Line #37 Main/BeautyInversion


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mariah_carey_precious.png]]
5	[-[[caption-width-right:350:For her role in ''Film/{{Precious}}'', Music/MariahCarey went from diva to drab.]]-]
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7	->''"An actress known to be good-looking who plays a role which calls for her to indulge in a makeup that makes her look homely usually gets flattering notices from the reviewers, even if her performance isn't worth a nickel[.]"''
8	-->-- '''George Jean Nathan'''
9
10	An actor or actress known for their physical beauty being altered by makeup and prosthetics to play an unattractive or even ugly character, usually as OscarBait. This doesn't cover really deformed or monstrous characters like Freddy Krueger or Quasimodo; that would be TheGrotesque.
11
12	Note: This is different from HollywoodHomely, where an actor or actress will be "plained down" with unflattering clothing or hairstyle, glasses, a better-looking sibling, crippling shyness hiding their looks, or so on, but the result is only (maybe) average-looking by non-Hollywood standards. A Hollywood Homely character can quite easily be changed in-story to the actor's normal appearance for a BeautifulAllAlong reveal. This trope, instead, is when the actor uses makeup or prosthetics to change the look of their face to match the expectations and image of the character.
13
14	This trope usually happens in biopics and serious dramas, and covers attractive actors playing below-average-looking characters (or real people), and there is a definite effort to not only play down but deliberately counteract the actor's usual good looks. Since most Hollywood actors tend to be very attractive, it's an interesting challenge for them to portray a {{Gonk}}. Compare with UnkemptBeauty, which is more along the lines of "the less makeup you wear, the better you look."
15
16	If they're playing outright [[OurMonstersAreDifferent monsters]] who are usually portrayed as ugly, this may result in a GorgeousGorgon.
17
18	See also DyeingForYourArt, which generally covers actors who change their appearance for their roles. Contrast with AdaptationalAttractiveness.
19	----
20	!! Examples:
21	[[foldercontrol]]
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23	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24	* ''Manga/GlassMask'' does this in-universe with Utako Himekawa, who is a beautiful actress. When she performed Annie Sullivan in ''The Miracle Worker'', people mention how a beauty like her was made very plain for the role.
25	[[/folder]]
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27	[[folder:Comic Books]]
28	* In-universe, unusually justified example: In ''ComicBook/{{Passionella}}'' by Jules Feiffer, Passionella, having achieved success as a movie star, decides to make a more realistic movie where she plays a non-beautiful, unglamorous, chimney sweep. All of her scenes in the movie are shot during the day, where all her previous glamorous roles could only be filmed at night because she only transforms into a beautiful, glamorous movie star in the evening. She wins the Best Actress Oscar, of course.
29	[[/folder]]
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31	[[folder:Film]]
32	* One of the earliest examples of the trope came from Kathleen Byron in ''Film/BlackNarcissus''. Her character Sister Ruth begins the film as a devout nun, but slowly suffers SanitySlippage and eventually turns into a {{Yandere}}. In the last act of the film, make-up is used to put her in the UncannyValley -- giving the impression she's wearing a corpselike mask.
33	* Creator/BetteDavis pulled this off quite a few times in her illustrious career:
34	** The first notable one was ''Literature/OfHumanBondage''. Her character Mildred ends up on the streets and eventually dies of tuberculosis. Bette designed the make-up Mildred would wear for her death scene, wanting her to accurately look like someone who had died of an illness and not "a deb who had missed her afternoon nap."
35	** She wanted to do this for ''Film/NowVoyager'', padding her costumes out to make Charlotte look even heavier in her 'before' appearance. The studio rejected this look for being "too grotesque" and she's HollywoodHomely in the finished film.
36	** ''Film/MarkedWoman'' after her character has been attacked by the Mafia. The original bandaging was rather [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished small]], so she went to a doctor and had the face bandaged more realistically.
