9 Insane Times Movies Stupidly Hid Actors Behind Prosthetics

9. Idris Elba - Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond Idris Elba
Paramount Pictures

If you're cast in a Star Trek movie, there's a good chance your performance is going to be wasted after being forced into some kind of alien costume. In fact, the most recent instalment in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond, took this to the next level with Idris Elba's alien warlord, Krall.

Though quite a menacing presence, Elba is entirely obscured by the prosthetics required to transform him into the villain. He's completely unrecognisable for the most part, and even some brilliantly intense eye acting couldn't quite detract from the fact that his ability to emote had been reduced massively by the bulky prosthetics weighing him down.

Fortunately Elba didn't spend all of his time wearing the makeup, and there actually is a cool little twist towards the end that sort of, maybe, justifies it. Still, there's no denying that the actor's best talents were mostly wasted by being caked in such a garish set of alien prosthetics.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.