Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2009 May 2

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May 2

Resemblance of actors portraying famous people

(I realize this is a subjective question, but it's more about perception than opinion, so I'm asking it). I am looking for examples of actors who played famous people in movies and whose bare facial features actually resemble those of the person they're portraying. A lot has been written about Benicio del Toro's resemblance with Che, though of course the black beret and beard helped. On the other hand, it was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief, though I was willing, when watching Anthony Hopkins play clean-shaven, unbespectacled, bare-headed Nixon. Apart from the hairline, he just didn't resemble Nixon's characteristic face at all. So, anyway, I'm looking for compelling examples of resemblance, I don't care how well they acted or how famous the actors are, but the portrayed character should be famous, obviously. Thanks in advance. ---Sluzzelin talk 07:01, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Raymond Massey and Abraham Lincoln? Clarityfiend (talk) 07:12, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Geraldine Chaplin portrayed her own grandmother in Chaplin (1992). Pepso2 (talk) 11:06, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

I always thought that Val Kilmer made a convincing Jim Morrison and Gary Oldman did look rather like Sid Vicious. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 12:04, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

On the other hand, Meryl Streep will portray Julia Child in the upcoming film Julie & Julia. Streep is hardly six feet, two inches tall. 216.93.214.233 (talk) 19:11, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Rod Steiger as Benito Mussolini. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:09, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Herbert Lom did a passing impersonation of Napoleon in War and Peace (1956). He'd previously played Napoleon in The Young Mr Pitt (1942).

I always thought Ken Russell erred grievously when he chose Richard Chamberlain to play Tchaikovsky in The Music Lovers. Donald Sutherland would have been a much better choice. It's probably too late for Sutherland to play Tchaikovsky now, because he's 20 years older than Tchaikovsky was when he died. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:36, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is usually given as one of the best portrayals. Adam Bishop (talk) 05:27, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

M. E. Clifton James had an uncanny resemblance to Field Marshal Montgomery, and he was used in real life to impersonate him. The film I Was Monty's Double was based on James's book of the same name, and James played both himself and Monty in the film. Ed Flanders played Harry S. Truman in a number of films, more than any other actor, because of their resemblance. -- JackofOz (talk) 06:27, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

And then there was Larry Parks, who played Al Jolson in The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again. The second movie depicted how Parks was discovered and used as Jolson's look-alike in the first movie. In different scenes he played either Jolson, or himself, or himself playing Jolson. They weren't actually very close in looks, but Jolson Sings Again made them out to be dead ringers. -- JackofOz (talk) 06:35, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, all ye film buffs. I just did a lot of comparing with the help of google images, and those are all great examples (including a great hypothetical example)! My list still needs some actresses resembling the women they portrayed. Thinking about this, I came up with nothing convincing but realized that sometimes even bare faces get enhanced for the part. I remember my curious anticipation of seeing Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf in The Hours and then experiencing the same irritation Richard Schickel described when he wrote "one finds oneself focusing excessively on the unfortunate prosthetic nose Kidman affects in order to look more like the novelist." (Though unlike Schickel I liked the movie). Can anyone add some women to the list? ---Sluzzelin talk 11:46, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

On the other hand, Nicole Kidman in To Die For portrayed a character based on Pamela Smart, and there is a resemblance of Smart and Kidman in some photos. Pepso2 (talk) 12:56, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Cate Blanchett wasn't a particularly close match to Katharine Hepburn, but she did a good enough job to score an Oscar in The Aviator. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:57, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Charlize Theron was a very close likeness of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" (2003). Theron recieved the Academy Award for that performance, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. It is true that she was heavily made-up with freckles, prosthetic teeth, etcetera, to resemble the less than Hollywood-glamorous Wuornos. However, please compare the scene where Wuornos is being lead out of the courtroom and lashes out verbally at the jurors and compare that with the news video archive of that actual event by the actual Wuornos. The resemblance is astounding, in my opinion. No amount of make-up or prosthetics can account for Theron's excellent mimicry of Wuornos' mannerisms and actions.

Nicole Sullivan and Alex Borstein resembled Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, respectively, very well while performing (On the U.S. , 1990's variety/comedy show "Mad TV") in a spoof sketch of a seminal scene from an episode of an iconic, 1950's U.S. television show, "I Love Lucy". The original scene was Lucy and Ethyl working on a production line of a chocolates factory and not being able to keep up with the production line when it was set to higher and higher speeds. The spoof was of the same Lucy and Ethyl characters, portrayed by Sullivan and Borstein, in an almost identical situation except the production line was that of an illicit drug factory. A personal observation: The resemblance contributed so much to the funniness of the parody that my sides hurt from laughing at the comedic sketch!

Tina Fey of the variety/comedy show Saturday Night Live compared to the U.S. Republican 2008 candidate for the office of Vice President, Sarah Palin bore great resemblance of one another. This is actually more of a real-life persona resembling the actor before the actor portrayed the public figure. Sarah Palin commented publicly of the resemblance by stating that she (Palin) had attended Halloween costume parties posing as Tina Fey's "Weekend Update" anchor-person.