37	** In ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' she decided that Jane Hudson would never wash her face and only put a new layer of make-up on every day. She patterned the look off numerous homeless ladies seen on Hollywood Boulevard. When Bette's daughter saw her in the make-up for the first time, she remarked "mother, this time you've gone too far." Elsewhere averted with her co-star Joan Crawford, who struggled to look unattractive. She wanted to have full hair and make-up, despite playing a wheelchair-bound woman who hadn't left her room in years. This did however give the impression that Blanche had aged better than Jane, giving her sister another reason to resent her.
38	* Creator/CharlizeTheron as Aileen Wuornos in ''Film/{{Monster}}''. The actress [[DyeingForYourArt gained between 25 and 30 pounds]], shaved her eyebrows, and wore prosthetic teeth. As such, she looked completely unrecognizable in character and got the Best Actress Oscar in a walk. She wasn't afraid to get dirty in ''Film/NorthCountry'', and then once again shaved her head and wore dark circles of grease for her role as Furiosa in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' (though Furiosa is [[SubvertedTrope quite attractive in spite of it]]).
39	* Creator/SalmaHayek as Frida Kahlo in ''Film/{{Frida}}''. To play Kahlo, Hayek either used make-up or grew out her own mustache and unibrow.
40	* Creator/NicoleKidman wore a prosthetic nose to play Virginia Woolf in ''Film/TheHours''.
41	* Creator/CarolineWilliams in ''Film/Leprechaun3'' plays a frumpy middle-aged woman who wishes on a magic coin for a youthful, shapely body, which is obviously just Williams' own body in a tight-fitting dress.
42	* Creator/EmmaThompson in ''Film/NannyMcPhee''. In an interview with Magazine/DisneyAdventures, she jokingly lamented that it took less time for them to make her look ugly than to make her look pretty.
43	* Creator/TomCruise wears a bald cap and a fatsuit in ''Film/TropicThunder'' to play foul-mouthed CorruptCorporateExecutive Les Grossman. It was believed to have been Cruise’s idea to disguise himself like this.
44	* Music/JustinTimberlake wears a wig and mustache in ''Film/TheLoveGuru''.
45	* ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'':
46	** Creator/CameronDiaz wears frumpy clothes and frizzy hair.
47	** Creator/JohnCusack in that same movie also does not look too attractive with his greasy hair and unclean skin, descending into seediness at the midpoint of the film.
48	* Creator/BradPitt at his homeliest (with the exception of ''Film/TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton'', where he was aged up considerably) was in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'' -- didn't use prosthetics, but gave the character a lazy eye and unflattering hairstyle.
49	* Creator/JaredLeto aging through prosthetics in ''Film/MrNobody''.
50	* Creator/GwynethPaltrow, [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/fat/obese/shallow.htm the actress who played her mother]], and [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/plain/fugly/shallowbb.htm Brooke Burns]] in ''Film/ShallowHal.'' When the movie got flak for casting such a thin woman as a heavy character, the director defended himself by noting that the concept called for her to be attractively thin through most of the movie -- Paltrow could fat up better than a heavy actress could thin down. The result is a movie littered with bad fat jokes... about the smoking hot Paltrow.
51	* ''Film/{{Precious}}'': Music/MariahCarey (Precious' social worker, pictured above) is the most obvious example, but the lead actress Gabourey Sidibe (who herself was already a large woman) was also made to look larger using unflattering clothes.
52	* Mariah Carey doesn't look too good in her role as the titular character's mother in ''Film/TheButler''.
53	* Creator/SharonStone in ''Film/AlphaDog'', where she uses a fatsuit in an interview [[spoiler:held years after her only son was killed]].
54	* Creator/JohnnyDepp
55	** He had his head shaved (''by Creator/HunterSThompson'') and wore huge glasses in Creator/TerryGilliam's ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. Creator/BenicioDelToro just put up a lot of weight and a leatherman's moustache. They both looked quite unspectacular as a result. But it was the brilliant acting that made them truly offputting.
56	** Similarly, he wore extensive prosthetics and makeup (including a cap to simulate a receding hairline) to play Whitey Bulger in ''Film/BlackMass'' and as a result is barely recognizable.
