Onscreen Transformations! Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt and More Stars Who Looked Unrecognizable for a Role

Some actors will do whatever it takes to get into a character, whether it means gaining or losing weight or spending hours having prosthetics applied. These 10 stars disappeared into their roles in Hollywood’s greatest transformations.

1 of 10

Nicole Kidman

For her Oscar-winning role as writer Virginia Woolf in 2002’s The Hours, Nicole spent three hours in the makeup chair — most notably for a prosthetic nose, which made her enjoyably anonymous for a change. “It was fun to be able to go out of my trailer and not have anyone know me!”

2 of 10

Brad Pitt

Getting the chance to work with Cate Blanchett and director David Fincher got Brad to sign on to play a nonagenarian in 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But originally, he admitted, “All I heard was five hours of prosthetics every morning. I didn’t think I was the guy who was up for the task.”

3 of 10

Charlize Theron

“I’ve tried most of my career to transform myself into characters. This was just more extreme,” said Charlize of her Oscar-winning turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003’s Monster – which required not only prosthetics but a 30-pound weight gain. “[It] wasn’t that hard. I just didn’t say no to Krispy Kreme doughnuts.”

4 of 10

Christian Bale

“You’ve got to give everything to every role that you do,” explained Christian. True to his word, he once shed 60 pounds (for 2004’s The Machinist) and later gained 40 pounds and sat in the makeup chair for up to eight hours to play former VP Dick Cheney in 2018’s Vice.

5 of 10

Renee Zellweger Judy Greatest Transformations

Renée Zellweger

“Every day I was in denial,” shared Renée of donning a prosthetic nose, colored contacts, wig and makeup for her Oscar-winning take on Judy Garland in 2019’s Judy. “I couldn’t believe it was me.”

6 of 10

Matthew McConaughey

As part of his Oscar turn as an AIDS patient in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew went from 188 pounds to 135. “The surprise was how the energy that I lost from the neck down transferred to the neck up.”

7 of 10

Tilda Swinton

“I’m delighted to say that I’m unrecognizable,” said Tilda of getting a “tandoori tan” and playing against type as a fashionista in 2015’s Trainwreck. “Forget The Grand Budapest Hotel or Snowpiercer. That’s probably the most heavily disguised I’ve ever been in my life!

8 of 10

Jared Leto

“It was worth every single second,” confessed Jared of enduring six hours of makeup to portray Paolo Gucci in 2021’s House of Gucci. “I’m here to take big swings. They may not always work, but I promise you one thing: You will never be bored.”

9 of 10

Marion Cotillard

The French actress won an Oscar as singer Edith Piaf in 2007’s La Vie en Rose – insisting shaving her eyebrows and altering her hairline, voice and posture “was not so hard. It was just work and trying to have fun.”

10 of 10

Rooney Mara

With her titular role in 2011’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Rooney not only bleached her eyebrows but pierced her nipple, lip, brow, nose and ears. “They put four holes in each ear, and, weirdly, that hurt the most.”

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Onscreen Transformations! Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt and More Stars Who Looked Unrecognizable for a Role

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Author

News Colony

Nicole Kidman

Brad Pitt

Charlize Theron

Christian Bale

Renée Zellweger

Matthew McConaughey

Tilda Swinton

Jared Leto

Marion Cotillard

Rooney Mara

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