45 Stars Who Look Nothing Like Their On-Screen Characters

In movies and TV shows, there is often a character we find repulsive. Whether it is their ugly faces, the way they move and behave, or a combination of the three, we simply feel uneasy watching them on screen. Those characters always stick with us, and we keep a vivid image of them in our minds. All of this is created thanks to the talent of makeup artists and costume designers. When these actors take the costume and makeup off, you discover the beautiful men and women underneath it all. Here is a list of gorgeous actors who “de-glam” themselves to play not so pretty characters and end up looking nothing like their original selves.

1. Naomi Grossman

Naomi Grossman is well-known by the fans of the TV show American Horror Story for playing the role of Pepper. Her character was so beloved that she was the first one to appear in two different seasons. Pepper, who is suffering from microcephaly, is sent to a mental asylum for a crime she didn’t commit in the second season, American Horror Story: Asylum. Pepper then appeared in the fourth season, American Horror Story: Freak Show, where we learn more about her story and past as she is performing in a circus freak show.

Naomi Grossman didn’t know she was auditioning for the role of Pepper. When they offered it to her, she discovered she would have to shave her head completely to play the role! It was worth it because Pepper was the role that helped her gain more opportunities in Hollywood. 

2. Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway’s breakthrough role was in The Princess Diaries. She played the lead role of Mia Thermopolis, a clumsy young teenager who suddenly discovers she is royalty. She then goes through a serious and much-needed makeover that sees her losing her glasses and changing her hairstyle. 

In 2012, Hathaway shot to stardom and was cast as Fantine in the on-screen adaptation of the musical, Les Misérables. In the musical based on Victor Hugo’s book, Fantine is one of the saddest characters and has a genuinely tragic life. Hathaway had to lose a lot of weight and cut her hair off for one of the scenes. She also had to sing, of course. She got rave reviews for her performance and ultimately won an Oscar for it!

3. Taryn Manning

When actress Taryn Manning was asked to play the role of Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, she was over the moon. She said she loved the concept and accepted it immediately when they offered the role. Tiffany Doggett, her character on the show, can only be described as a redneck (and proud of it).

The character Tiffany doesn’t have good looks or dental hygiene, mostly due to her drug addiction before being sent to jail. The beautiful Taryn Manning was already a well-known actress before the role of Tiffany. She acted in the series Sons of Anarchy and the movie 8 Mile.×

4. Elisabeth Moss

Before she was the leading role in The Handmaid’s Tale, a lot of people knew Elisabeth Moss for her role as Peggy Olson on Mad Men. She was the secretary of Don Draper, the show’s main character. In the first season, she is frowned upon for her appearance in comparison to the other women. A lot of disparaging remarks are made both about her, and her choice of attire in the office.

In the beginning, the character of Peggy is both homely and innocent. Throughout the show, she became a real feminist who starts to denounce the double standards between women and men, not only in her firm, but also in society – which was quite brave to do in the sixties!

5. America Ferrera

America Ferrera’s breakthrough was when she got cast as Betty Suarez on Ugly Betty. Betty Suarez is an intelligent, talented, and ambitious woman, but doesn’t know much about fashion and has braces. In the show, her impeccable curriculum helps her to land a job at a famous fashion magazine, and we follow her as she tries to fit in in a world of frivolous people where everything is about appearance.

Ugly Betty made a star of America Ferrera. Still, a lot of people could only see her as the de-glam Betty Suarez. At the end of the show, Betty finally becomes the swan she was always supposed to be. People were impressed when they would see Ferrera on the red carpet because she looked nothing like her character. 

6. Melissa Rauch

Melissa Rauch is an American actress. Her most famous role is, without a doubt, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory. She plays the part of a Doctor in microbiology with a high-pitched voice, and that’s a euphemism. The actress confessed in an interview that she got the inspiration for Bernadette’s voice from her beloved mother in real life.

Her mother has a very high-pitched voice too, but with a strong accent from New Jersey! As you can see, Melissa’s style and looks are very different in real life. Melissa went as far as doing an S&M inspired photoshoot with a renowned magazine to distance herself from the innocent and the good girl personality of Bernadette.

7. Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron needs no introduction being one of the most celebrated and versatile actresses today. In 2003, when she was considered to be the new “It” girl in Hollywood, she was offered the lead role in Monster.

Aileen was a vicious killer with a complex personality. She was executed in 2002 for the murder of six men in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Critics raved about Theron’s sensational performance, some going as far as saying that it was one of the most exceptional in cinematic history. She eventually won an Oscar for that role in 2004.

8. Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson is a famous British actress known for her star role in the movie Nanny McPhee. She played the lead, Nanny McPhee, a magical nanny with a hideous face. 

Although the kids that she has to watch initially try to get her fired, they are slowly won over. With every good action they do, the face of Nanny McPhee gets more and more beautiful. As you know, Emma Thompson is a lovely woman, which means there were many special effects needed during the production of the movie.

9. Thesy Surface

You may not know her name, but you have probably seen her before if you are a fan of the series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Thesy Surface plays the role of Margaret, a mute girl who is the sister of two elementary school classmates of the Sunny gang.

Thankfully for her, Margaret is only fictional, and Thesy Surface does not look like her at all in real life. Hopefully, she will get more roles where she can show how beautiful she truly is.

10. Judy Greer

The American actress Judy Greer is famous for a lot of roles in shows and movies like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Californication, Jurassic World, and as the voice of Cheryl on the animated series, Archer. Strangely, a lot of people remember her as the eccentric Kitty Sanchez in Arrested Development.

In interviews, she explained she was a late bloomer and often felt awkward and out of place. She said she had braces, frizzy hair, and wasn’t getting curvy like all the other girls. She mentioned that it was easier for her back then to play the role of the funny friend instead of the pretty one. She decided to make people laugh, and that helped her a lot in her acting career years later.