for some actors looking the part comes
naturally welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top ten biopic actors who resemble
their real-life counterparts past from
the scene
there will still be black people before
we begin we publish new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re counting
down actors who took on roles in
biographical films and happen to be dead
ringers for the people they played
however we’re excluding cases where they
cheat with makeup or prosthetics so you
won’t be seeing people like Charlize
Theron in monster on this list no see I
was some I’m sorry but when I read the
ad it said that you were looking for a
secretary number 10
Eddie Redmayne is Stephen Hawking the
theory of everything for this film
Redmayne accepted the challenge of
playing the theoretical physicist with a
debilitating case of ALS despite being
offered the role without an audition he
prepared for months by binging on
documentaries and video clips of Stephen
Hawking but Ren mains hard work and
dedication to perfecting Hawking’s
speech inflections and mannerisms only
supplemented the physical similarities I
have to admit sorry after seeing the
film Hawking reportedly emailed the
director to praise the portrayal saying
that there were certain points where he
thought he was watching himself
it’s no wonder Redmayne earned the Best
Actor Academy Award that year does that
mean that there was a universe out there
where I am smarter than you number 9
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo Frida tell me
your plans lead actress Salma Hayek and
Pedro Frida Kahlo are both Mexican
artists but the similarities don’t end
there
just as Frida’s passion bursts out of
the self-portraits she painted Samas
charisma surges from the screen right
now I’m a burden but I hope to be a
self-sufficient cripple one day both
personalities were professionals and pop
culture icons so Hayek was an excellent
fit for the role she was actually so
inspired by the surrealist
dangerous legacy that she made every
effort to land the part she tracked down
one of the exes of Kalos late husband
for direct access to her paintings and
even assembled a supporting cast of her
own in this case Salma Hayek’s a Frida
in herself and now that we’ve seen the
final result we have to agree but doing
very well on your own I’m proud of you
you don’t need enough if you want to go
just go number eight
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious Sid and Nancy
can you tell which is the star and which
is the musician back in the 80s
Oldman bought such an uncanny
resemblance to the punk rock heroine
abusing Sex Pistols Sid Vicious that
they were practically indistinguishable
however despite the physical likeness
Oldman had no interest in the musician
or his genre and according to the DVD
commentary had to be pressured by his
agent to take the role do you really
think you can buy yeah but once he
accepted it Oldman went all-in starting
a crash diet so he could even more
closely resemble the practically
emaciated musician while that ultimately
led to his hospitalization the
performance Oldman delivered was eerily
spot-on
[Music]
number seven Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison
the doors
nothing will destroy her suitors right
is named director Oliver Stone
considered Val Kilmer for the biopic
about the doors frontman after seeing
his striking physical likeness to Jim in
the 1988 film willow more those troops
are crushing everything inside come on
let me hear a sword
I win this war for you and Kilmer was so
enthused about the opportunity that he
made his own Jim Morrison impersonation
real to cement the directors decision
once booked
he lost all the way necessary and
learned fifty of the Bands songs
it’s called
[Music]
what’s more Kilmer reportedly went full
method for this one he dressed behaved
and lived like Jim Morrison for a full
year before filming perhaps even more
impressive is the fact that members of
the doors themselves were unable to
distinguish between the two singing
voices Jim Morris aghanim rocks number
six Robert Downey jr. as Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin although Charles Chaplin’s
career spanned over 75 years and quite a
bit of Hollywood film history
the average moviegoer knows him best for
his time as a silent film star and
although Robert Downey jr. did an
admirable job speaking and acting as
Chaplin the man it’s the nonverbal
language that stands out the most
everything from Charlie’s posture to his
silhouette was duplicated for
authenticity sake since Chaplin was such
a physical actor in addition to
mimicking his affectations the dedicated
Downey also learned tennis and took
violin lessons for some scenes and since
Downey looked a part as well the final
result was practically perfect
[Music]
number five Denzel Washington as Malcolm
X Malcolm X we must work together we
