# Stars unrecognizable in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175 "2006-10-27T21:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/41 "2006-10-30T15:12:28Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Gary Oldman is often hard to spot. I missed him completely in [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304141/). [/QUOTE] Oh wow. I’ll second that one. I knew Sirius Black was played by someone I’d seen before, but for some reason I didn’t make the connection. I think I’m used to seeing Oldman play through-and-through rotten characters like Zorg (Fifth Element), Zachary Smith (Lost in Space 1998 remake) and Stansfield (Léon). ---
**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 30, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/42 "2006-10-30T15:20:32Z")
Gene Hackman isn’t quite unrecognizable in {b]Young Frankenstein\*\* – once you know it’s him. I know the first time I saw it, I didn’t know him, but upon seeing it again, once I read his name in the credits at the end, it was obvious, and I don’t know how I missed him. I’m surprised by the appearance of Sarah Jessice Parker in **Hocus Pocus**. I swear that she looks completely different from herself in **sex in the City**. **Waltrer Brennan** is also unrecognizable in **the Invisible Man** , as is **Clint Eastwood** in **The Return of the Creature** and as a pre-Firefox pilot in **Tarantula**. How about Torin Thatcher (the evil magiciann in **Seventh Voyage of Sinbad** and **Jack the Giant Killer** , the reverend in **Hawaii** , and the Prosecutor in **Witness for the Prosecution** in **The Man Who Could Work Miracles**? It’s the only role I know where he has _hair_. ---
**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 30, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/43 "2006-10-30T16:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=E. Thorp] It took me a few viewings of **This is Spinal Tap** to recognize Dana Carvey. [/QUOTE] I didn’t recognize him at all as bad son George Kellogg in _The Road to Wellville_, until I looked it up for that nakedness thread. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/44 "2006-10-30T17:03:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Oh wow. I’ll second that one. I knew Sirius Black was played by someone I’d seen before, but for some reason I didn’t make the connection. I think I’m used to seeing Oldman play through-and-through rotten characters like Zorg (Fifth Element), Zachary Smith (Lost in Space 1998 remake) and Stansfield (Léon). [/QUOTE] Add Jim Gordon in Batman Begins to Oldman’s, “that was him?” moments. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/45 "2006-10-30T17:09:18Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Gary Oldman is often hard to spot.. [/QUOTE] I knew that he was in Batman Begins, but I couldn’t recognize him. Maybe his playing a good guy threw me for a loop. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/46 "2006-10-30T17:11:42Z")
I saw James Earl Jones in **The Great White Hope** long after seeing him in **Field of Dreams** and all the Tom Clancy flicks. The crazy thing is that his head stayed the same size through all that! It was huge even when he was all wiry an muscular! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/47 "2006-10-30T17:18:52Z")
[QUOTE=mamboman] For whatever reason, I must have watched “Anchorman” 10 times before I recognised Tim Robbins. And he had the coolest lines in the whole film! mm [/QUOTE] I had seen **Top Gun** several times before I realized that Tim Robbins had a very significant role in the film. Most of the time he has the helmet and O[sub]2[/sub] mask on, but at the final scene on the aircraft carrier he is very reconizable. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > I watched Zack Ward in the TV show “Titus,” finding him vaguely familiar, until I discovered he played Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story. Man, that is hilarious! I never picked up on that before - but I can picture both characters in my head and you are definetly right. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/48 "2006-10-30T17:26:12Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] It seems a lot of people are surprised to find out that’s David Bowie as Tesla in “The Prestige”. [/QUOTE] I actually felt a jolt when I noticed that was Bowie. Took me out of the movie for a minute. Then I had to whisper it to my wife. “That’s David Bowie!” “Whu? Where?” “Right there! Tesla!” :eek: He was great. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/49 "2006-10-30T17:59:50Z")
I watched almost a full season of 2 and a Half Men before my husband clued me in that the reason I recognized Alan is because he was “Duckie” from Pretty in Pink. :smack: I also spent the entirety of Way of the Gun trying to figure out where I knew Longbaugh from. It wasn’t until I was driving home from the theater that it hit me; Dr. Gonzo! Man, he looked a lot different. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/50 "2006-10-30T19:10:30Z")
Patrick Stewart in [I Claudius](http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery2/GalleryTV/TVE167-00000005-16548.GIF) as Sejanus. (Where did that hair go?) ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/51 "2006-10-30T19:12:39Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] I saw James Earl Jones in **The Great White Hope** long after seeing him in **Field of Dreams** and all the Tom Clancy flicks. The crazy thing is that his head stayed the same size through all that! It was huge even when he was all wiry an muscular! :eek: [/QUOTE] James Earl Jones is also the bombardier in Dr. Strangelove (1964). I didn’t recognize him when he first appeared, but as soon as he spoke you knew who it was. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/52 "2006-10-30T19:17:21Z")
Brad Pitt in **Kalifornia**. Creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/53 "2006-10-30T20:08:18Z")
^^^Back to the propman, more than likely. I think Stewart revealed that he went bald at nineteen. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/54 "2006-10-30T20:09:26Z")
Oops, was referring above to Patrick Stewart’s hair, didn’t realize the thread had gone to two pages. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/55 "2006-10-30T22:23:30Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Somewhere in Zombies Of The Stratosphere, a young Leonard Nimoy stalks about in a cheesy costume, & I simply cannot pick him out of the crowd. He’s the martian who tells Larry (aka Rocketman) where the bomb is located. Y’know, the bomb that will destroy Earth so Mars can take it’s place. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/56 "2006-10-30T22:26:44Z")
It took a few viewings of _Almost Famous_ for me to realize that the band’s new manager is played by Jimmy Fallon. He didn’t suck or try to be wacky, so I never knew it was him. ---
**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 30, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/57 "2006-10-30T22:28:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Y’know, the bomb that will destroy Earth so Mars can take it’s place. Don’t Martians need an Iludium Q-37 Space Modulator to do that? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/58 "2006-10-30T22:45:16Z")
I’m so used to seeing **John Voight** in movies nowdays that it was a shock to see him so young when I caught _Deliverance_ on TV the other day. Same goes for **Vince Vaughn**. He’s been in so many movies lately that when I saw him again in _Swingers_ he just looked so thin. And even though he stars in the film _Swingblade_, **Billy Bob Thorton** does not look or sound like any of his recent roles (where he seems to play himself) in that movie. ---
**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 30, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/59 "2006-10-30T23:43:18Z")
I have to consciously remind myself that Eli Wallach (who was just in last week’s _Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip_ as a doddering old man) was Tuco in _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175/60 "2006-10-31T01:06:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sir Rhosis] ^^^Back to the propman, more than likely. I think Stewart revealed that he went bald at nineteen. Sir Rhosis [/QUOTE] IMDB says he began to lose his hair at 19. He was 36 when the picture was taken, 5 years later when he was in Excalibur he still had side hair. So possibly their was help from the prop department but much of that hair was likely still his own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-unrecognizable-in-movies/378175.md?page=2)