Hollywood is all about appearances. There’s hardly a leading lad or lady who doesn’t have flawless skin, perfect hair, and a million-dollar smile when walking the red carpet. But often the roles that made them famous aren’t quite as glamorous as their everyday lives. Sometimes winning an Oscar (or at least achieving cult status) means transforming into a character who is far from beautiful. Here is our list of 15 actors who portray ugly characters on screen but are actually really beautiful.
1. Jaleel White in Family Matters
Back in the ’80s/’90s, most of us knew Jaleel White as the clumsy, lovelorn nerd from Family Matters. His character, Steve Urkel, wore oversized glasses and pants that were far too high, made only worse by his choice to accessorise with suspenders. It took Stephan Urquel, Steve’s suave alter ego, popping up in the fifth season of the hit TV show for fans to finally notice White’s good looks.
2. Colin Farrell in The Batman
You can hardly recognise Colin Farrell in his role as Oz Cobb. A thinning hair cap, scarred face prosthetics, and a heavily padded bodysuit transformed him into the infamous Penguin. The effect of all these alterations is so convincing that crew members didn’t even recognise him on the set. It may have been a far cry from his usual bad-boy, heartthrob image, but it earned him a spinoff series and a Golden Globe.
3. Bill Skarsgård in IT
There’s not a single Skarsgård brother who hasn’t been blessed with good looks. But Bill chose to hide the family genes under layers and layers of cakey clown makeup when he took on the role of the terrifying Pennywise in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s IT. Bill seems to be drawn to playing odd characters, having previously played Count Orlok in the newest Nosferatu adaptation and Eric Draven in The Crow.
4. Mae Whitman in The DUFF
Mae Whitman was cast as the ugly duckling of her group in the 2015 film The DUFF, but in reality, she’s anything but “fat” or “ugly”. Even the dungarees, messy locks, and lack of makeup didn’t really fool anyone.
5. Gwyneth Paltrow in Shallow Hal
With all her strict diets and exercise routines, it’s hard to imagine Gwyneth Paltrow ever weighing more than a feather. Yet, back in the early 2000s, audiences saw her in a whole new look as Rosemary Shanahan in Shallow Hal. The film hasn’t aged well, for obvious reasons, but the message was always intended to be that beauty goes beyond skin deep.
6. Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Gabourey Sidibe made her acting debut in 2009 in the critically acclaimed film Precious. She plays a morbidly obese and illiterate teen who has been abused in the most heartbreaking ways by both her father and mother. The actress was given unflattering haircuts and wore little to no makeup throughout the film to emphasise the character’s difficult circumstances. In reality, Sidibe is nothing like her character; she is a beautiful and confident woman who has accepted her unique beauty and is, as they put it, living her best life.
7. Christina Ricci in Penelope
Christina Ricci has generally stuck to roles where she can play eccentric, unconventional characters. This makes it less surprising that one of her ventures into the romantic comedy genre saw her cursed with a pig snout for the better part of the movie. While Penelope Wilhern’s parents may have imprisoned her until adulthood to hide her appearance, there’s no way anyone is hiding Ricci’s natural beauty. Not even a fake nose can do that.
8. Margot Robbie in Suite Française
It’s hard to imagine that Margot Robbie, who is in fact the human embodiment of Barbie, could ever be anything less than breathtakingly gorgeous. Yet if you watched the film Suite Française, you’d know it is possible. Robbie plays a plain and unglamorous village named Celine, who happens to be sleeping with the enemy. It’s surprising what a simple wardrobe, no makeup, and brown permed hair can do.
9. Charlize Theron in Monster
Success for actresses in Hollywood is often attributed to their looks, but Charlize Theron had to strip away her beauty to win her first Oscar. To portray serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, she had to gain weight, wear a prosthetic with an overbite and yellowed, stained teeth, and shave and bleach her brows. A big cry from Charlize’s usual elegant and put-together look.
10. Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen
Sinners‘ Hailee Steinfeld is the epitome of beauty on every red carpet she walks. But in The Edge of Seventeen, she showed fans her less glamorous side. In the film, the actress sports a haircut that can only be described as unflattering. In fact, the style was actually compared to Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite‘s curly locks in one of the movie’s scenes. Not the worst transformation on the list, but not the stunning look we associate with Steinfeld.
11. Anjelica Huston in The Witches
Anjelica Huston played the Grand High Witch in The Witches and became every ‘90s kid’s nightmare. One moment she’s stunning and elegant, the next she’s peeling off her face like it’s Tuesday skincare night. Admit it, you still see that pink, wrinkled skin every time someone mentions chocolate mice.
12. Christian Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder
Christian Bale doesn’t just act—he shape-shifts. From muscle-bound to skeletal, the man treats his body like a prop department. For Thor: Love and Thunder, he went full commitment mode again, shaving his head to play Gorr. Thankfully, he drew the line at getting that terrifying scalp tattooed.
13. Naomi Grossman in American Horror Story
Naomi Grossman looked nothing like Pepper from American Horror Story—and that’s the point. Beneath the prosthetics and unsettling grin was a stunning actress who turned a tragic, childlike killer into a fan favourite. She nailed it so well they brought her back for another round in 2014.
14. Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder
Tom Cruise went from heartthrob to hairy-chested chaos as Les Grossman, the foul-mouthed studio exec in Tropic Thunder. The same guy who gave us Top Gun suddenly had a bald cap, gold chain, and zero shame—and audiences loved it. He even revived the character for a wild MTV Awards stunt in 2010.
15. Lena Headey in Dredd
Lena Headey could probably make a burlap sack look stylish. In Dredd, though, the filmmakers went all in, giving her character Ma-Ma a face full of scars to match the film’s gritty tone. The plan was to make her terrifying—but let’s be honest, she still looked annoyingly good.
