In the dazzling world of cinema, special effects makeup artists are the unsung heroes.
Many work tirelessly behind the scenes to conjure up mind-blowing transformations, holding stars hostage for hours in the makeup chair as they plaster on prosthetics.
The result of their blood, sweat and tears? Fleshy hyper-realism, leaving viewers second-guessing who is really on their screens.
From a Hollywood heartthrob donning prosthetics to transform into one of the most established composers of all time to a beloved Irish actor who was hooked up to three air conditioning units in an attempt to stay cool in a hefty fat suit, recent films and TV shows have seen increasingly shocking modifications.
Here, Femail looks at the times makeup artists have worked their Hollywood magic, rendering celebrities unrecognisable to even their biggest fans.
They’re some of the most famous faces in the world – but unrecognisable here – so can you tell who they are?
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1. Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (2023)
Bradley Cooper’s transformation into West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein for the biopic Maestro was no small feat.
The Oscar winner’s makeup, which included a prosthetic nose, took five hours to complete, according to the film’s makeup artist Kazu Hiro.
Hiro also revealed that Cooper, who directed the movie, moved up the call times so he could be in full Bernstein gear to helm the production while keeping in character.
At the New York Film Festival, Hiro said: ‘Our call time was one in the morning and the other thing was he wanted makeup to be finished before the crew call, so he would appear as Lenny to set up the shoot and everything.’
The older Leonard was in the scene they were filming that day, the longer Bradley had to sit in the makeup chair.
But in the lead up to the film’s release, the 48-year-old actor faced accusations of ‘Jewface’ as people called him out on social media claiming he was anti-Semitic for wearing the exaggerated nose prosthetic and playing a Jewish role as a non-Jewish person.
In a statement, Bernstein’s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina defended Bradley and said: ‘We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration.
‘It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts.
‘It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.
‘At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia.’
2. Jude Law as King Henry VIII in Firebrand (2023)
Jude Law stunned his fans by utterly transforming the way he looks for a role in the historical film Firebrand.
In a drastic move away from playing the handsome love interest, the 51-year-old A-lister stepped out of his comfort zone and was transported back in time to the 1500s.
Ageing his appearance with a long greying beard and deep lines in his face, Jude looked worlds away from his usual attractive self in the trailer for Firebrand.
Starring alongside Alicia Vikander who plays Henry’s sixth wife Catherine Parr, the film is based on the 2013 novel Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle.
And it’s not just his appearance that changed – Jude got so into the regal role that he wore a specially-made perfume while filming to get into character, made out of ‘blood, fecal matter and sweat’.
Speaking at a press conference for the film, he said: ‘I read several interesting accounts that you could smell Henry three rooms away.
‘His leg was rotting so badly. He hid it with rose oil.
‘I thought it would have a great impact if I smelt awful.’
He enlisted the help of a specialist parfumier, with Jude saying: ‘She makes wonderful scents, and she also makes awful scents.
‘She somehow came up with this extraordinary variety of blood, fecal matter and sweat. Initially, I used it very subtly. But then it became a spray fest.’
Director Karim Aïnouz admitted the effort was effective, saying: ‘When he walked in on set, it was just horrible.’
3. Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci in House of Gucci (2021)
Jared Leto is no stranger to a transformation.
From playing the Joker in the 2016 film Suicide Squad to the transgender prostitute Rayon in the Dallas Buyers Club, he is used to sitting in the makeup chair for hours.
But no transformation compares to his portrayal of high-powered fashion industry player Paolo Gucci.
In the film House of Gucci, the actor was completely unrecognisable with his hair and makeup causing him to look like a balding older man.
With a bald patch, receding grey-streaked hair and ageing prosthetics, the actor left his familiar long locks behind as he transformed into the fashion designer.
When the trailer was released, fans took to X to praise Jared’s ‘insane’ makeover, with Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas tweeting: ‘How is this you?’
Despite Jared’s impressive transformation, the Ridley-Scott helmed movie was met with tepid reviews.
