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Get ready to witness the magic of movie makeup! Join us as we explore some of Hollywood's most jaw-dropping character transformations that left actors utterly unrecognizable. From historical figures to terrifying monsters and beloved fantasy creatures, these on-screen disguises push the boundaries of special effects, completely immersing stars in their roles and surprising audiences with their incredible physical changes. Prepare to see your favorite performers like never before, side by side with their incredible on-screen counterparts.
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00:00Now what do you think?
00:02You think I'm qualified?
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at movie stars who completely disappeared under makeup to inhabit a very different character.
00:11Spoilers are included.
00:13Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade.
00:17It's not working. I need to go older.
00:21Dick Van Dyke, Mary Poppins.
00:23Mary Poppins, you look beautiful.
00:27Do you really think so?
00:28Cross my heart you do.
00:30Like the day I met you.
00:31You look fine too, Bert.
00:33Everyone remembers Mary Poppins' cockney sidekick Bert, thanks to a charismatic turn from Dick Van Dyke.
00:39However, some of the less discerning among us may have missed the resemblance between Bert and old Mr. Dawes from the bank.
00:46The young actors playing Jane and Michael weren't told during filming that the unsteady old gentleman was only Van Dyke in disguise.
00:54Excellent.
00:56Well, can I always use it?
00:58I always use more money to put the work for the bank, can't we, boy?
01:02His name was even hidden in the credits, where he appears as Navkid Keyed, an anagram of his name.
01:09Over 50 years later, the 92-year-old Van Dyke returned to dance on tables in Mary Poppins Returns, playing Mr. Dawes Jr.
01:16The family resemblance is uncanny, but this time there's a lot more spring in his step.
01:22All your life comes with a lifetime guarantee, as you...
01:34Eddie Murphy, The Nutty Professor
01:36German club, ha ha ha.
01:39Well, you've still been hitting them Happy Meals, huh?
01:40You haven't changed an inch.
01:42Whether he's playing a talking donkey or a Beverly Hills cop, Eddie Murphy is nothing if not versatile.
01:49In The Nutty Professor, he showcased his chameleon-like acting talents, playing the kind-hearted Professor Sherman Klump and his devious alter ego Buddy Love.
01:58If that wasn't enough, Professor Klump shared a few scenes with multiple members of his extended family, who were also played by Murphy.
02:06And tell you something else, I don't know why everybody's trying to lose weight in the first place.
02:11Ain't everybody supposed to be the same size, they're supposed to be all different.
02:13The makeup team should take their share of the credit for transforming the actor into three generations and two different genders of Klump's.
02:20It's comedy, so the performance and the makeovers are heightened, but those chaotic dinner scenes still show off Murphy's impressive range.
02:28But I learned one thing from Buddy, and I learned that life is not about being happy about how much you weigh, but just being happy with yourself.
02:39Bill Skarsgård, it.
02:41Do you want a balloon too, Georgie?
02:43I'm not supposed to take stuff from strangers.
02:47Oh, well, I'm Pennywise the Dancing Cloud.
02:53Pennywise?
02:55Yes, me, Georgie.
02:56Georgie, meet Pennywise.
03:01Now we aren't strangers.
03:03If you're going to play an iconic horror villain like Pennywise, you really have to commit.
03:08Taking over from Tim Curry who originated the part back in 1990, Bill Skarsgård really went for it.
03:15The handsome Swedish actor is almost unidentifiable as Stephen King's terrifying killer clown.
03:21He's ghostly white makeup, wig, and prosthetics are relatively simple, but they still paint a sinister picture.
03:36In addition to the makeup, Skarsgård took inspiration from animal behaviors, most notably hyenas, to help shape Pennywise's movement and mannerisms.
03:46He also cites Heath Ledger's Joker as an influence, but that creepy smile is all his own.
03:52Do you mind, uh, just for that camera right there, the three, yeah, there we go.
03:58Margot Robbie, Mary Queen of Scots.
04:01I will kneel before you if I must.
04:04You would make no difference.
04:06You are safe here in England.
04:15That's all I can offer.
04:17When Margot Robbie was first announced as Greta Gerwig's Barbie, she seemed like the obvious choice.
04:23But not all of her roles have been so glamorous.
