It’s no secret that watching biographical movies are probably one of my favourites things to do. I get to learn in-depth about a famous figure that existed wayyyy before I was born. The best part about watching biopic movies is the fact that it’s enabled me to research further after a movie is done to know the real-life stories and bit and pieces of their life clumped into one. Sometimes it’s also good to see what made this figures the person that made them who they are.
I’ve seen a good amount of biopics movies to know which swept me off my feet and expanded my knowledge further. From sportspeople, singers, war veterans, and historical figures, this actor/actress played an amazing role to bring the person that they are emulating to life. Thus, captivating audiences worldwide with their impressive performance. Here are some of the brilliant performances in biopic movies that you need to watch!
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding
This real-life story of US ice skate figure skater, Tonya Harding was at the peak of her career with bagging Olympic medal achievements to being the first American woman to land a triple axel. Then, she met her match, Nancy Kerrigan, a fellow ice skater competitor. Through this story, it was labelled as one of the biggest sports scandals of all time. Margot Robbie really captured the essence of Tonya and her tumulous relationship with her mother. According to a Rolling Stone interview, Robbie underwent rigorous skating instruction with choreographer Sarah Kawahara, who, in a bizarre coincidence, has previously worked with Kerrigan. Ever since this movie was shown to the world in 2017, it has gone to win Critics Choice Awards and Oscar’s Best Supporting Actress (Allison Janney).
Genre: Drama/Sport
Tom Hanks as Captain Sully
Who could have done a better act of real-life superhero rather than Tom Hanks himself plus the movie is directed by Clint Eastwood? ‘Sully: Miracle on the Hudson‘ premiers in the year 2016 and people still can’t stop talking about this courageous movie. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was a veteran airline pilot that was assigned to takeoff from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. While flying the plane was struck by a flock of geese that forces Sully to think fast and eventually made an emergency landing in Hudson River. All passengers and staff onboard survived the ordeal and making Sully a national hero. Tom Hanks was initially intimidated to portray a figure as such and would be a challenge to embody Sully’s level of experience and expertise in the cockpit (Project Casting). Safe to say, Hanks took off to new heights with this movie.
Genre: Drama
Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf
One of the best movies portrayals I’ve seen and have grown to love. La Vie En Rose is a movie that centres in France, at 1940s-1960s on famous French singer, Edith Piaf. Earning accolades of Academy Award for Best Actress, Marion Cotillard became a household name and marking the first time an Oscar had been given for a French-language role. Though Edith’s extraordinary voice and charisma open many doors that lead to friendships and romances, she experiences great personal loss, drug addiction and early death which makes this film one of the most sort after true stories. Marion’s role certainly encapsulates, if not an almost 90% accuracy of her brilliant performance on the late Piaf’s life story. Even though Marion did not sing in this film rather she lip-synced, it would still bring goosebumps to you.
Genre: Drama/Romance
Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking
Everyone loves the oh so sassy Stephen Hawking and his sarcastic remarks despite having to speak through a voice generator and is bound to a wheelchair. Definitely captured Director James Marsh to produce a tell-all story on Stephen Hawking called The Theory of Everything. It follows the story of a Cambridge University student and future physicist Stephen Hawking that falls in love with fellow collegian Jane Wilde. After finding out he has a motor neuron disease at the age of 21 years old, he and Jane defy terrible odds and break new ground in the fields of medicine and science, achieving more than either could hope to imagine. Eddie’s character was difficult to the point where he has to train his body like a dancer. It all paid off when Redmayne performance earned him an Academy Awards for Best Actor in 2015 and few other achievements.
Genre: Drama/Melodrama
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo
Widely known as the talented Mexican painter who draws mainly of herself and other stunning portraits too. Kahlo’s character played by Salma Hayek, Frida explores her forward-thinking artistic, political and sexual attitudes are explored as we witness a hard-drinking, passionate woman in the 1900s. This biopic translates into a bold and controversial story of Kahlo that brings up a tempestuous relationship with her mentor, along with her illicit affairs with Trotsky and various women and her crippling damage done to her. Not to mention, the elaborate fashion statement and her unibrows that she is most famous for. Salma Hayek earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal in this movie. It wasn’t easy for her to pull off a strong character as such but with research and dedication, she aces it.
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles
Another Academy Award for Best Actor for Jamie Foxx in his portrayal of the legendary Jazz singer, Ray Charles. Young Ray watches his 7-year-old brother drown at age seven. When he loses his sight at the age of 9, his hardworking mother urges him not to feel sorry for himself. He rises through the ranks of the Seattle jazz scene, struggling with drug addiction and infidelity while on the road. Jamie Foxx looks almost identical to the American singer and his piano skills are all Foxx while the voice is by Ray Charles himself. The actor shed a whopping 30 pounds to play the wiry Charles, who died of liver disease in June and volunteered to get his eye glued shut close for 14 days as was asked by the director of the film, Taylor Hackford to stay true to character.
Emma Stone as Billie Jean King
The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. Emma Stone came in completely ready to the point of building 15 pounds of muscle for this and earn an academy award-winning actress role.
Notable mentions:
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury
Daniel-Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Garfield as Desmond T.Doss
Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.
Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich
Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom
Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy
Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth II
Happy watching!