Actors are supposed to fully immerse themselves in whatever role they are playing, whether a hardened criminal or a mythical creature. It's up to them to make us believe that what we're seeing on the big screen is the real thing. And some of the most memorable performances by actors are when they're playing real-life people.
Hollywood has blessed us with a ton of amazing biopics over the years that not only offered us a glimpse into the lives of famous musicians, celebrities, and historical figures, but also gave us some incredible, Oscar-worthy acting.
In honor of all the memorable biopics we've seen (and those that are still to come), here are 25 celebs who nailed playing real-life icons. It's honestly hard to tell which person is the actor and which is the real person in some of these movies — that's how good they are.
Ben Kingsley as Gandhi
Ben Kingsley is most known for his performance as Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi. Despite filming the movie more than 35 years ago, the association doesn't bother him one bit. "I hope I am always associated with that film," he told Firstpost. "Gandhi was my first major feature film, my first leading role on screen, and I was surrounded by passionate people. I was surrounded by Indians who were passionate that this story should be told correctly and beautifully. It was humbling and an enormous responsibility."
Angela Bassett as Tina Turner
Angela Bassett famously played international superstar Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love Got To Do With It in 1993. Angela chaneled her inner diva and was "simply the best" playing Ms. Turner — so much so that her performance earned her an Oscar nomination. Many fans have expressed they felt she was robbed of the award when it went to Holly Hunter for The Piano instead.
Madonna as Eva Perón
While there was a bit of controversy surround the casting of Madonna as Argentina's former first lady Eva Perón in the 1996 film Evita, her costar Antonio Banderas claims the pop icon was 100% committed to her role. "She was totally into this character. It was actually great working with her," he told People TV.
Madonna's performance earned her a Golden Globe award, so her portrayal wasn't too shabby.
Will Smith as Muhammad Ali
This knockout performance of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, was truly an epic transformation. Will worked tirelessly to honor the athlete in the 2001 film Ali, and lucky for him, Ali gave his literal "nod" of approval. "The champ looked at me and gave me the nod that I did a good job. I worked as hard as I could possibly have worked," Will told Oprah Winfrey in an interview.
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles
This was a memorable portrayal to say the least. It's actually hard to tell that Ray Charles in the film is not actually Ray Charles but rather Jamie Foxx. The actor went to great lengths to get the essence of the blind music icon just right, including gluing his eyes shut for 14 hours a day while filming. He also used his comedic background to help start him off on the right foot.
"Coming from comedy, I could grasp a Ray Charles impersonation easily," Jamie said in an interview with The New York Times. "The difficult thing was capturing his nuances."
Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash
Fans were captivated not only by Joaquin Phoenix's ability to channel Johnny Cash in the film Walk the Line, but by his similar vocal chops, too. He and costar Reese Witherspoon famously did all their own singing for the movie — which was definitely a challenge as Johnny and his wife June Carter recorded many popular songs together.
Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth
What can't Helen Mirren do? Her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the 2006 film The Queen is one of the most iconic ones to date. Understandably, Helen won the Best Actress Academy Award for the role, which she embodied with a perfect dignity while also letting viewers see the complex layers of Her Majesty. And she looked just like her.
Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett
Kristen Stewart wowed as rocker Joan Jett in the Runaways, but it took a little convincing to get Joan on board with being portrayed in film. During a rehearsal, in which Joan was present, Kristen did not fully commit to performing one of the songs — because, well, it was a rehearsal. But Joan looked peeved, so Kristen had to quickly reassure the rocker.
"I saw her face kind of go like, 'What the [expletive]? … I was crying. I was like, 'Trust me, I swear to you I can do this,'" Kristen told Vanity Fair.
Jennifer Hudson as Winnie Mandela
Sure, most people know the impact of Nelson Mandela, but not many people know the story and impact of his wife, Winnie — at least until Jennifer Hudson played her in the 2011 film Winnie Mandela. Jennifer didn't take her role lightly. "It was very intimidating for me, actually," she explained to Reuters.
"This is something they [the people of South Africa] clearly treasure and take very seriously. I thought if I am going to do this I have to be all in. I thought maybe I should go home. And then I thought, this is a story that I would want to be a part of and tell."
Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
We can only imagine how hard it is for an actor to portray a different person in a film, but when that person is a legend — and perhaps the biggest Hollywood star of all time — the pressure is really on. Such was the case for Michelle Williams in the 2011 film My Week With Marilyn. She portrayed the troubled starlet and did such a great job, it won her a Golden Globe.
Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher
The Iron Lady won the Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup because the makeup and hair department did such a phenomenal job turning Meryl Streep into the infamous British prime minister. And Meryl also won an acting Oscar, because she's Meryl and delivered an amazing performance. It was equal parts makeup and acting.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort
Leonardo DiCaprio is known for completely throwing himself into his roles, but there was one aspect of playing Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street that he needed help with, and he got it straight from Jordan himself.
