# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/61 "2009-03-07T10:34:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It was said many times, but T.E. Lawrence “of Arabia” was not at all good looking: > > [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Ljidda.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Ljidda.jpg) Oh, I dunno; in his day, some regarded him as quite attractive from behind. ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/62 "2009-03-07T11:48:02Z")
Mickey Rourke as Charles Bukowski (or his alter-ego, at least): [http://www.mercurycinema.org.au/cteq/bukowski.html](http://www.mercurycinema.org.au/cteq/bukowski.html) Granted, I think this was pre-boxing for Rourke, but he still doesn’t quite approach Bukowski’s special brand of attractiveness. Matt Dillon played him in another film. ---
**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 7, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/63 "2009-03-07T12:49:06Z")
I think pretty much all the actors in Goodfellas look better than the real mobsters. DeNiro and Sorvino are 2 more examples. NYC mobsters are not known for good looks. BTW, I recently saw a show where they had pictures of Karen Hill in the 60s and she looked very good, much better than Henry. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/64 "2009-03-07T18:18:10Z")
> [@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. Jean Smart… also way better looking thatn Aileen Wuornos. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/65 "2009-03-07T18:40:59Z")
**Robot Arm** stole mine. Whe the TV movie about Pancho Barnes came out, I was excited. I had just read a book about Barnes, who was a genuinely fascinating character. The book had plenty of pictures, proving that Pancho was - to put it generously - homely. However, everybody who knew her insisted that she was an attractive person despite her looks. Proof of this was her several very handsome husbands and boyfriends. Imagine my disappointment when I found that Valerie Bertinelli had been cast as Pancho. Bertinilli is physically attractive, of course, but … bland. Which Pancho never was. I always thought Julie Kavner would have been a great casting choice as Pancho Barnes, BTW. She would still have been more attractive than the real Pancho (who really was homely, as I said), but not so much so as to be ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/66 "2009-03-07T18:41:36Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Rhys Meyers was puny once upon a time. (Largely because of a long undiagnosed stomach ulcer for which he had to have surgery several years ago.) [Now, not so much](http://www.obliquity65.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/031907.jpg). Rhys Meyers also started acting at a young age, so the skinny, somewhat androgynous look he has in his early films is partially because he was really just a kid. I believe he was only 18 or 19 when _Velvet Goldmine_ was filmed. Thinking of _Velvet Goldmine_, the character Ewan McGregor plays is not exactly a real person but maybe close enough for this thread. The character is a highly fictionalized composite of Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, and his hairstyle and costumes are clearly based on circa 1973 Iggy Pop. I’d say Ewan McGregor is way better looking than either of these men. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/67 "2009-03-07T20:49:22Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > [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. Wasn’t hideous? She had a _mustache._ Literally. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/68 "2009-03-08T00:10:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Really? He looks quite handsome in these pictures. He’s at least the equal of Peter O’Toole. Posing can do wonders. In other pictures (and paintings) I’ve seen, Lawrence had a REALLY prominent more-than-Leno-esque chin. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/69 "2009-03-08T03:40:50Z")
[John Lone](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0518821/) played China’s last Emperor, [Puyi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/70 "2009-03-08T06:17:10Z")
[Emile Hirsch in “Alpha Dog”](http://www.variagate.com/alphadog.jpg) [Jesse James Hollywood](http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/hscam14688/movie%20blog/jessejameshollywood.jpg) IRL. I know, the names were changed in the movie, but that was basically it. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/71 "2009-03-08T06:30:20Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > I ran across a neat website with photos of actors and the real persons they portrayed: [Reel Faces](http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/americangangster.php). WOW! That is a kick-ass web site, thanks for the link! I could spend hours and hours there. Just the Titanic page is fascinating by itself. I had no idea that there was a black man who died. And to learn that he was traveling with his _white_ wife and two young daughters. Interracial marriage was practically unknown back then. He put them on a lifeboat and stayed behind. So sad. In a cursory look at that site, I’d say Brandon Teena was much better looking than Hilary Swank’s portrayal. Based on the picture in this thread, I also think that Virginia Woolfe was much better looking than Nicole Kidman’s portrayal, though not Nicole in real life. [QUOTE=Colibri] The Black Sox really were an extraordinarily ugly bunch of guys, weren’t they? [/QUOTE] For the most part, yeah, but [Oscar ‘Happy’ Felsch](http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/blacksox/felsch.jpg) was a hunk. