Bradley Cooper, Sebastian Stan: 5 actors who underwent drastic makeovers for movies

If the recently released look of Hollywood hottie Sebastian Stan from A Different Man blew your mind (it sure blew ours), then you should probably wait till you find out how acting royalty Dame Helen Mirren will look in her upcoming socio-political biopic, Golda.

Without revealing everything all at once here, let us quickly look at some of the pathbreaking transformations that we have (or are about to) witnessed on screen in the last decade or so, thanks to devoted make-up artists and, of course, some truly patient actors!

Anthony Hopkins in Hitchcock (2012)

When the first look of Hopkins' was leaked from the sets of Hitchcock, theOscar-winning actor looked so much like the man himself that it was difficult to distinguish between the two. Make-up artist Howard Berger had tried out six different versions of the same character with Hopkins before finalizing the one that does make it to the film, as reported by Fast Company.

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)

One of the highest Oscar-winning actors of all time, who is notorious for taking method acting to a whole new level, Daniel Day-Lewis’ transformation as the 16th President of The United States of America was, quite frankly, legendary! Day-Lewis, the perfectionist that he is, used no prosthetics or wigs for his part and had grown his own hair instead, lost undisclosed amount of weight to play Abraham Lincoln, reported USA Today. In fact, Steven Spielberg, who has directed the movie, was asked not to interfere with the actor’s creative process and he, too, ‘didn’t ask’. One day, he receives an envelope from Day-Lewis that was labelled as ‘for your eyes only’ and he heard a voiceand Spielberg ‘accepted that voice as the 16th President of the United States’.

Helen Mirren in Golda (2022)

Fun, flamboyant and oh-so-talented! Oscar-winning British actress Dame Helen Mirren has done it for the silver screen… yet again! For her role as the former Prime Minister of Israel (who is also lovingly called the Iron Lady of Israel), Golda Meir in Golda, the The Queen actor has made the exception of de-glamming for the part. Because, as we all know, she loves to wear full face make-up every day. The leaked pictures from the film’s London location have shown her smoking cigarettes wearing a loose dress and a messy bun tied at the bottom of her head. When you Google-search the real Golda Meir, that’s when the stark similarity hits you.

Bradley Cooper in Maestro (2023)

A protruding belly, saggy skin and that receding hairline: we would have never guessed that Hollywood’s hottest guy Bradley Cooper could look the way he does for his upcoming Netflix biopic Maestro. In the movie, which is still in its production stages, Cooper will be playing the role of renowned composer, conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein. On American Memorial Day this year (May 23), Netflix had released some of Cooper’s shots from in and around the set of the movie and the world was in utter disbelief.

Sebastian Stan in A Different Man (to be released)

It is not like Sebastian Stan has not undergone transformations in the past, but his unrecognizable makeover (by the incredibly talented Mike Marino) in A Different Man is on a ‘different’ level altogether. In the film, which is still being made, Stan is playing a man with neurofibromatosis and had to use heavy prosthetics to get the part right. Interestingly, the actor had undergone massive body transformation for his role in Winter Soldier where he had to lose tons of weight and learn to play the drums, which, according to a report byMen’s Health, was a ‘real pressure’ for him.

Well, pressure or not, these actors seem to be changing the landscape of cinema… one prosthetic body-part at a time!

Read more:

⋙ This Netflix movie is so horrifying that it traumatized viewers

⋙ 4 cult movies that would be 'cancelled' if made today

⋙ 6 steamy movie sex scenes to get you in the mood