Actors and actresses can be known for going to extreme lengths for their movie roles. Some get all method and refuse to break character even when they’re not filming. Then there are some who do extreme diets and workouts to transform their bodies to play a certain character. One other way celebs get into character is with hair makeovers.
Thanks to the amazing products on the market, celebrities can transform into other people with the help of wigs, hair pieces, and bald caps. However, some are so committed to their craft that they decide to change their own hair for roles. In a lot of cases, that involves a razor and a lot of hair being shaved. Although a dramatic haircut doesn’t always guarantee the movie will be a success, it does help make the role a memorable one. Have a look at 18 actors and actresses who went to follicle extremes for their roles.
1. Alexander Skarsgård – The Hummingbird Project
When Alexander Skarsgård showed up on the red carpet recently, people everywhere were, quite honestly, shook. The dashing actor had shaved his golden blonde hair. The real kicker was that he had only shaved part of it so it looked like he was suffering from a case of male pattern baldness. The look had the telltale doughnut effect with no hair on top of his head and a sweep around the side. Many wondered why he would mess with his drop-dead gorgeous looks, but it turns out it’s for his role in the drama The Hummingbird Project. Hopefully, it’ll grow back to be just as beautiful as it was before.
2. Kate Hudson – Sister
Before Alexander Skarsgård’s shocking bald haircut, Kate Hudson was the most recent celebrity to surprise everyone with a dramatic makeover. The actress shaved off her trademark beach blonde waves for Sister. The movie is the directorial debut of Sia and also stars Maddie Ziegler and Leslie Odom Jr. It’s unclear where the ‘do is significant to the plot, but the movie is about two sisters navigating their lives together and should be a pretty interesting tale.
3. Cara Delevingne – Life In A Year
When Cara Delevingne debuted her shaved head at the 2017 Met Gala, some thought that she buzzed her hair so she could rock the silver painted head for the Comme des Garçons theme. What we later found out was that the model-actress shaved her head for her role in the upcoming movie Life In A Year. The film is about a teenage boy played by Jaden Smith who finds out his girlfriend (Cara) is dying so he sets out to give her different life experiences in the time she has left.
4. Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
Charlize Theron was another one who took a razor to her hair for a movie role. Hers was for Mad Max: Fury Road. The stunning actress can pretty much pull off any look and the cropped hairstyle was no exception. She actually shaved her head herself for the role and revealed that she was glad to get rid of her long locks as they had been damaged from other press tours.
5. Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Rooney Mara went through a major transformation as part of her big breakout movie role. To play Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, she bleached her eyebrows, got multiple piercings, dyed her hair black and got an edgy haircut. Those who were made aware of her thanks to the film didn’t realize how different she looked pre-movie makeover until they saw photos afterwards. It seemed the makeover paid off because she did snag an Academy Award nomination for the role. It’s just a shame we never got a sequel.
6. Kristen Stewart – The Runaways
You might be thinking Kristen Stewart had a makeover as part of Twilight, but she was one of the few actors who didn’t. Her big makeover was when she played a young Joan Jett in The Runaways. She dyed her hair black and basically chopped it into a shaggy mullet. After that, she did have to wear a brown wig to finish filming the rest of the Twilight series. However, you couldn’t really tell the difference between the wig and her actual hair.
7. Demi Moore – G.I. Jane
We usually think about celebrities getting extreme hair makeovers for modern movie roles but Demi Moore shaved her head way back in 1997 for G.I. Jane. We won’t go as far as to say that she helped start a trend, but there are a lot of female celebrities that have since followed suit. Heck, you might even credit her for the buzz cut being one of the hottest hairstyles in 2017.
8. Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Everyone almost always thinks about Anne Hathaway‘s “I Dreamed A Dream” song when they think of the 2012 film version of Les Misérables, but her hair transformation in the movie and real life was something that couldn’t be missed. To play the tortured prostitute Fantine, the actress was on a “starvation diet” that made her shed 25 lbs. She also cropped her long brown hair for a pivotal scene in the movie. It might not have been a to-the-scalp buzz cut, but it was pretty close.
