Sometimes actors have to build their characters from scratch. Other times, they are presented with the challenge of playing someone who already lived or is currently living. See how these stars lived up to the challenge...
The King's Speech
Colin Firth stars as King George VI in "The King's Speech". King George VI had not been appointed as king yet, and as part of the initiation, he was required to give a speech. The king suffered from a stutter, and he employed a vocal coach to work on the problem using unorthodox methods.
Ray
Jamie Foxx plays Ray Charles, one of the most famous blues musicians of all time, in this 2004 biopic titled "Ray." This movie is primarily about Ray Charles' disability. He went blind at the age of seven but still managed to fiercely pursue a career as a musician. Foxx won an Oscar for his performance.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man named Jordan Belfort in this 2013 biopic. Belfort owned an investment firm named Stratton Oakmont, which was known as one of the most corrupt firms in Wall Street history. Margot Robbie plays Belfort's wife, and Jonah Hill plays Belfort's business partner.
Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis depicts American president Abraham Lincoln while he was leading the union during the Civil War. The legendary Steven Spielberg stepped out of his sci-fi comfort zone to direct this gritty biopic based on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, written by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Capote
Truman Capote was a legendary novelist and playwright whose life went downhill while writing his true-crime novel, "In Cold Blood". Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays Capote as a broken man who is in an unhealthy relationship with the book he is writing, which eventually leads him to suffer severe personal turmoil. Hoffman won an Oscar for this role.
Goodfellas
This legendary 1990 mafia biopic is based on the life of Henry Hill (as depicted by Ray Liotta) and his time spent working for the mafia. This movie is based on the book "Wiseguy", which was written by Nicholas Pileggi. Although Liotta played the main character, many critics believed that it was the performances by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro that really carried the film to its legendary status.
Catch Me if You Can
Although this story may feel like it's stranger than fiction, Frank Abagnale Jr. was a real person, and he actually did what the movie depicted. Young Leonardo DiCaprio plays the legendary con-man Frank Abagnale Jr., who became famous for impersonating a doctor, lawyer, airline pilot, cementing his status as one of the world's greatest check-forgers in history.
Moneyball
Based on Michael Lewis's 2003 book titled "Moneyball", this movie tells the story of the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane when he joined forces with a genius named Peter Brand to transform a failing baseball team into a success story. Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) shifted the focus of the industry from emotionally drafting players to simply drafting players based on their statistics alone.
Saving Mr. Banks
Tom Hanks plays none other than Walt Disney in this tense and eye-opening film about the cutthroat nature of business in the early days of organized entertainment. Saving Mr. Banks is a behind the scenes look at the tense negotiations between Disney and the author of "Mary Poppins". They were locked in a legal battle over the copyright permissions of the film, and we think you can guess who won the court case.
Gorillas in the Mist
Sigourney Weaver plays Diane Fossey in this 1988 biopic about the author behind the book "Gorillas in the Mist". The book is a documentation of the primatologist Jane Goodall, written by a woman named Diane Fossey, while Goodall took on the western world's intentions to destroy the rainforest, poach endangered animals for their fur, and extinguish the lives of beautiful and intelligent animals.
I'm Not There
This 2007 art film starring Cate Blanchett (and many other actors) was created to document the life and mind of Bob Dylan. The actors changed every time Bob Dylan reached a new point in his life. Dylan served as the primary consultant for this film.
Jobs
This 2013 biopic showcased Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, the tech genius behind Apple, iMac, and the iPhone. The resemblance is quite uncanny! This film follows Jobs' life from 1974 while he was at Reed College until he released the Apple iPod in 2001. This movie was selected by critics to close the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
127 Hours
This 2010 biopic starring James Franco describes the real-life tragedy that befell a man named Aron Ralston. Ralson was hiking in Bluejohn Canton when he fell into a crevice and got his arm trapped under a boulder. Ralston was stuck in the crevice for 127 hours before he managed to saw through his own arm and escape.
Walk the Line
"Walk the Line" is a biopic about the life of Johnny Cash starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Cash struggled deeply in multiple ways throughout his life, and he wrote about those difficulties in both of his autobiographies titled "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography". These books were acquired by 20th Century Fox in 2005, and they acted as the walking script for the movie.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie about the life of Freddie Mercury starring Rami Malek. This movie is focused on the creation and mainstream success of Queen, Mercury's struggle to come to terms with his own sexuality, and Queen's fight to stay relevant in the music industry. Rami Malek secured the Oscar for Best Actor in this flick.
The Social Network
The Social Network is based on a book that was written by Ben Mezrich titled "The Accidental Billionaires", which chronicles the life of Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues as they became the founders of Facebook. Jessie Eisenberg stars as the distraught and removed Mark Zuckerberg as he navigates the world of for-profit engineering. This movie was nominated for eight Oscars and it snagged three of them.
