9 Famous Actors You Won't Recognise In Upcoming Movies

There are some remarkably strange performances in upcoming movies. At the lower end of the scale, James Corden is playing Peter Rabbit, then there's Paul McCartney playing a pirate and Elton John a spy, or Anne Hathaway mo-capping a gigantic kaiju in Colossal. It seems in the absence of really great roles, that Hollywood is instead becoming increasingly obsessed with trick casting work.

But thank God for the good old fashioned magic of complete transformation, eh? This year has already seen a decidedly unsexied Matthew McConaughey; and it will yet see Zac Efron unveiled in his new levelled-up form after he spend way too long working with The Rock plus a decidedly more shaggy Armie Hammer in the exquisite looking Free Fire. It's good to know that pageantry and disguise are still embraced as important parts of professionally playing pretend.

Those transformations are but drops in the ocean, though, and meagre ones in comparison to some of the utterly transformative performances coming in future movies. Who says an actor's most valuable brand is their face...?

When Tim Curry was cast as the terrifying, iconic clown at the centre of the first screen adaptation of Stephen King's It, he was striking precisely because he was recognisable. His almost grotesquely large mouth and deliciously animated eyes pierced through the heavy make-up, and it was very much a look based on his established brand. After all, they had the face behind Frank N Furter - they were never going to mess with it that much.

But Bill Skarsgard's transformation into the new Pennywise is as striking as it is complete. The Allegiant actor may not be the most recognisable figure outside of YA movie fan circles, but even if he was, he would be utterly unrecognisable as the demonic clown.

It's a masterstroke of casting and make-up (chiefly because it avoids direct comparisons with Curry's work) and you would never imagine under all that greasepaint would be a man this... normal looking...