# Who's a better chameleon than Gillian Anderson? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606 "2007-06-19T16:50:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/1 "2007-06-19T16:50:43Z")
We just watched the DVD of [The Last King of Scotland (2006)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/) last night and when the credits rolled I was stunned to realize that the actress playing the role of Sarah was [Gillian Anderson.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000096/) It took my going to IMDB to verify the fact. I had commented to my wife that the actress resembled Virginia Madsen but I had no idea until credits time who she really was. I never watched the _X Files_ on a regular basis on TV but I did see the movie and I saw Gillian in [The House of Mirth (2000)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200720/) where her appearance was close enough to Scully’s for me not to make an issue of it, aside from the fact that her name in the credits was a dead giveaway it was she. (I must have been sidetracked during the opening credits last night since I missed seeing that Gillian was in King.) The point is (and what the title is all about) can you think of other actors whose appearance from role to role varies significantly? The only other one to come to mind for me is Billy Bob Thornton. Who’s a better chameleon than Gillian? If you doubt my evaluation, I challenge you to go through a dozen or so of the photos on IMDB of Gillian. No two are all that much alike. An asset for a character actor, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/2 "2007-06-19T16:56:44Z")
Maybe Sam Rockwell. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/3 "2007-06-19T17:55:41Z")
I’ve watched _Big Trouble_ dozens of times, and I had no idea that Eli on _Freaks and Geeks_ was [the same guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004936/). ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/4 "2007-06-19T18:01:29Z")
Gary Oldman. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/5 "2007-06-19T18:01:47Z")
Love him or hate him, Robin Williams is capable of appearing as distinct characters. [Robin as Teddy Roosevelt](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0477347/Ss/0477347/095.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Tom Dobbs](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0483726/Ss/0483726/f5.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Gabriel Noone](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0448075/Ss/0448075/014.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Sy Parrish](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0265459/Ss/0265459/c91-32.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Andrew Martin](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0182789/Ss/0182789/1?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Jakob Heym](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0120716/Ss/0120716/4?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Sean Maguire](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0119217/Ss/0119217/fcs_JY26_1_01.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Williams,%20Robin%20(I)) [as Parry](http://www.lazydork.com/movies/fisherking.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/6 "2007-06-19T18:05:58Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] Gary Oldman. [/QUOTE] For sure. He can remake his appearance for the role at least as well as Gillian and Billy Bob. One thing I failed to comment on about Gillian is how unprepared she seems to be for photos. That gallery is about 1/5 to 1/10 shots where she doesn’t have the deer-in-the-headlights look. No plastic smile, not glamor shots. Just Gillian. Refreshing. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/7 "2007-06-19T18:16:22Z")
I don’t know about Robin Williams. One always knows its Robin, no matter who he’s trying to be. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/8 "2007-06-19T18:17:21Z")
[Gary Oldman](http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/o/images/003a.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://www.public.iastate.edu/~garden/films/oldman2.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://veritaserum.com/movies/actors/images/oldmang2.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://www.geocities.com/frenchcontessa/frenchcontessa/oldieframed.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://hemsidor.torget.se/users/b/boatman/pictures/smile.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Gary-Oldman-Photograph-C10111249.jpeg) [Gary Oldman](http://spectacle.provocateuse.com/images/spectacles/gary_oldman_10.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://spectacle.provocateuse.com/images/spectacles/gary_oldman_01.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://spectacle.provocateuse.com/images/spectacles/gary_oldman_02.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://spectacle.provocateuse.com/images/spectacles/gary_oldman_04.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/dreamworks_skg/the_contender/gary_oldman/contender.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://screampunch.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/gary_oldman_licking.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://home.the-wire.com/cab/jpg/vial2.jpg) [Gary Oldman](http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/697/697353/oldman-leon1_1142987344.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/9 "2007-06-19T19:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] I don’t know about Robin Williams. One always knows its Robin, no matter who he’s trying to be. [/QUOTE] True, but this is about appearances, not acting ability. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/10 "2007-06-19T19:26:54Z")
