12 Actors Who Played Their Iconic Roles So Well, We Hardly Could Recognize Them in Other Movies

It was difficult to see Daniel Radcliffe in a role other than Harry Potter, just like it was weird to see Tobey Maguire in a character other than Peter Parker. It must have been strange for them too. But the truth is that, as difficult as it is to accept, actors are constantly looking for challenges in other scripts, and at some point, they leave behind the roles that made them famous.

At Bright Side, we are interested in going a little beyond the emblematic characters of certain celebrities, and in the following list, you can see the movies and TV series they also starred in, and maybe you haven’t ever noticed it before.

1. James McAvoy

In 2005, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was released, where McAvoy played Mr. Tumnus. If we don’t watch it closely, it is difficult to recognize the Scottish actor with that peculiar costume. On the other hand, Professor Xavier, his character in the X-Men saga, looks less ostentatious, but the curious thing is that the actor actually shaved his head to play the role.

2. Freddie Highmore

That innocent little boy who finds the golden ticket in one of the Wonka’s chocolates is none other than a young Freddie Highmore. It was Johnny Depp who recommended Tim Burton to watch the boy, as he had been impressed by his role in Finding Neverland. In Bates Motel, we see him as a grown-up, but with his unblemished looks and features.

3. Logan Lerman

The story of The Butterfly Effect, which starred Ashton Kutcher (Evan) as the protagonist, returns many times to the events of the character’s childhood. The actor who plays the 7-year-old Evan is Logan Lerman, the protagonist of the Percy Jackson stories. Between one movie and the other (the images above), 9 years have passed. On one side, we see a child, and on the other, an adult.

4. Henry Thomas

There is a 36-year difference between one story and the other. Elliott, the lonely 9-year-old boy who forges a particular friendship with an alien, was played by a young Henry Thomas. In The Haunting of Hill House, a horror series produced for Netflix, Henry played Hugh Crain, a house salesman who, along with his wife and 5 children, experiences paranormal events in a very particular mansion.

5. Christopher Lloyd

Who would think that the peculiar Uncle Lucas from The Addams Family — with his bald head, pale skin and dark circles under his eyes — is the same person as Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future? Reading it, it sounds crazy, but when we compare the faces, we see Christopher Lloyd’s features quite clearly. Movie magic at its best!

6. Joseph Mazzello

From running away from dinosaurs to playing bass in the glorious band, Queen, this actor played both Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park and John Deacon in Bohemian Rhapsody. In real life, he is Joseph Mazzello: actor, screenwriter, and film director, born in 1983.

7. Max Thieriot

The rebellious teenager in The Pacifier who looks like a troublemaker but is actually a lover of theater and musical comedy, was played by Max Thieriot, who was 15 years old when this film starring Vin Diesel was released. Dylan Massett, Norman’s (Freddie Highmore) half-brother in Bates Motel, is none other than Max himself.

8. Sarah Jessica Parker

Here’s yet another case of when makeup and cinema do their thing. The youngest of the 3 Sanderson sisters, the witches of Hocus Pocus, is the beautiful actress, Sarah Jessica Parker. Very few people would have guessed that the actress had starred in this classic Disney movie.

9. Elle Fanning

In Daddy Day Care, the Disney movie starring Eddie Murphy, there are many children. Among them was a very eccentric blonde girl who called her mother on her cell phone in a moment of chaos in the nursery. She was a young Elle Fanning, the actress who starred in movies like Super 8 and Maleficent.

10. Andrew Lincoln

Love Actually was characterized by having a choral plot with many stars interacting with each other, as the script intertwines several love stories. One of these characters is a young Andrew Lincoln, the same person who plays Sheriff Rick Grimes, the man who fights against the zombie apocalypse in The Walking Dead.

11. Lisa Edelstein

Lisa Edelstein, who plays Lisa Cuddy, the hospital dean on House, had a supporting role in Daddy Day Care. She appears as the eccentric mother of Crispin, one of the rebellious children in the nursery.

12. Pam Ferris

The unforgettable character is that of Matilda’s school principal, Miss Honey’s wicked aunt, Miss Trunchbull. She was played by Pam Ferris, an actress born in Germany in 1948. Her character in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Marge Dursley, has, perhaps, the same amount of evil; but Harry, just like Matilda, uses magic to teach her a lesson.

In a movie about you, what actor or actress would play you? What physical aspects should he or she change to look more like you?