From Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley to Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett.
Bob Marley is the latest singer to get the biopic treatment. Earlier this week, the trailer dropped for the new film, Bob Marley: One Love. In it, Kingsley Ben-Adir plays the legendary reggae musician, and he's nearly unrecognizable in the role.
This got me thinking of other impressive transformations that actors undertook to play iconic artists, including Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan. Yes, really. Here are 19 of the most uncanny examples:
1. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley in Bob Marley: One Love (2024)
2. Daniel Radcliffe as "Weird Al" Yankovic in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
The Roku Channel/YouTube / Via youtube.com, Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images for The Roku Channel, Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
3. Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images, George Rose / Getty Images
4. Austin Butler as Elvis in Elvis (2022)
Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images, Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
5. Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman (2019)
Paramount Pictures/YouTube / Via youtube.com, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for BAFTA LA, Tv Times / TV Times via Getty Images
6. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland in Judy (2019)
Album / Alamy Stock Photo, Toni Anne Barson / FilmMagic, Larry Ellis / Getty Images
7. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Hulu/20th Century Studios, Wwd / Penske Media via Getty Images, Phil Dent / Redferns
8. Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith in Bessie (2015)
Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, Jason Laveris / FilmMagic, Donaldson Collection / Getty Images
9. O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube in Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com, Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Raymond Boyd / Getty Images
10. Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in Get On Up (2014)
Universal Pictures UK/YouTube / Via youtube.com, Jason Laveris / FilmMagic, Hulton Archive / Getty Images
11. Michael Douglas as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra (2013)
HBO / Via hbo.com, Anita Bugge / WireImage, Gary Gershoff / Getty Images
12. Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in The Runaways (2010)
Mary Evans Picture Library Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, Vera Anderson / WireImage, Pete Cronin / Redferns
13. Aaron Taylor Johnson as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy (2009)
AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo, Chelsea Lauren / WireImage, Michael Ochs Archives
14. Beyoncé as Etta James in Cadillac Records (2008)
AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo, Vera Anderson / WireImage, House Of Fame Llc / Getty Images
15. Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There (2007)
Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo, Peter Carrette Archive / Getty Images, Stanley Bielecki / Getty Images
16. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter in Walk the Line (2005)
20th Century Studios/YouTube / Via youtube.com, Jim Spellman / WireImage, Leila Grossman / Getty Images
17. Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray (2004)
Mary Evans Picture Library Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo, John Sciulli / WireImage, David Redfern / Redferns
18. Jennifer Lopez as Selena in Selena (1997)
Ronald Grant Archive / Alamy Stock Photo, Albert L. Ortega / WireImage, Arlene Richie / Getty Images
19. Angela Bassett as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Alamy Stock Photo, Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, Walt Disney Television Photo Arc / ABC