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/72 "2009-03-08T06:32:34Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > [John Lone](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0518821/) played China’s last Emperor, [Puyi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi) The real emperor doesn’t look too bad to me, he just had really ugly glasses. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/73 "2009-03-08T06:58:14Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Thinking of _Velvet Goldmine_, the character Ewan McGregor plays is not exactly a real person but maybe close enough for this thread. The character is a highly fictionalized composite of Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, and his hairstyle and costumes are clearly based on circa 1973 Iggy Pop. I’d say Ewan McGregor is way better looking than either of these men. He’s at least a little bit based on Mick Ronson, who was Bowie’s guitarist during the “Ziggy” era. Wild and Ronson fronted bands called “The Rats,” and Bowie notoriously played Ronson’s guitar with his mouth in a manner suggestive of fellatio, similar to a scene with Slade and Wild. Also, Wild was shown as being largely forgotten and embittered toward Slade in the '80s, when Reed was a well-regarded rock icon while Iggy was actually enjoying the greatest commercial success of his career, largely due to Bowie. Ronson, although still an active musician and producer, was the only one of the three who could have reasonably been said to have been toiling in obscurity. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/74 "2009-03-08T07:18:08Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > He’s at least a little bit based on Mick Ronson, who was Bowie’s guitarist during the “Ziggy” era. I’d say McGregor is better looking than Mick Ronson was, too. While the Curt Wild character was partially inspired by Ronson, there’s another minor character who was also obviously based on Mick Ronson: Brian Slade’s guitarist Trevor. (He has the line towards the beginning about how it used to be trendy to wear a long gray coat and listen to Led Zeppelin.) I can’t find a picture of the Trevor character online, but I think the actor did look a good bit like Ronson. They even gave him the same hairstyle. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/75 "2009-03-08T09:26:15Z")
[hijack] > [@](#): > > Mick Ronson A bit of truly trivial trivia: Mick is NOT the father of Mark and [Samantha Ronson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Ronson). I know, so who asked? but that bit of misinformation has somehow gotten put on numerous web pages so I thought I’d do a little pro-active ignorance fighting. [Mark Ronson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ronson), DJ, artist and producer (Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Nikka Costa) and his younger sister [Samantha](http://www.myspace.com/samantharonson), DJ, artist, unwilling focus of gossip and paparazzi, are the step-children of Foreigner guitarist [Mick Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jones_(Foreigner)).[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/76 "2009-03-08T11:54:52Z")
**[HIJACK]** > [@TWDuke](#): > > He’s at least a little bit based on Mick Ronson, who was Bowie’s guitarist during the “Ziggy” era. Wild and Ronson fronted bands called “The Rats,” and Bowie notoriously played Ronson’s guitar with his mouth in a manner suggestive of fellatio I’ve seen Bangles Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson do this (substitute “suggestive of fellatio” with “suggestive of cunnilingus”)- Hoffs on her knees face level with Peterson’s naughty bits, starts with the guitar pick in her hands then with the guitar pick in her mouth. It was _hawt_! **[/HIJACK]** ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/77 "2009-03-08T13:44:53Z")
In “Bully” (one of my favorite movies) based on a true-crime case, the girls involved in the murder of a bully are all really sexy - in real life (you can see the photos of the real people, online) they were quite homely. Also, the movie had Nick Stahl play the role of the bully - in real life he was like 250 pounds of muscle, and Iranian. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/78 "2009-03-09T18:34:03Z")
Not so much a good-looking vs. bad-looking issue, but one of badly-different body types: Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently set to play Theodore Roosevelt: > **[The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt | Adventure, Biography, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480046/)** > > The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt: A look at the formative years of the 26th President of the United States, from his transformation from a privileged New York politician to commander of the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/79 "2009-03-09T20:40:45Z")
[Richard Crenna](http://gfx.filmweb.pl/p/61/55/6155/65808.1.jpg) as [Ross Perot](http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/webpics/Ross_Perot.jpg) ---
**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 9, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actor-is-way-better-looking-than-the-real-life-person-being-portrayed-in-the-film/488508/80 "2009-03-09T20:54:47Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Not so much a good-looking vs. bad-looking issue, but one of badly-different body types: Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently set to play Theodore Roosevelt: > > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480046/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480046/) Wow, that’s really weird. I can’t see him playing Teddy at all. [Previous 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=3) [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=5)