must find a common solution to a common
problem a pair of glasses and a haircut
were all that was required for Denzel
Washington to physically transform into
one of the most influential human rights
activists and political figures of the
Civil Rights era we feel that the
problem number one of the black man in
America is beyond America’s ability to
solve it’s a human problem not an
American problem or a Negro problem but
there’s more to Malcolm X than that
there’s attitude charm and to determine
manner of speaking as well and
Washington nailed every aspect or you
should never join any organization
unless you know exactly what it’s about
it’s an iconic and controversial role
but with Spike Lee in the director’s
chair and Denzel cipher nuance the
charismatic actor was not only able to
give an oscar-nominated performance but
also to convince non-believers that
despite a few physical dissimilarities
he could effectively portray Malcolm at
multiple stages of his life because the
mother is the first teacher of the child
the message that she gives that child
the child gives to the world so we have
to be very careful number four Daniel
day-lewis as Abraham Lincoln Lincoln and
come February first
I intend to sign the Thirteenth
Amendment Abraham Lincoln lived before
presidents mannerisms could be captured
for all time so it’s difficult to
critique the accuracy of Daniel
day-lewis his portrayal thanks to
available archive photos and memoirs
this famous method actor was able to
bring Lincoln to life in an academy
award-winning biopic portrayal oh well
the news wife for instance is this thus
and what is the reason for this dustless
a picture is worth a thousand words and
Daniel day-lewis had little more than
that in order to channel the pensive
objective self-aware influential and
articulate 16th President of the United
States but the English actors screen
presence is so strong that all he needed
to excel in this historical drama other
than his excellent acting jobs of course
was extra facial hair just this once
mrs. Lincoln I demand if you could try
and take the liberal and not the selfish
point of view
number three Michelle Williams as
Marilyn Monroe My Week With Marilyn I’m
30 I guess that makes me
lady to you Marilyn Monroe was
undoubtedly a singular star but the
similarities between the real Marilyn
and the one in this film are still
striking tomorrow I’m on television you
remember I told you about in this not so
typical biographical film Michelle
Williams did not have to portray Monroe
through an extended period of her life
instead it’s about as the title suggests
a seven day period during the film shoot
of The Prince and the Showgirl you know
it’s going to happen I’m gonna fall in
love with him perhaps more scandalously
the film also portrays the blonde
bombshell’s alleged affair with her
personal assistant the biopic format
allowed Williams to showcase different
aspects of her own abilities by
channeling the actress the lover and the
singer in her it also earned her a
well-deserved Golden Globe Award number
2 James Franco is James Dean James Dean
my then I got James Dean Jimmy Dean to
say that Franco bears an uncanny
resemblance to the rebel without a cause
would be an understatement
but you see right through me and don’t
you but to portray someone in a biopic
an actor must do more than look the part
to master his role in dis made-for-tv
film Franco scrutinized all three of
Dean’s movies and picked up a number of
his habits like smoking playing
instruments and riding a motorcycle he
also picked up on Dean’s more intangible
qualities from his attitude and swagger
to what Franco characterized as a
pervasive loneliness in the end James
Dean is a symbol of teen angst and
nonconformist behavior and Franco
depicted him to a tee did that doctor
tell you anything about me before we
hold the mirror to our topic here are a
few honorable mentions
[Music]
I’m not sure if you’re getting on excuse
me
bill xse you’re good yes I think I’m
pretty good are you creative I
I think so open with the Macintosh team
number one Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles ray
hit me he told me to find my own voice
beat this is it for this Oscar winning
performance Jamie Foxx was inspired by
Ray Charles ability to overcome both
poverty and disability to find success
and with loads of talent of his own and
more than a passing resemblance to a
subject Fox completely transformed into
the blind soul music pioneer many years
his senior although Fox didn’t dare
imitate ray singing boys for the film he
did dedicate himself to duplicating
everything else he could to represent
the man he even rehearsed with his eyes
glued shut and took lessons in Braille
exactly other than that you were doing
swear box was also fortunate enough to
play piano with the musical genius and
it certainly shows in the film
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
