17 Actors Who Successfully Portrayed Real-Life People In Movies and TV Shows

It’s hard to portray a famous character, but it’s even harder when this character is a real-life person. Normally, actors have to imagine or create their character’s personalities. Still, when it comes to a real person, actors need to carefully study the facial expressions, gestures, movements, and other things of the person they are going to portray on-screen.
Viewers seem to notice every single detail of those actors’ performances because they’re probably fans who know the characters very well. If there’s something wrong, no matter how big this mistake is, the actors’ portrayals are likely ridiculous and become an eyesore to viewers.
Thankfully, many actors managed to successfully cope with that task. Let’s take a look at these 17 actors who played people in real life and nailed it. Scroll down and check them out!

#1 Jessica Chastain as Tammy Wynette, George & Tammy

Source: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, George & Tammy / Brolin Productions

#2 Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis, Feud

Source: 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection / East News, Feud / Ryan Murphy Productions

#3 Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, The Crown

Source: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo, The Crown / Left Bank Pictures

#4 Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, Maestro

Source: Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / East News, Maestro / Amblin Entertainment

#5 Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg, Seberg

Source: Courtesy Everett Collection / East News, Seberg / Indikate Productions

#6 Angela Bassett as Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do with It

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS / East News, What's Love Got to Do with It / Touchstone Pictures

#7 John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, American Crime Story

Source: AFP/EAST NEWS, American Crime Story / Ryan Murphy Productions

#8 Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier, My Week With Marilyn

Source:  The Prince and the Showgirl / Warner Bros. and co-producers,  My Week with Marilyn / BBC Films

#9 Mark Rylance as Maurice Flitcroft, The Phantom of the Open

Source: TriniTrinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo, The Phantom of the Open / BBC Films

#10 Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford, Feud

Source:  What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? / The Associates & Aldrich Company, Feud / Ryan Murphy Productions

#11 Trevante Rhodes as Mike Tyson, Mike

Source: Evan Agostini/Invision / AP / East News,  Mike / 20th Television and co-producers

#12 Kerry Washington as Anita Hill, Confirmation

Source: EAST NEWS, Confirmation / HBO Films

#13 Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Source: Whitney Houston / YouTube, I Wanna Dance with Somebody / TriStar Pictures

#14 Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Source: ORION PICTURES / Album/EAST NEWS, © Weird: The Al Yankovic Story / The Roku Channel

#15 Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till, Till

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS / East News, © Till / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

#16 James Franco as Hugh Hefner, Lovelace

Source: Mary Evans / AF Archive / Mary Evans Picture Library / East News, © Lovelace / Millennium Films

#17 Sienna Miller as Tippi Hedren, The Girl

Source: The Birds / Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions,  The Girl / Warner Bros.