4) Val Kilmer As Jim Morrison (The Doors)
Remember when Val Kilmer was a star? Yeah, maybe not – but sources assure us this is the case, and that was apparently in large part down to his spitting-image portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. Time hasn’t been easy on the film’s critical standing, but Kilmer’s performance remains note-perfect.
If Kilmer makes it look easy, know that it wasn’t: he was so dedicated for The Doors, that he lost weight and spent six months learning Doors songs by heart (he eventually memorized 50). So the actor doesn’t coast through the film and his role on his looks alone to convince as Morrison – though with those similarly piercing eyes and that maddeningly perfect bone structure, he probably could have.
3) Toby Jones As Truman Capote (Infamous)
No offence to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, but he never had the right look to truly capture Truman Capote. He lacked the correct frame and facial features (Hoffman had to lose a huge amount of weight just to play the part), while in order to make him appear closer in height to the diminutive author, director Bennett Miller had to shoot Hoffman at different angles just so he looked smaller.
Hoffman gave a fantastic performance all the same in Capote, but if the Oscar had gone to the actor who most closely resembled the In Cold Blood writer, it would be in Toby Jones’ hands now.
Petite, and with thin sandy hair and a smug, facetious grin, Jones didn’t need a lot of work to step into Capote’s shoes for Douglas McGrath’s Infamous. Hoffman is better, but Jones is more visibly Capote-like.