I think Val Kilmer is able to morph well from role to role. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/11 "2007-06-19T19:27:46Z")
The only correct answer here is Toni Collette. [Toni Collette](http://www.amanandamouse.com/abbanaticfolder/murielsweddingfolder/muriel.gif). [Toni Collette](http://www.variagate.com/collett3.jpg). [Toni Collette](http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/122954/2133673/2145156/060725_MOV_SunshineEX.jpg). [Toni Collette](http://www.popentertainment.com/cameron_diaz5.jpg) (in glasses). [Toni Collette](http://www.undercover.com.au/pics/tonicollette.jpg)! And the remarkable changes in appearance don’t even hint at the way she changes her accent and movement for each part. She’s really amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/12 "2007-06-19T19:31:09Z")
[QUOTE=Hung Mung] I think Val Kilmer is able to morph well from role to role. [/QUOTE] Another good one. Of course you never get a really good view of his Elvis in _True Romance_ but his Jim Morrison is uncanny. Another woman to come to mind in the meantime is Cate Blanchett. The Toni Collette mention from **Fiver** made me see her in my mind’s eye and she can go all the way from Plain Jane through Katherine Hepburn to Stone Fox. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/13 "2007-06-19T19:41:13Z")
Lucy Lawless can, and does, change her look so completely that people who worked with her for years on Xena, have no idea who she is while she’s talking to them. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/14 "2007-06-19T19:42:42Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] Lucy Lawless can, and does, change her look so completely that people who worked with her for years on Xena, have no idea who she is while she’s talking to them. [/QUOTE] Cite? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/15 "2007-06-19T19:48:08Z")
Another vote for Gary Oldman. If you had seen both _JFK_ and _Bram Stoker’s Dracula,_ would you guess, without seeing the credits, that the same actor was playing Lee Harvey Oswald and Dracula? ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/16 "2007-06-19T20:03:20Z")
I don’t know about Lucy Lawless’s coworkers, but she’s surprised me many times. Her entry on IMdB has about 30 pictures of her and many of them made think, “Whoa.” ---
**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:** [June 19, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/17 "2007-06-19T20:04:16Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Another vote for Gary Oldman. If you had seen both _JFK_ and _Bram Stoker’s Dracula,_ would you guess, without seeing the credits, that the same actor was playing Lee Harvey Oswald and Dracula? [/QUOTE] To me, he’ll always be Rosencrantz. or Guildenstern. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/18 "2007-06-19T21:01:26Z")
Nice **Robot Arm** nice. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/19 "2007-06-19T21:10:23Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Another vote for Gary Oldman. If you had seen both _JFK_ and _Bram Stoker’s Dracula,_ would you guess, without seeing the credits, that the same actor was playing Lee Harvey Oswald and Dracula? [/QUOTE] Yeah, no shit. And then when you throw in his portrayals of Commissioner Gordon, Sirius Black, Zorg from the Fifth Element, and the uberbadass in The Professional, plus his character in True Romance (ETA: this one is classic!), and as the devil in that [BMW commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-cbiYzlHOk) (warning: youtube link)… I mean, my fucking God. He’s the answer, but the question is wrong. The question should be “Who’s a better chameleon than Gillian Anderson, and in fact, so good at chameleoning that he is the greatest chameleon of all time?” And **Fiver** , Toni Colette is a great choice. If we, god forbid, lived in a world where Gary Oldman did not exist, you would win this thread. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606/20 "2007-06-19T21:35:38Z")
**Ian Holm** always makes me double-take when I see his name in the credits. I think the only reason that he is not even more well known is due to his chameleon prowess. Even just now, browsing IMDB, I had many :smack: moments never realizing it was him in a past role. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-a-better-chameleon-than-gillian-anderson/408606.md?page=2)