Here is how famous heroes and villains look like without their masks

Here is how famous heroes and villains look like without their masks 1
Image: imgur.com

When getting into the character, actors have to wear different costumes or masks, prosthesis and makeup. This way, they transform into the hero or the villain they impersonate. So if you have wondered how these actors looked without their masks and costumes, we’re here to show you the most amazing transformations. We all know how actors that played iconic characters really look in real life.

However, will also get to see many famous actors that have been hidden under their masks and props so good we didn’t even know they were playing in those movies! You won’t be able to recognize many of these actors if you were to pick them from a lineup. Let’s see their masks and learn something about the whole process they had to go through before the cameras rolled.

Gamora – Zoe Saldana

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Image: imgur.com

Although clad in green makeup, Zoe Saldana’s transformation into Gamora took five hours! And she wasn’t the only actress in the Marvel and Avengers movies waiting for the costume and layers of makeup to be added… Here’s one of her colleagues on the set.

Drax the Destroyer – Dave Bautista

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Image: insider.com

The famous wrestler and actor, Dave Bautista, who is also a bodybuilder and MMA fighter, accepted the role of Drax the Destroyer in The Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He also showed up in Avengers. Little did he know he had to lose some weight for the role and wait for silicone red scars to be applied over his green painted body.

Kaecilius – Mads Mikkelsen

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We’ve seen Mads Mikkelsen in Marvel’s Doctor Strange. The villain had a mask around his eyes, and although it looked simple enough, it took the makeup crew hours to perfect it. Read on to discover more villains from popular superhero movies.

Nebula – Karen Gillan

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We’ve seen the Scottish actress in Jumanji, but did you know that she was Nebula in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers? She even shave her head to get the part and the makeup crew took four hours to transform her into Nebula. After the filming day was over, Gillan had to wait another half an hour to become “normal” again. Let’s check another blue character…

The Night King – Richard Blake

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The first Night King in The Game of Thrones series was Richard Blake, who also appeared without makeup in a scene where his character was a human. As the Night King, Blake waited for many hours to have all the parts attached to his body. Then, stunt actor Vladimir Furdik took the role and had to wait for the whole process before filming episodes in seasons 6-8.

Voldemort – Ralph Fiennes

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The one that we all hate and that we all dare speak his name, Voldemort! He was played by Two-time Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes. It took the makeup crew two hours to finish his look – the nose was removed in post-production! However, at one point, he nearly gave up on the role because sitting on the makeup chair took too much off his time…

Taserface – Chris Sullivan

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Chris Sullivan played the role of Taserface, a Guardians of the Galaxy character. He had to look disgusting, so the combination of purple makeup, fake hair and fake silver teeth along with some horrible scars really helped with his look!

Hellboy – Ron Perlman

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The demon superhero known as Hellboy was first played by Ron Perlman, back in 2004. Makeup artist Jake Garber was in charge of fitting the actor with the makeup and foam prosthetics, saying that they did that routine for around 100 times! Wow, Ron was very patient!

Yondu Udonta – Michael Rooker

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You may know Michael Rooker from The Walking Dead, but superhero movie fans will surely recognize him from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, where he played as Yondu. To become a Zatoan tribe member, Rooker sat on the makeup chair for six hours before shooting the scenes!

En Sabah Nur – Oscar Isaac

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The lead villain in X-Men: Apocalypse was none other than the man known as ‘internet’s boyfriend.’ If you thought that was CGI, then you’re wrong! Oscar Isaac had to wear a 40-pound suit and platform boots, a lot of prostheses and blue makeup.

Ebony Maw – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

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Image: imgur.com

In Avengers: Infinity War, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor played the role of Ebony Maw, who was Thanos’ herald. He manages to capture Doctor Strange and retrieve the Time Stone, but faces death as Tony Stark and Peter Parker rescue Strange. That didn’t mean Tom was done with the role, though! In Avengers: Endgame, he comes back from another time with Thanos, but only to be disintegrated once Tony Stark activates the Infinity Stones.

Vision – Paul Bettany

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In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Paul Bettany became part of the Marvel superheroes. He then appeared in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. That makes a total of three movies in which Bettany had to wait three hours for his makeup to be applied before going to save the world!

Deadpool – Ryan Reynolds

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Ryan had to go through a lengthy makeup session to pull of the melted skin look. He even said that his kids were a bit shocked to see him in the scar makeup. We’re going to leave the scary makeup aside and replace it with the Deadpool costume, but we’ll happily recall what Weasel told Wade when he first saw his face. Yes, the avocado part.

Ronan the Accuser – Lee Pace

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You’d have never recognized Lee Peace in this makeup and costume! With the blue skin and weird contacts, he’s quite the bad guy! Ronan the Accuser appeared both in Guardians of the Galaxy and in Captain Marvel.

Queen Elizabeth I – Margot Robbie

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In 2018, we’ve seen Margot Robbie play as Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots. She wore a wig, a corset and a caked-on makeup. Margot even had her eyebrows plucked out to make herself look more into character. Ouch!

