# The Actor is WAY better looking than the real life person being portrayed in the film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508 "2009-03-06T10:33:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/1 "2009-03-06T10:33:15Z")
In most cases, except perhaps in the case of a bio-film about someone specifically known for good looks, the actors in bio-films tend to be better looking than the real life people they are portraying. After all, they _are_ actors. It’s a self-selecting profession favoring folks who are at least presentable. So, I’m not looking for a list of actors who are better looking than the person they are portraying. That would cover nearly every actor in every bio-pic ever:[ul] [li]Will Smith is better looking than Muhammad Ali, but not by much. Ali was actually a pretty handsome man.[/li][li]Jim Carry is better looking than Andy Kaufman, but really not by much.[/li][/ul]These are examples that would NOT COUNT for the purposes of this Thread. No, what I am looking for is a list of actors who are WAY better looking than the person they are portraying. Thread inspired by a photo that I saw of Bonnie and Clyde on the front page of USA Today yesterday. I looked at the photo and thought, “Wow, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were SO MUCH better looking than Bonnie and Clyde!”. So, to start the ball rolling, I’ll offer:[ul] [li]The aformentioned Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as being WAY better looking than Bonnie and Clyde.[/li][li]Jeffrey Wright was WAY better looking than Jean-Michel Basquiat.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/2 "2009-03-06T11:26:27Z")
Charlize Theron is WAY better looking than [Aileen Wuornos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos). Probably a bit outside of what you had in mind, I realize, but I’ll bet a dollar that’s the widest range between homely and jaw droppingly beautiful you’re gonna get. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/3 "2009-03-06T11:38:15Z")
I was going to say [Russell Crowe as John Nash](http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807426893/photo/235942) but it turns out the [young John Nash](http://www.umpa.ens-lyon.fr/~cvillani/solutions.html) (third picture down) wasn’t half bad looking. I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying that I think June Carter Cash, even in youth, was a homely woman on the outside. You certainly couldn’t say the same of Reese Witherspoon. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/4 "2009-03-06T12:29:39Z")
Angeline Jolie is far better looking than [Christine Collins](http://getdagoss.com/images/Christine%20Collins%20Changeling%20Angelina%20Jolie%202.jpg), the woman she portrayed in _Changeling_. I found Angie’s huge, bright red lips quite distracting in that movie, I have to say. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/5 "2009-03-06T12:43:26Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Charlize Theron is WAY better looking than [Aileen Wuornos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos). Probably a bit outside of what you had in mind, I realize, but I’ll bet a dollar that’s the widest range between homely and jaw droppingly beautiful you’re gonna get. Similarly, Nicole Kidman vs [Virginia Woolf](http://www.tkinter.smig.net/QueenMarie/VirginiaWoolf/images/VirginiaWoolf.jpg). They did a good job of uglifying Nicole. I am quite shocked that the proposed movie of _Shantaram_ is to star Johnny Depp as [Gregory david Roberts](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200605/r86567_254891.jpg), particularly as part of his emotional journey in the book is based on the fact that he is “an ugly man”. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/6 "2009-03-06T13:30:21Z")
[Garbo](http://web.ukonline.co.uk/classic.jsrpages/classic/garbo/garbo25.jpg) - [Queen Christina](http://www.jamd.com/image/g/51245344) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/7 "2009-03-06T13:33:28Z")
Natalie Portman portrayed Anne Frank on Broadway. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/8 "2009-03-06T14:37:08Z")
[Robert Walker](http://www.robertwalkertribute.com/Images/Robert-Walker.jpg) played [Jerome Kern](http://classicvinyl.biz/files/images/Jeromekern.jpg). [Daniel Hugh Kelly](http://www.gazillionmovies.com/Actor/D/Da/Pictures/daniel-hugh-kelly.jpg) played [Steven Sohmer](http://j.bdbphotos.com/pictures/Y/0/Y0C6H6.jpg), then-husband of soap star Deidre Hall, in a biopic he produced on Hall. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/9 "2009-03-06T14:49:56Z")
[Salma Hayek.](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2008/08/08-15/salma-hayek-picture-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/archive/2008/08/14/salma-hayek-is-a-passionate-mama.aspx&usg=__2cwvQkDlAPIIDtn0IVyNd4iTBDs=&h=490&w=376&sz=53&hl=en&start=18&um=1&tbnid=sL0JG_4swCCGqM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsalma%2Bhayek%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1) [Frida Kahlo.](http://onechick.com/smog/images/frida_kahlo.jpg) Kahlo wasn’t hideous. But Hayyyyyyek. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/10 "2009-03-06T14:58:10Z")
Denzel Washington is much better looking than [Frank Lucas](http://thecomebackgirl.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/nicky-barnes_frank-lucas.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/11 "2009-03-06T15:04:34Z")
George Hamilton as Evel Kneivel ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/12 "2009-03-06T15:06:42Z")
[Mark Harmon](http://gyma.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/young-mark-harmon.jpg) is much better looking than [Ted Bundy](http://shamisen.i.ph/photo/d/269-2/Ted_Bundy_4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/13 "2009-03-06T15:09:21Z")
Julia Roberts is way better-looking than Erin Brockovich. Oh, and Bob Woodward didn’t look anything like Robert Redford. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/14 "2009-03-06T15:10:31Z")
Ray Liotta looks much better than Henry Hill in Goodfellas. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/15 "2009-03-06T15:12:26Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Ray Liotta looks much better than Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Similarly, Lorraine Bracco looked better than Hill’s actual wife, Karen. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/16 "2009-03-06T15:14:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Natalie Portman portrayed Anne Frank on Broadway. Anne Frank was cute as hell. You have to remember that, in the pictures which commonly circulate around, she was on a starvation diet. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/17 "2009-03-06T15:16:19Z")
James Caan was waaaay better looking than songwriter/impresario Billy Rose, whom he played in “Funny Lady.” Julie Andrews was FAR prettier and more feminine than the real Maria von Trapp. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/18 "2009-03-06T15:19:10Z")
[Gary Cooper.](http://www.livingstonoutloud.com/archives/1_6/images/cooper.jpg)[Alvin York](http://www.medalofhonor.com/AlvinYorkSitting.jpg). [Brad Pitt.](http://climateprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/brad_pitt.jpg) [Jesse James.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Jesse_james_portrait.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/19 "2009-03-06T15:20:49Z")
Emily Blunt as young Queen Victoria. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/20 "2009-03-06T15:35:15Z")
Greer Garson was a lot better looking than Marie Curie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508.md?page=2)