Viewers could not help but liken Jared’s Italian accent to the cartoon character Mario while other said he sounded Russian.
One X user penned: ‘Look, I’ll just say it: Jared Leto’s Russian accent in House of Gucci was waaaaayyyyy off the mark’, while others even described his Italian accent as ‘offensive’ to Italy
And Jared wasn’t the only one to come under fire for his accent, as co-star Lady Gaga’s was also heavily criticised, including by the movie’s own dialect coach.
Italian actress and dialect coach Francesca De Martini spoke to The Daily Beast about the Bad Romance singer’s transformation into Patrizia Reggiani, who famously hired a hitman to murder her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci, in 1995.
Clearly unconvinced, Francesca, who auditioned for roles in the movie before coming back as a vocal coach, said of Gaga, 35: ‘I feel bad saying this, but her accent is not exactly an Italian accent, it sounds more Russian’.
4. Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Vice (2018)
Christian Bale is used to wearing the Batman mask as his disguise.
But for the 2018 film Vice, he dramatically altered his look for a role once again.
The actor, 50, gained 3st 4lbs in order to play George W. Bush’s Vice President Dick Cheney.
As well as the weight gain, the first trailer sees Christian shave his head and pluck his eyebrows, something he had to do daily.
Prosthetics were used to make Christian resemble the VP at five stages of his life – with the more complex looks taking up to four hours to complete.
The prosthetics and makeup artist on Vice was Greg Cannom who said that the goal was to create a likeness but also to allow Christian to be expressive.
He told the New York Times: ‘There was an understanding that it would be an amalgam of Christian Bale and Dick Cheney, without covering his entire face.
‘The most successful makeups aren’t the ones where you’re trying to completely hide the actor.’
Describing the day that Christian arrived on set as Cheney, Cannom said: ‘He put on the suit, walked into the office with all of us and everybody just died.
‘I was shocked. He looked just like him.’
5. Renée Zellweger in Judy (2019)
To resemble the late Judy Garland, Renée Zellweger donned dark contact lenses, a small prosthetic nose, a selection of wigs, painted on eye-bags and wrinkles.
Renée prepared intensively for the role by listening to Judy’s music every day and watching footage of her performing every night before she went to bed in order to the former child star’s likeness.
The Bridget Jones star said: ‘I had to get myself into Judy’s environment: her voice, her speech patterns, the moments of vulnerability in her life that make you cry. I just dove into learning about her.’
The movie, set 30 years after the famous film The Wizard of Oz, focuses on Judy’s blossoming romance with her soon-to-be fifth husband Mickey Deans as played by Finn Wittrock.
But being covered in bothersome prosthetic pieces did not come without issue.
Renée revealed that her prosthetic nose piece malfunctioned at the worst possible moment – during a kissing scene.
During the recreation of the late great belter’s 1969 London wedding to her fifth husband Mickey, Renée said her phony schnoz began oozing glue.
‘I did not know until this kissing scene and I look at him with horror,’ Renée – who also used a dialect coach – recalled to ET.
‘And I realize – ‘Am I more upset that I got that on his face – and we haven’t cut so I can’t be touching his face in a way to try and get it off? Or that it’s attached to my head and there’s so much more where that came from?’
‘The glue and the thing and the chemicals or something, I don’t know, and some of it would just sneak out the crevice [on the side]. [Very] glamorous.’
Despite the malfunction, the Bridget Jones alum went on to win a Best Actress Oscar for her accurate portrayal of Judy.
6. Colin Farrell as Penguin in The Batman (2022)
Irish actor Colin Farrell, 47, has been a leading man in both blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, earning him an array of awards and nominations.
One of his most notable roles in recent years is playing Batman’s nemesis Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin – a role that requires an unrecognisable physical transformation.
Sporting prosthetics on his face, the 47-year-old actor is prominently featured in the spinoff series of Matt Reeves’ film The Batman, which is available on HBO Max.
The show picks up right after the events of Reeves’ 2022 blockbuster, following Cobblepot’s journey to dominance in Gotham City’s underworld, after he previously served as a lieutenant to crime boss Carmine Falcone.
