What 12 Historical Figures Who We Know Only by Movies Really Looked Like

Watching movies that portray historical figures is quite fascinating. However, we tend to think that these real people looked like the actors portraying them. But did they really?

William Wallace — Mel Gibson (Braveheart)

Isabella of France — Sophie Marceau (Braveheart)

Antonio Salieri — F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus)

Edward I — Patrick McGoohan (Braveheart)

Henry IV — Jeremy Irons (The Hollow Crown)

Richard the Lionheart — Iain Glen (Kingdom of Heaven)

Cecily Neville — Judi Dench (The Hollow Crown)

Suleiman I the Magnificent — Halit Ergenç (Magnificent Century)

Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire — Keira Knightley (The Duchess)

Percy Bysshe Shelley — Douglas Booth (Mary Shelley)

Mary Shelley — Elle Fanning (Mary Shelley)

Imhotep — Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy)

While watching movies or TV series based on books or real life, we don’t think that the actors were many years older than their characters. For example, 54-year-old Alan Rickman played 31-year-old Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.