naturally welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top ten biopic actors who resemble
their real-life counterparts past from
the scene
there will still be black people before
we begin we publish new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re counting
down actors who took on roles in
biographical films and happen to be dead
ringers for the people they played
however we’re excluding cases where they
cheat with makeup or prosthetics so you
won’t be seeing people like Charlize
Theron in monster on this list no see I
was some I’m sorry but when I read the
ad it said that you were looking for a
secretary number 10
Eddie Redmayne is Stephen Hawking the
theory of everything for this film
Redmayne accepted the challenge of
playing the theoretical physicist with a
debilitating case of ALS despite being
offered the role without an audition he
prepared for months by binging on
documentaries and video clips of Stephen
Hawking but Ren mains hard work and
dedication to perfecting Hawking’s
speech inflections and mannerisms only
supplemented the physical similarities I
have to admit sorry after seeing the
film Hawking reportedly emailed the
director to praise the portrayal saying
that there were certain points where he
thought he was watching himself
it’s no wonder Redmayne earned the Best
Actor Academy Award that year does that
mean that there was a universe out there
where I am smarter than you number 9
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo Frida tell me
your plans lead actress Salma Hayek and
Pedro Frida Kahlo are both Mexican
artists but the similarities don’t end
there
just as Frida’s passion bursts out of
the self-portraits she painted Samas
charisma surges from the screen right
now I’m a burden but I hope to be a
self-sufficient cripple one day both
personalities were professionals and pop
culture icons so Hayek was an excellent
fit for the role she was actually so
inspired by the surrealist
dangerous legacy that she made every
effort to land the part she tracked down
one of the exes of Kalos late husband
for direct access to her paintings and
even assembled a supporting cast of her
own in this case Salma Hayek’s a Frida
in herself and now that we’ve seen the
final result we have to agree but doing
very well on your own I’m proud of you
you don’t need enough if you want to go
just go number eight
Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious Sid and Nancy
can you tell which is the star and which
is the musician back in the 80s
Oldman bought such an uncanny
resemblance to the punk rock heroine
abusing Sex Pistols Sid Vicious that
they were practically indistinguishable
however despite the physical likeness
Oldman had no interest in the musician
or his genre and according to the DVD
commentary had to be pressured by his
agent to take the role do you really
think you can buy yeah but once he
accepted it Oldman went all-in starting
a crash diet so he could even more
closely resemble the practically
emaciated musician while that ultimately
led to his hospitalization the
performance Oldman delivered was eerily
spot-on
[Music]
number seven Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison
the doors
nothing will destroy her suitors right
is named director Oliver Stone
considered Val Kilmer for the biopic
about the doors frontman after seeing
his striking physical likeness to Jim in
the 1988 film willow more those troops
are crushing everything inside come on
let me hear a sword
I win this war for you and Kilmer was so
enthused about the opportunity that he
made his own Jim Morrison impersonation
real to cement the directors decision
once booked
he lost all the way necessary and
learned fifty of the Bands songs
it’s called
[Music]
what’s more Kilmer reportedly went full
method for this one he dressed behaved
and lived like Jim Morrison for a full
year before filming perhaps even more
impressive is the fact that members of
the doors themselves were unable to
distinguish between the two singing
voices Jim Morris aghanim rocks number
six Robert Downey jr. as Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin although Charles Chaplin’s
career spanned over 75 years and quite a
bit of Hollywood film history
the average moviegoer knows him best for
his time as a silent film star and
although Robert Downey jr. did an
admirable job speaking and acting as
Chaplin the man it’s the nonverbal
language that stands out the most
everything from Charlie’s posture to his
silhouette was duplicated for
authenticity sake since Chaplin was such
a physical actor in addition to
mimicking his affectations the dedicated
Downey also learned tennis and took
violin lessons for some scenes and since
Downey looked a part as well the final
result was practically perfect
[Music]
number five Denzel Washington as Malcolm
X Malcolm X we must work together we
must find a common solution to a common
