The most memorable family-movie characters are often played by actors who, thanks to talented makeup designers, are barely recognizable on-screen. Johnny Depp, an actor known for his many disguises, transforms himself yet again as the maddest of Mad Hatters in the upcoming Alice Through the Looking Glass. Check out more actors who weren’t afraid of endless hours in the makeup chair to disappear into a role.
1. Ralph Fiennes/Harry Potter series (2001)
It didn’t take a magic spell to turn Ralph Fiennes into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (aka Voldermort) it took prosthetics, makeup and the fact that Fiennes had to shave his head, arms and chest. Visual effects provided the finishing touches to make Fiennes' nose that crazy, scary snakelike shape.
2. Eddie Murphy/The Nutty Professor (1996)
In order for Eddie Murphy to fully round out his Nutty Professor character, the actor wore a fat suit filled with water to make it jiggle. Over a 70-day shoot Murphy had makeup applied for a total of over 200 hours – for several different characters. It was time well spent, the film won the Academy Award for best makeup!
3. Helena Bonham Carter/Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Bonham Carter reprises her red-obsessed role in Alice Through the Looking Glass, opening May 27. To appear in the Alice movies, Helena Bonham Carter endured three hours a day of makeup to get her Red Queen look -- combined with special effects to make her head appear royally huge.
4. Emma Thompson/Nanny McFee (2005)
Getting movie makeup applied isn’t always a pretty job – especially if you’re beautiful British actress Emma Thompson playing the homely Nanny McFee. To get her nasty nanny look, Thompson was made over with a bulbous nose, warts, and of course that protruding snaggletooth.
5. Angelina Jolie/Maleficent (2014)
Known as one of the most gorgeous women in the world, Angelina Jolie still manages to look amazing for her role as Maleficent -- including prosthetic nose, ears and horns, and special effects makeup complete with Lady Gaga-inspired horns.
6. Robin Williams/Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Celebrating a long history of cross-dressing men in movies, the late great Robin Williams embodied the loving Mrs. Doubtfire in the celebrated 1993 film. Although in the movie Williams made his disguise seem easy, in reality it took four hours a day to get his dad-turned-nanny look.
7. Meryl Streep/Into the Woods (2014)
The film adaptation the Broadway musical Into the Woods featured Academy Award-winning Meryl Streep taking on the coveted Witch role. To get her haggard appearance, the three-time Academy Award winner donned a prosthetic chin and forehead and a mouth of fake jagged teeth. A testament to her stellar acting ability, director Rob Marshall said Streep needed "very little makeup" to get the witch look just right.
8. Jim Carrey/How the Grinch Stole Christmas
No wonder the Grinch was in such a crummy mood! Jim Carrey to play the title charter in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas wore a full body suit made of yak hair and spandex. Carrey called wearing the costume, which made it hard for him to even scratch his nose, “A lesson in Zen.”
