Top 20 Actors Recreated with Special Effects

“Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

Marvel fans expected to see Downey Jr. take center stage in 2016’s Avenger Vs. Avenger “Civil War” slugfest Still, they were left feeling like it was the 1980s again when a shockingly accurate – and handsome! — teenage version of RDJ appeared in a family flashback scene. This scene was handled by the pros at Lola VFX that were responsible for de-aging Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This time, instead of using a digital double as they did with Pitt, Lola VFX used Downey Jr.’s actual performance and later applied digital compositing to make him appear younger. This makes the scene even more realistic as the movements and mannerisms are all RDJ and not from animation software.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)

If you weren’t totally familiar with Evans’ work in the 2000s, we’d totally forgive you for not recognizing him as Steve Rogers in the early goings of the first “Captain America” movie in 2011: he looks like the before picture of a high-school chess champion turned NCAA football player! And, the complete opposite of what we expect Captain America to look like. In other words, his digital transformation was an incredible success! In order to shrink Evans down to his pre-serum body size, FX teams used a digital technique that reduced Evans’ actual skeletal shape to that of Tiny Steve Rogers, eliminating the need for a body double, and allowing Chris to act the parts himself – making the illusion all the more realistic.

Coors Light Commercial (1992)

Two legends of war cinema… One incredible beer commercial… Yes, the Duke may have died in 1979, but he wasn’t about to sit around and let his favorite beer go to waste either. Instead, he reproaches Gunnery Sgt. Hartman from “Full Metal Jacket” (once again played by R. Lee Ermey) for blaming the presence of beer in the camp on new recruits when it’s actually his ice-cold brew. And, dammit, The Duke wants his beer back (and you don’t say “no” to John Wayne!). Now, while it’s clear the image of Wayne had been repurposed from older film roles, it should be remembered that this commercial dropped in 1992, and, considering the technology available at the time, it looks really, really good.

Gap’s “Keep It Simple” TV Ad (2006)

Gap wanted to advertise their skinny black pants, and couldn’t find an actress or model better than Audrey Hepburn to do so. After all, she was the model of sophistication – unfortunately she’d passed away 13-years previously. After earning the permission of her estate and giving a donation to her children’s fund, Gap managed – with help from a visual effects studio – to manufacture their vision of the ideal marketing campaign, by lifting footage from her 1957 musical “Funny Face.” According to GAP’s VP, they chose Hepburn specifically to represent the timelessness of style.

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” (2004)

A testament to his stage and screen legacy, the producers of this diesel-punk sci-fi flick decided that only Laurence Olivier had the chops to play the movie’s main villain, Dr. Totenkopf. The only problem? Olivier’s been dead since 1989. In their defense, that kinda fits the story, as his character had been dead 20-years in the film, and is onscreen as a hologram version of himself. We think this was a respectful way to add another film to Olivier’s CV, while also putting archived BBC footage of the actor to good use.

“Tron: Legacy” (2010)
Having Jeff Bridges co-star beside a younger version of himself seems like an ambitious challenge that could have potentially failed miserably under not-so-heavy scrutiny. Regardless, it was too cool not to try in the context of a plot involving a character trapped in cyberspace for two decades with his youthful and villainous computer doppelganger. To pull this off, they mapped his face and digitally recreated it based on his appearance in his 1984 film “Against All Odds,” occasionally pasting it onto a younger actor’s body for the action sequences.

“Captain Marvel” (2019)

File this one under: This whole digital de-aging thing is getting a little bit too realistic… Watching a digitized Jackson doing his thing up there on the big screen – only looking twenty-years younger – had us wondering what decade we were in. Seriously, was it 2019 or 1999? Yes, advanced technology had a lot to do with it, but so too did Jackson’s ageless features, according to “Captain Marvel” co-director Ryan Fleck. At just over 70 years of age, Jackson doesn’t look a day over 50, and so his already youthful appearance greatly enhanced his digitized younger self to the point where no body double was needed. We didn’t realize it until we saw “Captain Marvel,” but we need a young Nick Fury movie ASAP!

Volkswagen Golf GTI TV Ad (2005)

Uh, why is Gene Kelly poppin’ and lockin’? Because “Singin’ in the Rain” is so 1952. Actually, it’s to sell the VW Golfs. B-boy master Elsewhere wore a prosthetic facemask along with a wet suit to keep from freezing under artificial rain for hours on a sound stage to recreate and update one of the most famous dance scenes in cinema history. Though some viewers found the ad a little disrespectful, Kelly’s estate approved it so it’s safe to enjoy.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008)

Pitt’s role as “Benjamin Button” was one of the more powerful examples of just how spectacular aging and de-aging technology would – and could – be in film. Benjamin is born old, and ages in reverse, so a lot of digital effects were needed. Out of the movie’s 166-minute runtime, 52 of them (incredibly) do not actually feature the actor at all! That’s 325 shots where special effects replaced Pitt altogether; and, yet, we’re still watching a Brad Pitt performance even though it’s just a computer-generated version of the hunky actor’s face on another actor’s body for some of the scenes. Either way, it still holds up very well to this day. No wonder it took home the Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects Oscars.

“Superman Returns” (2006)
After portraying the character in the 1978 film, the late Marlon Brando reprises his role as Superman’s father Jor-El in this reboot-slash-sequel. After negotiating with Brando’s estate, director Bryan Singer was able to embrace the legacy of the Christopher Reeve movie, and actually manages to show Jor-El from multiple angles and with new mouth movements thanks to CGI and extra footage from the original – which included outtakes as well as unused takes. And overall, we think the effect is super.

