Makeup Makeovers in the Movies

With the help of old-fashioned prosthetics and a little Method acting, Steve Carell's physical transformation into the troubled, real-life millionaire John du Pont is just one of the much-talked about aspects of 'Foxcatcher.' As the movie continues to build awards buzz, lead by Carell's performance, here's a roundup of other remarkable achievements in movie makeup.

In something of a precursor to 'Sin City,' director/star Warren Beatty adapted another crime comic filled with weirdos. Beatty didn't disguise his own good looks, but check out Al Pacino (center, pointing at Madonna) and his costars.

The first 'Sin City' raised the bar for prosthetic makeup. Mickey Rourke's character, Marv, is what usually comes to mind; but for sheer freakiness, our vote goes to Nick Stahl's Yellow Bastard.

The entire cast takes on multiple roles in this film, which unfolds across six separate storylines. Here's Halle Berry as a German-Jewish woman in the 1930s; she plays six characters in 'Cloud Atlas,' each with a different ethnicity.

John Hurt's metamorphosis into disfigured Englishman Joseph Merrick ("John" in the film) was a triumph of both physical performance and makeup design. The latter, in fact, led to the establishment of the Best Makeup Academy Award in 1981.

The first recipient of the Best Makeup Oscar was the legendary Rick Baker, who would go on to win half a dozen more. Baker's work on this film still holds up, more than 30 years later. 

Like 'The Elephant Man,' the Oscar-winning prosthetics in 'Mask' turned Eric Stoltz into Roy "Rocky" Dennis, a teenager who suffered from a skull deformity called lionitis. We're still not sure which of these movies makes us cry more.

That's former football star John Matuszak as the lovable Sloth. No Oscar nominations for this '80s classic, alas, but the prosthetic makeup job is still excellent.

Ve Neill is another big name in movie makeup. She won her first Oscar for 'Beetlejuice' (1988) and her second for transforming the late Robin Williams into the bogus nanny of the title.

A milestone in the long-running collaboration between Eddie Murphy and Rick Baker: the makeup master worked with Murphy in five other comedies -- most notably the 'Nutty Professor' films -- but only 'Life' won the Best Makeup Oscar.

It took some major wizardry to turn the drop-dead gorgeous Charlize Theron into the drop-dead frightening serial killer, Aileen Wuornos. Apart from the eyelids and teeth, no other prosthetics were employed.

The chaotic approach to the Joker's hair and makeup not only helped the late Heath Ledger disappear into the character, it altered our expectations of how the iconic Batman villain is supposed to look.

There could be a whole separate category for alien makeup: 'Men in Black,' 'Buckaroo Banzai,' 'They Live' -- the list goes on and on. But here's to the underrated sci-fi drama that starred Louis Gossett Jr. as a "Drac."

All Nicole Kidman had to do was don a fake nose and voila, she became Virginia Woolf. Other famous fake movie schnozzes: Jack Nicholson in 'Hoffa,' Steve Carell in the upcoming 'Foxcatcher' and Steve Martin in 'Roxanne.'

For many, this remains the definitive adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. Charles Laughton's Quasimodo makeup was designed by Perc Westmore; the Westmores dominated the Hollywood makeup industry for generations.

Jack Pierce was the head of Universal's makeup department, and he's the man behind many of the studio's Golden Age creatures: The Mummy, the Wolf Man and the classic Boris Karloff version of Frankenstein's Monster.

Silent star Lon Chaney was called "The Man of a Thousand Faces" for his extraordinary talents as both actor and makeup artist. His ghoulish Phantom remains his best-known creation.