All The Times Stars Played Real People In Movies And TV Shows

They certainly do have an uncanny resemblance.

Ayoub

• Published in Film & TV
• April 14, 2022

Movies and TV shows that are based on true stories are always the trickiest to make. The story has to be spot on and the actors need to portray the person they are playing as accurately as possible, otherwise, it will feel like they are playing a completely different person.

That is why it is extremely crucial to find the right actor to play the real-life person. Physical appearance is also an important aspect that helps the viewer identify the person, however, casting a true doppelgänger is quite rare, but a significant similarity and some heavy makeup can solve that problem.

Many stars made their marks with their incredible performances playing real people in movies and TV shows. Some even managed to win awards for their depictions of various figures throughout history, both beloved and controversial ones.

Reaching that level of perfection is of course, not an easy job, for an actor to accurately portray a certain character, they usually have to alter their habits temporarily and try to adopt the real-life subject's routines, habits, and quirks. Some even take it too far and end up with health issues afterward, which shows their professionalism and commitment to their role.

1. Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in the Ricardos

2. Lily James as Pamela Anderson

In the upcoming Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy.

3. Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee

In the new Hulu miniseries, Pam & Tommy.

4. Christian Serratos as Selena Quintanilla

In the Netflix show, Selena: The Series.

5. Andra Day as Billie Holiday in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday

6. Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell

7. Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman

8. Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers in You Are My Friend

9. Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin

In a biopic about the Queen of Soul's life.

10. Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex

11. Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya

12. Anthony Mackie as Martin Luther King Jr. in HBO's All the Way

13. Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in Feud

14. Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis in Feud

15. Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison in Current War

16. Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in I Saw the Light.

17. Johnny Flynn as David Bowie in Stardust

18. Parker Sawyers as Barack Obama in Southside With You

19. Tika Sumpter as Michelle Obama in Southside With You

20. Odette Annable as Trudy Cooper in Astronaut Wives Club

21. Kerry Washington as Anita Hill in HBO's biopic Confirmation

22. Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc in The Founder

23. Selma Blair as Kris Jenner in FX's American Crime Story

24. David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian in FX's American Crime Story

25. John Travolta as Robert Shapiro in FX's American Crime Story

26. Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl

27. Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs

28. Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game

29. David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. in the film Selma

30. YaYa DaCosta as Whitney Houston in a Lifetime biopic

31. Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo

The casting in movies about real-life people is not always perfect, you will get a perfect fit every now and then, but most of the time it's disappointing. Sometimes you can have a hard time identifying the character in question until some other character refers to them by their full name.

It certainly ruins the movie and takes out the realistic side of the whole experience. The acting can make all the difference, as long as the actor is accurately portraying the real-life subject, things start feeling more and more natural.

Ayoub