# Actors/Actresses whose looks changed drastically **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813 "2020-10-12T17:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/41 "2020-10-12T20:35:23Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Eddie Van Halen’s recent death has led to my seeing pictures of what David Lee Roth looks like [nowadays](https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2018/12/roth.jpg?w=980&q=75). I don’t know how much it’s just because he has short hair now, versus how much he’s changed due to age, but I would not have recognized him. > > Okay, David Lee Roth isn’t really an actor, but I think he counts for thread purposes. He might not really be an actor, but he should consider it. [He’s got kind of a quasi-Clancy Brown thing](https://www.google.com/search?q=Clancy+Brown,+sleepy+hollow&rlz=1C1ZCEB_enUS909US909&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVjKvK86_sAhUELK0KHUYiC7oQ_AUoAXoECCsQAw&biw=1536&bih=754) going on. And Roth, by nature, can ham it up all day. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/42 "2020-10-12T20:36:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I didn’t post photos. I just linked to YouTube videos and Discourse automatically loaded the preview image from YouTube. @Lamoral ? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/43 "2020-10-12T20:37:26Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Because if the first is in play, Robin Wright Penn is a good example of someone who is attractive at any age, but whose beauty when she was is significantly different than now. I’m not familiar with her in anything but _The Princess Bride_ and _House of Cards_. To me that’s just a difference in age and casting. There are miles between a princess in a kids’ movie in 1987 (age 21) and a villian in an adult TV show in 2013 (age 46). I mean, the lighting is totally different for one. To me, she’s still got that same “Robin Wright Jaw” and has kept her size and hair color. She just looks a bit older. Same for Natalie Portman and Brooke Shields, IMHO. They both have features that I feel were prominent in their early and later careers. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/44 "2020-10-12T20:38:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Needs to be a photo hosted online, not uploaded. Add the photo as a link on its own line, and it should show up as everyone else’s is. Thanks, **Zipper**. I have been finding that sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll keep tinkering. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/45 "2020-10-12T20:43:03Z")
I think it matters if it’s an actual file that ends in .jpg, or a link to a page servelet that doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/46 "2020-10-12T20:45:38Z")
In the same category as Irene Ryan: Walter Brennan (who surprisingly won more Oscars than any other male actor besides Jack Nicolson and Daniel Day-Lewis). [![](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/df78882c-f867-440b-88e1-12bca45b6bc0_1.3784aedc024a70b0ff35f190be32f10d.jpeg?odnWidth=612&odnHeight=612&odnBg=ffffff) ](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/df78882c-f867-440b-88e1-12bca45b6bc0_1.3784aedc024a70b0ff35f190be32f10d.jpeg?odnWidth=612&odnHeight=612&odnBg=ffffff) [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/44/17/21/441721eb834caa7d1f59af8027ced3fc.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/44/17/21/441721eb834caa7d1f59af8027ced3fc.jpg) Buddy Ebsen, originally a dancer [![](https://cdnmetv.metv.com/r7wRN-1568840722-2713-blog-buddyebsen_mickeymouse.jpg) ](https://cdnmetv.metv.com/r7wRN-1568840722-2713-blog-buddyebsen_mickeymouse.jpg) [![](https://i1.wp.com/www.terryledford.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jed_Clampett.png?resize=300%2C225) ](https://i1.wp.com/www.terryledford.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jed_Clampett.png?resize=300%2C225) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/47 "2020-10-12T20:46:09Z")
Patrick Dempsey was typecast as a nerd in [his twenties](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/54/e2/fb54e2cd681fba32147a51eb9a03d852.jpg). But in his forties, he became [“McDreamy”](https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/patrick_dempsey_greys_anatomy_dead.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/48 "2020-10-12T20:46:12Z")
Sure, but 2/3 of the people in the thread are people who just got old. I mean, you can tell that’s Irene Ryan in both pictures, and that David Lee Roth is just older too. Or that Ricky Gervais is older and a bit fatter now. Same with Haley Joel Osment. And Weird Al just lost the mustache and glasses and otherwise looks the same. James Spader is VERY clearly the same person. My point with Robin Wright Penn is that she looked very young and fresh-faced as Princess Buttercup. She was very pretty and very youthful looking. I didn’t recognize her at first in “Wonder Woman”, and I’ve seen her in things in the interim since “Princess Bride”. That’s enough in my book to have changed significantly. That’s the thing- people look pretty different as they age, especially as they become elderly. I’m more impressed/intrigued by people who look substantially the same as they did when they were young. (like Salma Hayek) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/49 "2020-10-12T20:48:17Z")