04:26In Mary Queen of Scots, the Australian actress played against type as an aging Queen Elizabeth I.
04:32The film covers roughly 25 years in the life of the Virgin Queen, who famously used face powder made from white lead.
04:40You were right when we spoke a half-lifetime ago.
04:44You said the day would come.
04:46And that day has come.
04:48This toxic beauty routine became more of a fixture towards the end of her life.
04:53And as the film wears on, Robbie gradually disappears under pockmarks and prosthetics.
04:58With bright red wigs and painted face, it's easy to suspend our disbelief and see the English Queen, not the Aussie movie star.
05:06The matter of choice in marriage is perhaps a matter best left to God.
05:13She is formidable, madam.
05:17We should marry her to someone loyal to our Queen.
05:21Someone you control.
05:23Colin Farrell, The Batman.
05:25Like Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell is usually more of a romantic lead.
05:45But lately, he's followed in the footsteps of many an aging heartthrob and entered his Weirdos and Villains era.
05:51In The Batman, Farrell takes on one of the caped crusaders' most memorable foes, the Penguin.
05:58It's La... La... right there.
06:01What is this, Riddler? Stupid or something?
06:03Jesus.
06:04Look at you two.
06:06Wild's greatest detectives!
06:08The character has previously been portrayed by Danny DeVito, who camped up the role in Tim Burton's Batman Returns.
06:14However, Farrell takes a more grounded approach to suit the grittier tone of this reboot.
06:19His Penguin is an old-school gangster type, with a beak of a nose and a limp that gives him a penguin-like waddle.
06:26In full makeup and costume, Farrell was unrecognizable on set.
06:31The makeup and hairstyling team bagged a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
06:35Just a goddamn rat.
06:38What'd you say?
06:40Enjoy your night at Blackgate, Carmine.
06:43Probably be your last.
06:44Oh, so you're a big man now, Oz, huh?
06:48Maybe I am.
06:49Doug Jones, Pan's Labyrinth.
06:51Doug Jones has spent so much of his career buried under makeup and prosthetics that you might struggle to pick his real face out of a lineup.
07:07From Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus to the unusual love interest of The Shape of Water, Jones has a knack for making otherworldly characters feel human.
07:16He has often collaborated with Guillermo del Toro, most famously in Pan's Labyrinth, where he plays both the fawn and the pale man.
07:25I, I, I, I've had so many names, old names, that only can pronounce the wind and the trees.
07:39Using practical makeup techniques applied over a green screen suit, the award-winning makeup team transformed Jones into two distinct and frightening characters.
07:49With The Pale Man in particular, he created the film's most striking and memorable image.
07:55Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
08:10We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be!
08:18Stepping into the shoes of a historical figure is always going to be a challenge for an actor,
08:23but it's magnified when we move into the 20th century.
08:27Darkest Hour follows British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
08:31whose physical appearance, mannerisms, and voice are all well documented.
08:36Brave, good, true citizens of this kingdom, and I argued strongly that it was idle to think,
08:43if we tried to make peace now, we should get better terms than if we fought it out.
08:49Movie-goers, especially in the UK, will have expected to see the formidable politician faithfully replicated.
08:56In real life, Gary Oldman looks nothing like Churchill, but the makeup artists worked their magic.
09:02The final result is un-unnervingly good.
09:05Oldman also turned in an exceptional performance and was rewarded with his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor.
09:19Jim Carrey's elastic expressions are enough to transform his whole face,
09:46but he's always ready to don the makeup and immerse himself in a new quirky character.
09:52As the evil Count Olaf in a series of unfortunate events,
09:55Gary was a man of many disguises.
09:58That's a very volatile animal.
10:01I've been bitten 4,300 times.
10:07Mostly on the face.
10:09A lot of this has been reconstructed.
10:11Playing the Grinch was even more challenging.
10:13Gary remembers his experience in the makeup chair as being buried alive every day.
10:20Aside from facial prosthetics and makeup,
10:22the actor was covered head to toe in green yaks fur
10:25and also needed contacts to enlarge his eyes.
10:29The arduous process reportedly turned Gary into a real-life green meanie,
10:33and his makeup artist needed therapy afterwards.
10:36Charlize Theron, monster.
10:46I don't even write it down, you know, it just stays, right?
10:49It stays right there.