57	* Creator/HeathLedger as ComicBook/TheJoker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Ledger was known mostly for dashing PrettyBoy roles when he was cast as the Joker, for which he bleached his hair, donned facial prostheses to simulate a nasty GlasgowGrin, and of course badly applied clown make-up.
58	* Played with by Creator/TomHardy in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. While Bane's mask, bald head, wrecked skin, and grotesquely muscular body make him anything but attractive, Hardy's naturally handsome face still allows us to immediately identify him in a flashback as [[spoiler:the prisoner who helps Talia escape]].
59	* Creator/JudeLaw played a slimy, gaunt, brown-toothed, heavily balding photographer/assassin in ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' with [[spoiler:disfiguring facial scars in the end]]. Like in ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' he made himself balding, grew a big beard, and gave himself spectacles and wrinkles to make himself look older and unattractive. And in ''Film/Contagion2011'' he has snaggle-teeth to point out that he's the bad guy.
60	* Creator/GloriaSwanson in ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' had to look more aged as Norma Desmond than she did in RealLife.
61	* The handsome, elegant Dame Creator/JudiDench playing the haggard spinster Barbara Covett in ''Film/NotesOnAScandal''.
62	* [=AnnaLynne McCord=] in ''Film/Excision2012'' not only wears no makeup, but has acne scars and badly damaged hair, and looks far less attractive than the blonde bombshell that [=McCord=] is in real life.
63	* The normally ''very'' beautiful Creator/LenaHeadey sports some very nasty looking facial scars, cracked lips, and bad teeth in ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' while playing former prostitute turned drug baron Ma-Ma.
64	* Missi Pyle as Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky in ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory''. Of course, this doesn't stop Owen from falling in love with her. In the epilogue, she is shown to be [[Main/ProgressivelyPrettier substantially more attractive]], though.
65	* Creator/TildaSwinton sported a prosthetic nose and protruding teeth for her role as Mason in ''Film/{{Snowpiercer}}''.
66	* Creator/NicholasHoult in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad''. To quote [[http://io9.com/do-you-realize-mad-max-fury-road-is-a-miracle-1707000166 one article]]: "Hire one of Hollywood's youngest, most attractive stars, then shave his head, paint him bone white, and have him play a character with disgusting chapped lips for the entire movie."
67	* Angela Bettis as the title character in the [[MadeForTVMovie TV remake]] of ''Film/{{Carrie 2002}}''. Drab clothes, messy hair, and something about not washing her face or anything definitely hid any beauty that she had, making it that much more special when [[SheCleansUpNicely she went to the prom]].
68	* Portia Doubleday in Kimberly Peirce's [[{{Film/Carrie2013}} 2013 remake]] of the above does a different take on this trope to play Chris. In contrast to previous films showing the AlphaBitch as one of TheBeautifulElite, this version is done up to look like an [[ButNotTooWhite over-tanned]], [[UncannyValleyMakeUp made-up]] [[Series/JerseyShore Snooki wannabe]] with ratty hair extensions and trashy clothes. This adds a layer of subtext that Chris could be jealous of Carrie's more natural beauty.
69	* Creator/MerylStreep as the Witch in ''Film/IntoTheWoods''. Like Thompson above, she said it took more makeup to make her look beautiful later in the film than to make her look ugly for the majority of her screentime. Played straighter with ''Film/{{Ironweed}}'' and ''Film/SophiesChoice''.
70	* Creator/BlakeLively, a very glamorous blonde, in ''Film/TheTown''. She plays a trashy alcoholic who layers the makeup on and looks constantly spaced out. Critics were shocked. She also did this in ''The Rhythm Section'', disguising herself as a homeless woman and adopting various other disguises. It became a RunningGag during production of the film for tabloids to report "Blake Lively looks unrecognisable..." In ''Film/TheShallows'', her character also ends up with a nasty gash along her legs, sunburn all over her body, and other unsightly blemishes brought on by spending the day trapped at sea.
71	* Creator/KeiraKnightley as a skinny, sleep-deprived, chain-smoking alcoholic in ''Film/TheJacket''.
