"My Brain Still Refuses To Accept That": 22 Actors Who Were So Unrecognizable In Their Roles That I Literally Had To Google If It Was Actually Them

3 weeks ago 15

"It never clicked that they were the same actor."

Sometimes you can't unsee an actor in a role, and sometimes they get so completely lost in it that you don't even realize it's them. Recently, Reddit user dinosaur_dancer asked people to share which actors gave them the biggest "Wait... that was them?!" moments, and the responses highlighted some pretty damn impressive performances...

Ron Galella / Getty Images, Columbia

"Just finished watching MIB for the first time in years and said, 'Holy shit.'"

—Shit-Talker-Sr

Steve Granitz / Getty Images, HBO

"This one spun me out. Colin looked so unrecognizable and carried the evil of The Penguin so well."

—Pandoras_Fate

3. Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown in Back to the Future and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

one in a suit with glasses, one looking surprised in a science-themed outfit, and one in humorous wide-eyed expression

4. Glenn Close as Gutless in Hook.

Ron Galella / Getty Images, Amblin Entertainment

"In the movie Hook, the pirate that gets put in the box with the scorpions — 'not the boo box!' — was Glenn Close."

—jayblaze521

5. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder.

Samir Hussein / Getty Images, Dreamworks

"My brain still refuses to accept that Les Grossman was Tom Cruise."

—epicpillowcase

6. Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride.

A person wearing a button-up shirt, standing in front of a contrast background

7. Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice.

Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty Images, Warner Bros

"When I first saw Beetlejuice, my brain had a rough time accepting that it was Michael Keaton."

—Bluemookie

8. Anthony Michael Hall as Jim in Edward Scissorhands.

Two people posing together, one wearing a headband, white shirt, and jacket, the other in a graphic tee and dark jacket, smiling casually indoors

9. Hannah Waddingham as Septa Unella in Game of Thrones.

Person in a fitted denim dress with black accents poses smiling, hands in pockets, against a backdrop with partially visible text

10. Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok in Nosferatu.

John Lamparski / Getty Images, Focus Features

11. Michael Parks in Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

Person speaking at an event, wearing a leather jacket

12. Bruce Willis as Ernest in Death Becomes Her.

Ron Galella / Getty Images, Universal

13. Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove.

Tv Times / Getty Images, Columbia

"On first watching Dr. Strangelove, I had no idea Sellers played three parts. Accents were perfect, costumes were elaborate, and the characters were deeply different from one another. Sellers was one of those actors who disappeared so deep into a role you forgot you were watching Peter Sellers."

—ImprovementFar5054

14. Donnie Wahlberg as Vincent Grey in The Sixth Sense.

Steve Granitz / Getty Images, Hollywood Pictures

"Saw his name in the credits and was like, 'Wait, where?' I googled it and was shocked."

—elder_mil_spice

15. Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in Monk.

A man with a mustache and smiling expression wears a dark suit jacket over a buttoned shirt, posing against a dark background

16. Billy Bob Thornton as Karl Childers in Sling Blade.

Jim Smeal / Getty Images, Miramax

17. Stephen Root as Milton in Office Space.

Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images, 20th Century Fox

18. Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images, K/W Productions

"She was really great in that one, and almost unrecognizable!"

—hippiechick725

19. Amy Madigan as Gladys in Weapons.

Gilbert Flores / Getty Images, Warner Bros

20. Jennifer Coolidge as Jodi in Seinfeld.

Getty Images / Getty Images, NBC

"Jennifer Coolidge plays Jerry’s masseuse girlfriend in an episode of Seinfeld. That never clicked for me until I went back after learning this. It was before she did the silly voice."

—diplion