The jaw-dropping makeover sees the actor wear a bald cap, ditching half his head of hair, as well as his face being covered in prosthetics.
He also dons a fat suit in order to bring the iconic villain to life.
On an episode of This Morning, Colin tells show hosts Cat Deeley and Been Shephard that it took 12 makeup artists eight hours to complete the first run through of his look.
He also said that because of the seemingly endless layers of clothing and makeup, he often went without breakfast or lunch.
Sitting on the This Morning couch, Colin said: To go for a pee was a bit tricky – but I don’t have breakfast or lunch, so Penguin was intermittent fasting.
‘But when I did have a comfort break it’d take about 20 minutes and need a sat nav to find yourself with all the layers, buttons and zips.’
When he wasn’t filming scenes, Colin revealed that he would spend his time hooked up to three air conditioning vents in an attempt to stay cool.
7. Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour
It took blood, sweat and tears – as well as a foam fat suit and various prosthetics – to turn Gary Oldman into former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Recalling the first time he saw Gary as Winston, screenwriter Anthony McCarten said ‘It was spine-tingling. From that moment I never really saw Gary Oldman at all. For the next three months while we were shooting, I worked with Winston Churchill.’
The transformation was hailed by the academy – as well as by members of the Churchill family – as the finest-ever screen characterisation of the wartime leader.
Churchill’s granddaughter, Emma Soames, said: I watch so many portrayals of him with dread,’ she says. ‘But Oldman was quite magnificent. It was like watching a familiar Shakespeare soliloquy.
‘You knew the words, but this was the actor who brought a whole new meaning to them.’
Gary has publicly thanked makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji for helping him to realise his role as Churchill.
Tsuji, the man behind the prosthetics in How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Planet Of The Apes, said: ‘It was daunting, the idea of creating a likeness that everyone has their own image of already.
‘The hardest part was that Gary has an oval head shape, while Churchill had a more compressed, round face. Gary’s eyes are close to each other, Churchill’s are totally opposite. Their proportions and head sizes were completely different.’
Tsuji took dozens of casts of Oldman to create not only a face, but a foam body suit that enabled the actor to find a Churchillian posture.
Each morning, ahead of shooting, the disguise took four hours to apply; then, after the cameras had stopped rolling, two hours to remove.
In between, Oldman spent the day carrying his own body weight in prosthetics and padding.
8. Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
In one of the most impressive and demanding roles of her career, blonde bombshell Margot Robbie took on the mammoth task of playing Queen Elizabeth in the 2019 period film Mary Queen of Scots.
As one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, fans were shocked to see her looking less than glamorous.
Donning a red wig and ghostly white makeup, the stunner barely looked like her usual fresh-faced self while filming.
Her metamorphosis saw her lose her long locks in favour of a very bright and tightly pinned wig, while swapping her usual grin for a stern and fierce expression.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Margot called her appearance an ‘interesting social experiment’ and revealed that she felt ‘alienated’ while in hair, makeup and costume as the fiery-tressed 16th century royal.
It took three-and-a-half hours a day to get the A-lister primed with hair and makeup which included prosthetic scars as Elizabeth struggled with smallpox.
Talking about the steps it took to become the monarch, Margot revealed: ‘They’d start with a head wrap. Gelling and pinning my hair down. Then we’d do a bald cap.’
‘Surprisingly, the quick part was the white makeup,’ she added, ‘And the heavily drawn-on blush, eyebrows, lips.’
But Margot’s transformation into the Elizabethan queen did not come without its challenges for the acclaimed actress.
Speaking on the Today show, Margot said: ‘I could barely move my face because there was so much prosthetics. It’s glued down plastic on your face.
‘The clothes were very restrictive, as they were at the time. It helped – I felt claustrophobic, I felt trapped.’
9. Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew in Scoop
Rufus Sewell, 56, portrayed the Duke of York, 64, in Scoop – a Netflix series which gave a behind-the-scenes account of Prince Andrew’s infamous 2019 car-crash Newsnight interview.