The Theory of Everything
"The Theory of Everything" is a biopic about the life of Stephen Hawking, a legendary physicist and scientific researcher who changed the course of history with his breakthrough theories. Many critics have spoken out against the subject matter because the filmmakers focused more on his romantic life and his illness rather than his massive accomplishments.
The Blind Side
Sandra Bullock plays Lee Ann Touhy in this 2009 film adaptation of Michael Oher's life. If it weren't for Lee Ann Touhy, Michael Oher likely would not have had the opportunity to become a football player, which eventually led him to be drafted to the Baltimore Ravens right out of college. Michael Lewis wrote Michael Oher's biography titled "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game", which eventually became the groundwork for the script up upon which this movie is built,
Hitchcock
Anthony Hopkins stars as the legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in this 2012 biopic about one of the most important filmmakers in history. This movie focuses on the relationship that Hitchcock had with his wife while he made the movie Psycho. Hopkins received massive acclaim from critics, some of whom actually spent time with Hitchcock while he was still making movies.
Ali
Will Smith plays Muhammad Ali in this 2001 film about the trials and tribulations of Muhammad Ali's career. Smith studied boxing, bodybuilding, and Islam in order to get deep into his character. This movie covered ten years of Muhammad Ali's life, in which he won his title back from Sonny Liston, resisted being drafted in the Vietnam War and converted to Islam.
My Week With Marilyn
In 2001, Michelle Williams took on the persona of Marilyn Monroe to document her short, yet bombastic, existence in the Hollywood spotlight. Williams really made an effort to exemplify Monroe's life outside of the glamour and glitz of her perceived Hollywood lifestyle. Very few people knew how deeply Monroe struggled with accepting her lifestyle and appearance before this movie was released.
Milk
This 2008 biopic cast Sean Penn to act out the highlights of Harvey Milk's career. Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in America, and he took office during the 1970s. Milk felt empowered by the counterculture movement in the 1960s to become a politician and activist who fought against the injustices in America.
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich was a law clerk who became an environmental activist when she found out that a billion-dollar corporation was polluting the groundwater in Hinkley, California. Julia Roberts represents her in the film adaptation, which chronicles her brave and dangerous conquest to take on corporate greed. Roberts was awarded an Oscar for her performance.
The Two Popes
Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce star in this biographical drama that took place behind the walls of the Vatican. This is the story about hope Pope Benedict and Pope Francis overcame personal differences to envision a future for the catholic church in modern times.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Will Smith stars in this gut-wrenching biopic about Chris Gardner, a homeless father who attempts to become a stockbroker all while raising his young son. The Pursuit of Happyness will twist your heart in a knot when you learn about the real-life consequences that happen when you lose your house, start anew, and try to make things work without letting the chaos consume you.
The King
In this reimagining of Shakespeare's Henriad tale, The King tells the story of Henry V (played by Tom Glynn-Carney) who is crowned king after both his father and brother die tragically. The film follows Henry V's baser desires, depicting the life of a man who took advantage of the king's ability to drink and canoodle with whomever he wanted, simply because he was a child when he had to accept the role.
Julie and Julia
Amy Adams and Meryl Streep star in this film adaptation of the real-life phenomenon that came from Julie Powell's daily blog, where she documented her methods to recreate every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" cookbook. There are 524 recipes, by the way. This was a tall task at the time, and nobody has attempted it since.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile
Zac Efron stars in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile as the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. Efron lays on the same charm and personality that Bundy actually possessed while he was actively murdering dozens of people. This story is told from the perspective of Bundy's ex-girlfriend.
Eat Pray Love
Julia Roberts stars in this movie based on Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir. Gilbert experienced a life-altering divorce, which prompted her to liquidate all of her assets to travel the world "in search of everything." Roberts does a fantastic job of depicting the emotional journey that Gilbert went through while she ate her way through Italy and mastered the art of meditative prayer in India.
Rain Man
Rain Man tells the story of a used car dealer named Charlie Babbitt who finds out that his recently deceased father left his $3 million fortune to the mental institution where his brother (who he never knew existed) was a patient. Tom Cruise plays Babbit in his quest to get the money, but eventually, he changes his mind when he starts to develop a meaningful relationship with his brother.
Raging Bull
Robert De Niro stars in this biopic about the life of Jake LaMotta. LaMotta was an emotional, but gifted, boxer who rose to fame in the 1980s. He fell in love and fell apart. This movie documents the life of a world-champion boxer while he fights his own inner demons, and leaves his heart in the ring after every match.
