Kings and queens, princes and princesses are prominent historical figures who certainly took parts in significant events during their lives and reign. Many of such events deserve to be filmed. You may notice historical films about early days (not only of the USA) almost always have a royal that is in the spotlight.
Such films not always have historical accuracy as the main goal, and it is quite hard to recreate appearances of many persons, since filmmakers have to rely only on portraits and busts. However, actors and actresses of each generation are happy to portray leaders of a certain country, and it’s always curious to see how they can pull that off.
Let’s remember some prominent appearances of royals in films and compare their looks (in a photo, picture or sculpture — depending on the era a person lived in) with looks of actors who played them.
1. Timothée Chalamet — Henry V of England
Movie: The King (2019).
2. Colin Firth — George VI, King of the United Kingdom
Movie: The King’s Speech (2010).
3. Emily Blunt — Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Movie: The Young Victoria (2009).
4. Naomi Watts — Diana, Princess of Wales
Movie: Diana (2013).
5. Sergei Makovetsky — Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of all Rus
Series: Grozny (2020).
6. Gerard Butler — Leonidas I, King of Sparta
Movie: 300 (2006).
7. Joaquin Phoenix — Commodus, Roman emperor
Movie: Gladiator (2000).
8. Saoirse Ronan — Mary, Queen of Scots
Movie: Mary Queen of Scots (2018).
9. Colin Farrell — Alexander III of Macedon
Movie: Alexander (2004).
10. Leonardo DiCaprio — Louis XIV, King of France
Movie: The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
11. Claire Foy — Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom
Series: The Crown (2016-2020).
12. Yul Brynner — Ramesses II, Pharaoh of ancient Egypt
Movie: The Ten Commandments (1956).
13. John Lone — Puyi, Emperor of China
Movie: The Last Emperor (1987).
14. Dmitri Dyuzhev — Peter the Great
Movie: Tobol (2019).
15. Sean Connery — Richard the Lionheart, King of England
Movie: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).
By the way, we also have another compilation about movies in which actors played Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Vincent van Gogh and other recognized geniuses of human history.
