Some celebrities have faces that are so unique that they really set them apart from the crowd, and it’s part of the reason why they’ve made it so big.
Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum hasn’t even finished a sentence, yet eyebrows have started another one. His long nose and sleepy-looking eyes move at their own pace, while that crooked grin is utterly irresistible. It’s so wonderfully odd.Â
Goldblum’s most iconic role is as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, where he managed to make chaos theory somehow look flirtatious. It’s not exactly an easy thing to do. He flipped it all for The Fly and made that same familiar face into something utterly unrecognizable.
Richard Kiel
Metal teeth. They’re what made Richard Kiel famous, but really, they weren’t the only feature people noticed. He was over 7 feet tall. Kiel suffered from something called acromegaly, which gave him a broad jaw and pronounced brow. It also gave him unusually large facial features.
Most people recognized him for playing Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, and then they saw him in Moonraker. There’s no denying that he looked terrifying on-screen. It was a different story off-screen, though, because Kiel spoke softly and often seemed rather shy. Quite a difference.
Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton is one of those celebrities with a face that changes depending on the haircut or lighting. Even her eyebrows, or lack of them, can change how she looks. It’s no wonder that she was such a natural fit for Orlando and the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia.
That pale skin and those narrow features are so iconic. Her high cheekbones and almost otherworldly stare only add to her appeal. She has a face that makes her stand out, in a good way.
Willem Dafoe
You can’t mistake it. Willem Dafoe’s grin is like nobody else’s on the planet, especially with how his smile stretches wide and his cheek lines deepen. He has a way of making his whole face seem a little dangerous, even when he’s being friendly.
That’s a good thing, however, as it helped make him unforgettable as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. It also worked in The Lighthouse and Poor Things. One second, his narrow eyes and sharp jaw look warm, and the next, they look threatening. What a guy.
Anya Taylor-Joy
The first thing most people notice about Anya Taylor-Joy’s face is her eyes. They’re quite wide-set, but that works in her favor because it means it’s hard to forget her face. Her high cheekbones and small chin only help.
She has a way of looking delicate or severe with just one glance. It’s something she really leaned into in The Witch and The Queen’s Gambit. All those close-ups did plenty of the work. She’s just that talented.
Rami Malek
It doesn’t matter whether Rami Malek’s standing completely still or not, he can still look intensely focused. A lot of that is down to his large, light-colored eyes. These really stand out sharply against his dark hair and brows.
They suited him perfectly when he played Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot because they gave him a stare that matched Alderson’s watchful personality almost too well. His strong brow and slightly unusual gaze make him recognizable, without him even saying a word.
Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi is proof that you don’t need a polished or even standard look to be a leading man. It’s exactly why his face works so well on-screen, honestly. He has large eyes and narrow cheeks that help to make him seem funny, nervous, suspicious, or all three at once.Â
Buscemi used that look brilliantly in Fargo and Reservoir Dogs. It even works when he’s playing someone calm because he makes it seem like there’s something restless happening in his face. He feels like he knows something, maybe he does, maybe not. It’s all in a look.
Michaela Coel
Try watching Michaela Coel in an interview, and you’ll notice that her face rarely stays in one place for long. Not in a polished way or anything, but more in a natural way that makes her face immediately memorable.
Her face has so much life to it, whether it’s because of her high cheekbones or close-cropped hair. She went from the liveliness of Chewing Gum to the restraint of I May Destroy You, seemingly so easily.
Adam Driver
You don’t need to fit the Hollywood mold to stand out. Just ask Adam Driver, for example, because his unique looks have probably helped him more than hurt him. He has a long nose and prominent ears. Coupled with that strong, slightly uneven jaw, he looks very serious.
He could be saying something funny, but it doesn’t matter. He seems intense. It worked for Kylo Ren in Star Wars, and also made his subtler performances in Marriage Story and Paterson feel pretty direct. Intimidating, awkward, tired, or gentle, he can do it all, without changing much.
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is someone who knows how distinctive her face is, and she built an entire visual identity around it. Yes, she used those sharp cheekbones and straight jawline in her favor. Her choice of makeup only brings out those features and makes her look almost sculpted.
Photographers helped push those angles even further. You can see it in the album images she created with Jean-Paul Goude. She appeared in A View to a Kill and Conan the Destroyer, too, but by that time, her profile was already famous. Very few people can pull off that kind of severe styling.
Barbra Streisand
A director told Barbra Streisand early in her career that she might want to change her nose if she wanted to get famous. She didn’t. Thank goodness for that. Her decision to stay natural left her with one of the most familiar faces in entertainment.
That long bridge and slight bump, along with her strong eyes, make her instantly recognizable. It doesn’t matter whether you see her onstage or close-up. You know exactly who you’re looking at when you see her.
Björk
Björk is easily one of the most bizarre music artists out there, and she knows that. She once wore a swan outfit, and she sometimes has tiny hair buns or face paint. But make no mistake, she still looks like Björk through it all because her face is that unique.
The strangest kind of styling can’t take away that heart-shaped face or dark almond eyes. The musician’s face can seem childlike one moment, and then utterly severe the next. It’s a fact, there’s nobody out there who looks anything like Björk.
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie is hardly someone you can overlook. She’s 6 feet 3 inches tall, for starters, so there’s no way you can ignore her. Her face only helps with that. Christie’s high cheekbones and long jaw give her a stunningly elegant look.
Game of Thrones used that perfectly when she played Brienne of Tarth, while on Wednesday, those features made her the pretty-unnerving Principal Weems. Christie’s features are strong enough to carry armor or couture. She has that kind of range.
Joaquin Phoenix
So many people think the small line above Joaquin Phoenix’s upper lip is a surgical scar. They’re wrong. It’s actually a microform cleft, a mild form of cleft lip that he’s had since he was born. It works for him, though, because it makes his uneven smile look even more unusual.
Let’s not forget those deep-set eyes or that heavy brow, either. They’re just so special. Phoenix has the kind of face that can look worn down, even when he might be playing someone young.
Shelley Duvall
It’s no surprise that Shelley Duvall became such a star. She didn’t look like anyone else working in Hollywood during the 1970s, after all, and that’s why Robert Altman kept calling her back. Those enormous brown eyes did a lot of the work, and her wild smile only helped her stand out.
She had a way of looking sweet for one shot, and then completely overwhelmed in the next. The Shining pushed her face into full panic mode. You can probably imagine those close-ups without trying very much.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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