15 Movie Characters Who Look Nothing Like They Did In Real Life

9. Richard Kuklinski - The Iceman

From Goodfellas to one of its many inferior imitators. The Iceman is the story of Richard Kuklinski, a contract killer who allegedly killed hundreds of people (amazingly he was ultimately only convicted on three murders), although the film seems to grossly misunderstand the appeal.

Turning the origins of Kuklinski's nickname into one of the film's central driving forces (in reality it was because he froze his victims so the police wouldn't know when the murder occurred, but the film throws out a multitude of different reasons), the film was fundamentally flawed in the casting of Michael Shannon. Proving himself as a competent character actor in the likes of Revolutionary Road, he's not the right fit for the role.

Here not looking like the real person is central to the issue; the intriguing part of the whole story is that Kuklinski hid his murderous secret life behind a veil of a family life. Shannon doesn't look like Kuklinski, sure, but neither does he look domesticated enough for the lack of resemblance to be justified.