“J’Adore Dior – The Film” (2011)
This commercial is so polished digitally; it’s easy to miss out on the fact that three of the actresses featured in it aren’t really there. But this time-warp ad directed by Oscar-winning director Jean-Jacques Annaud allows Charlize Theron to run into three of the most glamorous actresses in Hollywood history, as she rushes for the runway. Footage of the legendary women’s faces was inserted almost seamlessly into the video, including Marilyn’s bold endorsement of the product.

“Ant Man” (2015)

The opening moments of “Ant Man” had us wondering if we had mistakenly started watching 1987’s hit movie “Wall Street” starring a much younger Michael Douglas instead of the latest Marvel flick. But, alas, it was just another example of incredible de-aging work done by famed digital specialists Lola VFX. The company used lots of Douglas’ work from the 80s to sculpt and mold his then 70-year-old face to look 25 years younger – and did it ever pay off! Douglas looked so good that, in 2018’s follow up “Ant Man and the Wasp,” his co-star Michelle Pfeiffer also underwent the de-aging process and came out looking stunning as well. Not that either of these two attractive actors ever looked bad, mind you!

“The Crow” (1994)

After Brandon Lee died onset from a gunshot accident during production, the cast and crew were so devastated they decided to finish the film in his memory. The CGI was so meticulous that to this day it’s hard to tell which scenes feature Brandon Lee and which feature his disguised body doubles. Brandon’s father, the legendary Bruce Lee, also needed similar trickery to complete his last movie after he passed away suddenly at the age of 32, but more on that later. His son definitely got the less obvious posthumous film treatment.

“The Irishman” (2019)

It’s one thing to de-age Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans, but to knock 25 years off De Niro, Pacino and Pesci (gentleman all nearing the big 8-0) – without the use of motion capture – was a feat requiring entirely new technology. The team at Industrial Light & Magic was up to the task after an early test on De Niro proved hopeful, and then spent the next two years developing the tech that would allow the movie to be shot with a new camera rig system and without motion capture. Whether you think the end result is as good as the Marvel examples, this new way of de-aging actors is much more actor friendly and less invasive, which allows for greater performances from the actors themselves.

“Gladiator” (2000)
At a cost of roughly $3.2-million for mere minutes of material, Reed’s head was masked onto another actor’s body perfectly, in what may be one of the best creations of a posthumous performance for its time. We’re pretty sure you wouldn’t suspect anything while watching if you didn’t already know that the actor had died of a heart attack before the end of production. This happened while on a break from filming his scenes as Proximo, the freed slave, and the finished product was dedicated in his honor.

“Game of Death” (1978)

This next recreation doesn’t hold up well today, but at the time it was quite something to behold. Lee passed away suddenly in 1973 with only 100 minutes of “Game of Death” shot. Instead of scrapping the picture, Hong Kong production company Golden Harvest used all manner of workarounds to finish it. Some of these tricks are primitive – such as a cardboard cutout of Lee’s face or footage from his actual funeral – but the film still achieved critical and financial success It also gave the world one of Lee’s most iconic moments, donning the legendary black and yellow jumpsuit in a fight against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Tragically, Brandon Lee – Bruce’s son – also had to be digitally recreated in 1994’s “The Crow” after dying on set.

“Terminator Salvation” (2009)

It’s brave to reanimate an actor with facial close-ups in a relatively climactic fight scene, but it was necessary with Arnold, who is too advanced in years to still be playing a killer robot at this point in the franchise. Prosthetic face castings from his 1984 heyday as the T-800 gave the producers the exact shape and measurement needed of the action hero to create the digital makeup, while another bodybuilder’s body was used as the stand-in. The backup plan if Arnie had said no? Just shoot his face off.

“Furious 7” (2015)

If you thought Brad Pitt not actually appearing in 325 shots of “Benjamin Button” was a feat of technical innovation, then the recreation of Walker in the seventh “Fast and Furious” movie is equally as impressive. Walker died in 2013 before filming had wrapped, and a decision was made to complete the film using the already shot footage supplemented by stand ins and CGI effects. Walker’s brothers were hired as stand ins, along with actor John Brotherton, and a total of 350 CGI shots were needed to finish the late actor’s role in the film. Considering the team at Weta Digital didn’t have any images of Walker scanned before his passing, and thus had to rely on old photos, the results are outstanding.

“Forrest Gump” (1994)

Forrest Gump’s epic life story has ups, downs, and multiple encounters with celebrities, whom unfortunately were not alive to help him tell his tale. Instead, extensive visual effects were used to integrate Tom Hanks with manipulated archive footage of encounters with Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and musicians Elvis Presley and John Lennon. Blue screen, rotoscoping, chroma key and image warping, as well as voice doubles were some of the techniques that Industrial Light & Magic used to bring these iconic historical characters back to life. Movie magic at its most impressive!

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Will Smith
“Gemini Man” (2019)

Crispin Glover
“Back to the Future, Part II” (1989)

Humphrey Bogart
“Tales from the Crypt” (1989-1996)

Nancy Marchand
Proshai, Livushka: “The Sopranos” (2001)

Steve McQueen
Ford Mustang TV Ad (2004)

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)

Shooting a prequel film roughly forty years after the original movie released makes for a whole host of issues, but none more so than in the acting department. With both the characters of Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin returning in “Rogue One,” getting the original actors to reprise the roles would be impossible – as Fisher was no longer young and Cushing had passed away in 1994. So, in keeping with continuity, both characters were recreated using Fisher and Cushing’s likeness from past “Star Wars” movies. Thanks to Industrial Light and Magic’s effort, the result is uncanny, and even the Princess herself was impressed with the recreation of her younger self.