Rufus underwent a lengthy process to be transformed into the disgraced prince and said he needed to perfect the ‘Windsor clenched jaw’ for Andrew’s voice.
He told Radio Times: ‘Andrew actually has this blokey quality. If you listen to him, as opposed to King Charles, he has a lad’s lad quality.
‘He’s Randy Andy who chats up the working girls when he visits the factory.’
Rufus previously described the result of his transformation as ‘the perfect blend between myself and him’.
The Twickenham-born actor said: ‘At one point there were eyelids on me and I look so much like him it was uncanny but then I couldn’t move my eyes properly and when you watch the interview so much of it is in the eyes.’
Rufus also revealed that he wore a massive prosthetic bottom while playing the disgraced prince in a nude scene.
Rufus said: ‘It’s not that I’m ashamed of my own. I get it out whenever I get the chance – but this bum was specially shipped in.’
In a clip shared by Netflix’s UK and Ireland account on Twitter, Rufus is seen sitting in the makeup chair as the prosthetics team get to work on the transformation.
Speaking to viewers, he said: ‘My name’s Rufus Sewell and we’re going to be going through the makeup process where Kristyan and Robin will help to change me into Prince Andrew.’
The video then shows the detailed prosthetics that were applied all over Rufus’ face and shoulders in order to turn him into the prince.
10. Brendan Fraser as Charlie in The Whale (2022)
Brendan Fraser made his triumphant return to Hollywood after a lengthy battle with depression in the movie The Whale.
The actor went on to win an Oscar for his role as Charlie – a reclusive, morbidly obese English professor who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Brendan explained that the director of The Whale Darren Aronofsky preferred a practical approach rather than relying on CGI.
He said: ‘I had different modalities of body suit that conform and then another layer of clothing that had cooling tubes in it and then the prosthetics itself which were extensive.
‘Adrian has done amazing work on this to create Charlie’s body in obedience of the laws of physics and gravity in a way that I don’t think we’ve seen portrayed as authentically in films before. What you saw is what you got.’
Talking about portraying a 600lb man, Brendan told Graham Norton: ‘It was like nothing I had ever done before.
‘The prosthetic costume helped enormously because it was designed to obey physics and gravity. It was cumbersome and appropriately heavy which made the experience of playing the part a lot closer to what it would be like to live in the body of a man that size.
‘When the costume came off, I could still feel the undulation and I grew to appreciate how strong physically and emotionally a person of that size has to be.’
Brendan also won the Best Actor gong at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
With tears streaming down his face, he said in his acceptance speech: ‘If you, a guy like Charlie who I played in this movie.
‘If you struggle with obesity or you feel like you are in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen. Thank you. Good night.’
11. Emma Thompson as Miss Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical (2022)
Beloved British actress Emma Thompson looked poles apart from her signature elegant aura in the musical version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
Two-time Oscar winner Emma told Netflix: ‘I have played unpleasant people before but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had an opportunity to branch out into evil, which I’ve enjoyed very, very much.;
Although she played the wicked headteacher, Emma admitted that she was more like Matilda as a child.
She said: ‘At primary school, if children were bullying other children, I would generally step in because I just couldn’t bear it. I can’t bear cruelty of any kind.’
The transformation took an hour and a half each day and involved a team of six makeup artists drawing blood vessels on the actress and extending her chin with a prosthetic.
Every day Emma would arrive on set at 5am in order to be transformed fully into Miss Trunchbull.
Makeup artist Naomi Donne explained: ‘The great thing about Emma is that she doesn’t sweat much, so her makeup stayed on really well.’
Barrie Gower, who has created some of TV’s most terrifying monsters including Vecna in Stranger Things, also helped turn Emma into the brutal headmistress.
He told a Bafta panel he ‘only’ gave her jaw, chin, nose and earlobe pieces for the film.
‘She was completely open to the process,’ he said, adding that his inspiration for her look was the poet Edith Sitwell.
To get into character, Emma based Miss Trunchbull’s childhood on that of the early 20th century poet who often spoke movingly of being mistreated by her parents.
