11 Actresses That Have The Guts To Sacrifice Their Beauty For A Role

When it comes to leading ladies, words like “beautiful”, ”stunning”, and “gorgeous” are all that are heard… Let’s be honest: when was the last time you saw the lead actress not being beautiful onscreen?
But when it comes to acting, it’s not all about being beautiful all the time. It's about being able to convince people of your character and make them believe in your story. Which is why the best actresses aren’t afraid to look a bit... off for a role.
Especially method acting requires an actor to become their character. This means a complete transformation of the person they are in real life. From their looks to their behaviors, everything about them is replaced by the character they portray. This leads to actresses sometimes becoming unrecognizable onscreen.
In some cases, shockingly so. Actresses sacrifice their beauty for the roles regularly.
So, which actresses become so shockingly different for a role onscreen? Read on to find out 11 actresses that have become unrecognizable for method acting. These Actresses who dare to sacrifice beauty for their roles are respectful. 

#1 Lena Headey

Source: © Dredd / DNA Films, © Game of Thrones / HBO

This English actress has a prolific filmography, but she rose to prominence as Cersei Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Other than that, Lena plays a ruthless criminal in the 2012 film Dredd. She had to wear makeup that resembled scars on her face, poor teeth, and cracked lips for this part.

#2 Charlize Theron

Source: © Monster / Newmarket Films, © Snow White & the Huntsman / Universal Pictures

Charlize Theron has played many femme fatales, but her commitment to the craft in "Monster" earns her acclaim and appreciation from film critics. She had to gain more than 22 pounds to complete the transformation, and she looked repulsive thanks to the skills of some brilliant makeup artists. Theron won a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Monster.

#3 Anne Hathaway

Source: © Les Misérables / Working Title Films, © The Devil Wears Prada / 20th Century Fox

In the musical Les Misérables, Anne Hathaway plays Francine. To portray the prostitute, she had to lose more than 22 pounds and have her long hair cut very short on camera. Anne won a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Les Misérables

#4 Kate Winslet

Source: © The Reader / The Weinstein Company, © Titanic / 20th Century Fox

Kate Winslet has played many beautiful women onscreen, but in The Reader, she played an illiterate alledged-Nazi who was guilty of the deaths of hundreds of people, being the guard of a concentration camp. This image earned the actress an Oscar nomination. Cosmetic specialists did an outstanding job transforming Kate into an old and ugly Nazi.

#5 Natalie Portman

Source: © Goya's Ghosts / The Saul Zaentz Company, © Closer / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Natalie Portman is well-known for her versatility as an actor, who has gone through drastic transformations for a role. In "V for Vendetta", she bravely shaved her head for her role, and in Goya's Ghosts, she looks extremely ragged and dirty playing a victim of the Spanish Inquisition.

#6 Julia Roberts

Source: © Secret in Their Eyes / STX Entertainment, © Eat, Pray, Love / Columbia Pictures

Julia Roberts proved she is more than just a romantic comedy actress when she won a well-deserved Oscar for her part in Erin Brockovich. In "Secret in Their Eyes", Roberts played a female investigator whose daughter was brutally murdered. Can you feel the grief?

#7 Gwyneth Paltrow

Source: © Shallow Hal / 20th Century Fox, © Mortdecai / MadisonWellsMedia

Gwyneth Paltrow wore a 25-pound costume and had special latex prosthetics on her face for her role in the comedy Shallow Hal. When the actress decided to stroll down the street in this getup, the folks surrounding her didn't recognize her and even avoided looking at her.

#8 Michelle Pfeiffer

Source: © Stardust / Paramount Pictures, © Hairspray / New Line Cinema

In Matthew Vaughn's Stardust, a renowned Hollywood beauty, transforms into a terrifying old hag in a matter of minutes. As she grew older in the film, we were astounded by how lovely and fit she still was with each transformation. When she worked on this movie, she was around 50 years old.

#9 Cameron Diaz

Source: © Being John Malkovich / Astralwerks, Gramercy Pictures, Propaganda Films, Single Cell Pictures, © The Mask / New Line Cinema

Cameron Diaz is a classic Hollywood blonde with a beautiful smile. Yet, she convincingly looked ugly in the 1999 film Being John Malkovich. The lack of makeup and a stack of black curls on her head made her seem appropriate for the role, and she was nominated for significant awards such as the BAFTA and the Golden Globe.

#10 Nicole Kidman

Source: © The Hours / Miramax Films, © Moulin Rouge! / Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Nicole Kidman received an Oscar in 2003 for her performance in "The Hours" as writer Virginia Woolf. She looked just like her role thanks to the cosmetics. And the actress has played numerous attractive ladies in films such as Moulin Rouge!, The Others, Cold Mountain, Australia, Grace of Monaco, and many more.

#11 Drew Barrymore

Source: © Never Been Kissed / 20th Century Fox, © Charlie's Angels / Columbia Pictures

Since she was five years old, the daughter of the Barrymore acting dynasty has been on the big screen. Drew practically grew up on-screen, and we saw her in a variety of roles, including when she played a fat teen with braces in the film Never Been Kissed.