"Leo had never done drugs, so I showed him what it looks and feels like when you are high on quaaludes," Jordan told the New York Post. "I started crawling around. We were both on the floor, drooling. His father walked into the room and asked us what the [expletive] we were doing."
It earned Leo the Oscar nomination that year.
André Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix
André Benjamin (or André 3000 as he's also known) seemed like an obvious choice to play the late rocker Jimi Hendrix in the movie Jimi: All Is by My Side. After all, he is a talented musician and singer. But he didn't rely solely on his talent when preparing for the role.
"Just watching a lot of footage, listening to a lot of tape, watching him in interviews, watching how he walked on stage, doing research to know that he had bad shoes since he was a kid so his feet were really bad," André told Time about what he focused on to play Jimi.
Ginnifer Goodwin as Jackie Kennedy
Ginnifer Goodwin was tasked with playing Jackie Kennedy during one of the most famous and tragic points in the first lady's life — so she had a doubly hard job. Killing Kennedy depicts the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the aftermath. Ginnifer learned a lot about the woman she was playing and was able to get past all the preconceived notions of this iconic figure.
"I wanted to take her away from the more dramatic broad strokes of the politics and the philandering and the things we usually define her by, and I wanted to play her the way she described herself. And that opened up a world of possibilities," Ginnifer told Collider.
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs
While on the promotional trail for the 2013 film Jobs, Ashton Kutcher, who played the titular role of Steve Jobs, tweeted a split screen photo of himself and the Apple founder. The resemblance was absolutely uncanny! Other people have tried to play Steve, but Ashton's portrayal was the most spot-on.
Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace
Despite doing a fantastic job of portraying adult film star Linda Lovelace in 2013's Lovelace, Amanda Seyfried did not immediately connect to the character. "I didn't identify with her right off the bat," she told Vanity Fair. "I think that I just felt an intense amount of empathy. Her story is insane and tragic and overall just very depressing."
Still, the actress pulled off the transformation and even got the stamp of approval from Linda's family.
Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly
Nicole Kidman was a fitting choice to play the ever-glamorous and classy actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly. The 2014 film Grace of Monaco follows Grace in the years after marrying Monaco's Prince Rainier III. She struggles to come to terms with her new identity, fit in to her new culture, and deal with her powerful husband. She also wrestles with the idea of returning to Hollywood, which would be considered quite controversial given her royal duties.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube
At first glance, it would appear that some amazing CGI was used in the film Straight Outta Compton to make Ice Cube appear as his younger self. But that's really just his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., who not only looks just like his famous dad, but has serious acting chops to boot.
Usher Raymond as Sugar Ray Leonard
"I didn't prepare like it was an acting role. I prepared like a boxer," Usher told the Today Show while promoting the film Hands of Stone, in which he played boxing phenom Sugar Ray Leonard. It looks like the singer's ability to learn choreography and be light on his feet dancing served him well when he played one of the best boxers of all time.
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding
Some people doubted whether the glamorous Margot Robbie could play the rough-and-tumble ice skating star Tonya Harding. But when I, Tonya came out in 2017, people were floored. Margot, who is from Australia, nailed Tonya's American accent, and the actress spent hours training at the rink to portray the Olympian. The end result was that Margot was nominated for an Oscar.
Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace
It was certainly hard to tell the difference between Donatella Versace and Penelope Cruz when the actress played the fashion designer in Ryan Murphy's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. From the hair to the clothes to Penelope's dedication to getting every aspect of the Italian designer just right, this is one of the most impressive on-screen transformations we've seen.
Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly
Bombshell, a movie about Roger Ailes and the scandals that went down at Fox News, blew people away with how much the cast looked just like the people they were playing. Charlize Theron in particular totally transformed herself into Megyn Kelly — down to the eyelid prosthetics she wore to make her eyes look smaller. We had to do a double take!
Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers
Fans of the PBS kids' show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood couldn't wait to see Tom Hanks' portrayal of the beloved man and television show creator. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a film based on the friendship that developed between Rogers and a journalist tasked with interviewing him. Tom was nominated for an Oscar for the role.
Nicole Kidman & Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz
After seeing photos of Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem on the set of the upcoming film Being the Ricardos, it's hard to not feel like you're looking right at Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The actors caught some flak when the casting was first announced, but the hair, makeup, and costuming is on point. We'll see when the full film comes out if they nail the gigs.
Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana
A lot of people have successfully played Princess Di (including Emma Corrin in The Crown), but we're kind of shocked by how much Kristen Stewart looks like the late princess in the upcoming film Spencer. Some people doubted the casting decision, but after seeing the transformation, it makes so much sense. She has the shy Diana persona down pat.