One example I thought of but then rejected was Lynne Marie Stewart, who was Miss Yvonne in _Pee Wee’s Playhouse_ and Charlie’s mom on _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_. She was heavily made up as Miss Yvonne. [![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHmQYex6v-o/UOoOm93ZvXI/AAAAAAAABfE/QVbnttvJhMw/s1600/Lynne+Marie+Stewart.png) ](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHmQYex6v-o/UOoOm93ZvXI/AAAAAAAABfE/QVbnttvJhMw/s1600/Lynne+Marie+Stewart.png) Looking at her pictures from other roles, from the 70s to now, she’s pretty much always looked the same. Her difference between these roles was just a matter of costume and production (which is kinda how I see Robin Wright). ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/50 "2020-10-12T20:52:17Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but 2/3 of the people in the thread are **people who just got old**. I mean, you can tell that’s Irene Ryan in both pictures, and that David Lee Roth is just older too. Or that Ricky Gervais is older and a bit fatter now. **Same with Haley Joel Osment**. Osment is only 32 – he’s changed markedly as a young adult. And he’s had kind of a “mountain man” look going for at least five years now … so really, he changed a lot between 22 and 27 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/51 "2020-10-12T21:01:40Z")
Definitely James Spader. looking at _Stargate_ then seeing him in _Blacklist_-The look, the pacing, the voice, all different. A complete reinvention, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/52 "2020-10-12T21:04:02Z")
I never made the connection that Miss Yvonne and Charlie’s mom were the same actress. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/53 "2020-10-12T21:06:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but 2/3 of the people in the thread are people who just got old. I mean, you can tell that’s Irene Ryan in both pictures, and that David Lee Roth is just older too. Or that Ricky Gervais is older and a bit fatter now. Same with Haley Joel Osment. And Weird Al just lost the mustache and glasses and otherwise looks the same. James Spader is VERY clearly the same person. > > My point with Robin Wright Penn is that she looked very young and fresh-faced as Princess Buttercup. She was very pretty and very youthful looking. I didn’t recognize her at first in “Wonder Woman”, and I’ve seen her in things in the interim since “Princess Bride”. I strongly disagree with your assessments in every case except for Weird Al, with the possible exception of David Lee Roth (maybe because I saw him on the tubes recently). Funny how we all see things so differently. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/54 "2020-10-12T21:17:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but 2/3 of the people in the thread are people who just got old. I mean, you can tell that’s Irene Ryan in both pictures, and that David Lee Roth is just older too. Or that Ricky Gervais is older and a bit fatter now. Same with Haley Joel Osment. And Weird Al just lost the mustache and glasses and otherwise looks the same. James Spader is VERY clearly the same person. 99% of people, even British people, would not have a shot in hell of recognizing that younger picture as Ricky Gervais, if shown it without any context. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/55 "2020-10-12T21:27:56Z")
Irene Ryan was in her 60’s during The Beverly Hillbillies and didn’t looked much closer to her real age in real life than Granny where she wore a lot of makeup. Here she is on [Password](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPPUcn0W5iQ) during that period. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/56 "2020-10-12T21:29:24Z")
It seemed to me that **[Carrie Fisher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Fisher)** went through several incarnations. Simplifying mightily look at: Star Wars, Blues Brothers, her talk-show overweight druggie years, and finally, ref the pic on wiki, a recovery shortly before her untimely death. It’s clearly the same person, but there are some real “Oh my gosh, is that _her_? I’d never have guessed unless you told me!” moments as the years go by. Of course she aged; we all do that. In her case it’s not just aging. And it’s also not just drugs and dissolution; certainly lots of celebrities go through that wringer too. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/57 "2020-10-12T21:59:13Z")
You thought Carrie Fisher was clearly the same person in her later appearances? In the last three _Star Wars_ movies, I genuinely could not recognize her. I know Ms. Fisher had some hard years. There are other cases where I’ve seen actor in roles that are decades apart, and there’s always something familiar; a laugh, an expression, or some mannerism in their speech. She’s the only actor I’ve ever seen without some moment of recognition from her early years. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/58 "2020-10-12T22:04:50Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You thought Carrie Fisher was clearly the same person in her later appearances? In the last three _Star Wars_ movies, I genuinely could not recognize her. For me, what struck me most about how Carrie had changed, compared to her younger self, wasn’t her appearance (I could always see “her” in her eyes), it was her voice, which, by the time of the Star Wars sequel films, was radically different. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/59 "2020-10-12T22:21:15Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > Irene Ryan was in her 60’s during The Beverly Hillbillies and didn’t looked much closer to her real age in real life than Granny where she wore a lot of makeup. Here she is on [Password](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPPUcn0W5iQ) during that period. Should be: “…looked much closer to her real age in real life…” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/60 "2020-10-12T22:21:43Z")
One of my favorite Family Guy bits. Peter needs a cute little kid, so he summons Jonathan Lipnicki. [FamilyGuy s09e03 Jonathan Lipnicki Joke - YouTube](https://youtu.be/rr_GDTQUyqw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=4)