When selecting the cast for a biopic, or biographical movie, the director must walk a fine line between selecting someone for their physical similarity vs. selecting them for having the thespian talent required to play the part. Here’s a list of actors who definitely succeeded on the physical similarity side of things.

It’s not just the actor who does all the work – casting experts and makeup artists also play a huge role in making these famous figures come to life on the big screen.

Many consider biopics to be some of the most difficult and rewarding roles in Hollywood. Most historical figures have a wealth of information available about them, and it is the actor’s job to understand and embody all of this available information, all while portraying a historical figure that many people may have strong feelings about.

(h/t: twistedsifter)

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#1 Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray

#2 Daniel Day‑Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln

#3 Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin

#4 Ben Kingsley as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Gandhi

© Photo: Getty

#5 Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs In Jobs

© Photo: blog.tice.de

#6 Denzel Washington as Malcolm X in Malcolm X

© Photo: Getty

#7 Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandella in Invictus

© Photo: Festival Karsh

#8 Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All Is By My Side

© Photo: thehypebr.com

#9 Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla in Selena

© Photo: fashenty.com

#10 Adrien Brody As Salvador Dali In Midnight In Paris

© Photo: banana_rhino

#11 Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady

© Photo: facepunch.com

#12 Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen in Sid and Nancy

#13 Hellen Mirren as HM Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen

© Photo: boatagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com

#14 Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in Hitchcock

© Photo: Getty

#15 Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in Milk

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#16 Eddie Redmayne And Felicity Jones as Jane And Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything

© Photo: telegraph.co.uk

#17 Charlize Theron As Aileen Wuornos In Monster

#18 Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

#19 James Franco As James Dean In James Dean

© Photo: banana_rhino

#20 Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

#21 Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart in Amelia

© Photo: usmilitariaforum.com

#22 Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel

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#23 Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote

#24 Sam Riley As Ian Curtis In Control

#25 Edie Sedgwick & Andy Warhol (sienna Miller / Guy Pearce)

#26 Benicio Del Toro As Ernesto “che” Guevara

#27 Hannah Taylor-gordon As Anne Frank In Anne Frank: The Whole Story

#28 Michael Douglas as Liberace In Behind The Candelabra

#29 Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn

© Photo: Sam Shaw

#30 двойник путинa

#31 Jared Leto As Mark David Chapman In Chapter 27.

#32 John Hurt As Joseph Merrick In The Elephant Man

#33 Glenn Miller And James Steward In The Glenn Miller Story

#34 Reese Witherspoon and Joacquin Phoenix as June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash

© Photo: fanpop.com

#35 Stephen Fry As Oscar Wilde

#36 Sherilyn Fenn As Elizabeth Taylor In Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story

#37 Ralph Fiennes as Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman

© Photo: en.wikipedia.org

#38 Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman in Man On The Moon

© Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection

#39 Joaquin Phoenix/ Johnny Cash

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#40 Will Smith As Muhammad Ali

#41 Colin Firth as King George VI in The King’s Speech

© Photo: dailymail.co.uk

#42 Nicole Kidman As Virginia Woolf

#43 Benedict Cumberbatch As Stephen Hawking In “hawking”

#44 двойник путинa

#45 James Franco As Allen Ginsberg In Howl

#46 Michelle Williams (left) And Marilyn Monroe

#47 Peter O’toole As Lawrence Of Arabia

#48 John Goodman As Babe Ruth

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#49 Ian Curtis As Sam Riley (joy Divivsion) In Control

#50 Óscar Janeada As Cantinflas In Cantinflas.

#51 Bill Hader As Andy Warhol

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#52 Gary Busey As Buddy Holly

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#53 Vincent D’onofrio As Orson Welles

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#54 #21 Jessica Schwarz As Romy Schneider In Romy

#55 Clive Owen As Andrew Hannon In Croupier

#56 Steve Carell As John Du Pony

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#57 Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network

© Photo: marialombardic.blogspot.com

#58 Fausto Coppi And Sergio Castellitto In “il Grande Fausto” (1995)

#59 Madonna as Eva Peron in Evita

© Photo: fanpop.com

#60 Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in Get On Up

© Photo: galleryhip.com

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