you said Sammy how does he know about
Sammy Oh
you may recognize their faces but
somehow in all their movies everything
else has changed welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we'll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
chameleons actors and actresses I
appreciate your honesty
for this list we'll be looking at actors
and actresses who change so much about
themselves from role to role that
audiences have learned that they will
always keep us guessing when we see them
on screen keep in mind that there may be
some spoilers so this is your spoiler
alert so I guess the bank's gonna be
your next step huh the bank number 10
Christian Bale listen listen very very
carefully dedicated to his craft
Christian Bale has spent his career
making some of the most dramatic changes
to his body of any actor we can think of
okay
arguably one of the best actors of this
or any generation Bale has never rested
solely on his natural talents instead
going from ripped and American Psycho to
dangerously skinny in the machinist
making similar changes for roles like
the fighter and rain of fire bail is
willing to undergo almost any kind of
transformation if he believes it will
add to his performance whether it be for
a blockbuster flick or an indie
production I mean I get some a pretty
sick guy with multiple Oscar Golden
Globe and other awards under his belt it
seems like it's all been worth it hey
hero
are you live long enough to see yourself
become a villain
number nine ben kingsley there's a
little matter we have to discuss good
cuz I got a little matter I want to
discuss with you come on come on if you
watched Gandhi and sexy beast
back-to-back the whiplash that Ben
Kingsley's performances would cause
could leave you with a sore neck for
weeks mr. Roundtree no yes Roundtree yes
grown up earning Award nominations for
playing its ax turn oscar schindler's
right-hand man in Schindler's List and
Mayr Lansky one of America's most
ruthless at deadly mobsters in Bugsy
he's capable of admirably pulling off
any role given to him by the law I have
to tell you so I'm a Jew well I'm a
German the perfect example of Kingsley's
ability to switch forms may have been
seen in Iron Man 3 though playing a
terrifying villain and a comedic actor
in one film says it all I am a little
problem with substances and I ended up
I'm doing things no two ways about it in
the street that a man should do next
number 8 Philip Seymour Hoffman thank
you very much
some casual observers may have been
foolish enough to think that mr.
Hoffman's performances are primarily of
the sad and downer variety I was the guy
goddamn
snow queen in the history of PS 11
Paramus New Jersey but that couldn't be
farther from the truth you want to wash
my shirt what are we gonna do while
we're waiting in your hotel room when
I'm not wearing my shirt Dolly's role in
owning Mahony is arguably the best
example of that type of performance his
turns and films like Boogie Nights or
almost famous couldn't be further from
Matt she cannot make friends with the
rock stars capable of also playing
comedic characters or villains often
ultimately won his only Academy Award
for Capote a role in which he
effectively combined most of the
different facets of his men
other performances true and Capote
Dorothy Sanderson I figured you'd be
left alone this morning by that
hard-working husband of yours so I have
breakfast number 7 Edward Norton I am
Jack's complete lack of surprise
what like Ben Kingsley Edward Norton is
capable of playing one role in
completely different ways in different
parts of a single film you have a
shooting fireman
ah come here you shooting my family I'm
gonna teach you a real lesson now yeah
Norton has also pulled this off in more
than one film quit your crying I can't
understand a goddamn word you're saying
your little sister you make me sick
playing a single character that goes
through a massive change in movies like
primal fear The Incredible Hulk Fight
Club and American History X it may seem
like paradigm shifts are a gimmick for
this actor
you'd be out of here in no time come on
man's a piece of cake man aye but
clearly they're evidence of this
oscar-nominated thespians many talents
as the changes he makes are refreshing
time and time again trust me
everything's gonna be fine
number six Johnny Depp once the darling
of the film loving proud Johnny Depp has
proven himself to be a fantastic and
adaptive actor throughout his long
career what's your name Edward Edward
capable of pulling off the near silent
role of Edward Scissorhands equally as
adept as a man that never shuts up
otherwise known as Captain Jack Sparrow
Depp is truly an actor's actor you will
always remember this is the day that you
almost caught Captain Jack
even willing to strip himself of his
good looks for Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas
or play the world's best lover in Don
Juan DeMarco Depp can easily keep us
guessing and almost always does we had
