10 Speechless Photos That Show The Uncanny Resemblance Between People From History and Their On-Screen Versions

Making a movie that portrays the story of historical figures is not a piece of cake. The line between historical accuracy and remaking the story in your own way always exists. Moreover, there’s the pressure of casting actors to embody real people. This often results in contentious debates on casting choices for biopics and period pieces.
It’s not just casting experts and actors who do all the work, the makeup team plays a huge role in making historic people come to life on the big screen. Thanks to a mixture of strong acting abilities and modern makeup techniques, actors are increasingly offering near-flawless depictions of these legendary figures.
We’ve picked some actors who managed so well to embody a particular historical figure almost to perfection. It is a surprise that these actors bear an uncanny resemblance to the people they are playing.

#1 Nikola Tesla

Source: East News, © Tesla / Millennium Media and co-producers

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.
In the 2020 film Tesla, actor Ethan Hawke played the role of the inventor.

#2 Marilyn Monroe

Source: Profiles in History / PacificCoastNews.com / EAST NEWS, Netflix / Ferrari Press / East News

Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, Marilyn Monroe became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution.
In 2022, Netflix released a movie titled "Blonde" about the inner life of Marilyn Monroe. The film starred Ana de Armas as the protagonist role.

#3 Freddie Mercury

Source: JEAN-CLAUDE COUTAUSSE / AFP / East News, © Bohemian Rhapsody / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers

Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) was a songwriter and the lead singer of Queen, whose striking vocal abilities and stage charisma led him to global stardom.
The movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" portrayed his life and personality. It also helped  Rami Malek earned himself an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

#4 Princess Diana

Source: Allstar Picture Library / Mary Evans Picture Library / East News, © The Crown / Left Bank Pictures and co-producers

Princess Diana was an incredibly popular member of the British Royal family whose personal life and activities attracted a lot of press attention.
In one of the seasons of the Netflix series, The Crown, Emma Corrin played the role of a young Princess Diana.

#5 Jimi Hendrix

Source: AP / EAST NEWS, © Jimi: All Is By My Side / Darko Entertainment and co-producers

Jimi Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.
The iconic life of Jimi Hendrix was played on screen by another musician, André 3000, in the 2013 picture Jimi: All Is By My Side.

#6 Frida Kahlo

Source: EastNews, © Jimi: All Is By My Side / Darko Entertainment and co-producers

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico.
Mexican actress, Salma Hayek, portrayed the painter in the movie "Frida" in which she got an Oscar nomination.

#7 Salvador Dali

Source: Courtesy Everett Collection / East News,  © Midnight in Paris / Mediapro and co-producers

Salvador Dalí was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
The 2011 Woody Allen picture Midnight in Paris features a lot of famous artists of the 20th century, and one of them was Dalí, whose unique persona was well-portrayed by Adrien Brody.

#8 Pablo Picasso

Source: Album / EastNews, © Genius. Picasso: Chapter One / EUE / Sokolow and co-producers

One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore.
The TV series Genius shows the life of Picasso in its second season. Picasso, the protagonist, is played by another Spaniard, Antonio Banderas.

#9 Stephen Hawking

Source: © Unknown author / Wikimedia, © The Theory of Everything / Working Title Films and co-producers

Stephen Hawking was a world-famous English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and author. He achieved both academic and commercial success in spite of having a rare early-onset, slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
His life served as inspiration for the movie "The Theory of Everything" in which Redmayne took home an Academy Award for Best Actor

#10 Tonya Harding

Source: © PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo, © I, Tonya / LuckyChap Entertainment and co-producers

The American figure skater, Tonya Harding, became the second woman in history and the first American to land a triple Axel.
The movie "I, Tonya" is about her story and the role of Tony Harding was portrayed by Margot Robbie.