Ayesha – Elizabeth Debicki

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The actress had to be completely covered in gold paint so that she could become the Golden High Priestess of the Sovereign in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Her look was complete after a few hours of work, though! She also wore golden contact lenses.

Hela – Cate Blanchett

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Cate Blanchett became the Goddess of Death in Thor: Ragnarok and we have to agree she did a great job at looking like a true… Goddess of Death! That headpiece and the smokey makeup perfectly captured the feel of the character.

Malekith the Accursed – Christopher Eccleston

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Image: swishtoday.com

The terrible villain from Thor: The Dark World was played by Christopher Eccleston. Although it took 6 hours for the crew to transform him into Malekith, the actor said he enjoyed playing that role, for which he did a lot of research so he could hone in his inner villain.

Corvus Glaive – Michael James Shaw

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The supervillain appeared both in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Most of his appearance was done through motion capture, though. But somewhere deep under those special effects, there’s Michael James Shaw’s face and voice!

Ari – Helena Bonham Carter

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Image: imgur.com

After 4-5 hours of sitting on the makeup chair, Helena Bonham Carter became Ari in Tim Burton’s 2000 Planet of the Apes remake. Although the whole process was “cumbersome and crippling,” she did have enough time to learn her role.

Azazel – Jason Flemyng

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Image: imgur.com

Jason Flemyng only showed up in The X-Men: First Class, and when he found out he didn’t get cast for X-Men: Days of Future Past, he was sad. However, he remembered the hours spend on the makeup chair: “I remembered I had to get up at two in the morning, I had to be painted red…”

Electro – Jamie Foxx

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We got to see Jamie Foxx turn blue in The Amazing Spider-Man 2! He was clad in blue makeup and silicone veins, then some post-processing make him light up. Wearing the blue contacts and looking at his transformation has helped the actor hone in and find Electro.

Thanos – Josh Brolin

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Image: imgur.com

The first Thanos in The Avengers movies wasn’t Josh Brolin. However, he acted in the last four movies and with the help of makeup and CGI, the villain came to life.

The Mad Hatter – Johnny Depp

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Johnny Depp has been quite a chameleon on the big screens. He was great at impersonating different characters, and we’re looking back at his movies Dark Shadows, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Black Mass, Pirates of Caribbean, and so on. In the movies Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, he had quite an elaborate makeup!

Proxima Midnight – Carrie Coon

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Carrie Coon said that “to be fair, my face is in there somewhere,” when she talked about her role in Avengers: Infinity War. She had to do motion capture work and voice acting to give life to her character.

Talos – Ben Mendelsohn

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Image: brightside.me

Mendelsohn became an alien in the Captain Marvel movie. What you see on his face are silicone prosthesis, along with contact lenses and fake ears! Saying he’s unrecognizable is an understatement…

Boba Fett – Jeremy Bulloch

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Image: let-the-wookie-win.com

English actor Jeremy Bulloch was the first actor that wore the bounty hunter’s helmet. Actually, he mentioned that this was his most uncomfortable role he had and that the jetpack was very heavy!

The Other – Alexis Denisof

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Image: imgur.com

Alexis Denisof took the role of The Other, who was Thanos’ servant. He showed up in both The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Hidden behind a lot of makeup, a face mask and a hooded cloak, Denisof is quite the villain!

Wicket W. Warrick – Warwick Davis

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Image: mentalfloss.com

Davis was 17 years old when he got the role of an Ewok. He was a Star Wars fan and his grandma took him to audition as Wicket. He got the role, and learned a lot from his time with the production since he was supposed to act like a parent: “I had to learn parenting skills, which taught me how to hold a baby correctly, how to feed a baby, and worst of all, how to change a nappy, or diaper.”

Pennywise – Bill Skarsgård

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Image: nme.com

We’re now skipping to other villains, this time the scary and odd clowns. We’re starting with Skarsgård’s role as Pennywise in IT. Yes, this handsome actor is really giving us the nightmares…

Joker – Heath Ledger

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Talking about handsome actors, we had Heath Ledger who donned the mask of Joker. He received a post-humous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role and most Joker fans claim he was the best actor to bring the clown to life.

Joker – Joaquin Phoenix

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Image: zimbio.com

Joaquin Phoenix took the idea of Joker into another direction, revealing another face of the villain. He didn’t have to wear an elaborate mask, but the actor did lose 52 pounds and shaved for the role.

The Violator – John Leguizamo

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Image: imgur.com

In 1997, John Leguizamo became the evil clown in Spawn! He received two million dollars for that role and by the looks of his costume, we know it was worth it…

Juggernaut – Ryan Reynolds

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Here’s something you may have never noticed in Deadpool. Juggernaut was a CGI model, but the mo-cap and voice actor was none other than Ryan Reynolds. Now, we have to admit it’s funny if you’re looking back at the fight between Deadpool and Juggernaut.

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