# 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:** 6
**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 13, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/101 "2020-10-13T18:09:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > You’d think a famous celebrity could afford the very best plastic surgeon, so why do their procedures look so wrong? IMO … They often want an unrealistic degree of improvement or change. PS can’t really make a 60yo look 20. It can make them look 50. But for people with lots of money and ego and maybe not a lot of sense, 50 isn’t good enough. So they shop for docs until they find one willing to tell them what they want to hear. And of course if thousands of celebrities & aging trophy wives get heavy PS, we only need a small percentage of those to go truly bad for there to be enough to supply a website with fodder for comment. IIRC from that site … A lot of the problems aren’t the first surgery; it’s the 12th. Eventually cartilage breaks down, doesn’t heal properly, the implants morph in shape or shift within the increasing mix of scar tissue vs real tissue, and well, then “stuff happens”. The outcome becomes less and less predictable. Michael Jackson’s nose more or less melted ff his face by the end; there was no real meat to attach anything to. There was also a psychological element. Once folks got a good result when e.g. 50 and reset to look 40, now at 60 they want to be reset to 30. Or they develop an expectation that every 5 years they can just push the reset button and return to where they were. So at 50 reset to 45. Then at 55 reset to 45. Then at 60 reset to 45. Then at 65 reset to 45. After all, each time they’re only looking to return to how they looked 5 years ago. As a simple fact of the natural aging process, it takes ever larger doses of PS to achieve a given amount of rejuvenation. Increased dosing for decreasing response sounds exactly like a recipe for addition. Mental stability and resistance to addictive behavior are not strong suits for many celebs. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/102 "2020-10-13T23:02:38Z")
Definitely Roger Daltrey. I can recognize his voice still but looks wise? Not at all. He even seems shorter–was he always short but just acted tall or what? ---
**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 14, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/103 "2020-10-14T01:42:07Z")
Michael O’Keefe, who played Danny Noonan in _Caddyshack_ looks very different in his adult roles. He was in an episode of _Law & Order_ playing twins, and neither one of them looked like Danny. He’s older, of course, but he was 25 when _Caddyshack_ came out, so certainly not a child star who still had to grow up. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/104 "2020-10-14T10:45:59Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > One of my favorite Family Guy bits. Peter needs a cute little kid, so he summons Jonathan Lipnicki. [https://youtu.be/rr\_GDTQUyqw](https://youtu.be/rr_GDTQUyqw) Yes that was great, but they had a cutaway to Gary Busey that had me in stitches. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cgvR5nFOETk/maxresdefault.jpg "Family Guy - Gary Busey") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgvR5nFOETk) Speaking of Gary Busey, that guy does NOT look like Buddy Holly. [![](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly#/media/File%3ABuddy_Holly_cropped.JPG) ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly#/media/File%3ABuddy_Holly_cropped.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/105 "2020-10-14T10:50:00Z")
Has anyone watched _Utopia_ on Amazon? John Cusack is hardly recognizable to me. He reminds me of Robert California, from _The Office_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/106 "2020-10-14T11:06:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Michael O’Keefe, who played Danny Noonan in _Caddyshack_ looks very different in his adult roles. He was in an episode of _Law & Order_ playing twins, and neither one of them looked like Danny. He’s older, of course, but he was 25 when _Caddyshack_ came out, so certainly not a child star who still had to grow up. For the record, O’Keefe has played 7 different roles on the various L&O series. He’s one of the great “repeat offenders”. And I agree with you. Another, similar example is character actor Bruce McGill. I had a hard time believing that lean, mean D-Day from _Animal House_ had transformed into round-faced Jack Dalton on MacGyver in under a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/107 "2020-10-14T11:33:33Z")
John Cullum who played Edward Rutledge in “1776” and looked like this [1776 - Molasses To Rum - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeuaTpH6Ck0) has been playing roles like Mark Green’s father on ER and the grandfather on the Middle, and looks quite different (see here) - different enough that I was really startled to learn they were the same person. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/108 "2020-10-14T12:31:45Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > > [@joebuck20](#): > > > > Julie Bowen had kind of a cherubic look when she did Happy Gilmore in the mid-90s, and looked a lot different than she did during Modern Family. I remember being surprised when I learned that was the same actress. > > I would say from a trailer I just watched, she looks much more like a mom in Happy Gilmore than she did in Modern Family. Yeah, I always thought she looked better on Modern Family than she did in Happy Gilmore. She has a new reunion with Sandler in a dumb Netflix movie called “Hubie Halloween” where she still looks great, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/109 "2020-10-14T13:05:16Z")
Robert Redford? It doesn’t shock me at all that this 27-year-old – > **[by instinct i'm an adventurer | Barefoot in the park, Jane fonda, Robert redford](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/453808099936779821/?d=t&mt=login)** > > Jun 27, 2016 - Robert Redford and Jane Fonda photographed for “Barefoot in the Park”, 1967 Looks like this at 84 – > **[Actor Robert Redford issues rallying call to avoid 'disaster' and boot Donald...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/27/actor-robert-redford-issues-rallying-call-avoid-disaster-boot/)** > > Veteran Hollywood actor Robert Redford has condemned Donald Trump's presidency and warned the US needs to "change the course of disaster that lies before us. Not at all surprising to me that they’re the same person. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/110 "2020-10-14T13:19:09Z")
