19 Actors Who Looked Exactly Like Famous People They Played

People enjoy watching biographical movies and TV shows about important historical figures. These productions tell their stories and actors bring them to life by acting like them. Although finding actors who look like the real person is rare, casting directors have improved and actors also imitate their behavior and voice to make the portrayal more authentic.

1. Ed McVey as Prince William, The Crown

2. Lily James as Pamela Anderson, Pam & Tommy

3. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody

4. Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, The Runaways

5. Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything

6. Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo, Frida

7. Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan, I’m Not There

8. Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen

9. Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs, Battle of the Sexes

10. Geoffrey Rush as Alberto Giacometti, Final Portrait

11. Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter

12. James Franco as James Dean, James Dean

13. Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, Milk

14. Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Bohemian Rhapsody

15. Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin

16. Joe Mazzello as John Deacon, Bohemian Rhapsody

17. Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla, Selena

18. Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

19. Matthew Broderick as Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Glory

Actors who resemble the characters they play have an advantage in bringing their roles to life on screen. It adds authenticity and can be a career-defining moment for them.