72	* Downplayed with Lizzie Caplan in ''Film/MeanGirls''. Producers were reluctant to cast her as 'art freak' Janis because of her beauty, but [[AbilityOverAppearance she gave the best audition]]. So instead of trying to dress her down, they gave her odd fashion choices, goth make-up, and MessyHair. She even wears a tuxedo to the prom, subverting SheCleansUpNicely. There are fandom rumours that Janis herself is a former AlphaBitch, and Caplan's beauty is likely a contributing factor.
73	* Creator/ChristianBale does this a lot:
74	** He starved himself down to a dangerously skinny weight as an anorexic insomniac for ''Film/TheMachinist''.
75	** He also lost a significant amount of weight for ''Film/TheFighter'', in which he played a man addicted to crack cocaine.
76	** As an overweight balding conman with a bad fashion sense in ''Film/AmericanHustle''. He gained the weight and shaved the hair himself to affect an authentic combover.
77	** He also gained a lot of weight and went balding to portray former US Vice-President Dick Cheney in ''Film/Vice2018''.
78	* Creator/MelissaMcCarthy is very pretty when seen in interviews, even making ''People'''s "Most Beautiful" list at least once. For a lot of her roles, she's given make-up and hairstyles to make herself seem frumpier and less attractive.
79	* Kate [=McKinnon=] is likewise a very beautiful lady. In ''{{Film/Ghostbusters 2016}}'' she's dressed down with MessyHair, constantly seen in overalls, and portrayed as something of an oddball.
80	* Creator/RoseanneBarr isn't a conventional looker, but she ''really'' downgraded her appearance in ''Film/SheDevil''.
81	* ''Film/StellaMaris'':
82	** Creator/MaryPickford played one of the earliest examples in the 1918 film ''Stella Maris''. She played the titular Stella in her normal look but [[ActingForTwo also played]] the plain and homely Unity Blake as well. Unity is the least attractive girl at her orphanage while Mary Pickford was known for her cherub cute looks.
83	** Marcia Manon played TheAlcoholic Louise. She had MessyHair and looked like she was in a permanent stupor.
84	* Bombshell actress and comedienne Jennifer Baxter was made into a zombie in ''Film/LandOfTheDead''. Even then though, [[AttractiveZombie her beauty still somewhat shines through.]]
85	* Creator/JamesFranco donned various prosthetics and put on a wig for his role as Creator/TommyWiseau in ''Film/TheDisasterArtist''. Nonetheless, he still looks far better than [[LooksLikeCesare the real Tommy]].
86	* Downplayed by Creator/AnaDeArmas for ''Film/KnivesOut''. While no amount of loose-fitting, delightfully tacky sweaters; oversized scarves, unkempt hair, and modest makeup can conceal the fact that de Armas is an absurdly beautiful woman, they ''do'' mean that [[ChasteHeroine Marta]] is a noticeable change from her [[MsFanservice usual]] [[SpicyLatina roles]]. The script outright notes that Marta is pretty, but she's never portrayed as sexy either.
87	* A lesser version in ''[[Film/TheBishopsWife The Preacher's Wife]]'' While Music/WhitneyHouston is still undeniably gorgeous, her hair/clothing/makeup is far more akin to a middle-class minister's wife rather than a famous actress/singer.
88	* Similarly in ''Film/MaidInManhattan'', Creator/JenniferLopez still looks beautiful even in a maid's uniform and dowdy ponytail/bun, but the difference when she's clad in a ball gown and a fancy updo is very noticeable.
89	* In ''Film/EpicMovie2007'', this is PlayedForlaughs. Carmen Electra plays a parody of Mystique, and initially looks absolutely gorgeous, especially since it basically shows off her entire naked body, only with certain placed scales to hide her nipples and private areas. Later on, she even gets a sex scene with the main character Peter, where she seductively expands her chest and ass at his request... and then he starts requesting some rather ugly and disgusting features. The absolutely stunning Carmen Electra goes from a stunning near-naked woman with a larger rack and ass, to a fat and flabby grandma with a unibrow and crossed eyes, [[FanDisservice followed by a sloppy make-out and hardcore granny sex with Peter]]...