Out of Africa
This 1985 biopic is based on the memoir of Baroness Karen von Blixen (who is also known as Isak Dinesen). Meryl Streep plays the Danish aristocrat who purchases a coffee plantation in Africa, where she meets a big-game hunter (played by Robert Redford) with whom she falls in love. This movie won Best Picture in 1985.
Seabiscuit
In 2003, a biopic about a wealthy racehorse owner who hires a boxer-turned-jockey (played by Toby Maguire) to ride his weak horse to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap of 1940. This movie is a tale about Depression-era America and how the lifestyle of the American elite clashed with that of the lower class.
Hidden Figures
This 2016 biography documents the lives of three women named Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae). These three Black women were the sole reason that NASA was able to perform the proper calculations to send a man to the moon in the 1960s. These unsung heroes have only recently been recognized as historical figures of substantial magnitude.
Elizabeth
This 1998 biopic documents the life of one of the most iconic queens in European history, Queen Elizabeth. Cate Blanchett plays Elizabeth I as she grows from a young princess to become a powerful figure who favored democracy and lived a partially secret life. Blanchett earned herself a Best Actress nomination for her time in this film.
Spotlight
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schriber, and Stanley Tucci star in this 2015 biopic about the Boston Globe's investigative reporters who uncover the decades-long coverup efforts made by the Catholic church. These reporters discovered that there was a multi-million dollar misinformation campaign led by the Catholic church to suppress their history of abuse charges against priests all over the world. These reporters blew the story wide open.
Schindler's List
Known as one of the most heartwrenching movies ever made, Schindler's List follows the life of Oskar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson). Schindler was a member of the Nazi party, but he went against the will of the Third Reich to save the innocent lives of the Jewish workers that staffed his factory during WWII.
Frost / Nixon
This movie is based on a play, which is based on a real series of events that happened after Nixon got caught during the Watergate scandal. David Frost (played by Michael Sheen) is the television personality who decided to go toe to toe with Nixon (Frank Langella) in a series of televised interviews that gave Nixon an opportunity to explain himself.
Monster
In 2003, Charlize Theron changed her entire appearance to play Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer from Florida. "Monster" followed Wuornos from before she began killing all the way until she got captured by the police. Theron won an Oscar for her performance.
Lost Girls
Amy Ryan stars as Mari Gilbert in this 2020 crime drama based on the 2013 New York Times bestseller titled "Lost Girls: An Unsolved Mystery". Mari Gilbert took part in uncovering a serial killer mystery after her daughter was abducted and the police did nothing about it. Her personal investigation eventually led to the grizzly resolution of the real case.
12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, a freed slave who lived in the south before the Civil War. This 2013 biopic displays the horror of being a slave in the 19th century. All freed slaves ran the risk of being kidnapped and resold, despite their freedom status.
All the President's Men
Two reporters, played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, accidentally uncover the connection between a White House staff member and the 1972 attempted burglary of the DPH at the Watergate hotel. These two reporters, named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were the sole reason why Richard Nixon was forced to resign once they got their story straight.
The Doors
Val Kilmer took on the persona of Jim Morrison in this 1991 biopic about the frontman of The Doors. This movie did terrible at the box office, but it ended up becoming a cult classic that saw a huge resurgence in the early 2000s. However, The Doors themselves did not like the depiction of their deceased frontman.
American Hustle
"American Hustle", starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence, covers the 1970 FBI ABSCAM investigation. This story marches through the lives of two con-men who worked on a sting operation in New Jersey, but they were tempted to the dark side because of the illustrious lifestyles of the rich and criminal.
United 93
United 93 tells the story of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, one of the planes that were seized by Al-Quaeda in the 9/11 mass hijacking. This movie, starring Jeffrey Nordling and Brennan Elliott, tells the story of the brave passengers that prevented flight 93 from being hijacked and crashed into the Twin Towers.
Reversal of Fortune
This 1990 biopic starring Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons tells the story of Claus von Bulow who gets convicted of the attempted murder of his own wife. He eventually is able to overturn the case after hiring a connected lawyer named Alan Dershowitz, but not before irreversible damage is done to his reputation and mental health.
Apollo 13
Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Carly Sinise, and Ed Harris all-star in this 1995 biopic about the Apollo 13 lunar mission. Three major pilots were on their way back from a journey to the moon when an oxygen tank ruptured in their ship, threatening their potential of survival on their way back to the Earth.
Zodiac
Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Robert Downey Jr. star in the 2007 biography "Zodiac", which is about the investigators who were tasked with discovering the identity of the Zodiac Killer. In San Francisco during the 1960s, a killer stalked the streets who seemingly murdered at random. He left cryptic notes calling himself "The Zodiac" and threatened to kill again if his demands weren't met.
