45 Stars Who Look Nothing Like Their On-Screen Characters
21. Linda Cardellini
Linda Cardellini is an actress who played in many movies and series, notably Freaks and Geeks and ER. In 2002, she was cast in the role of the iconic Velma Dinkley in the movie adaptation of Scooby-Doo.
How strange a casting director thought a beautiful woman like Linda would be perfect for the part of the nerdy Velma. But behind the legendary ugly orange sweater and the big glasses was a talented and gorgeous actress. She reprised her role in the sequel where we could see more of her beauty in a makeover scene.
22. Mayim Bialik
You may know Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory, the eccentric and frumpy neuroscientist who is also Sheldon’s significant other. Amy is an incredibly intelligent woman, but she sometimes has difficulties when she is interacting with people. She tries to fit in, even if people find her to be a bit strange at first.
Mayim Bialik may not play the part of a glamorous woman on the show, but in real life, she certainly is one! And clever too! Coincidentally, she also has a Ph.D. in neuroscience like her character in the show. She turned to acting after graduating from UCLA in order to spend more time with her children.
23. Maisie Williams
Maisie Williams is a British actress, famous for playing Arya Stark on the HBO legendary series, Game of Thrones. Arya had one of the most exciting arcs in all the series, traveling to many places all over the fictional world of Westeros. If you never saw the show, she had a little list of people she wanted to be killed, and it was a bit scary at times.
Why such a list? Arya is the daughter of an important Lord named Ned Stark, who expects her to become a proper lady like her older sister even though she’d rather learn to fight like men on the show do. After most of her family is betrayed and murder, she is thrown onto the streets without any protection. She pretends to be a boy, and she must learn to survive. In real life, Maisie does not look like Arya.
24. Tina Fey
Tina Fey is an actress known for being one of the funniest comedians in show business! She is known in particular for her work on 30 Rock and her appearances on Saturday Night Live. On 30 Rock, she transformed herself into Liz Lemon, a middle-aged woman who works as the head writer of an SNL-styled show. The series got rave reviews and won numerous awards.
Tina won several Golden Globes and Emmys for both her writing on her acting on the show because she used her experience as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live to create a satirical sitcom. Liz Lemon might be a weird woman, but Tina is adamant that she was just playing a role.
25. Steve Carell
Steve Carell is almost the male version of Tina Fey. He also excelled as an actor in another great satirical show: The Office. He played a goofy, sexist, and weird director of a branch of a paper company.
In Foxcatcher, Carell plays the role of John E. Du Pont, a rich man passionate about wrestling who decides to open a wrestling academy on his estate. His erratic and paranoid behavior is not taken into serious consideration because of his wealth… until he commits irredeemable acts. The transformation of Carell is both surprising and unexpected.
26. Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie is primarily known for having played the role of Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones. A strong, independent woman on the show, she is bound by her word and strict moral code. She also has a particular form of fragility, as she is having a hard time forgetting the bullying, cruelty, the lack of respect, and the failures she had to suffer in her past.
Her partner, Giles Deacon, is a well-known British fashion designer. He helps her to find outfits to wear on the red carpet. He had this to say about her, “She’s a character herself, and her trail of various characters is brilliant – she’s pretty transformative, which is always an interesting thing from a designer’s point of view.”
27. Phyllis Logan
Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress, known for her role as Elsie Hughes on the British television series Downton Abbey. Originally from a little town outside Glasgow, she always wanted to become an actress. Unfortunately, every casting director demanded she loses the Scottish accent. That’s until Downton Abbey came along, and everyone was pleased with Mrs. Elsie Hughes having a delightful Scottish accent.
Although she plays the rigid and austere head of housekeeping on the show, she loves to be glamorous and beautiful at awards ceremonies like the British BAFTAs. She said she had to wear a corset for very long hours every day to play the role of Mrs. Hughes, but she would do it again at the first chance. She said that her family sadly never approved of her acting dream. She also publicly expressed sadness at the fact there are fewer interesting parts to play for a lady after a certain age.
28. Ralph Fiennes
Before being cast as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise, Ralph Fiennes had already been a well-established actor. His roles in the critically acclaimed Schindler‘s List and The English Patient in the ’90s helped him to make a name for himself. The vicious wizard he plays in the Harry Potter movies is both repulsive and terrifying.
The fans of the books praised his portrayal. He successfully managed to scare us and make us feel uncomfortable, even when he is not saying or doing anything especially evil. It took a lot of preparation and hard work from the makeup department to change the handsome Ralph Fiennes into the disgusting Lord Voldemort.
29. Elizabeth Banks
It’s impossible not to like the sweet and lively Elizabeth Banks. She appeared in the Spider-Man movies as Betty Brant. She also had a role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Pitch Perfect, and The Next Three Days. Many people will recognize her from the Hunger Games movies. Starting in 2012, she has played the part of Effie Trinket, a woman from the capitol sent to District 12 to select two tributes to participate in the Hunger Games.
You may remember her iconic catchphrase from the movie: “and may the odds ever be in your favor,” as she is drawing the names of the two unfortunate participants for the next Hunger Games. The costume designer and the makeup artist did a terrific job of transforming the exquisite Elizabeth Banks into Effie.
30. Lena Headey
Lena Headey is an English actress. Before her acclaimed portrayal as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, she acted in the movies 300, The Brothers Grimm, and The Red Baron, but Game of Thrones is really what she is known for. Her character, Cersei, is one of the most complex and exciting in the show. Incestuous, manipulative, loving, and caring for her children and her brother (and lover!), Jaime, sometimes strong and sometimes fragile, deeply unhappy, Cersei leaves no one indifferent. She is capable of making incredibly intelligent decisions and of following up with stupid and hasty ones.
To transform into Cersei, Lena Heady had to change her natural hair color for the blond hair typical of the Lannisters family on the show. But the real challenge came after Cersei’s arrest (on the show). Her hair is forcefully cut, and she has to endure a long walk on the old paved streets of the capital with no shoes and completely naked. Lena sacrificed her hair and lost some weight to play those hard to watch scenes. Sadly, she wasn’t recognized as much as her co-stars by the different awards shows. The fans truly admired her work in the show.