90	* ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' has Sisi Stringer's Mileena, who while not having the hideous shark-like mouth from the games, still makes a pretty actress monstrous through [[GlasgowGrin cheeks full of scars]] and ScaryTeeth. Stringer herself said it was easy to get into character just by following along the hour-long make-up process -- "So I’m seeing my own pretty face in the mirror and then they're just layering and layering until I turn into something that is absolutely not me!"
91	* In ''Film/HouseOfGucci'', the [[PrettyBoy strikingly handsome and youthful looking]] Creator/JaredLeto is unrecognizable as the overweight, balding, and mustachioed Paolo Gucci, aided even further by Paolo's poor dress sense.
92	* While Creator/ReeseWitherspoon in ''Film/WalkTheLine'' is NOT an example, it should be noted that her Oscar win for that movie broke a back to back to back three-peat of actresses (Creator/HalleBerry for ''Film/MonstersBall'', Nicole Kidman for ''The Hours'', and Charlize Theron for ''Monster'') who DID follow this trope to the T and win the Oscar.
93	* ''Film/TheBatman2022'' uses extensive prosthetics to transform Creator/ColinFarrell into Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot, better known as [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin "the Penguin"]]. The special effects give him a more heavyset appearance along with a scarred, pockmarked face and a hooked nose that make Farrell completely unrecognizable.
94	* ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues'' cast the very pretty then-41-year-old Creator/CarolKane as Grandmama Addams. She's convincingly made up to look like someone at least twice as old and very badly aged.
95	* ''Film/HillbillyElegy'' manages to actually pull off the seemingly impossible task of making ''Creator/AmyAdams'' unattractive with a pretty thorough makeup job to appear disheveled and an unflattering hairstyle.
96	* Creator/ElisabethShue in the MadeForTVMovie ''Amy & Isabelle''. As the intent was to make her look like a sheltered OldMaid who only leaves her house for work, she's given drab brown hair that's always tied in a PrimAndProperBun, almost no makeup, and dowdy clothes to make her look slightly larger than a Hollywood actress is normally. The same film also requires the pretty Hanna Hall to spend a good chunk of the run time in a messy wig as a result of her TraumaticHaircut that isn't tidied up until the ending.
97	* In ''Film/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex'', Creator/MartinaGedeck and Creator/MoritzBleibtreu are [[http://www.vitagraphfilms.com/images/Baader-Meinhof_Photos/Hi-Res/Baader&Meinhof.jpg noticeably made to appear grubby and unkempt]] in order to more closely resemble the real Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.
98	* In ''Film/Babylon2022'', Creator/TobeyMaguire as James [=McKay=] is less flattering in comparison to the rest of the cast. Even with wearing a suit, he has a pale complexion, CreepyShadowedUndereyes, and crooked yellow teeth.
99	* ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'' sees Creator/ScottAdkins -- a quite handsome and very physically fit martial arts actor -- playing Killa, [[FatBastard a very fat and amoral crime boss]] with gold teeth, unflattering hair, and a constant coating of sweat and grease. Considering that Killa [[StoutStrength actually manages to throw down remarkably well for his size]], it's pretty easy to guess that Adkins was cast specifically for his athleticism, able to fight convincingly despite wearing a fatsuit to make him look 500 pounds.
100	[[/folder]]
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102	[[folder:Live-Action TV ]]
103	* ''Series/RuyisRoyalLoveInThePalace'': Creator/WallaceHuo is made to look downright plain as [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qianlong.jpg the older Qianlong]].
104	* Big Rhonda on ''Series/That70sShow''. The actress who plays her appeared out of costume in a flash forward once, and looked nothing like Big Rhonda.
105	* Ana Maria Orozco, the original Betty in ''Series/YoSoyBettyLaFea'', especially when compared with her [[Series/UglyBetty Anglo counterpart]] who was HollywoodHomely at worst. The Colombian producers went the whole nine yards on transforming Orozco: no makeup, bad haircut, the ugliest glasses possible, orthodontics... they even hired an expert to choose specifically the most unflattering colors and styles to dress her, then the writers incorporated that knowledge on the script to justify and explain her eventual makeover and her business plan.
