# Actors in "old" makeup versus when they really were old **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [June 13, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552 "2025-06-13T00:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/21 "2025-06-14T15:28:44Z")
Cecily Tyson in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (age 110) [![](https://de9o6n2ujz7l.cloudfront.net/cache/62/db/62db901f9d31ba31cbd1cc0c3b71a64d.jpg) ](https://de9o6n2ujz7l.cloudfront.net/cache/62/db/62db901f9d31ba31cbd1cc0c3b71a64d.jpg) Cecily Tyson for real (age 95) [![](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/actress-cicely-tyson-attends-the-2018-creative-arts-emmy-news-photo-1029631774-1549643142.jpg) ](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/actress-cicely-tyson-attends-the-2018-creative-arts-emmy-news-photo-1029631774-1549643142.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/22 "2025-06-14T15:50:21Z")
Supposedly Chris Evans’ mother cried when she saw him aged up in Avengers because he looked just like her father. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/23 "2025-06-14T16:31:43Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Cecily Cicely. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/24 "2025-06-14T17:07:10Z")
Old Charles Foster Kane: > **[Citizen Kane (1941)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/mediaviewer/rm1243785728/?ref_=ttmi_mi_24)** > > Orson Welles and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941) Old Orson Welles: [![](https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/54caa718494254fc0996667e/master/w_2240,c_limit/image.jpg) ](https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/54caa718494254fc0996667e/master/w_2240,c_limit/image.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 14, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/25 "2025-06-14T17:13:58Z")
A recurring theme in the “old makeup” versions of some of these actors (Richard Dean Anderson, Orson Welles, William Shatner (below), versus how they actually look when older, is that the actors gained weight as they got older (Welles, tremendously so), and the makeup used on them decades ago didn’t anticipate for that. [![](https://www.theviewscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/thedeadlyyears1-300x227.jpg) ](https://www.theviewscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/thedeadlyyears1-300x227.jpg) [![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox10phoenix.com/www.fox10phoenix.com/content/uploads/2023/03/932/524/will-shatner.jpg?ve=1&tl=1) ](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox10phoenix.com/www.fox10phoenix.com/content/uploads/2023/03/932/524/will-shatner.jpg?ve=1&tl=1) ---
**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:** [June 14, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/26 "2025-06-14T17:30:20Z")
I wonder how much that’s - The overall growth in US obesity rates such that show management didn’t anticipate old folks also generally being fat folks. - The actor not wanting to appear obese by the standards of the day as well as old. - Just economizing on a series TV show; it’s fairly easy to make up a face, wrists, and hands. With the tech of the times, how much harder is a full-body fat suit, and how much harder is bulking up the pudgy face while still having it look natural as the actor emotes through it. - A standard comment about actors in scenes where IRL they’d be wearing a helmet and face protection, oxygen mask, space helmet, etc. is that that stuff is left off so the actor can act and the audience can see their face. I suspect, but do not know, that extreme makeup is similar. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/27 "2025-06-14T17:36:58Z")
Spock, “The Deadly Years” (Vulcans age more slowly than humans) [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/02a25e609e712b9351fd1f9086a4da3c/tumblr_phtdonUsdr1sq0wz1_1280.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/02a25e609e712b9351fd1f9086a4da3c/tumblr_phtdonUsdr1sq0wz1_1280.jpg) Leonard Nimoy [![](https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2014/02/07/SIZW7DF7WC6TXN2XP6JBMOIS4M.jpg) ](https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2014/02/07/SIZW7DF7WC6TXN2XP6JBMOIS4M.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 14, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/28 "2025-06-14T17:39:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I wonder how much that’s > > - The overall growth in US obesity rates such that show management didn’t anticipate old folks also generally being fat folks. > - The actor not wanting to appear obese by the standards of the day as well as old. > - Just economizing on a series TV show; it’s fairly easy to make up a face, wrists, and hands. With the tech of the times, how much harder is a full-body fat suit, and how much harder is bulking up the pudgy face while still having it look natural as the actor emotes through it. > - A standard comment about actors in scenes where IRL they’d be wearing a helmet and face protection, oxygen mask, space helmet, etc. is that that stuff is left off so the actor can act and the audience can see their face. I suspect, but do not know, that extreme makeup is similar. Probably mostly the second and third points, I’d guess. