# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/121 "2020-10-15T15:45:10Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > OK, mostly age/weight, but I didn’t recognize Kadeem Hardison in _Teenage Bounty Hunters_ Good one. Pretty much just the eyes give away that it’s Dwayne Wayne. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/122 "2020-10-16T08:28:26Z")
Am I the first to mention Vincent D’Onofrio? ---
**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 16, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/123 "2020-10-16T13:18:13Z")
Yeah, wife and I were watching “Ratched” on Netflix, and the Governor looked vaguely familiar. Went on IMDB to see who it was, and woah. Yes, again it’s mostly just age and weight gain, but he has gone through some changes for sure. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/124 "2020-10-16T13:34:36Z")
I’ve been watching _a lot_ of _Friends_ reruns and though they obviously all aged over the course of the series run, Courtney Cox looks very different to me somewhere around the third season(?). I can’t detect any obvious cosmetic surgery(but I’m not very good at that) but she just has a different look. Thinning her brows seems to contribute to that, at well as changing her hair.Hell, even her voice and mannerisms seem to have changed, though I guess that could be the writers gradually evolving her character. ---
**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 16, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/125 "2020-10-16T14:35:40Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I’ve been watching _a lot_ of _Friends_ reruns and though they obviously all aged over the course of the series run, Courtney Cox looks very different to me somewhere around the third season(?). Apparently, she agreed with you. > **[Courteney Cox reveals why she had all her fillers dissolved](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/beauty-hair/celebrity-hair-makeup/a26367587/courteney-cox-cosmetic-fillers-dissolved-regrets/)** > > "I don't look like myself." She seemed to get overly skinny at some point, too, making her look harsh and skeletal. I think that in current pictures she looks really good, and more natural than before. ---
**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 16, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/126 "2020-10-16T14:59:34Z")
Frank Langella used to be a devastatingly handsome, long-haired seducer, a role he played in Mel Brooks’ _The Twelve Chairs_ and on Broadway as _Dracula_ (and later in John Badham’s film adaptation of the play. > **[The Twelve Chairs (1970)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066495/mediaviewer/rm1661992960)** > > Mel Brooks and Frank Langella in The Twelve Chairs (1970) > **[Frank Langella on Broadway as Dracula (Deane &... - collinsportmaine](https://collinsportmaine.tumblr.com/post/187121852417/frank-langella-in-broadway-as-dracula-in-the-deane)** > > Frank Langella on Broadway as Dracula (Deane & Balderston version) - Stage Design by Edward Gorey. > **[Dracula 1979: Celebrating Frank Langella's Rock Star Count](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dracula-1979-celebrating-frank-langellas-rock-star-count/)** > > The 1979 version of Dracula with Frank Langella didn't get the names right, but it nailed the cobwebs. As he got older, he turned into the buzz-cut hard-edged dominant character he’s played in movies and onstage ever since. He never seems to smile anymore > **[Why Frank Langella (Almost) Saves The Box](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a6364/frank-langella-the-box-review-1109/)** > > A brief word of thanks to the actor for bringing some, well, acting to the silly new movie half a face and all > **[Frank Langella : “ We live in a corrupt world”](https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/frank-langella-we-live-corrupt-world)** > > Frank Langella knows a thing or two about sucking the life out of an individual. You see, he played Dracula, the title character in John Badham’s 1979 darkly romantic horror film adaptation of the Bram Stoker vampire tale. So, when Aaron Sorkin was... (I was able to see him transitioning between the two forms, when he played Salieri in Shaffer’s _Amadeus_ on Broadway.) ---
**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 16, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/127 "2020-10-16T16:14:13Z")
> [@eburacum\_45](#): > > 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. Oh, come on! A guy who was so old that he was wearing a World War II uniform in his “young” picture, compared to how he looked when he was an “actor” with cameos in movies three years ago? That’s just plain old age. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/128 "2020-10-16T16:24:34Z")
