In honor of Benjamin Button—which raked in an impressive 13 Oscar nominations—we've decided to pay homage to movies with really impressive makeup effects. Makeup effects so impressive that, be honest, you didn't realize who the actors were the first time you saw them. We'll start you off easy with more recent films and stars that didn't have their entire face emaciated or covered. On that note - we promise to minimize the number of stars whose faces are completely and unrecognizably changed.

For the film buffs among us, this might not be the most difficult test; but I assure you, there were some in here that even I had no idea of until just an hour ago. Kinda cool.

Try to name the Actor and the Film. If you can name the character as well, we bow to your film knowledge.

Answers after every 5.

1. This one should be easy enough. I mean hell -

for an entire year there was nothing but talk about how

"well" this actress changed her appearance.

2. Here we have yet another startling change. Do you remember

which movie this one's from? Okay, and the actress is?

If you're finding this too easy, don't worry it'll start getting

harder real soon. But first...

3. Did you miss this one? If you saw the movie this is

from you know just how good this performance was

(in fact, this performance is nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar).

4. Anyone? This one's going back a few years, but you should all

at least know the actor.

5. While not muchmore than a sideshow in a recent buddy-roadtrip-stoner

flick, this actor's malformed face—warts and all—still

manages to betray a pretty fair amount of the actor's facial features.

Answers 1-5

1. Nicole Kidman as "Virginia Woolf" in The Hours

2. Charlize Theron as "Aileen" in Monster

3. Robert Downey Jr. as "Kirk Lazarus" in Tropic Thunder

4. Jeff Goldblum as" Seth Brundle" in The Fly

5. Christopher Meloni as "Freakshow" in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Alright, that first batch should have been relatively easy. I tried to give you 4 snapshots that didn't stray too far from the faces of the original actors while keeping the movie selection newer and on the more famous end. Now they'll start to get harder. Ready?

6. A famous actor impersonating another famous

actor known for his numerous roles as a famous Transylvanian.

7. Don't feel stupid if you can't get this one, because when

the credits rolled and this actor's name was revealed I heard

audible gasps from about 20 different people in the theater.

8. If you can get past this honkin' shnoz and

unibrow, you might be able to recognize this British actress.

9. This well-known comedian donned so much makeup

for his role in this beloved cult-classic that most people

don't recognize him until he speaks.

10. Now, if you ignore everything about this picture except

for the face, you might be able to figure out who

the actor is. But even then, it's pretty well

hidden underneath all the prosthetic skin.

Answers 6-10

6. Martin Landau as "Bela Lugosi" in Ed Wood

7. Tom Cruise as "Len Grossmann" in Tropic Thunder

8. Emma Thompson as "Nanny McPhee" in Nanny McPhee

9. Billy Crystal as "Miracle Max" in Princess Bride

10. John Leguizamo as "Clown/Violator" in Spawn

I don't know if you got 10, or if being a movie buff you just knew (the actor's voice is pretty distinctive), but coming up are 5 which I'm not sure many are aware of—but hey, maybe I'm wrong.













11. If after watching the first Hellboy you want to say

this is David Hyde Pierce in makeup, that would be

understandable. But it would also be wrong

(there's a whole voice-over conflict that occurred).

So who is it?













12. Am I the only one amazed that despite "losing" half

his face, this actor is still quite recognizable?













13. If you find this one too hard, I'd recommend concentrating

on the mouth and eyes as they seem to give this actor away

more often than not.













14. If you don't get this one, it's because there's so much

about this character that distracts from the actor's face, and

also because it's another one of those cult classic flicks

you might never have heard of.













15. I feel somewhat cheap for using this one as the performer

in question didn't actually look like this for the entire film. In fact,

the majority of this film was about flaunting their sexuality.

So if you know this one - kudos to you.





11. Doug Jones as "Abe Sapien" in Hellboy II

12. Liam Neeson as "Darkman" in Darkman

13. Willem Dafoe as "Schreck" in Shadow of the Vampire

14. Tim Curry as "The Lord of Darkness" in Legend

15. Salma Hayek as "Lola Cirillo" in After the Sunset





These 5 will require at least one of two things: an expansive film knowledge or a really keen eye. I leave both of those things up to you. Here we go.













16. This actor made (and eventually ruined) a name

for himself by starring in multiple films as multiple

characters.













17. This actor's most famous role is one he has also

claimed, in many interviews, to detest for distracting people

from acknowledging the rest of his work

— this film and role among them.













18. I know, I know. How are you supposed to recognize

the actor when his face is covered in fur? Well, actually,

if you know the actor you'll know that by looking at

everything from the eyes down, his face is quite recognizable.













19. As a lover of this movie, I was shocked to learn who

this was. Once you know, you'll be able to see it

immediately. But when trying to identify the performer

playing this pirate — goddamn, you'd never know it watching the movie.













20. Here it is, the creme de la creme. An actor everyone

knows and respects in a role so disfigured you'd never know it was them.









16. Eddie Murphy as "Saul" in Coming to America

17. Alec Guinness as "Fagin" in Oliver Twist

18. Peter Sellers as "The March Hare" in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

19. Glenn Close as "Gutless" in Hook

20. Gary Oldman as "Mason Verger" in Hannibal