106	* Creator/AmySedaris is another comedian who is attractive in real life, yet prefers playing unattractive characters. The Creator/DavidSedaris essay "Shiner Like A Diamond" noted how she is easily the most attractive member of the family, yet all her life she enjoyed hiding it under wigs and prosthetics. She has said in interviews as well that she's never comfortable doing straight-up sexy, she can't help but add some sort of goofy element to it. Don't forget her "fatty suit".
107	* Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Morgan in ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}''. In the first act, she is a homely girl with a lazy eye and pigtails, but uses magic to make herself beautiful in order to trip up Arthur. [[spoiler:At the end [[ThisWasHerTrueForm her magic slips away and she is homely again]].]]
108	* In ''Series/TheDropout'', the series about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and founder of Theranos, this trope is averted for Creator/AmandaSeyfried as the equally attractive Holmes. However, Creator/NaveenAndrews was portraying COO Sunny Balwani. Between a weight gain of 25 lbs (11.34 kg) and prosthetics, the resemblance to the paunchy real-life figure is uncanny.
109	* Some well-applied zombie makeup was enough to make the incredibly handsome Creator/JamieBamber look utterly horrible during a guest stint on ''Series/GhostWhisperer''. There's also his appearance on Series/{{House}}, where he starts out looking like his usual gorgeous self, but his looks worsen as his condition does -- yellowing skin, bulging eyes, etc. -- until finally, the sight of him laying on a bed wearing nothing but boxer shorts is completely undercut by the fact ''his skin is peeling off''. Quite jarring considering that he's usually MrFanservice in whatever he's starring in.
110	* Most of the women in ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' are made to look a lot uglier than they do in real life by using a combination of unflattering hairstyles and the ill-fitting prison uniforms, and they in most cases wear minimal makeup (...which by any logic different than the Hollywood one doesn't make them ''uglier'', but rather shows their faces closer to like they really look). The most literal examples of the trope are Taryn Manning (Pennsatucky) and her character's followers, who are given meth-teeth, bad skin, and perpetually messy, dirty hair.
111	* The microcephalic Pepper in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum'' and ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow Freak Show]]'' is played by the beautiful Naomi Grossman.
112	* In ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'', the murderous, balding grey-haired, and perpetually scowling Count Olaf was played by Creator/NeilPatrickHarris.
113	* For her recurring role as Estelle in ''Series/{{Friends}}'', June Gable wore an unflattering wig, too much jewelry, and UncannyValleyMakeUp. She also affected a voice to suggest the agent had been a chain smoker for years.
114	* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Season 5 featured Creator/JenniferMorrison in her Dark One make-up, and the stress and exhaustion Emma is going through in her TraumaCongaLine is conveyed with make-up to have her look continually weary and tired.
115	* Larissa does this on an episode of the reality show ''Average Joe'', under a lot of ageing prosthetics to appear like an overweight old woman. She passed herself off as her visiting mother and fooled all the other contestants.
116	* Creator/RikMayall frequently covered up his PrettyBoy / {{Bishonen}} good looks with grotesque costumes, make-up, and exaggerated expressions for several of his roles in ''Series/TheYoungOnes,'' ''Series/TheComicStripPresents'' and ''{{Series/Bottom}}''. Fellow comedian Andy de la Tour even commented "Rik was a very beautiful man, but in every character he played, he made himself ugly." (The only possible exception is his bit role in ''Film/ShockTreatment'', ready-for-his-closeup sanitarium orderly Rest-Home Ricky, who's even described as "young male intern, tall and handsome" -- but contextually that helps play into the film's mild BeautyIsBad, or at least not everything, moral.)
117	* The actresses playing the maids in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' were dressed down considerably to look plainer and less glamorous than the aristocrats.
118	* Done to nearly everyone in ''Series/TimAndEricAwesomeShowGreatJob''. Any conventionally attractive celebrity that appears on the show will often end up being made much uglier with intentionally bad makeup, lighting, and color correction (or just being directed to make weird faces through their whole scene.) Creator/JohnCReilly as the dopey Dr. Steve Brule is perhaps the most well-known example.