Jennifer Saunders, of the British comedy duo French & Saunders, has turned in some hilarious and "spot-on" impressions/likenesses/mannerisms of Emma Thompson (parodied by Saunders as Emma Thompson laughing like a horse in "Sense and Sensibility"), Gandalf the Wizard, and Jane Seymour's character, Doctor Michaela Quinn from the show "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (parodied as "Dr. Quimn, Mad Woman")

Helena Bonham-Carter's guest appearance on the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous, was a very close resemblance of the character "Saffron Monsoon", usually portrayed by regular cast member Julia Sawalha. Skeeter.bob (talk) 16:04, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Ah yes, that Saffron was spooky – so close that I didn't get the joke, the first time I saw it. —Tamfang (talk) 04:58, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I found that Alan Rickman's portrayal of Eamon de Valera in the film Michael Collins was scarily realistic from the point of view of the similarity of looks of the actor and subject. Ed Harris as John Glenn in The Right Stuff was also noteworthy in this respect. Grutness...wha? 05:32, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

If they ever make a Dimitri Shostakovich biopic, James Urbaniak will be a shoo-in for the lead. Compare [1], [2]. Mike R (talk) 16:18, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Awesome list! Thanks everyone. ---Sluzzelin talk 10:38, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

The closest resemblances I ever saw were Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison (mentioned above) and Stephen Fry as Oscar Wilde in Wilde (film). --Dweller (talk) 11:21, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Jennifer Saunders also looked a lot like Meryl Streep in the Mamma Mia spoof for Comic Relief. Another one may be Helen Mirren in The Queen, although opinions vary about how much she looks like QEII. Adam Bishop (talk) 17:02, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Prunella Scales also did a smashing impression of the Queen in, er, something or other. (It was a bit part.) —Tamfang (talk) 04:58, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't think Fry particularly resembled Wilde at all. He did quite a good job in the movie, but as for a close resemblance, I don't get it. Now, Geoffrey Rush did look uncannily like Peter Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, but that just happened to be, imo, one of the most tacky and vile movies made in the last 50 years. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:42, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Slightly off-topic, I thought the casting of the brothers in Clouds of Witness (Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey and David Langton as the Duke) was quite good. (Clouds of Witness at IMDb) —Tamfang (talk) 04:58, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I always thought Ian Carmichael was a dead ringer for Jack Buchanan. -- JackofOz (talk) 06:06, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

White Belts

Is there a particular brand of white belts males wear? (Not karate belts etc.)68.148.149.184 (talk) 07:56, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Concerning fashion in the U.S.: Typically, in the United States, men don't wear white leather belts, also called "white patent leather belts", unless they are participating in golf or are a (poorly dressed) used-car salesperson. Skeeter.bob (talk) 16:06, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Or hipsters, they've been quite popular for the last ten years or so in that crowd.142.132.4.26 (talk) 02:01, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Which underground cartoonist did a strip about the White Shoes and Belt Conspiracy? —Tamfang (talk) 05:56, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Ray-Ban Ink

On Ray-Ban glasses, on the top righthand corner of the right lens (probably on the outside), it's logo (Ray-Ban™) can be found. Considering there is no contact info on the website, when ordering from the website, do the glasses ship with this "logo"?68.148.149.184 (talk) 08:03, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes. The logo is etched right onto the lens. (For some reason many Ray-Ban customers seem to think this is a good thing.)

This only applies to non-prescription Ray-Bans. Most prescription Ray-Bans will not carry the logo because very few optical shops are authorized to etch the logo into a lens. APL (talk) 22:54, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

JL

What stores in Greater Edmonton Area are JLJL items found?68.148.149.184 (talk) 09:27, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Trying to remember a PSONE game..

Hi, Im trying to remember a PSONE game I had played years ago. From what I can remember is that the title screen had a Dragon hovering up and down and when getting to the actual gameplay it consisted of flying around a globe like how you go around populous the beginning and fighting other dragons and attack villages. If anyone knows what the game is it would be much appreiciated. Thanks in advance.92.8.108.202 (talk) 20:26, 2 May 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.8.108.202 (talk) 20:26, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Spyro??? --Jayron32.talk.contribs 01:40, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

No not that it was a relasitic looking dragon not a purple one, thanks for trying anyway.92.23.10.112 (talk) 16:02, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Aziza mustafa zadeh

Hi! I'm a found of Aziza's music, does somebody knows where can I get sheets of her music? I tried in so many libraries and stuff. If you know, PLEASE tell me!!!! It is urgent... Please, please!!! Thank you, dinahas@walla.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.180.10.59 (talk) 22:10, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Song about kisses

Moved from Miscellaneous Desk

There is a song about kisses, where a little 4-year-old sings and half way through says 'muckemschmuckem' and a load of other stuff which is hilarious. Anyone know what the name of the song is?--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 20:13, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Is it missy elliott Gossip Folks?68.148.149.184 (talk) 03:28, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

The song is "Cuppycake", and all things Cuppycake are available at cuppycake.com. — Lomn 12:59, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Excellent! That is the one! Well done. I am shocked.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 19:36, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Model

Who is the guy (model) in this picture?68.148.149.184 (talk) 23:11, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Ben. I went to the site and kept clicking next 'til he appeared. He's on page 8. --71.247.139.146 (talk) 06:23, 3 May 2009 (UTC)