14 Actors Whose Real Height Is Starkly Different From How They’re Portrayed in Movies

Usually moviemakers do everything possible to make actors look like the characters they portray. Some actors have to dye their hair, others have to work on their accent or work out in the gym for months. And sometimes they end up having to play a character who is much shorter or taller than them. And if this is the case, moviemakers have to use different tricks to achieve the necessary effect.

Kristen Stewart

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from the film series The Twilight Saga have become an iconic couple. They look so nice together: he is tall and she is slightly shorter. But in reality, the height gap between the 2 actors is much bigger. Kristen is 5’5″ tall, while Robert is 6’1″ tall.

Gillian Anderson

David Duchovny’s height is 6’0¼". So, it’s no wonder that his on-screen partner had to look taller than she really was (5′ 3″). According to Anderson, when their characters entered a room and showed their badges, she had to step up onto something so that she and David were on the same level. By the way, she once turned to the camera, forgot that she was standing on a box, and fell right off it.

Josh Hutcherson

It seems that those responsible for making The Hunger Games managed to disguise the height gap between the 2 lead actors because Josh Hutcherson is much shorter than his co-star Jennifer Lawrence. He’s 5′ 5″, and she’s 5′ 9″. Josh, however, is totally fine with being a shorty, and even jokes about it.

Daniel Radcliffe

This is another example of how moviemakers managed to reduce the height gap between the actors to a minimum. In real life, Daniel Radcliffe is much shorter than Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. But according to Radcliffe, his height hasn’t prevented him from building a successful career. For example, Tom Cruise or Dustin Hoffman are short too, but they are great actors and have outstanding careers.

Robbie Coltrane

In the books, Hagrid was twice as tall as a regular human. But even though the actor who portrayed this character was quite tall (6’0¾"), he wasn’t tall enough. Once, the film director of the first 2 Harry Potter movies even complained that he wanted Hagrid to be bigger, but they didn’t have resources or money to create a CGI version of Hagrid. So, they had a rugby player in a gigantic Hagrid suit who worked in the wide shots.

Robert Downey Jr.

In the movie Iron Man, Tony Stark is taller than his assistant, but in real life, Robert Downey Jr. is 5’8″ tall, and Gwyneth Paltrow is 5’9″. Besides, she always wears high heels in the movie.

So, the moviemakers had to exert some effort to make Robert look taller than his co-star. Eventually, Robert had to wear heels. By the way, they say that the actor had to use this trick while filming Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Homes too.

Ingrid Bergman

If you watch the movie Casablanca attentively, you may notice that the height gap between actors Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman changes throughout the movie. The moviemakers did their best to hide the fact that Ingrid was taller than her co-star. So, to create the illusion that it was vice versa, the film director had Bogart stand on boxes or sit on pillows, and in some scenes, he had Bergman slouch down.

Vin Diesel

According to tabloids, there is a feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. And as a result, they refuse to appear on set together. But their mutual scenes in the sixth and seventh movies of the Fast & Furious franchise had to be filmed somehow. And this is what moviemakers came up with: they decided to film the actors separately, and later composite them together in post-production.

At least, this is how they try to explain the scenes where the 2 actors look really weird together. Diesel, for example, towers above Johnson on the screen. However, there are rumors that they tried to make Vin look taller than he really is. It is possible that the same tricks were used when Diesel played opposite John Cena because Vin looks too tall next to John. For your information: Diesel is 5’11″, Dwayne Johnson is 6’5″, and John Cena is 6’1″.

Michael Clarke Duncan

In the movie The Green Mile, Michael Clarke Duncan looked like a giant compared to the other actors. In reality, he was just 2 inches taller than David Morse. We also can’t say that Duncan was a lot higher than Tom Hanks. Duncan was 6’5½", Hanks is 6′, and Morse is 6’3½".

To create an illusion of Duncan being very tall, the moviemakers used different tricks. For example, Coffey’s bed was built shorter in order to make the actor look like a giant on it. The same trick was used on other furniture too.

Scarlett Johansson

Many characters of the Marvel Universe had to go through physical transformations throughout the story. Captain America, for example, was shown short and skinny before he became a superhero, and this was done with the help of computer graphics. And Chris Evans’ co-star Scarlett Johansson had to become taller to look good when playing opposite him. She is 5’3″ tall, while Evans is 6′.

Tom Hardy

To portray villain Bane in the movie The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy had to work hard in the gym and learn to use a special voice box which was designed to make him sound more sinister. Besides, he was made taller to look better next to Christian Bale. Hardy had to wear height-boosting shoes with platforms that were around 3 inches high.

For your information: Hardy is 5’9″ inches, and Bale is 6′.

Miley Cyrus

In the movie The Last Song, Miley Cyrus is shorter than her co-star, Liam Hemsworth, but still the gap is not as big as it is in real life. In reality, the gap is almost 1 foot because Miley is 5’5″, and Liam is 6’4″.

Amanda Seyfried

Another starring duo with a big height gap is Amanda Seyfried (5′ 3″) and Justin Timberlake (5′ 10¾"). While filming the movie In Time, the actress had to wear high heels, even during fight and chase scenes. In an interview, she revealed that she actually wore stunt heels, which are shorter than regular designer heels. Still, it was really challenging for her to run in them.

Reese Witherspoon

When tabloids write about short celebrities, they usually mention Reese Witherspoon, who is 5’1¾". In the movie Water for Elephants, she starred opposite Robert Pattinson. And the moviemakers did a great job because the big height gap between the actors is almost unnoticeable (Pattinson is 6’1″ tall).

Have you experienced any difficulties at work because of your height? If so, what are they?