Hotel Rwanda
Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel owner in Rwanda, who protected his community when the Hutu military forces began their campaign for ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi people. Rusesabagina did his best to protect his people, but the violence eventually escalated into genocide while his world collapsed around him.
The Pianist
The Pianist is an adaptation of the autobiography titled "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw 1939-1945". The film stars Adrien Brody, who plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish pianist who is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto during the genocide of the Jewish people during WWII.
The Aviator
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes, in his early years as a film director and aviation enthusiast all the way until his mental health collapses around him. Hughes eventually succumbs to his paranoia, phobia, and delusions that destroyed the end of the tycoon's life in his later years.
Hal Holbrook
Based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild was written using the biography Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Hal Holbrook plays the confused young adult McCandless, a recent college graduate who decided to give up all of his material possessions to live in the Alaskan wilderness alone.
The Farewell
Awkwafina stars in the true-story biopic of Lulu Wang's experience with saying goodbye to her sickly grandmother. There's just one catch—everyone in the family knows that grandma is going to die, but grandma has no idea that she is sick.
The Imitation Game
Benjamin Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing in a story about how one man's game-changing innovations helped the Allies win WWII. But, after everything, Turing used to work for the other side, so he was persecuted like everyone else.
The Big Sick
Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan act as a fictionalized version of Nanjiani's romance with his real-life wife, Emily V. Gordon. "The Big Sick" follows Kazan as her character becomes deeply ill soon after she and Nanjiani begin dating. In reality, Gordon came down with a mysterious illness that led to her being put in a medically induced coma. Fortunately, it all worked out in the end.
The Big Short
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt tell the true story of Michael Short's book titled The Big Short. These four men discover that the stock market is going to crash in 2008 much earlier than the rest of the market, and somehow the filmmakers and actors managed to make the intricacies of stock predictions interesting.
Escape from Alcatraz
Alcatraz was supposed to be the most secure prison in the entire world until three daring inmates managed to escape from the island. These three men (played by Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, and Clint Eastwood) were successful in their escape from Alcatraz Island in 1962. Well, at least they got off of the island. Nobody knows if the men actually survived the swim to the shore.
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is loosely based on the 1899 mook titled Heart of Darkness, which told the story of Joseph Conrad's war experience. In the Apocalypse Now narrative, the war happens to be the Vietnam War, and Martin Sheen takes on the role of Captain Willart, who was the main character from the book. Willard is sent to Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who assimilated with a local tribe.
Lawrence of Arabia
In 1962, the true story of a Welsh diplomat and military officer named T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole) was transformed into film format. Lawrence lost himself in the Arabian Peninsula during WWI, where he eventually assimilated with the people of the Arabian Desert tribes, despite being there on a war mission from Britain.
Midnight Express
Midnight Express documents the true story of Billy Hayes, who was an American college student who got caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and was thrown into Turkish prison in the 1960s. Played by Brad Davis, Billy Hayes tries to escape time and time again but is beaten viciously until his spirit is broken.
Spartacus
Stanley Kubrick directed this 1960 film about the true story of one of the most famous slave revolts in human history. Liam McIntyre plays Spartacus (along with everyone else), a slave who has seen too much hardship to be comfortable accepting his role in history. Spartacus led the revolt against the slave masters.
A Beautiful Mind
Russel Crowe plays John Forbes Nash Jr, a mathematical prodigy who toed the fine line between genius and madness. As Nash descends into advanced schizophrenia, he struggles to maintain relationships and normalcy, which eventually pushes him away from friends, family, and normal life.
American Sniper
Bradley Cooper plays the American Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who became legendary for his prowess as a sniper in Iraq. American Sniper, which was directed by Clint Eastwood, is a gritty retelling of the story of war and the aftereffects of being deployed. Having to return to normal life after experiencing unrest and death in such a huge magnitude proved to be almost insurmountable for Kyle.
Dolemite is My Name
This movie almost escaped the public because it was released so close to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Eddie Murphey stars as Rudy Ray Moore, a standup comedian whose stage persona is named Dolomite. Dolomite ends up taking over the life of Rudy Ray Moore, who eventually made decisions simply to be able to keep playing the Dolomite character.
The Most Hated Woman in America
Melissa Leo plays Madelyn Murray O'Hair, a science forward atheist who launched a lawsuit in the 1960s that found its way all the way up to the Supreme Court. O'Hair's mission was to eliminate mandatory Christian prayer in schools, with the intention of making them illegal. The story takes a dark turn when every Christian group in America turns against her and she gets kidnapped by an ex-employee who holds her hostage for her money.