two bags of grass 75 pots of mescaline
five sheets of high-powered blotter acid
a salt shaker half full of cocaine
number five Meryl Streep that's right
there is a very good reason that mystery
is arguably one of the most respected
actresses of all time and her range has
a lot to do with it please don't fuss
about it whether she's perfectly
bringing the spirit of Margaret Thatcher
or Julia Child to life through makeup
and her acting talents or stripping away
all pretenses as a mother who has to
make a horrible horrible choice Streep
never seems out of her death beneath the
veil initially $65 buck Hey bringing her
comedic talents to bear in completely
different ways in death becomes her and
adaptation you want to make sure to feed
200 or even belting out some tunes in
Mamma Mia the multiple Oscar winner
never hits a wrong note
ah
number four Dustin Hoffman mrs. Robinson
you're trying to seduce me there is a
legendary story from the filming of
Marathon Man that says that Dustin
Hoffman showed up on set after staying
awake for three days because his
character in the film had also done so
waking me up the middle by you take out
some other fellow respected actor and
co-star Laurence Olivier reportedly
retorted in response why don't you just
try acting yes I think I know what child
we're one
you want some gross caricature woman to
prove some idiotic point I like power
makes women masculine or masculine women
ugly though this story is hilarious it
also tells you everything you need to
know about Dustin Hoffman's
determination as an actor ah the
pirate's life which has led him to bring
so many unique and enthralling
award-winning performances to the big
screen that we've essentially lost count
what's the plank walk the plank break a
goddamn skull no way to collect
insurance number three Daniel day-lewis
I am the President of the United States
of America clothed in immense power any
actor who has any designs on taking an
academy award home with him better thank
the stars that this Brett is not more
prolific when do we get our money to you
why because when Daniel day-lewis sets
foot on a film set accolades seemingly
fall on him like raining we need to
tenderize his meat a little bit from
what we hear about his onset behavior
day-lewis becomes so enmeshed in
whatever role he chooses to take on that
he barely breaks character and usually
lives the role for the duration of the
filming I have a competition in me I
want no one else to succeed as a result
perhaps the only elements of his
performances that remain the same are
his facial features and that's not even
a guarantee if the worst happens stay
alive
gokhan is a fiction Northup cigar man
Spitzer here some number two cate
blanchett when director Todd Haynes and
his producers were putting together a
Bob Dylan biopic with different actors
portraying different eras of the man's
life the only woman he reportedly tapped
for the role was Cate Blanchett who said
I was sincere a testament to how much
confidence the film community and
audiences have in her abilities she
pulled off the part and garnered an
Oscar nomination for it
also winning Oscars for playing a woman
falling apart and one of pop culture's
strongest women katharine hepburn
Blanchette brings incredible poise to
every role
I'm recognizable as she may be in each
one of them it's kind of back but don't
you think
yeah well the world's a bit like that I
guess in a lot of ways before we reveal
our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions I
believe whatever doesn't kill you simply
makes you a stranger I'm gonna execute a
buttonhook pattern super slow-mo okay
standby to roll tape 30 seconds
settling a pleasant evening last night
yes thank you I got you now I got
everything on for me
so I'm gonna do it up royal this time
I'm doing it up royal how about that
there is nothing in the desert and no
man needs nothing what was that
just something from a film I like we
have a seat boy you have a sofa eggroll
we got everything you from an enlarger
to Daniels I know number one Gary Oldman
I know I'm pretty
one of the first des beans to come to
mind when you think of acting range Gary
Oldman is a character actor who is so
good at his job that he's become a
full-fledged star
despite coveting performances over
paychecks for the most part I am the
monster the breathing min-width kid I am
doc if you watched Hannibal without
knowing the story behind the production
you probably wouldn't believe that the
grotesque Mason Verger was brought to
you by Harry Potter's Sirius Black
I did my white day 12 years of it there
has never been an actor who is more
likely to keep audiences and critics
guessing and always intrigued said yeah
that's Jim Sid Vicious do you agree with
our list
not quite who's your favorite acting
chameleon you're not out you're not out
when you are dead then you are out you
are mine I own you for more
indiscernible top 10s published every
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