23 Actors Who Nailed Their Biographical Roles

Most actors are chosen for biographical roles because of their close resemblance to the historical figure that’s being portrayed, but there’s so much more to these pictures than that. From the casting director to the makeup team, many people work together to create biopic roles that are as true-to-life as can be.

Many actors love biopic roles because they offer the unique chance to immerse themselves in complex, real-life characters that are (or were) adored (or hated) by millions.


 Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray
Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandella in Invictus
Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There
Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin
Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady
Daniel Day‑Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln

Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors
Ben Kingsley as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Gandhi

Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in Frida
Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler in Downfall
 Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen in Sid and Nancy
Denzel Washington as Malcolm X in Malcolm X
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs In Jobs
Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in Hitchcock
Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla in Selena
Eddie Redmayne And Felicity Jones as Jane And Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything
Hellen Mirren as HM Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen
Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in Milk
Michael Douglas as Liberace In Behind The Candelabra
Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel
James Franco As James Dean In James Dean
Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali in Midnight in Paris