119	* ''Series/TheTerror'': While almost the entire cast goes through this to some extent as they begin to suffer from starvation, lead poisoning, and scurvy, Captain Francis Crozier stands out as weary, hollow-eyed, paunchy, and generally pretty rough-looking from the start -- not much at all like the usual rugged handsomeness of his actor Creator/JaredHarris. It's an unusual case, as the real Crozier had very delicate, even features that persisted even after the [[YoungerThanTheyLook premature aging]] he suffered from stress and prior polar expeditions that left him white-haired and tremulous.
120	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'':
121	** When playing the androgynous Pat, Julia Sweeney colored her lips beige and thickened up her eyebrows with makeup to avoid any possible clues about their gender, in addition to the usual padded bodysuit and gender-ambiguous clothing.
122	** Creator/KateMcKinnon is an attractive woman in real life, but on [=SNL=], she often plays old men, old women, or hideous monsters that aren't even human (like Shud the blobfish mermaid).
123	** Creator/CecilyStrong is one of the straight-up hottest cast members of all time and has played a number of characters and impressions that play on this. However, one of her most popular characters is Cathy-Anne, a middle-aged drug addict who lives in Creator/MichaelChe's building.
124	* In ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' [[Series/FargoSeasonThree Season 3]], Creator/EwanMcGregor [[ActingForTwo plays both]] the successful Emmit Stussy and his down-on-his-luck brother Ray. Emmit Stussy is as sharp and handsome as, well, Ewan [=McGregor=], albeit saddled with an unflattering perm. Ray Stussy, however, is balding, portly, windburned, and sickly, all of which were accomplished with two hours of makeup that ensure you can barely even tell that they're played by the same man.
125	** Creator/DavidThewlis as V.M. Varga also undergoes this though not to the extent of [=McGregor=]: Varga has misshapen, rotting teeth (done with prosthetics) as a result of his bulimia. He also has unkempt hair and dresses in cheap, ill-fitting suits, due to his desire to remain as [[TheSpook inconspicuous as possible]].
126	* ''[[Series/Maniac2018 Maniac]]'':
127	** The handsome and chiseled Justin Theroux is given a ludicrous combover that he hides with even more ludicrous wigs to make him seem rather pathetic.
128	** The glamorous Sonoya Mizuno is given a cartoonishly frumpy hairstyle and NerdGlasses. She also tends to have a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, wears shapeless laboratory coats, and tends to hunch forward with her hands high on her hips.
129	* ''Series/{{Devs}}'': Sonoya Mizuno gets hit with a more mild case as Lily Chen, who is considered desirable but still has her looks noticeably toned down. She wears a very short, boyish haircut and always wears casual, unisex clothing.
130	* ''Series/TheStand2020'': Creator/EzraMiller has a certain chiseled, androgynous beauty about them, but they are nearly unrecognizable as the psychotic pyromaniac Trashcan Man, between the constant mumbling, wild hair, and junkyard-scraps-over-tighty-whiteys fashion choices. It veers into TheGrotesque towards his final scenes when he is deformed from radiation poisoning.
131	* Lily from ''Series/SexEducation'' is one of the [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSz-C13Lsq6ZC29M7_rYCrgxTQGHrZ1CGpZ0ATRqsJPBc7NgcfmC_DbG8y8t-r8ne730X0&usqp=CAU weirdest-looking characters]], so weird-looking that not even a topless scene could improve her sex appeal. Her actress Tanya Reynolds on the other hand is [[https://decine21.com/img/upload/perfiles/tanya-reynolds-135592/tanya-reynolds-135592-c.jpg quite]] [[https://www.hungertv.com/app/uploads/2019/09/6605-12-022-1_-614x460.jpg breathtaking]].
132	* ''Series/FatherTed'': Frank Kelly was a perfectly decent-to-good-looking guy in real life. As Father Jack Hackett, he's covered in skin blemishes and sores, has a milky eye, and can't or doesn't bother shaving or combing his hair. A lot of this is either concurrent with or a result of his [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]], since in flashbacks to his sober days, he's just Kelly [[IWasQuiteALooker sans makeup and properly groomed]].