That’s my point though- people getting older and fatter doesn’t really count in my book as changing their looks drastically. Or really for that matter, going from a chubby nerdy kid to an attractive adult. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/111 "2020-10-14T14:07:23Z")
mr redford is well known for not using sunscreen or moisturizers. john flannery looks more like an older redford than redford. ---
**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 14, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/112 "2020-10-14T16:03:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That’s my point though- people getting older and fatter doesn’t really count in my book as changing their looks drastically. Or really for that matter, going from a chubby nerdy kid to an attractive adult . Well, then what’s left to count as “legitimate” drastic changes in appearance? You’ve got: - Aging (from kid-to-adult, from young adult to middle aged, from 40-something to 70-something, etc.) - Weight loss/gain, changes in body composition (muscle tone, etc.) - Plastic surgery (to include gender-reassignment procedures) - Hairstyle and/or facial hair - Effects of make-up/grooming Aside from serious facial injuries, in what other ways would people drastically change appearance? Or change their appearance at all? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/113 "2020-10-14T16:14:33Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Ah, I see. I was just going off of Louis’s IMDB page pictures. They didn’t include his earliest standup. > > James Doohan is a great example. He seems to have visually aged a ton between ST:TOS and the movies but no one else in the cast did. Doohan had battles off and on with alcohol which can put some wear and tear on a body. He also served in the military and was part of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which made him a bit older than some of the rest of the cast which might also be part of the reason he seemed at age quicker - he wasn’t aging quicker, he just started older, about 10-11 years older than Shatner and Nimony. DeForest Kelly was also born in 1920, like Doohan, and also looked older than the rest. When he played a 120 year old version of Dr. McCoy I could believe he was 120 cause, yeah, he looked ancient. Speaking of _Star Trek_ - William Shatner sure looks different than he did in the 1960’s Some of that is just plain putting on weight, but he does look quite a bit different these days. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/114 "2020-10-14T21:04:25Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > mr redford is well known for not using sunscreen or moisturizers. john flannery looks more like an older redford than redford. He had to have his lower eye lids done. In Spy Game they were very noticeable and then poof they were gone. As an aside: I’ve heard in the past, that plastic surgeons will “over correct” in many cases because they know how it will “settle”. You’ll see a celeb on the cover of a magazine with a sensational headline about botched plastic surgery. 6 months later they look fine and you almost forget they had it. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/115 "2020-10-15T11:52:26Z")
OK, mostly age/weight, but I didn’t recognize Kadeem Hardison in _Teenage Bounty Hunters_ Before: > **[Kadeem Hardison](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362429/mediaviewer/rm343853056)** > > Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison in A Different World (1987) Now: > **[Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10584608/mediaviewer/rm4182352385)** > > Kadeem Hardison, Maddie Phillips, and Anjelica Bette Fellini in Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020) Brian ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/116 "2020-10-15T12:12:11Z")
I think Stan Lee counts as an actor; he appeared in many of the highest-grossing films over the last decade or so of his life. He looked completely different way back when he started work at Timely. > **[Home](https://taskandpurpose.com/)** > > Task & Purpose provides military news, culture, and analysis by and for the military and veterans community. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/117 "2020-10-15T12:26:11Z")
Have you seen the West Wing reunion preview photos? Most of the actors have aged reasonably well. Bradley Whitford is a glaring exception. I would have never recognized him without being told. That’s him. > **[The West Wing reunion first-look photos with Martin Sheen](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8841671/The-West-Wing-reunion-look-photos-Martin-Sheen-Bradley-Whitford.html)** > > HBO has released the new photos from their highly-anticipated A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote, debuting October 15. Young Josh Lyman > **[Bradley Whitford as "Josh Lyman" in 'The West Wing'. | West wing, Bradley...](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/742179213579779937/)** > > Feb 27, 2020 - Bradley Whitford was simply amazing when he starred as "Josh Lyman" in NBC's 'The West Wing' from '99 until 2006. But what is the handsome actor doing these days? ---
**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 15, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/118 "2020-10-15T13:43:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Bradley Whitford is a glaring exception. I would have never recognized him without being told. That’s him. I noted him in the OP. He’s one of the inspirations for this thread, actually. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/119 "2020-10-15T14:19:03Z")
Actually, I don’t think Doohan changed really significantly until he put on significant weight in Star Trek IV. ---
**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 15, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/120 "2020-10-15T14:25:54Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > Bradley Whitford is a glaring exception. I would have never recognized him without being told. That’s him. > > I noted him in the OP. He’s one of the inspirations for this thread, actually It’s the obtrusive glasses as much as anything - the Clark Kent syndrome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=7)