9. Natalie Dormer – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
This is a movie list so we’re not referring to Natalie Dormer‘s hair when she played Magaery Tyrell on Game of Thrones. We’re actually talking about the time she shaved part of her head to play Cressida in Mockingjay, the third part of The Hunger Games series. Despite only shaving part of her head, her makeover was still very dramatic because the buzzed spot stood out against the long hair. And then there were those tattoos…
10. Kirsten Dunst – Spider-Man
Kirsten Dunst already had a number of movie roles under her belt by the time she filmed the 2002 version of Spider-Man with Tobey McGuire. However, it was quite a departure to see the typically blonde Kirsten dye her hair a fiery red shade for the film. She revealed to Allure that she actually dyed the front part of her hair for the first film and used a half wig. In the sequel, she used a full wig. For the third film, she went all in and dyed her entire head.
11. Sigourney Weaver – Alien 3
Here’s another dramatic throwback makeover for you. For Alien 3, the beautiful Sigourney Weaver shaved off her long locks to play Ellen Ripley in the 1992 film. She went on to star in a fourth installment of the franchise, 1997’s Alien: Resurrection. We’re not saying that her bald head had anything to do with it, but we’re sure that it did help.
12. Sanaa Lathan – Nappily Ever After
Sanaa Lathan went for a major crop to appear in the upcoming Netflix movie, Nappily Ever After. The actress showed off her dramatic hair transformation on Instagram. The 2018 film is based off the Nappily Ever After book by Trisha R. Thomas. If you’re not familiar with the plot, she plays the lead, Violet Jones, a woman who supposedly has the perfect life until an accident at the hairdresser forces her to shave off all her hair. *Spoiler alert:* There are life lessons to be learned through the experience.
13. Sienna Miller – Factory Girl
In the mid-aughts, Sienna Miller was our dream bohemian inspiration with her golden tan, vintage clothes and that long beachy blonde hair. As pretty as her hair was, it wasn’t the most mod thing. That’s why the actress shaved her signature locks to transform into Edie Sedgewick for Factory Girl in 2006. Her makeover might have actually eclipsed the movie considering it inspired many people to crop their hair short, too.
14. Jared Leto – Suicide Squad
Remember when Jared Leto was giving you #hairgoals vibes thanks to his flawless man ombre? Then he had to go and shave his beautiful locks off to play The Joker. The multi-step makeover involved him bleaching his dark strands and dyeing them neon green. On top of that, he shaved his eyebrows and brought out the red lipstick. We simply cannot forget about that white face paint and all of those tattoos, either.
15. Kellan Lutz – Twilight
Kellan Lutz was the California surfer boy with his blonde hair (and those abs). However, the blonde hair wasn’t the most vampire-y thing so the actor dyed his hair a dark chocolate brown to play Emmett Cullen. The hairstyle also had noticeably less product and pouf compared to his off-screen hair. Was it still hot? You bet.
16. Karen Gillan – Guardians of the Galaxy
Karen Gillan also became a proud member of the #teambuzzcut when she shaved her ginger locks for her role as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. She probably could have gotten away with a skull cap under all of that blue face paint, but she went for the full shave. For that, we salute her.
17. Natalie Portman – V for Vendetta
Natalie Portman has had some great movie makeovers. Remember the fierce makeup and headpieces she wore in Star Wars to play Padmé Amidala? Then there was that cotton candy pink bob in Closer. Oh, and the entire Black Swan look. Those were all great, but they cannot quite top her makeover for V for Vendetta where she shaved off her long brown locks as part of the movie. It was a totally new look, but it actually enhanced her elfin beauty.
18. Hugh Jackman – Pan
Remember when Hugh Jackman sported that quasi-mullet for Chappie? Yeah, we tried to block that out, too. That actor has actually sported a lot of different looks for movie roles. The hairy Wolverine lewk is arguably the most memorable one. Of course we cannot forget when he completely shaved his hair to play Edward Teach aka Blackbeard in Pan. He does wear a wig for parts of the movie, but we do get glimpses of his bald head.