Even though there are dozens of different experts that work on the appearances of characters in movies, they aren’t immune to making mistakes. And in the end, viewers may catch these fails in makeup or costume choices that couldn’t have possibly existed during the time in which the movie was set.
We at Bright Side decided to watch some of our favorite movies and read some fashion history books to find the mistakes makeup artists and costume designers have made in popular films.
Gone with the Wind
No matter how trendy Scarlett O’Hara was, she couldn’t have predicted the clothing trends for decades in advance. Her famous slim-fitting red dress with feathers and rhinestones has nothing to do with Civil War fashion — it was inspired more by styles from the 1930s and 1940s.
Julius Caesar
In the 1953 film, most of the female characters wore extravagant bullet bras. In Ancient Rome, women would wear a strophium, a prototype for the modern bra, but these weren’t bullet bras.
Legends of the Fall
Trying to create a romantic look, costume designers ignored the historical facts. Brad Pitt’s character has beautiful blonde hair and facial hair but these things were unacceptable for the time period. More and more men were choosing to don big mustaches and short hair at this time.
King Arthur
The film, which is set in the fifth century, portrays knights in heavy metal armor. But until the fourteenth century, such armor was made of leather, and only mail armor was made of metal.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The film is about events that happened in the ’90s and the clothes look pretty accurate, however, they’re still not perfect. Dudley Dursley is wearing G-Unit shorts — a brand that was created by 50 Cent in 2003.
Hello, Dolly!
The movie is set in New York at the end of the nineteenth century when such a hairstyle, lip gloss, and eye makeup didn’t exist. But the movie still got 3 Oscars and became one of the most important films of the decade.
Queen Margot
Throughout the entire film, the characters are wearing beautiful dresses with open shoulders. They look great but in the sixteenth century, women never ignored shifts (or chemise in French). These pieces of clothing protected them from the cold, absorbed sweat, and were really easy to wash.
Another mistake costume designers made was the way the main character’s hair was let down. Based on the few portraits we have of Margaret of Valois, she had curly hair that she wore up.
The Danish Girl
The Danish Girl starts in 1926 but in the first half of the film, we see women in slim-fitting clothes that have nothing to do with the fashion of the 1920s.
At the beginning of the film, Gerda has a hairstyle that was actually quite outdated for the setting that favored waved or bobbed hair.
A Dangerous Method
In one scene, Keira Knightley appears only in her corset, which is a contradiction to the original rules that came along with wearing this piece of clothing. A woman would never wear a corset alone.
Bonus: Mary Queen of Scots
In Mary Queen of Scots, Saoirse Ronan is wearing asymmetric earrings, which were non-existent in sixteenth-century Scotland.
In your opinion, do you think such mistakes are serious or no big deal?
Preview photo credit A Dangerous Method / Recorded Picture Company
11 Actors Who Had a Chance to Portray a Legendary Character but Missed It
There are many ways to get a starring role. Some actors are selected during castings, while others are invited due to their popularity, which is what happened to Kate Winslet after Titanic. But not all auditions end successfully, or actors may not agree to offers made by film directors or producers. For example, Russell Crowe refused to star in Lord of the Rings because his intuition told him so.
At Bright Side, we imagined what our favorite characters would look like if other people portrayed them.
Daenerys Targaryen — Elizabeth Olsen
The actress, who has become famous for her role of the Scarlet Witch, failed auditions for the role of Mother of Dragons at the beginning of her career. Elizabeth Olsen later described what happened: “It was the most awkward audition I’d ever had. I was doing the Khaleesi speech when she comes out of the fire. It was awful. I didn’t get a callback.” As a result, Daenerys was played by Emilia Clarke.
Aragorn — Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe was asked once whether he regretted refusing to play Aragorn in the iconic trilogy, Lord of the Rings. The actor honestly replied that he had never thought about it and explained why he didn’t join the project. According to Crowe, Peter Jackson never really wanted to cast him for the role of Aragorn. Russell’s instinct told him that the director already had a suitable person in mind, so he politely declined the offer.
Ellie Sattler — Gwyneth Paltrow
In 1992, Gwyneth Paltrow wanted to get the role of Dr. Ellie Sattler. This part would’ve really helped the career of the aspiring actress because Jurassic Park had become a popular franchise. However, the future star failed, and the role went to Laura Dern.
James Bond — Henry Cavill
Now it’s hard to imagine anyone but the brilliant Daniel Craig playing this role, but Henry Cavill had a chance to become the new Agent 007. The actor was turned down because he was “a little chubby.” Cavill accepted the criticism with dignity and began to do more physical training, which helped him in his future career.
Jane Smith — Gwen Stefani
Popular singer Gwen Stefani is a truly versatile person. She almost landed the lead role in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Stefani went to quite a few auditions, but eventually, she made a choice in favor of a musical career. And Jane Smith was played by the amazing Angelina Jolie.
Indiana Jones — Tom Selleck
The actor almost played the cheerful adventurer. Tom Selleck got the role of Indiana Jones, but by that time, he had already signed on for the Magnum, P.I. TV series, and the producers didn’t allow him to combine the 2 projects.
Prince Caspian — Nicholas Hoult
According to the actor, auditions for the role of Prince Caspian were the worst in his career. Nicholas Hoult was asked to speak with a Hispanic accent, like Puss in Boots from Shrek. Holt was embarrassed by this request because he wasn’t prepared for it. Eventually, the role went to British actor Ben Barnes, who was the perfect fit.
Viola De Lesseps — Kate Winslet
After the resounding success of Titanic, Kate Winslet received many offers from different film directors. She was invited to take part in Shakespeare in Love, but the actress refused because she wanted to work on more independent projects. Eventually, Gwyneth Paltrow landed the role. And she made the right choice, as she was awarded an Oscar for her performance.
Alex Munday — Angelina Jolie
We know from Angelina Jolie’s filmography that she loves to take part in action flicks. But still, there was a similar project the actress rejected. Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz did their best to convince Jolie to play their partner but to no avail.
Jolie felt she wasn’t right for this role and later explained her refusal: “I’m not at that point in my career, so audiences won’t have as much fun watching me run around in high heels chasing bad guys and flipping my hair.”
Patrick Bateman — Johnny Depp
Initially, American Psycho was supposed to be directed by Stuart Gordon. The director saw only Johnny Depp in the main role and persuaded him to take it. But the author of the novel abruptly changed his mind. He pulled Stuart Gordon’s rights to the book and called Johnny Depp a lightweight actor who was too old to play the part. Depp was 28 at the time.
Christian Grey — Charlie Hunnam
In 2013, all the newspapers announced the news of the year: Charlie Hunnam would star in the screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. But a few months later, the actor changed his mind and refused the role. As it turned out, Hunnam had a nervous breakdown due to his busy work schedule.
The actor realized that he wouldn’t be able to do his job properly, but this decision was very difficult for him. Hunnam hasn’t seen any of the films in the trilogy because he called that situation “the worst professional experience” of his life.
Do you think the actors from our article would have been more convincing in these roles? Share your opinion in the comments below.
Preview photo credit Game of Trones / HBO, Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP / East News
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