problem a pair of glasses and a haircut
were all that was required for Denzel
Washington to physically transform into
one of the most influential human rights
activists and political figures of the
Civil Rights era we feel that the
problem number one of the black man in
America is beyond America’s ability to
solve it’s a human problem not an
American problem or a Negro problem but
there’s more to Malcolm X than that
there’s attitude charm and to determine
manner of speaking as well and
Washington nailed every aspect or you
should never join any organization
unless you know exactly what it’s about
it’s an iconic and controversial role
but with Spike Lee in the director’s
chair and Denzel cipher nuance the
charismatic actor was not only able to
give an oscar-nominated performance but
also to convince non-believers that
despite a few physical dissimilarities
he could effectively portray Malcolm at
multiple stages of his life because the
mother is the first teacher of the child
the message that she gives that child
the child gives to the world so we have
to be very careful number four Daniel
day-lewis as Abraham Lincoln Lincoln and
come February first
I intend to sign the Thirteenth
Amendment Abraham Lincoln lived before
presidents mannerisms could be captured
for all time so it’s difficult to
critique the accuracy of Daniel
day-lewis his portrayal thanks to
available archive photos and memoirs
this famous method actor was able to
bring Lincoln to life in an academy
award-winning biopic portrayal oh well
the news wife for instance is this thus
and what is the reason for this dustless
a picture is worth a thousand words and
Daniel day-lewis had little more than
that in order to channel the pensive
objective self-aware influential and
articulate 16th President of the United
States but the English actors screen
presence is so strong that all he needed
to excel in this historical drama other
than his excellent acting jobs of course
was extra facial hair just this once
mrs. Lincoln I demand if you could try
and take the liberal and not the selfish
point of view
number three Michelle Williams as
Marilyn Monroe My Week With Marilyn I’m
30 I guess that makes me
lady to you Marilyn Monroe was
undoubtedly a singular star but the
similarities between the real Marilyn
and the one in this film are still
striking tomorrow I’m on television you
remember I told you about in this not so
typical biographical film Michelle
Williams did not have to portray Monroe
through an extended period of her life
instead it’s about as the title suggests
a seven day period during the film shoot
of The Prince and the Showgirl you know
it’s going to happen I’m gonna fall in
love with him perhaps more scandalously
the film also portrays the blonde
bombshell’s alleged affair with her
personal assistant the biopic format
allowed Williams to showcase different
aspects of her own abilities by
channeling the actress the lover and the
singer in her it also earned her a
well-deserved Golden Globe Award number
2 James Franco is James Dean James Dean
my then I got James Dean Jimmy Dean to
say that Franco bears an uncanny
resemblance to the rebel without a cause
would be an understatement
but you see right through me and don’t
you but to portray someone in a biopic
an actor must do more than look the part
to master his role in dis made-for-tv
film Franco scrutinized all three of
Dean’s movies and picked up a number of
his habits like smoking playing
instruments and riding a motorcycle he
also picked up on Dean’s more intangible
qualities from his attitude and swagger
to what Franco characterized as a
pervasive loneliness in the end James
Dean is a symbol of teen angst and
nonconformist behavior and Franco
depicted him to a tee did that doctor
tell you anything about me before we
hold the mirror to our topic here are a
few honorable mentions
[Music]
I’m not sure if you’re getting on excuse
me
bill xse you’re good yes I think I’m
pretty good are you creative I
I think so open with the Macintosh team
number one Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles ray
hit me he told me to find my own voice
beat this is it for this Oscar winning
performance Jamie Foxx was inspired by
Ray Charles ability to overcome both
poverty and disability to find success
and with loads of talent of his own and
more than a passing resemblance to a
subject Fox completely transformed into
the blind soul music pioneer many years
his senior although Fox didn’t dare
imitate ray singing boys for the film he
did dedicate himself to duplicating
everything else he could to represent
the man he even rehearsed with his eyes
glued shut and took lessons in Braille
exactly other than that you were doing
swear box was also fortunate enough to
play piano with the musical genius and
it certainly shows in the film
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
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