it was so great to work with him on so many levels."

    He offered her and other costars this advice: "Sit still, do as you're told, and find your happy place."

    And here's Doug in real life vs. as the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water:

    Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images, Fox Searchlight Pictures / Via youtube.com

    He told Fresh Air, "Shape of Water was much kinder and gentler — that was only three hours."

    Now that we've talked about the best onscreen SFX makeup transformations, can you think of any you've seen that were laughably bad? What made them so unconvincing? Share your thoughts in the comments!

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.