This Is How These 30 Well-Known People Of World History Looked In Real Life Compared To Their Movie Portrayals

You might have hated history lessons at school, but I am sure you have enjoyed at least one historical film in your life, if not more. Of course, a lot here depends on Hollywood (and other film industries) creating a compelling story that attracts your attention — but also, we really love seeing historical figures up close in situations that our textbooks never described.

A big part of making a film on real-life events and real people is casting. Good acting is important, but the actors also have to resemble the person they are portraying to a certain degree. Because often the audience won’t notice the historical inconsistencies, but they will most likely criticize the looks of actors in movies that tell the story of one well-known person or another.

Throughout the years of its existence, the film industry has handled quite a number of famous events in history, depicting each of them from the director’s perspective. But it is equally interested in big events in the lives of people of art, science, sports, or public figures. For actors, portraying a real person can be more challenging than a fictional character because you can’t build them solely on your vision, but have to do quite a lot of research. However, it can also be a very rewarding experience.

For this article, we collected some of the best examples of actors playing famous people. In your opinion, who did the best job? Do you have another favorite actor playing a historical figure that didn’t make it to this list? Share with us in the comments!

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Morgan Freeman As Nelson Mandela In "Invictus"

Morgan Freeman looks like Nelson Mandela

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This Is How These 30 Well-Known People Of World History Looked In Real Life Compared To Their Movie Portrayals

Morgan Freeman As Nelson Mandela In "Invictus"

Jamie Foxx As Ray Charles In "Ray"

Robert Downey Jr. As Charlie Chaplin In "Chaplin"

Stephen Fry As Oscar Wilde In "Wilde"

Eddie Redmayne And Felicity Jones As Stephen Hawking With His Wife Jane Wilde In "The Theory Of Everything"

Ben Kingsley As Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi In "Gandhi"

Denzel Washington As Malcolm X In "Malcolm X"

Charlize Theron As Aileen Wuornos In "Monster"

Daniel Day-Lewis As Abraham Lincoln In "Lincoln"

Rami Malek As Freddie Mercury In "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Val Kilmer As Jim Morrison In "The Doors"

Tom Hanks As Mister Rogers In "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"

Meryl Streep As Julia Child In "Julie And Julia"

Gary Oldman As Ludwig Van Beethoven In "Immortal Beloved"

Meryl Streep As Margaret Thatcher In "The Iron Lady"

Salma Hayek As Frida In "Frida"

Joaquin Phoenix As Johnny Cash In "Walk The Line"

Cate Blanchett As Queen Elizabeth I In "Elizabeth"

André 3000 As Jimi Hendrix In "Jimi: All Is By My Side"

Helen Mirren As Queen Elizabeth II In "The Queen"

Philip Seymour Hoffman As Truman Capote In "Capote"

Evan Peters As Jeffrey Dahmer In "Dahmer"

Angela Bassett As Tina Turner In "What's Love Got To Do With It"

Adrien Brody As Salvador Dalí In "Midnight In Paris"

Chadwick Boseman As Jackie Robinson In "42"

Hilary Swank As Amelia Earhart In "Amelia"

Bruno Ganz As Adolf Hitler In "Downfall"

Jason Scott Lee As Bruce Lee In "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story"

Tom Hanks As Captain Chesley Sullenberger In "Sully"

Cate Blanchett As Bob Dylan In "I'm Not There"