39 actors who completely transformed themselves into real-life music legends

Mitchell's transformation into the late N.W.A rapper Eazy-E for "Straight Outta Compton" blew critics away. The actor "consistently out-acts the rest of the performers," a New York Times review said. Mitchell, who has a similarly built frame to Eazy-E, gained weight, practiced a South Los Angeles accent, and learned how to rap for the role, according to the Los Angeles Times. Corey Hawkins became Dr. Dre and O'Shea Jackson Jr. transformed into his father, Ice Cube, for the film.

English actor Hiddleston transformed into the folk singer, Southern drawl and all, for "I Saw the Light." Hiddleston stayed with singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell for five weeks and was coached in Williams' mannerisms and singing style.

Jett and Stewart met before the movie was filmed so Stewart could learn about the rock star from the musician herself.

"The thing that came through to me was that it was important to her to capture it," Jett told Interview Magazine. "She really wanted to nail it, so I gave her all The Runaways music that I could find; I gave her tapes of me talking...And she really soaked it in. When we were hanging out together on set, it was like I had a mirror image. Even just sitting around, we'd do the same thing at the same time."

The actor spent three hours in the makeup chair for his full-body prosthetics and wig to get the looks. And with the help of a vocal coach and choreographer and advice from some of Brown's surviving relatives, as well as Mick Jagger, one of the film's producers, Boseman gave an electrifying performance.

The Puerto Rican actress was met with some backlash because of her heritage. Lopez perfected the late singer's dialect and studied performance footage of the music sensation.

"This is someone who's fresh in the public's mind, so you need to do your homework on this gig," Lopez told Entertainment Weekly.

To play a younger version of the Beach Boys founder Wilson in "Love & Mercy," Dano learned how to play piano and bass.

Wilson told the Chicago Tribune, "He looked a little bit like me at age 24. But the way he portrayed me producing records — you know? — was very factual, accurate, stimulating."

Dano received a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor. John Cusack plays an older Wilson in the film.

He won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics' Choice Award for best actor. To embody the blind pianist, he had to lose nearly 30 pounds and had his eyes glued shut every day.

She won numerous awards, including the Oscar for best actress. She wasn't initially considered for the role. But when she met with director Olivier Dahan, he was transfixed by her eyes and how they reminded him of a photo of a teenage Piaf.

He sang all of the songs in the film, mimicking Cash's signature voice.

"Music is always part of how John communicates what he's feeling and seeing," Phoenix told ABC News. "And that couldn't be faked."

Based on a biography written by Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird, the movie told the story of Lennon's adolescence. It covered the relationship he had with his aunt Mimi Smith and his mother Julia Lennon, as well as the formation of his first band, the Quarrymen, which would evolve into the Beatles.

Johnson began dating Sam Taylor-Wood, the film's director, and the two married in 2012.

Bassett prepared for her audition with the film's choreographer, and after performing "Proud Mary," she got the role. Laurence Fishburne, who played Ike Turner, also earned an Oscar nomination.

Cheadle was first roped into a biopic about Davis back in 2006 when Davis, who died in 1991, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Afterward, Davis' nephew said Cheadle would play his uncle in a film of his life. Cheadle eventually co-wrote a script, signed on to direct, and portrayed the jazz musician in "Miles Ahead."

(Cheadle also portrayed Sammy Davis Jr. in 1998's "The Rat Pack," for which he won a Golden Globe.)

Portraying the "Empress of Blues" "left this mark on me," Queen Latifah told NPR. The singer was praised for her role in the HBO film "Bessie," which won an Emmy for outstanding television movie.

He reprised the role of Biggie Smalls in "All Eyez on Me," a biopic about Tupac Shakur released in 2017.

Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace was a producer on "Notorious." And according to MTV, she helped pick Woolard to play her son.

"He came in the room, and I said, 'That's my son,'" Wallace told MTV News.

Valli's life as the front man of The Four Seasons has been documented on Broadway since 2005. Young won a Tony Award for his portrayal. Clint Eastwood brought the story to the big screen in 2014.

To land the role of Morrison, Kilmer made his own eight-minute video highlighting his singing abilities and changing his looks to match Morrison to send to director Oliver Stone. Once cast, he dieted for months and spent six months rehearsing songs. He also trained with Paul Rothchild, who produced all but one of The Doors' albums. Surviving band members were not thrilled with the film.

Before the movie aired, Russell reportedly told the Los Angeles Times: "I know one thing, there's no in-between. It's either really going to be great or really horrible, just stinking."

