Real-life legends can be brought to life by actors, whether they are historical persons or cultural icons. Here, we’ll take a look at the top 30 memorable performances that encapsulated these extraordinary people and demonstrated the potency of acting as a storytelling medium.
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Truman Capote)
Capote was probably best known for his non-fiction book, In Cold Blood. So when it came time to create a biopic about the writer’s life, it made perfect sense to focus the events on the writing of his hit book. He swept the awards season in 2006, with an Oscar win and a Golden Globe win.
2. James Franco (James Dean)
Franco definitely looks like James Dean. So it was a match made in heaven when he was cast to portray Dean in the 2001 TV film James Dean. The movie premiered on TNT in 2001 and got decent reviews.
3. Timothée Chalamet (Bob Dylan)
In A Complete Unknown, the biographical film about Bob Dylan, the performances are simply exceptional. Timothée Chalamet, as Dylan, delivers a magnetic portrayal, capturing both the vulnerability and genius of the man. Not only him, but the entire cast, including Edward Norton.
4. Robert Downey Jr. (Charlie Chaplin)
As it turns out, it doesn’t take much more than a bowler hat and a fake mustache for Robert Downey Jr. to magically transform into the likeness of Charlie Chaplin. That being said, Downey Jr. brought more than just a physical resemblance to the table in his 1992 performance in Chaplin.
5. Nicole Kidman (Virginia Woolf)
The Hours (2002) follows three women from different eras whose lives are all linked by the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway. While the all-star cast included major players like Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, the true star of the show is Nicole Kidman, who portrays Virginia Woolf herself.
6. John Goodman (Babe Ruth)
There was no one better in the early ’90s to play Babe Ruth than John Goodman. If anyone could do justice to the “Great Bambino”, it was definitely him. The 1992 biopic The Babe, however, really didn’t do him justice.
7. Emma Corrin (Princess Diana)
Actress Emma Corrin has an uncanny resemblance to Diana and excellently portrays Diana’s royal experience in The Crown.
8. Morgan Freeman (Nelson Mandela)
Freeman portrayed former South African president Nelson Mandela in 2009’s Invictus. The movie follows the events during and leading up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup and also features Matt Damon in a standout performance as captain of the South African Rugby team.
9. Vanessa Kirby (Princess Margaret)
Kirby dyed her hair dark brown to play Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister, Princess Margaret, in The Crown. Princess Margaret was known as the fun-loving and free-spirited royal.
10. Anthony Hopkins (Alfred Hitchcock)
Hitchcock gave the world some of the most intriguing and hair-raising suspense thrillers of all time. From The Birds to Psycho, Hitchcock was a man who knew how to disturb us. Unfortunately, the 2012 biopic about him wasn’t quite as memorable.
11. Jennifer Hudson (Aretha Franklin)
When we watch a biopic, we usually don’t expect the actors portraying real people to look like mirror images of them. But that’s almost what we got with Jennifer Hudson’s portrayal of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, in the 2021 film Respect.
12. Gary Busey (Buddy Holly)
When we think of modern-day Gary Busey, “teen heartthrob” is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But that being said, way back in 1978, Busey pulled off the Buddy Holly look in The Buddy Holly Story.
13. Helen Mirren (Queen Elizabeth)
While the 2006 movie The Queen was more about the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, portrayed by Helen Mirren, is clearly the star of the show. The film was a hit with audiences, but there was one fan in particular that stood out from all the rest: the Queen herself.
14. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi (Priscilla)
This is the first movie about Priscilla, and Cailee did a great job portraying her. She showed us what it was really like as a 14-year-old girl getting involved with someone like Elvis, who was 24.
15. Will Smith (Muhammad Ali)
Smith doesn’t look like he could last two seconds in the boxing ring, but he does look like a pretty convincing Muhammad Ali. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed when the biopic Ali was released in 2001.
16. Ana de Armas (Marilyn Monroe)
Blonde dropped on Netflix, and Ana de Armas is a dead-ringer for the late starlet. This film is based on a 2000 fictionalized biography by Joyce Carol Oates.
17. Sherilyn Fenn (Elizabeth Taylor)
Fenn might be most well known for her role of Audrey Horne on the TV series Twin Peaks, but in 1995, she had the role of a lifetime, portraying Elizabeth Taylor in a TV biopic.
18. Val Kilmer (Jim Morrison)
Morrison’s time as lead singer of The Doors turned him into a rock legend. His life was short, but he made an impact on musicians for decades to come. When it came time to portray him in the 1991 film The Doors, Kilmer thought he was up for the job.
19. Jenna Coleman (Queen Victoria)
Coleman’s fashion choices are much less austere from what she wore in Victoria for her role as the young Queen of England. Coleman’s character, Queen Victoria, wears over-the-top period costumes that channel the 1800s.
20. Ashton Kutcher (Steve Jobs)
Producers in charge of Jobs, the 2013 biopic about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, casted Ashton Kutcher in the title role. He might seem like an unusual pick, but the physical resemblance between the two is there.
21. Daniel Day-Lewis (Abraham Lincoln)
As one of the most memorable US presidents, Lincoln’s life has been portrayed on the big screen many times over the years. Nonetheless, none of those portrayals were quite as memorable as Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of our 16th president in Lincoln.
22. Nicole Kidman (Lucille Ball)
While Kidman and Lucille Ball were far from being identical twins, she and the movie’s makeup and costume designers did great at hitting all the high points of a classic Lucille look. You wouldn’t actually get them confused in real life, but you would know immediately who she’s portraying.
23. Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe)
Michelle definitely looks a lot like Monroe, and she successfully portrays the classic Hollywood icon. 2011’s My Week with Marilyn is certainly living proof of that.
24. Taron Egerton (Elton John)
As talented as Elton John may be, he’s a little goofy-looking, with or without his flamboyant costumes. That’s what made Taron Egerton’s portrayal of him in 2019’s Rocket Man that much more impressive.
25. Jennifer Lopez (Selena)
Did you know that when it came time to cast Selena in the 1997 biopic of the same name, more than 21,000 people auditioned for the role? It ultimately went to a relatively unknown actress at the time by the name of Jennifer Lopez.
26. Kristen Stewart (Princess Diana)
When it comes to looking like Princess Diana, Kristen didn’t do half bad. In fact, former staff members who worked closely with the real princess said that Stewart’s portrayal was one of the most accurate and realistic that they had ever seen.
27. Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash)
When it came to music, Cash could do it all: country, gospel, folk, rock, and blues. He seemed to be at home in whatever genre you put him in. Phoenix seemed just as at home portraying the “Man in Black” in the 2005 film Walk the Line.
28. Austin Butler (Elvis Presley)
Butler’s performance in the film Elvis (2022) was much more praised than his looks. He even got a nod of approval from Elvis’s former wife, Priscilla.
29. Tom Hanks (Walt Disney)
The 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks is all about the journey it took to get the Disney film Mary Poppins produced. At the center of it all is Hanks, playing the iconic Walt Disney.
30. Colin Firth (King George)
Some say The King’s Speech wasn’t just one of the best historical dramas of the 2010s, it was one of the best films of any genre for that decade. This film follows Firth as King George VI, who works to overcome his stutter as he finds himself crowned King of England.
