# Biopic or other non fiction actor who looked most like the person they portrayed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910 "2011-04-10T23:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/21 "2011-04-11T08:26:55Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Jim Carrey looked remarkably like Andy Kaufman. Why do you say Jim Carrey ? It was actually Andy Kaufman. He never died. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/22 "2011-04-11T08:59:26Z")
[Stephen Fry](http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l82l0zgzZO1qzbbvao1_500.jpg) and [Oscar Wilde](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tgYhBPxiaSo/TLzLS3G7moI/AAAAAAAADHU/VKhlykjWtr4/s1600/600full-oscar-wilde.jpg). ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/23 "2011-04-11T09:53:36Z")
I know as fiction this is outside the remit of the OP but [Tony Curran](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6T8CS_5Av0/TArBTnx_eMI/AAAAAAAAFbE/O5I7txUtabs/s1600/d11s01e10_wallpaper_01.1.jpg)deserves a mention for his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in _Doctor Who_. He really was a very good likeness. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/24 "2011-04-11T11:58:51Z")
Several times I have seen articles about Harvey Pekar with accompanying pictures of Paul Giamatti. I can easily tell them apart, but it seems that a lot of editors can’t. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/25 "2011-04-11T12:07:14Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > **Twickster** , I disagree about Helen Mirren and QEII. Their faces are not similar and the strength of her portrayal did not have anything to do with physical resemblance. IMHO. > Roddy Hm, ya think? Could be. Sometimes the actor does such a great job that a few minutes into it you just ignore the lack of resemblance. Yanno, I think that deserves its own thread … ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/26 "2011-04-11T12:26:21Z")
Not 100% a biopic, but [Kevin Spacey](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hcNyZLwJUxI/TMhoQ1zgwuI/AAAAAAAABm0/OL1B86N7t7k/s1600/images.jpeg) as [Jim Williams](http://www.georgiagenealogy.org/wilkinson/williams.jpg) in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” was crazy. He also did a great job capturing his manners/mannerisms and even the accent was good (unlike virtually everyone else in that movie!) ---
**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:** [April 11, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/27 "2011-04-11T13:24:16Z")
[Will Smith and Muhammad Ali](http://www.virginmedia.com/movies/features/best-impersonations.php?page=14) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/28 "2011-04-11T15:30:34Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Not 100% a biopic, but [Kevin Spacey](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hcNyZLwJUxI/TMhoQ1zgwuI/AAAAAAAABm0/OL1B86N7t7k/s1600/images.jpeg) as [Jim Williams](http://www.georgiagenealogy.org/wilkinson/williams.jpg) in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” was crazy. He also did a great job capturing his manners/mannerisms and even the accent was good (unlike virtually everyone else in that movie!) Were you familiar with Jim Williams, Lacunae? ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/29 "2011-04-11T20:23:35Z")
Old-timer checking in…make way. William Devane as JFK Edward Hermann as FDR ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/30 "2011-04-11T21:59:40Z")
Back in the Seventies, there was a pretty good TV biopic about this guy: > **[Vince Lombardi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_lombardi)** > > Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized as one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of all American sports. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years, in addi The casting was perfect, in my opinion: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/4/4953421_bd22ebea1d_b.jpg "Ernest Borgnine as Vince Lombardi") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/vidiot/4953421/) ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/31 "2011-04-11T22:12:47Z")
Hilary Swank playing Amelia Earhart. Amelia [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gkX_mLa_-3U/TJgHHYll70I/AAAAAAAABTM/QGwOaXoC7qY/) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gkX_mLa_-3U/TJgHHYll70I/AAAAAAAABTM/QGwOaXoC7qY/) Hilary [![](https://clarkkent81.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/amelia-horizontal.jpg) ](https://clarkkent81.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/amelia-horizontal.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/32 "2011-04-11T22:36:41Z")
And Hillary Swank also looked quite a bit like Brandon Teena in _Boys Don’t Cry_. There’s a side-by-side as #19 [here](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/galleries/real_to_reel_the_biopics_that_brought_history_to_life/real_to_reel_the_biopics_that_brought_history_to_life.html), along with several other side by side comparisons. It’s surprising how much DeNiro looks like Jake LaMotta. And James Franco has always looked more like James Dean than James Dean does. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/33 "2011-04-11T22:51:18Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > Why do you say Jim Carrey ? It was actually Andy Kaufman. He never died. Are you sure? I always thought it was Tony Clifton. Seriously though, Jim Carrey was \*scarily \*good in that role… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/34 "2011-04-11T23:40:41Z")
Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn in the Aviator. She was spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/35 "2011-04-11T23:55:41Z")
Everyone in [_Downfall_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/) looked amazingly like the person they were playing. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/36 "2011-04-12T00:07:26Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn in the Aviator. She was spot on. Well crap. I just posted this in the other thread, in that I don’t think they _look_ alike in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/37 "2011-04-12T04:55:32Z")
Gary Oldman as Oswald in JFK. Eerily similar. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/38 "2011-04-12T05:38:00Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Back in the Seventies, there was a pretty good TV biopic about this guy: > > [Vince Lombardi - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_lombardi) > > The casting was perfect, in my opinion: > > [Ernest Borgnine as Vince Lombardi | In 1973's TV movie "Lege… | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/vidiot/4953421/) Even better: [Dan Lauria](http://thumbnails.truveo.com/0020/D5/41/D541FB693CF2623FFEE05C_Large.jpg) as Lombardi. Also, [Kevin Spacey](http://www.puremusic.com/73assets/bobby5.jpg) as [Bobby Darin](http://img.listal.com/image/733825/600full-bobby-darin.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/39 "2011-04-12T05:55:22Z")
> [@Ex\_Chemist](#): > > Everyone in [_Downfall_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/) looked amazingly like the person they were playing. _Downfall_ was like watching a video tape of the real events. Despite all the parodies, Bruno Ganz still gave probably the best and most accurate portrayal of Hitler any actor has ever put on screen. He made Hitler human - not sympathetic, just explicable as a human being rather than an otherworldly demon. The movie was a revelation to me. I think part of it was that it was done by Germans in German, but it made me feel like I had a better handle on Hitler and his entourage better than anything else I’ve ever seen or read. Ganz was phenomenal. He should have been nominated for an Oscar. I don’t know why he wasn’t. Even the parody videos wouldn’t be so effective if he wasn’t so believable as Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910/40 "2011-04-12T06:10:03Z")
Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in _Invictus._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopic-or-other-non-fiction-actor-who-looked-most-like-the-person-they-portrayed/577910.md?page=3)