10:50And you should know that I've worked with people all my life.
10:54So I'm real good with people.
10:56And I know how to work a roller dex.
11:00Charlize Theron underwent a serious make-under
11:03to play serial killer Eileen Wuornos.
11:05Her makeup team stripped the life out of her hair,
11:08added sun damage to her skin,
11:10and gelatin on her eyelids to make her look tired.
11:14Theron also gained weight,
11:15shaved her eyebrows,
11:16and wore prosthetic teeth.
11:18But it was her outstanding performance
11:20that had the critics excited.
11:32After engaging in sex work from a young age,
11:35Wuornos gained notoriety
11:37when she murdered seven clients in the space of a year.
11:40The film follows her from her first kill
11:42to her execution in Florida in 2002.
11:46Theron successfully captures something
11:48of Wuornos' unnerving body language,
11:50but also manages to portray her
11:52as more than just the monster of the title.
11:56Every cloud has a silver lining.
11:59Faith can move mountains.
12:02Love will always find a way.
12:06Everything happens for a reason.
12:09Where there's life, there's hope.
12:12Before we unveil our top pick,
12:18here are a few honorable mentions.
12:20Emma Thompson, Nanny McPhee.
12:23She left vanity at the door
12:25to play this less than practically perfect English nanny.
12:28Good evening, Mr. Brown.
12:43I am Nanny McPhee.
12:45Oh, you're...
12:46Of course.
12:49Good heavens.
12:50Robert Carlyle.
12:52Yesterday.
12:53A surprisingly moving cameo
12:55as John Lennon in Another Life.
12:57Can I help?
13:00I don't know.
13:04Are you John?
13:06That's right.
13:09From Liverpool?
13:10That's right.
13:13It's an honor to meet you.
13:15Christian Bale, Vice.
13:17Bale takes on the former U.S. Vice President, Dick Cheney.
13:21Now, maybe I can handle some of the more mundane jobs.
13:26Overseeing bureaucracy,
13:29managing military energy,
13:33foreign policy.
13:35Brad Pitt,
13:36The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
13:38A combination of makeup and CGI
13:40takes the character through an entire lifetime.
13:43What if I told you
13:45that I wasn't getting older,
13:47but I was getting younger
13:48as that body else?
13:50Well,
13:52I think I'm sorry for you.
13:54To have to see everybody you love
13:55die before you do,
13:57it's an awful responsibility.
13:59I never thought about life
14:00or death that way before.
14:02Nicole Kidman,
14:04The Hours.
14:05Her star turn as Virginia Woolf
14:07won Kidman Best Actress at that year's Oscars.
14:11No such obligation exists.
14:13Virginia,
14:13you have an obligation to your own sanity.
14:15I've endured this custody.
14:18Endured this imprisonment.
14:20Oh, Virginia.
14:21I am attended by doctors.
14:23Everywhere.
14:24I am attended by doctors
14:25who inform me of my own interest.
14:28They know your interest.
14:28Before we continue,
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14:46John Hurt,
14:47The Elephant Man.
14:49Hello,
14:50my name is John Merrick.
14:55Hello,
14:56funny.
14:58This moving and acclaimed drama
15:06stars the late John Hurt
15:07as John Merrick,
15:09a 19th century man
15:10who was dubbed the Elephant Man
15:12due to his appearance.
15:13Hurt spent multiple hours
15:15in the makeup chair each day
15:17in an attempt to replicate
15:18the character's physical appearance.
15:20Well, the weight is astonishing
15:21insofar as it was very light.
15:23Oh.
15:23It is like,
15:24it's really,
15:25it's like touching solid air.
15:27And that was one of the great
15:28difficulties of it
15:29because it has to be so accurate
15:30when you're putting it on.
15:31There you are now
15:32in full gear there.
15:3422 separate prosthetics
15:36were applied to his face
15:37and body
15:38based on body casts
15:40of the real Merrick
15:41which had been preserved
15:42in the private museum
15:43of the Royal London Hospital.
15:45The makeup concealed
15:46almost all of the actor's face
15:48and also restricted
15:49his jaw movement
15:50but this didn't stop Hurt
15:52from delivering
15:52a fantastic performance.
15:54Which transformation shocked you the most?
16:14Share your favorites in the comments.
16:16in the comments.
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