Side-by-Side Photos of Real People and the Celebs Who Played Them On-Screen

Emma Stone or Billie Jean King? (We can't tell either.)

Emma Stone
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight + Getty)

Films based on true stories always seem like the hardest to make. Amongst a roster of things to consider, you have to make sure the story is spot on, and actors are ready to face some kind of backlash with family members claiming it put them in a "bad light." But the one major challenge of making a biopic? Finding the right actor to play the real-life subject. Some movies are scarily accurate, casting true doppelgängers. And others are just like, "Are these supposed to be the same person?"

Half the time, the movie portrayal of the story is the first time people can get a really good image of what that character would've looked like IRL. I mean, who could forget when Zac Efron played the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy? (I feel like the casting was a little too nice on that pick.) Either way, imagine being cool enough to have a movie made about you and an A-lister live out your life on screen. Ahead, 41 photos of real people next to the actors who played them in films. Spot-on casting? You be the judge.

Bianca Rodriguez
Editor

Bianca Rodriguez is the Fashion & Luxury Commerce Manager at Hearst Magazines, covering fashion, beauty, and more for Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Town & Country. She likes lounging about with a good book and thinks a closet without platform sneakers is a travesty.