Well, his look did change over the years (mostly changes in his facial hair). [![](https://piximus.net/media2/40891/follow-the-timeline-to-see-how-popular-celebrities-have-aged-over-the-years-15.jpg) ](https://piximus.net/media2/40891/follow-the-timeline-to-see-how-popular-celebrities-have-aged-over-the-years-15.jpg) And then there was his 1970s leisure-suit-and-pornstar-mustache phase [![](https://newsforkids.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/stan-lee-1975-cropped-322x500.jpg) ](https://newsforkids.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/stan-lee-1975-cropped-322x500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/129 "2020-10-16T16:54:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As he got older, he turned into the buzz-cut hard-edged dominant character he’s played in movies and onstage ever since. He never seems to smile anymore What do you mean? Here he is, clearly smiling… [![](https://images.amcnetworks.com/ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/skeletor-masters-of-the-universe.jpg) ](https://images.amcnetworks.com/ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/skeletor-masters-of-the-universe.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/130 "2020-11-01T19:50:24Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Yeah, wife and I were watching “Ratched” on Netflix, and the Governor looked vaguely familiar. Went on IMDB to see who it was, and woah. Yes, again it’s mostly just age and weight gain, but he has gone through some changes for sure. So who was it? ---
**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:** [November 1, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/131 "2020-11-01T20:10:22Z")
I was replying to Superdude, who had mentioned Vincent D’Onofrio. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/132 "2020-12-04T06:40:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Julie Bowen did a TV show called _Ed_ from 2000 - 2004. It was kind of a transition for her looks from ingenue to frazzled mother. But yeah, if you jump from Happy Gilmore to Modern Family, it’s something of a jolt. In season one, there was a cliched love triangle between Ed, Julie Bowen’s character and Rena Sofer’s character. At the time I considered Ed the luckiest man that ever lived. Julie Bowen has been consistently flawless looking for 20+ years (so has Rena). ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/133 "2020-12-04T07:00:26Z")
The one I always think of when this topic comes up is Linda Kozlowski: > **[Paul Hogan's ex-wife Linda Kozlowski looks unrecognisable](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4363080/amp/Paul-Hogan-s-ex-wife-Linda-Kozlowski-looks-unrecognisable.html)** > > Once a Hollywood actress, 59-year-old Linda Kozlowski now leads a dramatically different life in California's Venice Beach, where she has become a bona fide property investor. She hasn’t acted in ~20 years and is no longer married to Paul Hogan (himself not much of a celebrity anymore), so I’m not sure of she counts as a celebrity. Maybe a former celebrity, or has-been celebrity… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/134 "2020-12-04T08:16:36Z")
In the “got old and fat” category, there’s also Alfred Molina. Remember that he was Mister “Throw me the idol and I’ll throw you the whip!” in his young, svelte days. He’s slimmed back down a little now but he was quite portly for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/135 "2020-12-04T09:21:01Z")
I’d say that he looked like fat and old Alfred Molina the whole time though. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/136 "2020-12-04T13:03:40Z")
No time to argue! ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/137 "2020-12-04T14:43:48Z")
Did anyone mention Henry Winkler? His transition from studly Italian greaser to nerdy Jewish director was quite striking. I guess that is partly due to his character acting in the 70s, but if someone hadn’t told me it was the same guy, I would never have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/138 "2020-12-04T14:44:00Z")
I just saw the Goo Goo Dolls performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lead singer John Rzeznik was unrecognizable. If they hadn’t introduced the group by name, I wouldn’t have known who it was. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/139 "2020-12-04T15:06:51Z")
How about Michael Crawford. Here he is in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” [![](https://cinema1544.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/hero.jpg) ](https://cinema1544.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/hero.jpg) Here he is as the Phantom of the Opera [![](https://www.thecoast.net.nz/media/8104282/gettyimages-52240888.jpg) ](https://www.thecoast.net.nz/media/8104282/gettyimages-52240888.jpg) ---
**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:** [December 4, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813/140 "2020-12-04T15:09:33Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > Did anyone mention Henry Winkler? > > His transition from studly Italian greaser to nerdy Jewish director was quite striking. I guess that is partly due to his character acting in the 70s, but if someone hadn’t told me it was the same guy, I would never have guessed. What? He looks practically the same, just older. > **[Wizard World | HOME](https://fanexpohq.com/home/wizard-world/)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-looks-changed-drastically/922813.md?page=8)