133	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': The entire main cast is made up of exceptionally attractive people; check out [[https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/big-bang-theory-cast-friends.jpg this group shot]] for proof. Yet five of them--Johnny Galecki as Leonard, Jim Parsons as Sheldon, Simon Helberg as Howard, Kunal Nayyar as Raj, and Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler--are deliberately given unflattering wardrobes, haircuts, and makeup jobs to seem homely. Amy, for example, almost exclusively wears heavy woolen sweaters paired with floor-length skirts and keeps her hair lank and unstyled, while Leonard's default outfit is an extremely baggy T-shirt and hoodie that covers his whole body.
134	* Creator/TimCurry has aged very well since his stint as [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Dr. Frank N. Furter]], but in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' two-part episode "Our Darkest Hour"[=/=]"The Longest Night" he plays a particularly skeevy-looking serial killer with saggy jowls, lank hair, graying stubble, and brown-stained teeth, and without an ounce of the actor's usual charisma to offset the slime.
135	* To play Tess in the post-apocalyptic ''Series/TheLastOfUs2023'', Creator/AnnaTorv adopted a more haggard look with frayed hair, baggy eyes and bruised face. This is obviously contrasted with Tess's appearance in the flashbacks where she looks as gorgeous as Torv does in real life.
136	* Olive from ''Series/OnTheBuses'' was presented as frumpy and uncaring of her appearance, though in real life Creator/AnnaKaren had been a model and dancer prior to the series. When she showcased her natural look during a magazine shoot in the 1970s, viewers were shocked at just how different she appeared from her character.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Professional Wrestling ]]
140	* The evil [[CruelCheerleader cheerleader]] HBIAC was nothing if not attractive, as was the dancing ho [[Wrestling/LisaMarieVaron Victoria]]. However, Victoria decided the best way to win a Halloween costume contest was to put on a fat suit and become a sumo wrestler. This was PlayedForLaughs, although the baby faces did "[[TheatricsOfPain sell]]" her "higher" weight.
141	* Vixen was goofy and cute, but when she was flown into Wrestling/AllJapanWomensProWrestling she was made into an EvilForeigner BrawnHilda counterpart of Arsion's head booker Wrestling/AjaKong when Aja could not make it to a show that had only announced "[[ExactWords A Kong]]" would appear. This eventually went full circle when both Wrestling/AmazingKong and Aja Kong would get GirlyGirl baby {{face}} gimmicks in Wrestling/FightingOperaHustle based on earlier work they did where they were not trying to look like {{wrestling monster}}s.
142	* Vixen's perennial rival Nanae Takahashi was also briefly turned into an Aja Kong knockoff, although this case was purely [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]] and just a one-off thing.
143	* Wrestling/DaffneyUnger and The Lovely Lacey are mildly unattractive at worst to those they are simply not [[HasAType the type of]] and considered smoking hot to many fans and wrestlers alike. However, Wrestling/{{Wrestlicious}} turned them into the deliberately less attractive vampire Draculetta and hoodoo bokor White Magic.
144	* Jessica James may or may not be as attractive as the porn star she was named after, but she was definitely easier on the eyes than Lady Poison, the zombie who haunted Anarchy Championship Wrestling.
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146
147	[[folder:Theater ]]
148	* Any actor who plays the Witch in ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' until the end of the first act. The ultimate example may be Creator/BernadettePeters from the original Broadway production.
149	* Actors who play the title character in ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', most of whom are quite handsome in RealLife.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder: Video Games]]
153	* The 2024 ''[[VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2024 Alone in the Dark'']] game features InkSuitActor versions of Creator/DavidHarbour and Creator/JodieComer, who voice Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood respectively. Both their characters are made to look less attractive than their actors to represent the fact they've had stressful lives. This is more noticeable with Comer (who is very attractive even without makeup) to the point it attracted negative comment on the Steam forums.
154	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BeautyInversion