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/29 "2025-06-15T12:49:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A recurring theme in the “old makeup” versions of some of these actors (Richard Dean Anderson, Orson Welles, William Shatner (below), versus how they actually look when older, is that the actors gained weight as they got older (Welles, tremendously so), and the makeup used on them decades ago didn’t anticipate for that. That’s true but on the other hand, several of the actual old actors look much better than their made-up old counterparts from decades earlier, since they’re actors who have a stake in staying as youthful-looking as possible, as opposed to their made-up characters, who were made to look _old_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/30 "2025-06-15T17:44:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Supposedly Chris Evans’ mother cried when she saw him aged up in Avengers because he looked just like her father. I mean, the makeup people surely have access to pictures of his father, and used them for reference. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Just economizing on a series TV show; it’s fairly easy to make up a face, wrists, and hands. With the tech of the times, how much harder is a full-body fat suit, and how much harder is bulking up the pudgy face while still having it look natural as the actor emotes through it. I’ve heard that it’s actually easier to make a character fatter, and that part of the challenge with old-age makeup is making people appear gaunt. You can put on more layers of latex, but you can’t take away from the skin. At least, not until digital makeup became a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/31 "2025-06-16T19:49:01Z")
I couldn’t get the links to work… But I like the real Don Ameche to the “old” Don Ameche from Heaven Can Wait. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/32 "2025-06-16T20:07:58Z")
[![](https://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w360/files/images/film/photos/162/118/162118583_8f9681.jpg) ](https://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w360/files/images/film/photos/162/118/162118583_8f9681.jpg) [![](https://anniversaire-celebrite.com/upload/250x333/don-ameche-250.jpg) ](https://anniversaire-celebrite.com/upload/250x333/don-ameche-250.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 18, 2025, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/33 "2025-06-18T11:43:32Z")
We’ll never know how accurate the old age makeup on John Belushi was, sadly [https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-belushi-dances-on-snl-graves/](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-belushi-dances-on-snl-graves/) ---
**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:** [June 18, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/34 "2025-06-18T13:55:51Z")
Master makeup artist Dick Smith, who aged Dustin Hoffman for _Little Big Man_, similarly aged David Bowie (in several stages) for **The Hunger**. > **[Makeup Effects for The Hunger](https://theasc.com/articles/makeup-effects-for-the-hunger)** > > “Doing the series of makeup progressions on Bowie was the main reason why I took the film, because that opportunity is so rare,” says makeup expert Dick… [https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/david-bowie-john-blaylock-production-made-dick-sm-1382-c-59a4f6aba4](https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/david-bowie-john-blaylock-production-made-dick-sm-1382-c-59a4f6aba4) Again, sadly, because Bowie died at age 69 we’ won’t know hiw accurate this was. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/35 "2025-06-18T13:58:27Z")
Sean Connery, aged for the closing scenes in **Zardoz** , actually looks pretty much like older Sean Connery. (about 2 minutes in) > [@](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCKs8iyPD6Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCKs8iyPD6Y) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/36 "2025-06-18T18:07:03Z")
[![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcmL5GsViZ8ItV_sd-0eu95a0G8g8gNKGGa4OZ-n3DHFVmAQH6dkJ7Xshdu4u_yy7zZYVhuTskqd4Z26oyIh4_rNHnjLlTip70nAGb7-2R_o2PF3rlMS-U2I8_scE-VAnbwEe1aXlUJ4/s1600/Zardoz+(35).jpg) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcmL5GsViZ8ItV_sd-0eu95a0G8g8gNKGGa4OZ-n3DHFVmAQH6dkJ7Xshdu4u_yy7zZYVhuTskqd4Z26oyIh4_rNHnjLlTip70nAGb7-2R_o2PF3rlMS-U2I8_scE-VAnbwEe1aXlUJ4/s1600/Zardoz+(35).jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552/37 "2025-06-18T18:53:53Z")
Semi-related: they should get Wil Wheaton to refilm all the Stand By Me scenes with Richard Dreyfuss and splice them into the movie. Has something like that ever been done? Maybe George Lucas putting Hayden Christensen into Return of the Jedi would count? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-in-old-makeup-versus-when-they-really-were-old/1019552.md?page=1)