It was a success. The film helped shoot Russell's career forward.

"I said, if I'm going to do this, I'm going out in flames. I'm controlling this airplane," Russell told GQ in 2016. "I'm taking it down, or I'm going to break through the clouds my way. And when I did that, that's when I had an epiphany moment, saying, 'Kurt, where have you been your whole life? Wake the f--k up. This is what you're supposed to do.'"

Her skin was darkened and the filmmakers added prosthetics to make Saldana appear more like Simone.

In response to the casting choice and backlash, Simone's daughter told Time, "It's unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture. It's clear she brought her best to this project, but unfortunately she's being attacked when she's not responsible for any of the writing or the lies."

But she also said she was against the making of the film.

"The project has been tainted from the very beginning," she said. "Clearly, it is not the truth about my mother's life and everyone now knows that. This is not how you want your loved ones remembered."

Quaid practiced piano and took singing lessons for about three to five hours a day in order to learn how to imitate Lewis' piano skills. Though Lewis wasn't a big fan of the film according to AMC, Lewis said Quaid "really pulled it off."

He played the guitar and recorded the songs for the film, as well as lost 32 pounds to play Holly, according to Busey's biography.

She earned her fourth Oscar nomination for the role.

Meryl Streep wanted to play Cline, but later said, "When I saw ['Sweet Dreams'] ... I couldn't imagine doing it as well or even coming close to what Jessica did because she was so amazing in it."

Goldman beat out Daniel Day Lewis for the part and initially turned down the chance to play Vicious. But after accepting the role, he started to lose weight to mimic Vicious' skeletal body. According to GQ, the actor wasn't eating enough and collapsed in his car, too weak to move.

He told Playboy that he doesn't like himself in the film.

"I don't think I played Sid Vicious very well," he said.

About playing the role, Mantegna said, "My goal wasn't to mimic him. It was to capture him."

Lynn had chosen Spacek to play her based on a photo she saw of the actress. To prepare for the role, Spacek traveled with Lynn for a year to study how she spoke and sang. Spacek did all her own singing in the movie.

The biopic about the teen musician earned a Golden Globe nomination. Los Lobos singer David Hidalgo lent his vocals to the film, while Phillips lip-synced the words. A guitar instructor was also on-set to coach him on strumming the guitar.

Ross, a famous musician in her own right, played Holiday in this 1972 biographical movie based on Holiday's autobiography of the same name. The movie was nominated for five Oscars, including best actress in a leading role.

The biopic was told from the perspective of Lavoe's wife Puchi, who was played by Jennifer Lopez. The movie was controversial for focusing on Lavoe's drug addiction and death from AIDS, which he contracted through sharing needles.

Trumpeter Ben Promane helped Hawke grasp basic trumpet skills and taught him how to look like he played the trumpet with his front teeth missing, like Baker. The movie was more drama than biopic though.

The movie was based on the memoir "Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace," written by Scott Thorson, Liberace's lover later in life. Matt Damon plays Thorson in the movie. Douglas didn't actually play the piano for the film.

Aside from Guthrie and his first wife Mary, most of the people and events portrayed in the movie are fictional. The movie earned six Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won for music and cinematography.

The "Mr. Robot" star played the musician in the biographical movie "Bohemian Rhapsody," named after Queen's hit song. The film followed 15 years of Mercury's life — from the band's beginnings to six years before his death. Malek won an Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for his portrayal.

The biopic centered on the "Wizard of Oz" actress' final concerts in London before her death at 47.

The Elton John biopic "Rocketman" is about John's rise to musical acclaim starting from his years at the Royal Academy of Music. Jamie Bell, Gemma Jones, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Richard Madden also starred in the movie.

The Netflix movie is a biopic about how rock band Mötley Crüe formed and rose to fame.

"The Dirt" is adapted from the autobiographical book "The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band," authored by Mötley Crüe and Neil Strauss.

Rights to the book were first bought in 2006, but the film moved around to various studios until Netflix bought the rights in 2017.

"The Dirt" was released on Netflix on Friday, March 22.

In November 2019, Netflix shared a first look at the actress transforming into Quintanilla for "Selena: The Series." The show will debut on the streaming service on Friday, December 4, 2020.

The first teaser for the film, titled "Respect," was released in December 2019 and showed the Grammy-winning singer performing the titular track.

"Respect" hit theaters in 2021 and the actress previously said that the late singer specifically asked Hudson to portray her.