The 35 Most Shocking Actor Transformations for Roles: Colin Farrell in ‘The Penguin,’ Bradley Cooper in ‘Maestro,’ and More
When the trailer for Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” hit the internet a year ago, all most people wanted to talk about was that nose. In the film, which released on Netflix in November 2023, Cooper plays Bernstein himself and wears a large prosthetic nose in the role, in addition to extensive old age makeup for scenes set during the legendary composer’s later years. It’s a look that inspired significant outcry and controversy, although Bernstein’s children have defended Cooper’s transformation from its critics.
Cooper’s “Maestro” isn’t the only film released or announced in the last few years featuring actors radically transforming themselves for their roles. Colin Farrell is back under unrecognizable prosthetics in “The Penguin.” Brendan Fraser looked entirely different as an overweight man looking to connect with his daughter in Darren Aronofsky’s intensely divisive “The Whale,” and the thing about Renée Zellweger is that she can really transform into another person. The “Bridget Jones’ Diary” star took on playing alleged real-life murderer Pam Hupp for NBC’s “The Thing About Pam.” The true crime docudrama centers on Midwestern suburban mom Pam, who is facing charges for multiple murders. (Hupp is currently in prison for a 2016 killing.)
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Zellweger donned “head to toe” prosthetics and a padded suit to fully embody Pam. “It was the choice of clothing, it was the briskness in her step-step-step, her gait,” the Oscar winner said. “All of those things were really important because all those bits and pieces are what construct the person that we project our own conclusions and presumptions onto.”
And Lily James sent social media ablaze when the first photos from Hulu’s limited series “Pam and Tommy” dropped, and showed her unrecognizable transformation into Pamela Anderson. (Truly, the “Baby Driver” and “Cinderella” actress looks more like Anderson than she does herself.) In 2021, Jessica Chastain packed on prosthetics to play televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. That same year, MGM had everyone talking with the trailer for “House of Gucci,” which showed off Jared Leto’s bonkers look as Paolo Gucci.
Whether achieved through natural methods (weight loss, weight gain) and/or boosted by makeup and prosthetics, actor transformations have been shocking TV and film viewers for as long as the mediums have existed.
Some actors have made a career out of buzzy physical transformations, none more so than Christian Bale. Many times, physical transformations lead to Oscar recognition, as it did for Bale (“The Fighter”), Charlize Theron (“Monster”), Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”), and Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), among others. But a transformation is nothing without the performance underneath it, as many of the actors below will stress.
Check out the 35 most impressive actor transformations in the list below, including Sean Penn in “Gaslit,” Colin Farrell in “The Batman,” and more.
[Editor’s note: This list was originally published in May 2021 and has been updated multiple times since.]
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